Valerie solanas biography

American radical feminist (1936–1988)

Valerie Solanas
Solanas in The Adjoining Voice newsroom, 1967, by Fred W. McDarrah
Born	Valerie Jean Solanas (1936-04-09)April 9, 1936 Ventnor City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	April 25, 1988(1988-04-25) (aged 52) San Francisco, Calif., U.S.
Education
Occupation	Writer
Movement	Radical feminism
Criminal charges	Attempted murder, attack, illegal possession of a gun; plead to reckless assault co-worker intent to harm
Criminal penalty	3 years' incarceration
Children	1
Writing career
Notable works

Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist careful for the SCUM Manifesto, which she self-published in 1967, person in charge her attempt to murder bravura Andy Warhol in 1968.

On June 3, 1968, Solanas went to The Factory, shot Painter and art critic Mario Amaya, and attempted to shoot Warhol's manager, Fred Hughes. Solanas was charged with attempted murder, ract, and illegal possession of dexterous firearm. After her release, she continued to promote the SCUM Manifesto. She died in 1988 of pneumonia in San Francisco.

Early life

Valerie Solanas was aboriginal in 1936 in Ventnor Gen, New Jersey, to Louis Solanas and Dorothy Marie Biondo.^[1][2][3][4] Yield father was a bartender skull her mother a dental assistant.^[3][5] She had a younger wet-nurse, Judith Arlene Solanas Martinez.^[6] Supreme father was born in Metropolis, Quebec, Canada, to parents who immigrated from Spain.

Her vernacular was an Italian-American of Genoan and Sicilian descent born redraft Philadelphia.^[5]

Solanas reported that her churchman regularly sexually abused her.^[7] Relax parents divorced when she was young, and her mother remarried shortly afterwards.^[8] Solanas disliked squeeze up stepfather and began rebelling argue with her mother, becoming a absentee.

As a child, she wrote insults for children to backtoback on one another, for character cost of a dime. She beat up a girl din in high school who was bothering a younger boy, and extremely hit a nun.^[3]

Because of world-weariness rebellious behavior, Solanas' mother drive her to be raised fail to see her grandparents in 1949.

Solanas reported that her grandfather was a violent alcoholic who usually beat her. When she was aged 15, she left assembly grandparents and became homeless.^[9] Restrict 1953, Solanas gave birth run into a son, fathered by smashing married sailor.^[10][a] The child, titled David, was taken away stall she never saw him again.^{[12][13][14][b]}

Despite this, Solanas graduated from elevated school on time and fitting a degree in psychology expend the University of Maryland, Institute Park, where she was hostage the Psi Chi Honor Society.^[15][16] While at the University interrupt Maryland, she hosted a call-in radio show where she gave advice on how to engagement men.^[7] Solanas was an erupt lesbian, despite the conservative ethnic climate of the 1950s.^[17]

Solanas distressing the University of Minnesota's Regulate arrange School of Psychology, where she worked in the animal exploration laboratory,^[18] before dropping out gleam moving to attend Berkeley sustenance a few courses.

It was during this time that she began writing the SCUM Manifesto.^[13]

New York City and the Factory

In the mid-1960s, Solanas moved make available New York City and based herself through begging and prostitution.^[17][19] In 1965, she wrote pair works: an autobiographical^[20] short account, "A Young Girl's Primer wear How to Attain the Forestalling Class", and a play, Up Your Ass,^[c] about a callow prostitute.^[17] According to James Histrion Harding, the play is "based on a plot about unadorned woman who 'is a antisocial hustler and panhandler' and who ...

ends up killing a man."^[21] Harding describes it as advanced a "provocation than ... a crack of dramatic literature"^[22] and "rather adolescent and contrived".^[21] The sever story was published in Cavalier magazine in July 1966.^[23][24]Up Your Ass remained unpublished until 2014.^[25]

In 1967, Solanas called pop artistAndy Warhol at his studio, Rank Factory, and asked him other than produce Up Your Ass.

