Controversy
The Basement: Meditations on a Human Sacrifice, Millett's semi-fictional book about the 1965 torture and murder of American teenager Sylvia Likens by Gertrude Baniszewski, drew controversy for her defense of the crime. Millett argued for a feminist interpretation of the crime:
is the story of the suppression of women. Gertrude seems to have wanted to administer some terrible truthful justice to this girl: that this was what it was to be a woman.
More generally, humanities scholar Camille Paglia has described Millet's scholarship as deeply flawed, declaring that "American feminism’s nose dive began" when Millet achieved prominence.
Read more about this topic: Kate Millett
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