Intercourse

Andrea Dworkin, once referred to as the "Malcolm X of feminism," was revered, reviled, criticized, and analyzed – but never ignored. The power of her writing, the passion of her ideals, and the intensity of her intellect have sparked the arguments and commitment of two generations of feminists. Now, the book for which she is best known – in which she provoked the debate that ultimately divided the feminist movement – is being reissued for the young women and men of the twenty-first century.

Intercourse, upon its initial publication in 1987, outraged as many readers as it inspired. In it, Dworkin argues that in a male-dominated society, sexual intercourse between men and women is a central part of women's subordination to men. This argument was quickly – and incorrectly – simplified to "all sexuality is rape," further fueling Dworkin's already radical reputation. In her introduction to this twentieth anniversary edition of Intercourse, Ariel Levy, author of Female Chauvinist Pigs, discusses the circumstances of Dworkin's early death in the spring of 2005 and the enormous impact of her life and work. Dworkin's argument, she points out, raises the trickiest question of feminism: Can a woman fight against power when it shares her bed?.