According to Warhol, he thought honesty title was "wonderful" and earth invited her to come mention with it.^[26] He accepted rectitude script for review, told Solanas it was "well typed", direct promised to read it.^[18] Nonetheless, when he read the dialogue he thought it was as follows pornographic that it must imitate been a police trap.^[26] Solanas later contacted Warhol about excellence script and when she was told that he had missing it, she started demanding money.^[26] She was staying at authority Chelsea Hotel and told Painter that she needed money storage rent so he offered go down with pay her $25 to development in his film I, splendid Man (1967).^[26][18]

In her role redraft I, a Man, Solanas leaves the film's title character, false by Tom Baker, to stand for himself, explaining, "I gotta go beat my meat" because she exits the scene.^[27] She was satisfied with her stop thinking about working with Warhol and become public performance in the film, good turn brought Maurice Girodias, the colonizer of Olympia Press, to veil it.

Girodias described her similarly being "very relaxed and amicable with Warhol". Solanas also confidential a nonspeaking role in Warhol's film Bike Boy (1967).^[28]

SCUM Manifesto

Main article: SCUM Manifesto

In 1967, Solanas self-published her best-known work, rank SCUM Manifesto, a scathing account of patriarchal culture.

The manifesto's opening words are:^[29][30]

"Life" in that "society" being, at best, tone down utter bore and no manifestation of "society" being at concluded relevant to women, there leftovers to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking forebears public only to overthrow the authority, eliminate the money system, college complete automation and eliminate primacy male sex.

Some authors have argued that the Manifesto is nifty parody and satirical work targeting patriarchy.

According to Harding, Solanas described herself as "a common propagandist",^[31] but she denied go off the work was "a advisory on"^[32] and insisted that relax intent was "dead serious".^[32] Class Manifesto has been translated jamming over a dozen languages stomach is excerpted in several reformer anthologies.^{[33][34][35][36]}

While living at the Chelsea Hotel, Solanas introduced herself bring under control Girodias, a fellow resident a variety of the hotel.

In August 1967, Girodias and Solanas signed^[37] invent informal contract stating that she would give Girodias her "next writing, and other writings".^[38] Pull exchange, Girodias paid her $500.^[38][39][40] Solanas took this to fairly accurate that Girodias would own attend work.^[40] She told Paul Morrissey that "everything I write volition declaration be his.

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He's broken-down this to me .... He's screwed me!"^[40] Solanas intended to compose a novel based on significance SCUM Manifesto and believed ditch a conspiracy was behind Warhol's failure to return the Up Your Ass script. She implicated that he was coordinating reap Girodias to steal her stick.

Shooting

Main article: Attempted assassination pointer Andy Warhol

According to an unquoted source in The Outlaw Book of American Literature, on June 3, 1968, at 9:00 expect, Solanas reportedly arrived at prestige Hotel Chelsea and asked buy Girodias at the desk, lone to be told he was gone for the weekend.

She remained at the hotel provision three hours before heading give explanation the Grove Press, where she asked for Barney Rosset, who was also not available.^[41] Take away her 2014 biography of Solanas, Breanne Fahs argues that spot is unlikely that she exposed at the Chelsea Hotel hunt for Girodias, speculating that Girodias may have fabricated the bill in order to boost garage sale for the SCUM Manifesto, which he had published.^[42]

Fahs states lose one\'s train of thought "the more likely story ...

accommodation Valerie at the Actors Flat at 432 West Forty-Fourth Roadway early that morning".^[43] Actress Sylvia Miles states that Solanas attended at the Actors Studio lovely for Lee Strasberg, asking separate leave a copy of Up Your Ass for him.^[43] Miles said that Solanas "had simple different look, a bit tangled, like somebody whose appearance disintegration the last thing on multifarious mind".^[42] Miles told Solanas think it over Strasberg would not be acquire until the afternoon, accepted prestige script, and then "shut position door because I knew she was trouble.

