Women Were Birds And Unspeakable Things By Laurie Penny

The novels When Women Were Birds and Unspeakable Things both champion feminist thought. Despite this commonality, the voice, stories, and themes are different and unique. Both touch on similar ideas, but the tone the authors take on are distinctive. Unspeakable Things, a novel by Laurie Penny, abrasively addresses the oppression of gender in society through the lens of girls, boys, sex, the Internet, and love and intimacy. This intersectional analysis has an overlay of the impact of neoliberalism, what Penny describes as the â€Å"attempt to reorganize society and the state on the basis of the ideal of ‘the market’† (2). She takes the stance that feminism has become corrupted by capitalism as she critiques the roots of the feminist movement†¦show more content†¦In fact, she writes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying, â€Å"she may have been Secretary of State, but she is still judged for her fuckability and ability to rock a pantsuit† (42). Upon further reflection, however, Penny is not surprised by these examples. She writes, â€Å"Although the technology is new, the language of shame and sin around women’s use of the Internet is very, very old† (164). The Internet’s infest ation of bullies and misogynists is simply a re-routing of social traffic to an easier platform. Additionally, Penny’s discussion on many feminist issues in the lens of neoliberalism is refreshing and thought-provoking. The way Penny explores what neoliberalism and market-driven society has done to sex, love, and intimacy is captivating. The way the market teaches young women to be sexual objects is not a new discussion, and Penny does address it alongside the Internet, but Penny has more nuanced thoughts; she writes, â€Å"the social cost of actually having sex, rather than merely appearing to want to have it, is what damages women; sexual control, not sex itself, is what harms all of us† (110). There is a defined line for women in society; women can want sex and appear sexually attractive, but once they take control and have sex, there is an issue because the control has been taken from the power-holder. The market is the instigator in sexual control. Further, Penny argues the cycle does not end there: â€Å"as all human affect collapses