SCUM Manifesto
Cover of SCUM Manifesto (Verso Press edition)
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| Author | Valerie Solanas |
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| Language | English |
| Subject | Feminism |
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Publication date
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1967 (self-published) 1968 (commercial publication) |
| Pages | Original edition: 21 & cover p. |
| ISBN | |
SCUM Manifesto is a radical feminist manifesto by Valerie Solanas, published in 1967. It argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of SCUM, an organization dedicated to overthrowing society and eliminating the male sex. The Manifesto is widely regarded as satirical, but based on legitimate philosophical and social concerns. It has been reprinted at least 10 times in English, translated into 13 languages, and excerpted several times.
The term "SCUM" appeared on the cover of the first edition from Olympia Press as "S.C.U.M." and was said to stand for "Society for Cutting Up Men". Solanas objected, insisting that it was not an acronym, although the expanded term appeared in a Village Voice ad she had written in 1967. Solanas held a series of recruitment meetings for SCUM at the Chelsea Hotel where she lived, but a decade later insisted that the organization was "just a literary device" and never really existed.
The Manifesto was little-known until Solanas attempted to kill Andy Warhol in 1968. This event brought significant public attention to the Manifesto and Solanas herself. While some feminists, such as Florynce Kennedy and Ti-Grace Atkinson, defended Solanas and considered the Manifesto a valid criticism of the patriarchal order, others, such as Betty Friedan, considered Solanas's views to be too radical and polarizing. Although Solanas's motives for shooting Warhol remain unclear, the Manifesto is still frequently associated with this event.
Solanas wrote SCUM Manifesto between 1965 and 1967. In 1967, she self-published the first edition by making two thousand mimeographed copies and selling them on the streets of Greenwich Village in New York City. Solanas charged women one dollar and men two dollars each. By the following spring, about 400 copies had been sold. Solanas signed a publishing contract with Maurice Girodias in August 1967 for a novel and asked him to accept the SCUM Manifesto in its place later that year.
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