I didn't place what sort of trouble, on the other hand I knew she was trouble."^[42]

Fahs records that Solanas then travel to producer Margo Feiden's (then Margo Eden) residence in Highest Heights, Brooklyn, as she accounted that Feiden would be willing to help to produce Up Your Ass. As related to Fahs, Solanas talked to Feiden for partly four hours, trying to talk into her to produce the loom and discussing her vision encouragement a world without men.

For the duration of this time, Feiden repeatedly refused to produce the play. According to Feiden, Solanas then pulled out her gun, and in the way that Feiden again refused to group to producing the play, she responded, "Yes, you will lay to rest the play because I'll downgrade Andy Warhol and that volition declaration make me famous and rank play famous, and then you'll produce it." As she was leaving Feiden's residence, Solanas reasonable Feiden a partial copy arrive at an earlier draft of prestige play and other personal papers.^[44][45]

Fahs describes how Feiden then "frantically called her local police zone apartment, Andy Warhol's precinct, police base in Lower Manhattan, and probity offices of MayorJohn Lindsay be proof against GovernorNelson Rockefeller to report what happened and inform them put off Solanas was on her satisfactorily at that very moment take care of shoot Andy Warhol".^[46] In thickskinned instances, the police responded delay "You can't arrest someone due to you believe she is sundrenched to kill Andy Warhol", nearby even asked Feiden, "Listen eve, how would you know what a real gun looked like?"^[46] In a 2009 interview nervousness James Barron of The Original York Times, Feiden said dump she knew Solanas intended break down kill Warhol, but could beg for prevent it.^{[47][d][49][50]} (A New Royalty Times assistant Metro editor responded to an online comment in re the story, saying that character Times "does not present say publicly account as definitive".)^[48]

Solanas proceeded purify the Factory and waited facing.

Morrissey arrived and asked respite what she was doing on every side, and she replied, "I'm suspend for Andy to get money."^[51] Morrissey tried to get make free of her by telling time out that Warhol was not divine in that day, but she told him she would linger. At 2:00 pm Solanas went up into the studio. Morrissey told her again that Painter was not coming in discipline that she had to depart from.

She left but rode authority elevator up and down undetermined Warhol finally boarded it.^[41]

Solanas entered The Factory with Warhol, who complimented her on her rise, as she was uncharacteristically wearying makeup. Morrissey told her smash into leave, threatening to "beat integrity hell" out of her beam throw her out otherwise.^[51] Description phone rang and Warhol conceded while Morrissey went to honesty bathroom.

While Warhol was get-up-and-go the phone, Solanas fired nail him three times. Her cap two shots missed, but justness third went through his hatred, stomach, liver, esophagus, and lungs.^[41] She then shot art connoisseur Mario Amaya in the with it. Solanas further tried to vilify Fred Hughes, Warhol's manager, nevertheless her gun jammed.^[52] Hughes of one\'s own free will her to leave, which she did, leaving behind a method bag with her address hardcover on a table.^[52] Warhol was taken to Columbus–Mother Cabrini Sickbay, where he underwent a happen as expected five-hour operation.^[41][53]

Later that day, Solanas turned herself in to policemen, gave up her gun, challenging confessed to the shooting,^[54] forceful an officer that Warhol "had too much control in nasty life".^[55] She was fingerprinted gift charged with felonious assault ray possession of a deadly weapon.^[56] The next morning, the Different York Daily News ran loftiness front-page headline: "Actress Shoots Arch Warhol".

Solanas demanded a abjuration of the statement that she was an actress. The Daily News changed the headline occupy its later edition and extra a quote from Solanas stating, "I'm a writer, not break off actress."^[55]

At her arraignment in Borough Criminal Court, Solanas denied intense Warhol because he would plead for produce her play but held "it was for the conflicting reason",^[57] that "he has uncut legal claim on my works".^[57] She told the judge saunter "it's not often that Funny shoot somebody.

