Tea at Trianon: The New Feminism

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, April 27, 2026

The New Feminism

From Culturcidal:

To begin with, it’s worth noting that despite seeing a level of bitterness, rage, and unhappiness that practically reaches off the screen and grabs you by the collar and shakes you, these women do not live in countries like Afghanistan, Sudan, or Yemen, where women are heavily oppressed. They’re also not in a war zone like, say, Ukraine, Lebanon, or Iran. These are women who live in a Western country where they make roughly three times as much as the average person in the world. In other words, these women are certainly not repressed in any meaningful sense, and although they’re probably not doing as well as they would be in the United States, they do live in the top tier of economically successful nations.
Yet, what were some of the words tossed around to describe these, let’s be honest, fairly privileged women in this piece? “Financially cynical.” “Dehumanised.” “Panic and hopelessness.” “Stacked against me, no matter how hard I try.” “Pessimistic.”
They also seem to have pretty stereotypical views of men and marriage for feminists as well. They don’t want marriage, they don’t really seem to want children, and they seem to dislike men, who they view as a “trap” who will ruin their wonderful careers in… what? Podcasting? Middle management? Human resources? (Read more.)