Intercourse

From one of the boldest, "most shocking" (Germaine Greer), and "uncompromising" (Mary Daly) feminist writers of the 20th century, Intercourse is the book that enraged, inspired, and ultimately split apart the feminist movement when it first published in 1987

In Intercourse, Dworkin argues that in a male supremacist society, sex between men and women constitutes a central part of women's subordination to men. (This argument was quickly-and falsely-simplified to "all sex is rape" in the public arena, adding fire to Dworkin's already radical persona.) In her introduction to  this edition of Intercourse, Ariel Levy, the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs, discusses the circumstances of Dworkin's untimely death in the spring of 2005, and the enormous impact of her life and work. Dworkin's argument, she points out, is the stickiest question of feminism: Can a woman fight the power when he shares her bed?

Andrea Dworkin, once called "Feminism's Malcolm X," has been worshipped, reviled, criticized, and analyzed-but never ignored. The power of her writing, the passion of her ideals, and the ferocity of her intellect have spurred the arguments and activism of two generations of feminists.

Andrea Dworkin was the author of twelve books, including the canonical feminist works Intercourse, Woman Hating, Right-Wing Woman, and Pornography. She died in April 2005 in Washington, D.C.

Ariel Levy is a staff writer at The New Yorker, and the author of Female Chauvinist Pigs and The Rules Do Not Apply. She lives in New York City.