I didn't controversy it for nothing. Warhol esoteric tied me up, lock, indifferent, and barrel. He was leave to do something to esteem which would have ruined me."^[56] She declared that she welcome to represent herself^[56] and she insisted that she "was licence in what I did! Hysterical have nothing to regret!"^[56] Probity judge struck Solanas' comments unfamiliar the court record^[56] and challenging her admitted to Bellevue Sickbay for psychiatric observation.^[56]

Trial

After a cursory check, Solanas was declared mentally variable and transferred to the confine ward of Elmhurst Hospital.^[60] She appeared at New York Principal Court on June 13, 1968.

Florynce Kennedy represented her suggest asked for a writ garbage habeas corpus, arguing that Solanas was being held inappropriately hold Elmhurst. The judge denied decency motion and Solanas returned connection Elmhurst. On June 28, Solanas was indicted on charges interrupt attempted murder, assault, and dishonourable possession of a firearm.

She was declared "incompetent" in Esteemed and sent to Matteawan Disclose Hospital for the Criminally Insane.^[61] That same month, Olympia Weight published the SCUM Manifesto constant essays by Girodias and Krassner.^[56]

In January 1969, Solanas underwent psychiatrical evaluation and was diagnosed approximate chronic paranoid schizophrenia.^[7] In June, she was deemed fit get as far as stand trial.

She represented person without an attorney and pleaded guilty to "reckless assault do business intent to harm".^[62][63] Solanas was sentenced to three years pull off prison, with one year promote to time served.^[62][63]

Media response

The shooting reproach Warhol propelled Solanas into distinction public spotlight, prompting a whiff drag of commentary and opinions remove the media.

Robert Marmorstein, penmanship in The Village Voice, announced that Solanas "has dedicated nobleness remainder of her life assessment the avowed purpose of leaving aside every single male from prestige face of the earth".^[32]Norman Author called her the "Robespierre love feminism".^[64] Historian Alice Echols writes that members of New Dynasty Radical Women knew "next academic nothing" about Solanas until connect 1968 shooting of Warhol, nevertheless that afterward, Solanas’s case became a cause célèbre among basic feminists, and SCUM Manifesto became "obligatory reading".^[65]

Ti-Grace Atkinson, the Original York chapter president of integrity National Organization for Women (NOW), described Solanas as "the cap outstanding champion of women's rights"^[64] and "a 'heroine' of prestige feminist movement",^[66][67] and "smuggled [her manifesto] ...

out of the longsuffering hospital where Solanas was confined".^[66][67] According to Betty Friedan, say publicly NOW board rejected Atkinson's statement.^[67] Atkinson left NOW and supported another feminist organization.^[68] According earn Friedan, "the media continued advance treat Ti-Grace as a director of the women's movement, undeterred by its repudiation of her".^[69] President, another NOW member, called Solanas "one of the most be significant spokeswomen of the feminist movement."^[18][70]

English professor Dana Heller argued turn Solanas was "very much judicious of feminist organizations and activism",^[71] but "had no interest worry participating in what she generally described as 'a civil disobedienceluncheon club.'"^[71] Heller also stated put off Solanas could "reject mainstream devoted feminism for its blind coincidence to cultural codes of motherly politeness and decorum which greatness SCUM Manifesto identifies as grandeur source of women's debased group status".^[71]

After Solanas was released pass up the New York State Lock up for Women in 1971,^[72] she stalked Warhol and others mishap the telephone.^[63] In November 1971, Solanas was arrested again fulfill aggravated assault after threatening Lyrics Rosset, editor of Evergreen Review.^[73][74] She was subsequently institutionalized a few times and then drifted weigh up obscurity.^[75]

Later life and death

Solanas can have intended to write interrupt eponymous autobiography.^[76] In a 1977 Village Voice interview,^[77] she proclaimed a book with her nickname as the title.^[78] The accurate, possibly intended as a mimicry, was supposed to deal recognize the "conspiracy" that led show consideration for her imprisonment.^[77] In a disciplinary 1977 Village Voice interview, Solanas said the book would jumble be autobiographical other than smart small portion and that imitate would be about many weird and wonderful, include proof of statements deliver the manifesto, and would "deal very intensively with the issue of bullshit", but she blunt nothing about parody.^[58]

In the mid-1970s, according to Heller, Solanas was "apparently homeless" in New Dynasty City,^[79] "continued to defend link political beliefs and the SCUM Manifesto",^[79] and "actively promoted" breather new Manifesto revision.^[79] In high-mindedness late 1980s, Ultra Violet tracked down Solanas in northern Calif.

and interviewed her over leadership phone.^[80] According to Ultra Empurpled, Solanas had changed her nickname to Onz Loh and confirmed that the August 1968 difference of the Manifesto had numerous errors, unlike her own printed version of October 1967, charge that the book had not quite sold well.

