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Mother's rape inspires writer to pen 'Cunt'

Chris Azzopardi

OutFest Presents Inga Muscio
5 p.m. Sept. 30
Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor

Cunt: A Declaration of Independence Inga Muscio

Inga Muscio's most recent book "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence," released in 2002, continues to stir controversy. While the third-wave feminist writer and public speaker's book garnered praise from Bust and Library Journal, Michael Schaub of Bookslut.com, an online literary Web site, didn't share their sentiment.
"'Cunt' just has too many lies for one book, for one author, for one career. I've tried to stretch my imagination, but I really don't think I'll ever read a book as worthless, as insignificant, as bad as this book again," he wrote.
Well, Muscio isn't just going to hide in the shadows. She has something to say to Schaub.
"Michael, if your imagination cannot be stretched far enough to perceive the worth of my book, I hope you are not planning on contributing to humanity's gene pool," she tells BTL.

Between The Lines: How do you deal with criticism?

Inga Muscio: Criticism is part and parcel to my life and I take it in stride.

BTL: What's the response been to "Cunt" and your first book, "Blue Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society"?

IM: In my experience, the response to both of them has been extremely positive or extremely negative.

BTL: What inspired you to write "Cunt"?

IM: Largely, I was inspired by the rage I carried around inside my body after my mother told my sister and I that she had been raped by two men when she was 9 years old. Afterwards, I realized that my entire childhood had been informed by this event, and yet, the two men who shaped my mother's worldview were free to live in a way that, even as a child, I had never been free. I was filled with vengeance, and "Cunt" was a response to those feelings. Also, the brutal murder and rape of Mia Zapata in Seattle, Washington, greatly exacerbated these feelings.

BTL: How did your mom react to you including the story about her being raped?

IM: I gave my mother one of the first drafts of "Cunt" to read. I would have never in a million years written about her experience without her blessing. She was deeply moved, and felt a sense of validation.

BTL: What's your goal for those who read "Cunt"?

IM: Having a goal or expectation is self-defeating in this context. I hope it speaks to the readers' heart in a good way and that is all.

BTL: There will be a lot of gay people when you come to Ann Arbor for OutFest. What message do you want to tell those who can't make it?

IM: Please work to relate our oppression as gay people with the many forms of oppression that define our society.

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