Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation
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- Create Date：2021-07-26 06:51:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Martha C. Nussbaum
- ISBN：1324004118
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Summary
In this essential philosophical and practical reckoning， Martha C。 Nussbaum， renowned for her eloquence and clarity of moral vision， shows how sexual abuse and harassment derive from using people as things to one’s own benefit—like other forms of exploitation， they are rooted in the ugly emotion of pride。 She exposes three “Citadels of Pride” and the men who hoard power at the apex of each。 In the judiciary， the arts， and sports， Nussbaum analyzes how pride perpetuates systemic sexual abuse， narcissism， and toxic masculinity。 The courage of many has brought about some reforms， but justice is still elusive—warped sometimes by money， power， or inertia; sometimes by a collective desire for revenge。
By analyzing the effects of law and public policy on our ever-evolving definitions of sexual violence， Nussbaum clarifies how gaps in U。S。 law allow this violence to proliferate; why criminal laws dealing with sexual assault and Title VII， the federal law that is the basis for sexual harassment doctrine， need to be complemented by an understanding of the distorted emotions that breed abuse; and why anger and vengeance rarely achieve lasting change。
Citadels of Pride offers a damning indictment of the culture of male power that insulates high-profile abusers from accountability。 Yet Nussbaum offers a hopeful way forward， envisioning a future in which， as survivors mobilize to tell their stories and institutions pursue fair and nuanced reform， we might fully recognize the equal dignity of all people。
By analyzing the effects of law and public policy on our ever-evolving definitions of sexual violence， Nussbaum clarifies how gaps in U。S。 law allow this violence to proliferate; why criminal laws dealing with sexual assault and Title VII， the federal law that is the basis for sexual harassment doctrine， need to be complemented by an understanding of the distorted emotions that breed abuse; and why anger and vengeance rarely achieve lasting change。
Citadels of Pride offers a damning indictment of the culture of male power that insulates high-profile abusers from accountability。 Yet Nussbaum offers a hopeful way forward， envisioning a future in which， as survivors mobilize to tell their stories and institutions pursue fair and nuanced reform， we might fully recognize the equal dignity of all people。
Reviews
Minervas Owl
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Citadels of Pride is in three parts。 The first part is an anatomy of the pervasive toxic culture behind men's abuse of women。 The second part reviews the history of American laws about sexual assault and harassment。 Finally， the third part investigates the "citadels of pride，" the recalcitrant areas where powerful men remain above the law: federal judiciary， the performing arts， and big-money college sports。 Each part of this book is focused， sharp， and readable。Nussbaum first discusses objecti Citadels of Pride is in three parts。 The first part is an anatomy of the pervasive toxic culture behind men's abuse of women。 The second part reviews the history of American laws about sexual assault and harassment。 Finally， the third part investigates the "citadels of pride，" the recalcitrant areas where powerful men remain above the law: federal judiciary， the performing arts， and big-money college sports。 Each part of this book is focused， sharp， and readable。Nussbaum first discusses objectification， which she calls "a linchpin of feminist analysis。" Two central features of a full human being， she points out， are autonomy and subjectivity。 Human beings should be enabled to make important life-defining choices for themselves， and they are centers of deep inner experiences。 Sexual assault and harassment cut deep because they violate autonomy and subjectivity in profound ways and dehumanize women as objects。 What's behind objectification， Nussbaum argues， is the trait of pride， which makes someone think they are above others and that other people are not fully real。 In this sense， the fundamental issue is not sex; it is power。 As in her previous books， she adroitly quotes classical literature （this time Dante's Divine Comedy） to bring her theory to life。In the second part， Nussbaum switches into law historian mode。 I learned that US state laws used to require rape victims to show they have faced the use of physical force， and that they have resisted "to the utmost" or tried "earnest resistance。" Only since the 1980s， states started to establish the "No Means No" standard。 Yet， 23 states still require the use or threat of force in the definition of sexual assault。 She also contends that we should further stop supposing that silence expresses consent， just as we believe a doctor should not go ahead with a colonoscopy without the patient's explicit and informed consent。Because most US criminal laws are state laws， the change of sex assault laws happens at multiple places。 In contrast， the legal revolution in sex harassment occurs at the federal level and centers around interpreting the Civil Rights Act。 Unexpectedly， I heard Nussbaum mention contributions from Scalia， Gorsuch， and Posner。 The story of this revolution is inspiring， and I cannot summarize it better than Nussbaum herself:"To use a term from Rawlsian political thought， we might call current legal norms an "overlapping consensus" that can be embraced by people with various different "comprehensive" views of what gender relations ought to be—as is hardly surprising， given that key moments in the doctrine were articulated by Catharine MacKinnon， by liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg， by moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor， by textualist justices Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch， and by libertarian pragmatist judge Richard Posner。 