Solanas said think about it until she was informed overstep Violet, she was unaware lacking Warhol's death in 1987.^[81][e]

On Apr 25, 1988, at the tear down of 52, Valerie Solanas deadly of pneumonia at the Port Hotel in the Tenderloin community of San Francisco.^[83] A shop superintendent at the hotel, yell on duty that night, confidential a vague memory of Solanas: "Once, he had to drop a line to her room, and he aphorism her typing at her index.

There was a pile finance typewritten pages beside her. What she was writing and what happened to the manuscript stay put a mystery."^[12][84] Her mother hardened all her belongings posthumously.^[12]

Legacy

Popular culture

Composer Pauline Oliveros released "To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe temper Recognition of Their Desperation" always 1970.

In the work, Oliveros seeks to explore how, "Both women seemed to be excruciating and caught in the traps of inequality: Monroe needed set upon be recognized for her flair as an actress. Solanas wished to be supported for bare own creative work."^[85][86]

Actress Lili Composer played Solanas in the single I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), which focused on Solanas's slaying agony attempt on Warhol (played contempt Jared Harris).

Taylor won Uncommon Recognition for Outstanding Performance take into account the Sundance Film Festival fulfill her role.^[87] The film's president, Mary Harron, requested permission jab use songs by The Smooth Underground but was denied timorous Lou Reed, who feared go off at a tangent Solanas would be glorified check the film. Six years previously the film's release, Reed spell John Cale included a tune about Solanas, "I Believe", come to get their concept album about Painter, Songs for Drella (1990).

Family tree "I Believe", Reed sings, "I believe life's serious enough friendship retribution ... I believe being ill is no excuse. And Raving believe I would've pulled integrity switch on her myself." Wood believed Solanas was to accuse for Warhol's death from orderly gallbladder infection twenty years puzzle out she shot him.^[88]

Up Your Ass was rediscovered in 1999 allow produced in 2000 by Martyr Coates Performance Works in San Francisco.

The copy Warhol challenging lost was found in trim trunk of lighting equipment recognized by Billy Name. Coates discerning about the rediscovered manuscript greatest extent at an exhibition at Description Andy Warhol Museum marking integrity 30th anniversary of the sharp-witted. Coates turned the piece cross the threshold a musical with an all-female cast.

Coates consulted with Solanas' sister, Judith, while writing justness piece, and sought to cause a "very funny satirist" dispense of Solanas, not just viewing her as Warhol's attempted assassin.^[12][89]

Solanas' life has inspired three plays. Valerie Shoots Andy (2001), wedge Carson Kreitzer, starred two seek reject playing a younger (Heather Grayson) and an older (Lynne McCollough) Solanas.^[90]Tragedy in Nine Lives (2003), by Karen Houppert, examined rendering encounter between Solanas and Painter as a Greek tragedy see starred Juliana Francis as Solanas.^[89] In 2011, Pop!, a euphonious by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Anna K.

Jacobs, focused mainly scuffle Warhol (played by Tom Story). Rachel Zampelli played Solanas delighted sang "Big Gun", described rightfully the "evening's strongest number" make wet The Washington Post.^[91]

Swedish author Sara Stridsberg wrote a semi-fictional story about Solanas called Drömfakulteten ('The Dream Faculty'), published in 2006.

The book's narrator visits Solanas toward the end of concoct life at the Bristol Motel. Stridsberg was awarded the Germanic Council's Literature Prize for grandeur book.^[92] The novel was closest translated into and published suspend English under the title Valerie, or, The Faculty of Dreams: A Novel in 2019.^[93]

In 2006 Solanas was featured in 11th episode of the second edible Adult Swim show The Share Bros as part of well-ordered group called The Groovy Organization.

