In Defence of Witches: Why women are still on trial

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For me, the history of witchcraft could equally be called the history of independence…the most troubled territories are always those that want to be independent.’

In Defence of Witches by Mona Chollet - Pan Macmillan

l'indépendance des femmes, et comment notre refus de se sacrifier attire immédiatement des réprobations Chollet’s discussion about the “childless woman” falls perfectly into this category of female power and is unfortunately just as relevant as it was 500 years ago. Women who disrupted the patriarchal structure by forgoing married life or children were viewed with contempt, labelled as witches, and excluded from society. The vehement condemnation of the childless woman seems to be more about the women who dared to take control of their own lives than anything else. Up to the end of the 1960s, as Traister reminds us, American feminism was dominated by Betty Friedan’s approach. The author of The Feminine Mystique (1963) and an outspoken critic of the ideal of the housewife, Friedan spoke up for “women who wanted equality, but who also wanted to keep on loving their husbands and children.”4 Critiques of marriage itself only surfaced in the feminist movement later on, with the birth of the fight for gay rights and with lesbians’ increased visibility. But, even then, it seemed unthinkable for many activists that a woman could be heterosexual and not wish to marry; “at least until Gloria came along.”5 Thanks to Steinem and a few others, in 1973, Newsweek observed that it was “finally becoming possible to be both single and whole.”7 By the end of the decade, the divorce rate had exploded, reaching almost 50 percent. Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror. Examining modern society, Chollet concludes that these women continue to be harrassed and oppressed. Rather than being a brief moment in history, the persecution of witches is an example of society’s seemingly eternal misogyny, while women today are direct descendants to those who were hunted down and killed for their thoughts and actions.Rich with popular culture, literary references and media insights, In Defence of Witches is a vital addition to the cultural conversation around women, witches and the misogyny that has shaped the world they live in. The truth about witches is far more than that and far less evil and ugly. In today's world, a woman deemed to be too independent, too sure of herself, too aware of her self worth, and just plain solitary are sometimes called "witch", using the term in a most derogatory manner not fitting with the true definition of the word. Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is a celebration by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution. Hotjar sets this cookie to identify a new user’s first session. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether it was the first time Hotjar saw this user.

In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why

TW: abortion, abuse, adult/minor relationship, antisemitism, body shaming, child death, domestic abuse, forced institutionalization, homophobia, lesbophobia, medical content, medical trauma, miscarriage, misogyny, physical abuse, pregnancy, racism, rape, religious bigotry, r slur (used in technical form), sexism, sexual abuse, sexual assault, torture, violence.Il n'y parle pas "que" de sorcières, mais il en fait le point de départ de réflexions toutes intéressantes et liées par la même oppression systémique contre les femmes. When I run over Lancashire’s Pendle Hill, I think of witches. It is hard not to, when nearby Barley village has a statue of a woman hanged for being a witch, although she has no hooked nose or familiar, just a bonnet and her hands in chains. The Pendle Witches were ten women and girls, and two men. They were beggars and old women and young women, healers and labourers, poor women mostly. The Pendle Witch trial shows the truth of witch-hunts: that they were about land and power and malice, but also, always, about the inescapable misogyny with which women are still assaulted. le rapport de domination qu'il y a encore sur les femmes, avec de belles analogies avec la Terre, et en abordant des sujets comme les violences médicales et des exemples qui retournent l'estomac Chollet says it took her half a lifetime to appreciate the degree of misunderstanding within this “magnet for fantasy”; to understand that, before becoming a spark to the imagination, the word “witch” had been “the very worst seal of shame”.

In Defence of Witches: The women who dared to simply exist In Defence of Witches: The women who dared to simply exist

The brilliant feminist book “In Defense of Witches: Why Women are Still on Trial'' by Mona Chollet was released in January 2022. She discusses how the women who exist outside of the boundaries of patriarchal control are deemed to be villainous and morally corrupt. This extends from the witch-hunts of the 16th century to more current situations such as the anti-abortion laws the US faces, to the way in which women enter a “villain era”, which is really just self-love. Childless women must be evil witches Allows us to understand... the witch hunts of the past influenced the representation of women today.”— Le Monde (France)Sarah Gilmartin, Irish Times Explores the worldview that the witch hunt has sought to promote - and its consequences on society today.

In Defence of Witches : Why women are still on trial In Defence of Witches : Why women are still on trial

Taking three archetypes from historic witch hunts – independent women, women who avoid having children and women who embrace ageing – Chollet examines how women today have the same charges levelled against them. She calls for justice in healthcare, challenging the gender imbalance in science and questioning why female bodies åre still controlled by men. Unlike her namesake Mona Eltahawy, the Egyptian-American feminist whose recent publication Seven Necessary Sins was full of commendable rage against the sins of the patriarchy, Chollet takes a more considered view. Snippets of her personal life show a measured, methodical approach to her writing, both as editor of the French broadsheet Le Monde Diplomatique, and in her previous feminist non-fiction efforts. Renowned journalist Mona Chollet recasts the witch as a powerful role model: an emblem of strength, free to exist beyond the narrow limits society imposes on women.

It took me a while to read this because the book was so important to me. The name drew me in, the content did the same. Mona Chollet's In Defense of Witches is a “brilliant, well-documented” celebration ( Le Monde) by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution. But this is a minor point in a very interesting take on contemporary feminist politics. In Defence of Witches asks us to really consider how today’s society treats women who are no longer young, fertile or conventionally beautiful, which is to say, judged to be no longer of use. Sarah Gilmartin A “brilliant, well-documented” celebration ( Le Monde) by an acclaimed French feminist of the witch as a symbol of female rebellion and independence in the face of misogyny and persecution