Manon Garcia – författare

Gisèle Pelicot's story outraged the world. The sickening parade of crimes to which she was subjected and her betrayal are dark pages in our history. Feminist philosopher Manon Garcia decided to attend the trial and to analyse its resonance for our future. It became the trial that demonstrated that trials will never suffice to serve justice. If the perpetrators, for the most part, seemed so unashamed of what they had done, can we see in their sentencing anything meaningful? If their lawyers defend their clients by relieving them of responsibility for their actions, how will these men, their families, their friends see this trial as anything other than an injustice? If, even as the most explicit proof streamed before the court, the victim was stonewalled with the bland denial of facts, what can juries achieve in cases when the evidence is lacking? The threat of incarceration will never be powerful enough to stop men raping. If trusting the justice system, as those who fret about feminist overreach counsel us to do, gets us nowhere, what do we do?Above all, one question haunted Garcia: under such circumstances, can we live with men? And at what price?

“From the bedroom to the classroom to the courtroom, ‘consent’ is a key term in our contemporary sexual ethics. In this timely reexamination, Manon Garcia deftly reveals the hidden complexities of consent and proposes how to reconceptualize it as a tool of liberation.”—Amia Srinivasan, author of The Right to SexA feminist philosopher argues that consent is not only a highly imperfect legal threshold but also an underappreciated complement of good sex.In the age of #MeToo, consent has become the ultimate answer to problems of sexual harassment and violence: as long as all parties agree to sex, the act is legitimate. Critics argue that consent, and the awkwardness of confirming it, rob sex of its sexiness. But that objection is answered with the charge that opposing the consent regime means defending a masculine erotics of silence and mystery, a pillar of patriarchy.In The Joy of Consent, French philosopher Manon Garcia upends the assumptions that underlie this very American debate, reframing consent as an ally of pleasure rather than a legalistic killjoy. In doing so, she rejects conventional wisdom on all sides. As a legal norm, consent can prove rickety: consent alone doesn’t make sex licit—adults engaged in BDSM are morally and legally suspect even when they consent. And nonconsensual sex is not, as many activists insist, always rape. People often agree to sex because it is easier than the alternative, Garcia argues, challenging the simplistic equation between consent and noncoercion.Drawing on sources rarely considered together—from Kantian ethics to kink practices—Garcia offers an alternative framework grounded in commitments to autonomy and dignity. While consent, she argues, should not be a definitive legal test, it is essential to realizing intimate desire, free from patriarchal domination. Cultivating consent makes sex sexy. By appreciating consent as the way toward an ethical sexual flourishing rather than a legal litmus test, Garcia adds a fresh voice to the struggle for freedom, equality, and security from sexist violence.

A Seminary Co-op Notable Book“Timely and captivating…advances a powerful critique against the contemporary discourse on consent…offers sharp observations throughout.” —Times Literary Supplement“Thought-provoking…Garcia argues that we need an emancipatory sexual politics based on a deeper understanding of how social norms generate sexual injustices. Ultimately, she advocates a contextually sensitive approach to consent, a notion that responds to the specifics of sexual situations and is relational in nature.” —Los Angeles Review of Books“A brilliant interrogation of the complexities of consent. Manon Garcia shows us that consent can be liberating—for reasons we might not have expected—in enabling good, joyful sex. A must-read.” —Kate Manne, author or Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts WomenConsent has become the ultimate answer to problems of sexual harassment and violence: as long as all parties agree to sex, the act is legitimate. Critics reply that the awkwardness of confirming consent robs sex of its sexiness. Supporters answer that opposing the consent regime entails defending a patriarchal erotics of silence and mystery.Philosopher Manon Garcia upends the debate, reframing consent as an ally of pleasure rather than a legalistic killjoy. In doing so, she rejects conventional wisdom on all sides. Garcia challenges simplistic equations between consent and noncoercion and shows that consent alone doesn’t make sex licit. Drawing on sources from Kantian ethics to kink practices, she offers an alternative framework grounded in commitments to autonomy and dignity. And if consent provides a rickety legal standard, Garcia argues that it is essential to the realization of intimate desire.By appreciating consent as a source of sexual flourishing rather than a legal litmus test, The Joy of Consent adds a fresh voice to the struggle for freedom from sexist violence.

A philosophical exploration of female submission, using insights from feminist thinkers—especially Simone de Beauvoir—to reveal the complexities of women’s reality and lived experienceWhat role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. In philosophy, even less has been said on why women submit to men and the discussion has been equally contradictory—submission has traditionally been considered a vice or pathology, but female submission has been valorized as innate to women’s nature. Is there a way to explore female submission in all of its complexity—not denying its appeal in certain instances, and not buying into an antifeminist, sexist, or misogynistic perspective?We Are Not Born Submissive offers the first in-depth philosophical exploration of female submission, focusing on the thinking of Simone de Beauvoir, and more recent work in feminist philosophy, epistemology, and political theory. Manon Garcia argues that to comprehend female submission, we must invert how we examine power and see it from the woman’s point of view. Historically, philosophers, psychoanalysts, and even some radical feminists have conflated femininity and submission. Garcia demonstrates that only through the lens of women’s lived experiences—their economic, social, and political situations—and how women adapt their preferences to maintain their own well-being, can we understand the ways in which gender hierarchies in society shape women’s experiences. Ultimately, she asserts that women do not actively choose submission. Rather, they consent to—and sometimes take pleasure in—what is prescribed to them through social norms within a patriarchy.Moving beyond the simplistic binary of natural destiny or moral vice, We Are Not Born Submissive takes a sophisticated look at how female submissiveness can be explained.

