February 2024 Author Spotlight

All newsletters are the same. You’re either reading about business/marketing/crypto/AI news, or you’re getting sales from e-commerce brands. That’s why we’re here! To break up the monotony of the newsletter world, we’re doing something that somehow seems novel today: Showcasing original writing by killer indie writers. We received a lot of submissions, and trust us when we say there were some truly special pieces in there. Thank you to all those who submitted, and if you have something you want to submit for March, you’re welcome to do so here.

We thought for this first edition of the Moxie Press Author Spotlight, we’d let you know exactly who we are and what we believe. We were lucky that author Devon Maxwell came along with the kind of non-fiction that gets us excited: Confrontational and fact-based. In our eyes, this is the perfect introduction to the kind of writing we love, the values we hold dear, and the comforting knowledge there are writers out there who think like us. So, enjoy an excerpt from her upcoming book, Radical Leftist Feminist.

Radical Leftist Feminist

Chapter 1
Political Incivility: Made in America

Political incivility—or American politics? At this point, the two are synonymous. Yet, political incivility directed at women is a whole other level of discriminatory behavior that disproportionately affects strong women–who are willing to put themselves out there, at the behest of public scrutiny–working for the public good to protect the few rights women still maintain.

Researchers from the PEW Research Center found that 9 out of 10 people in the United States believe it’s essential for women to have the same rights as men–a statistic reflective of the United States general public yet not supported by our legislators._[1] These researchers found that voters with higher incomes and higher levels of education place greater importance on maintaining democratic rights and are more likely to support equal rights for women._[2] So, where’s the disconnect between the public desire for equal rights and the lack of protections for women in America? We begin with our non-representative government and the pseudo-nationalistic crusty conservative white men who remain in power.

When railing on women with no provocation, men sound uncredible–emotional–let alone hysterical. But when men use ‘feminist’ as a descriptor for all women they disagree with while railing against a woman, they suddenly gain credibility because they’re speaking out against a cohesive, growing political movement._[3] Speaking out about a movement is heroic–but speaking out against a woman challenging patriarchal norms makes males look threatened, unmasculine, and weak. The American Feminist movement provides a convenient outlet for these feeble men to inflate their deeply insecure egos. When in actuality, feminists are women who often advocate for abortion rights, subsidized child care, access to contraceptives, sex education, affirmative action for women, equal pay for work of equal value, marriage, and adoption rights for LGBTQIA+ couples, and those who challenge the patriarchy and consequentially, are the target of the most hostile forms of political incivility.^_[4] Can confirm.

As conditions in the United States become increasingly hostile for women, feminists are leaning on political and legal strategies to overcome oppression more than ever. Yet, when they do so, they’re labeled as “extremist,” or “radical,” or worse–a radical leftist feminist. Social science researcher Donna Lillian details how insecure men like William D. Gairdner associate feminism with cancer AND, in the same paragraph, label feminists as “extremists” and “totalitarians.”_[5] In a similar fashion to Donald Trump, Gairdner ridicules and trivializes feminists by describing them in animalistic terms, which unfortunately appeals to the common-minded male ego._[6] As Lillian writes, Gairdner depicts feminists as individuals “aggressively [advancing] their  cause and their position has a frantic and bitter tone,” while academic feminists are described as “angry, narrow-minded feminists.” In a less hostile depiction, Gairdner describes women advocating affirmative action as “insecure,” “angry,” and “conspiracy-oriented” women._[7] Other common phrases that describe feminists are “man-hating, politically motivated feminists” or “virulent, cultish, man-hating, and family-hating.”_[8]

What is quite honestly hilarious about men like Gairdner and Donald Trump is that they choose to depict feminists in this manner, and they spend considerable time trying to convince their followers that feminists are confused, emotional, and trivial–likening them to “nothing,” and undeserving of attention. Yet the amount of time, effort, and space these men give to demeaning feminists suggests otherwise–indeed, why would misogynists pay attention to women who don’t threaten their traditional worldview and current undeserved superiority? Shocker–they wouldn’t. Our presence threatens them because they know that their time is up.

Feminists threaten the “naturally derived” order of white male tomfoolery that is quite literally a fictitious spell of mediocrity centuries of women have fallen prey to. And the only way to stop the awakening brought about by higher spiritual beings like feminists (who see through the rosy-colored facade of patriarchal oppression) is to discredit their messages and reduce their existence to other-than–or sub-human. I experienced this first hand, being referred to as “this,” “delusional bitch,” and “demonrat.” If my cis-gendered white woman appearance didn’t check all the boxes for conservative appearance goals, then I most certainly would have been shit on for my appearance as well. At the end of the day, communication-based attacks will continue to harm pro-feminist individuals and movements–because half-baked and uncreative name-calling (that signals I peaked in high school) is the only way many conservatives know how to express their pent-up frustrations about women’s actual God-given superiority. 

Men like Gairdner, Trump, Andrew Taint, Fucker Tarlson, and the Republicans in my county who can’t stand me all have one thing in common–they attack the character of feminists by ridiculing their beliefs, insulting their perspectives, and stereotyping their behaviors._[9] Misogynists aim to limit women to domestic or nurturing responsibilities and to inflict psychological distrust in their abilities–causing women to question their skills, abilities, and potential._[10] To conquer the women, misogynists must first conquer feminists who continue to resist their patriarchal chokehold. Little do they realize we’ll lean into that chokehold until we break their tiny hands and overthrow the whole damn system.

Citations:

[1] Horowitz, J. M., & Igielnik, R. (2020, July 7).
[2] Horowitz, J. M., & Igielnik, R. (2020, July 7).
[3] (Lillian, 2007)
[4] (Lillian, 2007)
[5] (Lillian, 2007)
[6] (Lillian, 2007)
[7] (Lillian, 2007)
[8] (Lillian, 2007)
[9] (Lillian, 2007)
[10] (Lillian, 2007)