Molly Jong-Fast Says World's Women Aren't Oppressed, Feminism Is A Luxury Problem

For starters, Erica Jong’s new anthology ‘Sugar in My Bowl’ boosts a bevy of ‘good girl writers’ as Salon’s Tracy Clarke-Flory calls them.

It isn’t common for serious female writers — the sort who write about respectable issues like politics and poverty — to dip their toes into that piranha-infested lake of personal judgment and criticism. Just as good girls don’t talk about sex, good-girl writers don’t write about sex. Not only can it be devastating personally, but it can also earn you a professional reputation as a chick lit author or, worse, a sex writer.

Jong reports that at least half a dozen contributors to her book wouldn’t say ‘yes’ until their partners agreed. Luckily — or not, depending on your view of the writing — several well-known, serious-stuff women writers contributed. The focus changed, however, away from Erica Jong’s original intention which was a series of essays strictly focused on the ‘best sex I ever had’.

Ariel Levy, author of ‘Female Chauvinist Pigs’, a polemic against Paris Hilton and America’s Barbie doll culture that objectifies women even more today than in the 1970s, does write about the first time she had sex. But the topics run far afield, even into sexual anatomy talk for children.

Don’t buy the book looking for an erotic read.

In Jong’s introduction to the book she quotes contributor Daphne Merkin, a writer for the New York Times Magazine, who is no stranger to self-exposure: “The sexual arena is so often treated as laughable or minor when in truth it is often serious and major.”

This is now I see the subject, too. Reading more comments from daughter Molly Jong-Fast, I’m becoming more incredulous by the minute.

Salon earlier excerpted Molly Jong-Fast’s essay Being a prude in a family of libertines. I imagine it would be pretty crazy being Erica Jong’s daughter, but I have a great sense that positive sexuality and responsible pleasure is of little interest to Jong-Fast.  And that is a shame.

As an example, Erica Jong and daughter Molly are interviewed in New York Magazine.

E.J.: I married my first lover.

M.J.F.:Ugghhh. Lover? Lover is a disgusting word. It makes me want to throw up. It’s a Plato’s Retreat word. This idea of commitment, that was something I had to learn. It was not something my mother’s generation was aware of.

Wow! ‘Lover’ is a disgusting word. This girl sounds like the daughter of Phyllis Schlafly. I can imagine that it was very challenging to grow up as Erica Jong’s daughter. Perhaps even I would have found the lifestyle a bit over the top. But to say that ‘lover’ is a disgusting word. That’s sad and so very American.

And now I read on, and I am speechless. Out of words frankly. 

In an interview with Feministing.com, Molly and Erica are asked:

CA: What, in your opinion, is the greatest challenge facing feminism today?

EJ: Waking up the women who don’t realize the risk they’re in. Getting the conversation going again. It’s hard to get the conversation going again, because people think they have it all. And meanwhile all these states are going to outlaw not just abortion, but birth control, which is what they were always about. If you read successive UN reports on the status of women, there is one thing that leads to prosperity in poor countries, and it’s controlling fertility. Once women can control the number of children they have, everybody’s life gets better – economically, and healthwise, and in every other way. It’s been proven. So to see our country going backward in this way is ridiculous. There are probably many unconscious factors, like the fear of being outnumbered by brown and black people.

MJF: You can’t say it like that. It sounds inherently racist when you say it like that. “Fear of being outnumbered by” – it’s not a race war! First of all, you can’t say it like that. To say someone’s “brown” or “black,” you can’t say that. Every liberal bone in my body cringes. And the reality is that it’s not; America’s going to be more Hispanic, but it’s not going to be more “brown.” I don’t know what “brown” is. Is that tanned people? You can’t, I mean, what planet do you live on, “brown?” Mulatto? Did you mean Mulatto? Quinteroon? You can’t say that.

I would say the greatest danger is climate change. We’re going to be screwed. We’re going to have such bigger problems than women being oppressed when we’re living on a bubble on Mars with no water. We’re going to have much bigger problems than feminism. The entire world is going to be obliterated, so that worries me a little more. We won’t have time to worry about who’s being oppressed. That kind of thing is really a luxury problem.

EJ: But why is it that feminism is always considered a luxury problem?

MJF: I mean, I think we’ve gotten far enough. We’re not that oppressed.

Molly Jong-Fast (right) with Sarah Howard a book signing for ‘The Social Climber’s Handbook’Molly also finds ‘elder sex’ disgusting, but that’s besides the point. I think Molly Jong-Fast needs a trip to the woodshed, Midwestern style.

Unfortunately, I read Molly Jong-Fast’s comments that the environment is more important than global feminism after writing about Mara Hvistendahl’s new book Unnatural Selection, a book focused on gendercide.

Historically, eras in which there have been an excess of men have produced periods of violent conflict and instability.

Forget that women in America are losing rights by the minute, as Erica Jong articulates; the plight of women internationally is devastating. To read Erica Jong’s daughter say ‘I think we’ve gotten far enough. We’re not that oppressed,’ leaves me without words in my mouth. 

I am speechless … nothing more to say for the moment. And I am sad … truly sad to read these words from Molly Jong-Fast, who sounds very much the privileged, politically-correct liberal.

By the way Molly, your mom is dead right when she says ‘There are probably many unconscious factors, like the fear of being outnumbered by brown and black people.’ Wake up and smell the roses, girl. Talk about a clueless woman!

For New Yorkers Erica Jong, Molly Jong-Fast, Eve Ensler and Daphne Merkin — will take part in ‘Real Women Talk About Real Sex Wednesday night June 15 at the 92nd Street Y. I won’t be there out of fear from acting out a cream pie smashup on a member of the panel.  Anne

Comments

[St Barth]

You should note the age of Ms. Jong-Fast. Upon reading her comments here I was ready to excuse her as just being young & perhaps spoiled (assuming that she was maybe 18 or 19 years old based on her quoted comments above). However, after a internet search revealed her age to be 32 (born Aug 19, 1978), I must admit that she really has no excuse. She should know better.