A philosophical exploration of female submission, using insights from feminist thinkers—especially Simone de Beauvoir—to reveal the complexities of women’s reality and lived experienceWhat role do women play in the perpetuation of patriarchy? On the one hand, popular media urges women to be independent, outspoken, and career-minded. Yet, this same media glorifies a specific, sometimes voluntary, female submissiveness as a source of satisfaction. In philosophy, even less has been said on why women submit to men and the discussion has been equally contradictory—submission has traditionally been considered a vice or pathology, but female submission has been valorized as innate to women’s nature. Is there a way to explore female submission in all of its complexity—not denying its appeal in certain instances, and not buying into an antifeminist, sexist, or misogynistic perspective?We Are Not Born Submissive offers the first in-depth philosophical exploration of female submission, focusing on the thinking of Simone de Beauvoir, and more recent work in feminist philosophy, epistemology, and political theory. Manon Garcia argues that to comprehend female submission, we must invert how we examine power and see it from the woman’s point of view. Historically, philosophers, psychoanalysts, and even some radical feminists have conflated femininity and submission. Garcia demonstrates that only through the lens of women’s lived experiences—their economic, social, and political situations—and how women adapt their preferences to maintain their own well-being, can we understand the ways in which gender hierarchies in society shape women’s experiences. Ultimately, she asserts that women do not actively choose submission. Rather, they consent to—and sometimes take pleasure in—what is prescribed to them through social norms within a patriarchy.Moving beyond the simplistic binary of natural destiny or moral vice, We Are Not Born Submissive takes a sophisticated look at how female submissiveness can be explained.

Gis le Pelicot's story outraged the world. The sickening parade of crimes to which she was subjected and her betrayal are dark pages in our history. Feminist philosopher Manon Garcia decided to attend the trial and to analyse its resonance for our future. It became the trial that demonstrated that trials will never suffice to serve justice. If the perpetrators, for the most part, seemed so unashamed of what they had done, can we see in their sentencing anything meaningful? If their lawyers defend their clients by relieving them of responsibility for their actions, how will these men, their families, their friends see this trial as anything other than an injustice? If, even as the most explicit proof streamed before the court, the victim was stonewalled with the bland denial of facts, what can juries achieve in cases when the evidence is lacking? The threat of incarceration will never be powerful enough to stop men raping. If trusting the justice system, as those who fret about feminist overreach counsel us to do, gets us nowhere, what do we do? Above all, one question haunted Garcia: under such circumstances, can we live with men? And at what price?

Aun las mujeres más independientes y las más feministas se sorprenden a sí mismas apreciando la mirada conquistadora de los hombres sobre ellas, deseando ser un objeto sumiso en los brazos de su pareja o prefiriendo las labores domésticas–los pequeños placeres de la ropa bien doblada, el desayuno tan bellamente preparado para la familia– a actividades supuestamente más gratificantes. ¿Esos deseos, esos placeres son incompatibles con su independencia? ¿Es una traición a los siglos de feminismo que las precedieron? ¿Podemos esperar a que los hombres den "el primer paso"y reivindicar la igualdad de sexos? Los recientes escándalos sexuales que agitaron al mundo entero arrojan una cruda luz sobre las ambivalencias y sobre el revés de la dominación masculina: el consentimiento de las mujeres a su propia sumisión. Tabú filosófico y punto ciego del feminismo, la sumisión de las mujeres no es jamás analizada con detalle, en la complejidad de las experiencias vividas. Siguiendo los pasos de Simone de Beauvoir, Manon Garcia aborda este tema con fuerza: por qué las mujeres se someten es el preámbulo necesario a toda emancipación.

Soy una mujer de casi cuarenta anos que querria existir en el mundo sin preocuparse constantemente por las violencias de genero y sexuales de las que mis amigas, mis hijas o yo misma podriamos ser victimas. He visto los cambios que ha traido la campana del #MeToo y veo tambien la reaccion que intenta devolver a las mujeres a su posicion de segundo sexo. Cuando descubro los terribles crimenes cometidos contra Gisele Pelicot, se que en esta historia se condensan todas las cuestiones filosoficas sobre las que he escrito y que me conciernen en lo tocante a las relaciones entre mujeres y hombres: la sumision, el consentimiento y las injusticias de genero en la sexualidad heterosexual. Dude de si ir al juicio de Mazan, pero me di cuenta de que debia escribir sobre mi experiencia en el como filosofa y mujer, dar a conocer mis reflexiones al respecto. Tenia que responder a la pregunta que me persigue: se puede vivir con los hombres? .

"«Soc una dona que aviat farà quaranta anys i que voldria poder existir en aquest món sense haver de preocupar-se constantment de les violències de gènere i sexuals de què podríem ser víctimes les meves amigues, les meves filles o jo mateixa. He observat els canvis que ha impulsat el moviment #MeToo i també l''embat reaccionari que pretén tornar a relegar les dones a la seva condició de segon sexe.Quan vaig descobrir els terribles crims comesos contra Gisèle Pelicot, vaig entendre que en aquesta història confluïen totes les qüestions filosòfiques sobre les quals he escrit i que em toquen de prop quan es tracta de les relacions entre les dones i els homes: la submissió, el consentiment i les injustícies de gènere en la sexualitat heterosexual.Vaig dubtar d''anar al judici de Mazan, però em vaig adonar que, com a filòsofa i com a dona, havia d''escriure sobre la meva experiència en aquell procés i exposar-hi les meves reflexions. Havia de respondre la pregunta que m''obsessiona: es pot conviure amb els homes?»"