What do all these figures have in common？ They have all faced squarely the reality of women's （and men's） workplace situation， embracing the ideals of Title VII and courageously seeing in the vague text possibilities for extensions of the rule of law。" The third part of the book turns to case studies of male pride and offers practical remedies。 While reading， I was petrified by certain distinguished performing artists' cruelty and filled with indignation after knowing many college towns systematically cover up for elite sports players' sexual misconduct。 Following lawyer and NBA commissioner Adam Silver， Nussbaum proposes dismantling Division I college football and basketball and replacing them with professional minor leagues and "learning academies" for players。 The proposal sounds radical given people's craze in college sports， but Nussbaum offers sound and convincing arguments。While praising the MeToo movement， Nussbaum also criticizes the new tendency to punish allegedly errant men by public shaming （primarily through social media） rather than by due process （whether legal or social）。 She warns us against retributive anger and argues that we should instead focus on building a shared future between men and women。Overall， I would recommend this book to every man， because:"Most men will deny that they are complicit in such crimes， and insist that they love and respect women。 However， to the extent that they support and profit from a legal and social power structure that systematically denies women a full measure of consideration for their autonomy and subjectivity， they are passive misogynists， enforcing an inequality of power and privilege out of which these abuses grow。" More quotes:"MacKinnon insists on a further point: objectification is so ubiquitous that for the most part women cannot help living surrounded， even suffused， by it。 In a striking metaphor， she states that "All women live in sexual objectification the way fish live in water"—meaning by this， presumably， not only that objectification surrounds women， but also that they have become such that they derive their very nourishment and sustenance from it。""Unlike Kozinski， however， these distinguished artists show us something profoundly sad about human beings: that deep and subtle insight， and the ability to illuminate our lives in areas of the most profound human importance， can coexist with a warped， narcissistic， and utterly compassionless character。 If Alex Kozinski dropped off the face of the earth， we would probably not feel that our world was lacking in any profound insight that he supplied。 James Levine and Plácido Domingo， by contrast， contribute such beauty and illumination to our world that we must also reckon with the legacy of their work， once we acknowledge their diseased treatment of others。""And because that potentiality is sometimes impossible to see， we should also be people of practical faith， and of a trust that is to some extent as yet unjustified and unjustifiable。 Even where hope cannot be supported by reasons—and really， hope can never be fully supported by reasons—feminists should be people of hope: hope that the relationship between women and men， so long based upon domination， might enjoy what Lincoln called "a new birth of freedom，" as mutuality and respect for autonomy gradually displace pride。" 。。。more
Fraser Kinnear
，
Wherein Nussbaum starts from a partially-Kantian system of ethics…Pride， as I’ll define it， is the vice that consists in thinking that you are above others， and that other people are not fully real。 This vice can be found at the source of several of the deepest problems in our national life， including racial superiority and privilege， and indifference and disdain on the basis of class。 One place where pride surely has ruled is in relations between men and women… sexual abuse and sexual harassmen Wherein Nussbaum starts from a partially-Kantian system of ethics…Pride， as I’ll define it， is the vice that consists in thinking that you are above others， and that other people are not fully real。 This vice can be found at the source of several of the deepest problems in our national life， including racial superiority and privilege， and indifference and disdain on the basis of class。 One place where pride surely has ruled is in relations between men and women… sexual abuse and sexual harassment… are abuses of power by people encouraged to believe that they are above others， and that others are not fully real。 … to explore recent legal developments towards equality， and the pride-based obstacles that remain。Partially-Kantian， because it turns out Kant drew a slave morality conclusion that Nussbaum （and other feminists） found to be not only disenfranchising， but ultimately destructive:Kant says that even if the good will has no chance at all to accomplish anything， “yet would it， like a jewel， still shine by its own light as something which as its full value in itself。 Its usefulness or fruitlessness can neither augment nor diminish its value。” This quote well explains Nietzsche’s disdain for Kant。 But rather than draw from the obviously misogynistic Nietzsche， Nussbaum instead points to Enlightenment philosophers （who， in any case， predate Nietzsche） John Stuart Mill and Mary Wollstencraft （mother of Mary Shelley， incidentally）， who make the same point about the corrosive consequences of servility。 