In this episode, I speak with philosopher Nina Power, author of One-Dimensional Woman (2009) whose upcoming book playfully asks "What do men want?" in a nod to Freud's famous question. In this discussion, Power sheds light on her research into the manosphere, in addition to touching upon her experience of being cancelled for her views on sex and gender. My main focus, however, was to find out if and how her research on men might relate to and expand on a past live episode of The O Show entitled "Time's up, penis down: Masculinity, sexuality and #metoo", which explores the ethics of desire and the shaming of men. As the conversation unfolds, Power decries the male suicide rate as a collective stain on our morality and sheds light on the appeal of Jordan Peterson.
Political battles including the so-called 'battle of the sexes' (or should it be genders?) are all too often approached as zero-sum games with winners and losers. Seeking to undermine this tendency and find new solutions to shared problems is imperative, especially in light of the extreme polarisation in our contemporary moment. But it's impossible to make this move without actually talking to people with whom you disagree. In addition to this being a topic Power and I address, it also serves to explain my rationale, if you're wondering why I'm talking to someone who has been labelled a terf (trans exclusionary radical feminist).
Oriana Fox is an artist with a PhD in self-disclosure. She puts her expertise to work as the host of the talk show performance piece The O Show, which has been filmed in a variety of London locations including Tate Britain, Town Hall Hotel, The Hackney Showroom and The AllBright.
Nina Power is a cultural critic, social theorist, philosopher and translator. She was a senior lecturer in philosophy at Roehampton University. Her book What do men want? is due for publication by Penguin in 2022.
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