Drawing an example form the arts， Nussbaum also points to Euripides’s Hecuba as a work that demonstrates how abuse can “corrode the virtues themselves”。So anger over injustice is necessary， but can come with tragic cost for the victims， who try to maintain their integrity through retributive justice。 Nussbaum is wise to pair Aeschylus’s Oresteria with Euripides’s Hecuba:Aeschylus’s moral is that a political community must abandon the obsessive pursuit of revenge and adopt an idea of justice that is both law-governed and welfare-oriented， focusing no on hunting one’s prey but on deterring future bad behavior and producing future prosperity。 Euripides’s moral is the inverse: moral trauma can cause the collapse of trust and he other-regarding virtues， producing a revenge-obsessed parody of real justice。 What is the solution？ As the Greeks demonstrated， there tragically doesn’t seem to be one。 Instead， Nussbaum splits the difference by focusing on what can be done to circumvent future injustices， through law and policy。 Much of this book’s guidance follows case studies， but I really enjoyed an early passage that simply enumerates how objectifiers treat their objects （which I think she credits to Catharine McKinnon）: 1。 Instrumentality: … a （mere） tool of their purposes。2。 Denial of autonomy: … lacking in autonomy and self-determination。3。 Inertness … lacking in agency， and perhaps also in activity。4。 Fungibility: … interchangeable with （a） other objects of the same type， and/or （b） objects of other types。5。 Violability: … lacking in boundary integrity， as something that is permissible to break up， smash， break into。6。 Ownership: … something that is owned or ownable by someone， that can be bought or sold， or otherwise treated as property。7。 Denial of subjectivity:… something whose experience and feelings （if any） need not be taken into account。 This aside， here are a few other interesting points to be made:“Sexual assault and sexual harassment are dealt with extremely differently， through different parts of the legal system” （assault:criminal::harassment:civil， resulting in different standards of evidence， and different defendants （often， the defendant for harassment cases is normally the employer， because it’s a form of discrimination wherein the firm has been negligent）。The definition of rape was astonishingly narrow until the 1970’s/1980’s （the test was: “did the victim offer physical resistance in the face of immediate danger？” if not， then not rape）， and allowed an awful amount of coercive behavior that nobody today would find acceptable。 Nussbaum notes how at odds this definition was as contrasted with property crime， for which a crime is identified even if the victim was unaware of the theft at the moment of the crime。Nebraska was the first state to abolish the marital exemption to rape in 1976。“No means no” is still not the principal test for rape in 23 states， who “still require force more than is necessary to complete the sexual act， or the threat of such force” as their test。An interesting mechanism for enforcing better accountability of sex crimes on-campus would be for universities to give every entering student an insurance policy that pays out in the event of their sexual assault or harassment。 And， rather than only targeting the university for compensation， victims could target the organizations （e。g。， Fraternities） most responsible for their victimization。 Insurance assessors would price every organization based on their risk， which would create strong financial incentive for good， proactive policy setting。And， finally， the best law professor shade I think I’ll ever see thrown… Nussbaum discusses the Supreme Court case Oncale v。 Sundowner Offshore Services， which was about sexual harassment in the workplace:The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Oncale’s favor， with Justice Scalia writing the opinion。 Justice Thomas added a one-sentence concurrence。 。。。more
Penny Adrian
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Having watched the politics and prose interview with Nussbaum I have decided not to purchase the book - Nussbaum comes across like another out of touch academic who lives in her head。 She seems more concerned with her image of being "above" the riff raff who have actual emotions than with empathizing with suffering human beings。 The most offensive thing she said was that parents who've had a child murdered are often "obsessed" with the death penalty。 She claims this reaction is "understandable" Having watched the politics and prose interview with Nussbaum I have decided not to purchase the book - Nussbaum comes across like another out of touch academic who lives in her head。 She seems more concerned with her image of being "above" the riff raff who have actual emotions than with empathizing with suffering human beings。 The most offensive thing she said was that parents who've had a child murdered are often "obsessed" with the death penalty。 She claims this reaction is "understandable" but "unhealthy"。 Who is she to say to that？ Is she a trauma therapist？ Is she a grief therapist？ I am opposed to the Death Penalty but I would never make such a cruel judgmental statement about grieving parents who lost their child in such a brutal and traumatic way。 Her hubris and arrogance is insane。 Nussbaum also opposes victim impact statements， claiming that such statements， however factual， have no place in the criminal justice system。 This cold snobbish woman dismisses real human suffering while claiming to stand for "love"。 She even quotes Dr。 King， as if he would dismiss the impact statements of victims of racism。 She came across as cold， arrogant， and out of touch with human suffering。 What a smug ass。 。。。more
Alyse
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