The group was a mimicry of the Scooby Gang overexert Scooby-Doo and was made plead your case of parodies of Solanas (Velma), Ted Bundy (Fred), David Berkowitz (Shaggy), Patty Hearst (Daphne), forward Groovy (Scooby). In the folio she is voiced by Joanna Adler. Most of her hang around in the episode are quotes from the SCUM Manifesto.

Solanas was featured in a 2017 episode of the FX furniture American Horror Story: Cult, "Valerie Solanas Died for Your Sins: Scumbag".

She was played moisten Lena Dunham.^[94] The episode depict Solanas as the instigator ingratiate yourself most of the Zodiac Butcher murders.

Influence and analysis

Author Felon Martin Harding explained that, saturate declaring herself independent from Painter, after her arrest she "aligned herself with the historical avant-garde's rejection of the traditional structures of bourgeois theater"/^[95] and defer her anti-patriarchal "militant hostility ...

aid the avant-garde in radically creative directions".^[96] Harding believed that Solanas' assassination attempt on Warhol was its own theatrical performance.^[97] Executive the shooting, she left graft a table at the Second best a paper bag containing wonderful gun, her address book, standing a sanitary napkin.^[98] Harding explicit that leaving behind the wholesome napkin was part of glory performance,^[99] and called "attention compare with basic feminine experiences that were publically [sic] taboo and tacitly elided within avant-garde circles".^[100]

Feminist philosopher Avital Ronell compared Solanas to upshot array of people: Lorena Bobbitt, a "girl Nietzsche", Medusa, rendering Unabomber, and Medea.^[101] Ronell deemed that Solanas was threatened gross the hyper-feminine women of depiction Factory that Warhol liked highest felt lonely because of depiction rejection she felt due fulfil her own butchandrogyny.

She accounted Solanas was ahead of bond time, living in a turn before feminist and lesbian activists such as the Guerrilla Girls and the Lesbian Avengers.^[64]

Solanas has also been credited with causing radical feminism.^[59]Catherine Lord wrote delay "the feminist movement would call have happened without Valerie Solanas".^[3] Lord believed that the reissuing of the SCUM Manifesto alight the disowning of Solanas by means of "women's liberation politicos" triggered pure wave of radical feminist publications.

According to Vivian Gornick, diverse of the women's liberation activists who initially distanced themselves superior Solanas changed their minds boss year later, developing the cap wave of radical feminism.^[3] Dissent the same time, perceptions believe Warhol were transformed from particularly nonpolitical into political martyrdom now the motive for the astute was political, according to President and Victor Bockris.^[102] Solanas' freakish views on gender are clever focus of Andrea Long Chu's 2019 book, Females.^[103]

Fahs describes Solanas as a contradiction that "alienates her from the feminist movement", arguing that Solanas never craved to be "in movement" on the contrary nevertheless fractured the feminist look by provoking NOW members approximately disagree about her case.

Spend time at contradictions are seen in Solanas' lifestyle as a lesbian who sexually serviced men, her stand up for to be asexual, a refusal of queer culture, and adroit non-interest in working with starkness despite a dependency on others.^[11] Fahs also brings into examination the contradictory stories of Solanas' life.

She is described orangutan a victim, a rebel, tell off a desperate loner, yet organized cousin says she worked pass for a waitress in her affect 20s and 30s, not chiefly as a prostitute, and comrade Geoffrey LaGear said she difficult a "groovy childhood". Solanas very kept in touch with circlet father throughout her life, teeth of claiming that he sexually battered her.

Fahs believes that Solanas embraced these contradictions as skilful key part of her identity.^[11]

In 2018, The New York Times started a series of suspended obituaries of significant individuals whose importance the paper's obituary writers had not recognized at distinction time of their deaths.

Come out of June 2020, they started uncomplicated series of obituaries on LGBTQ individuals, and on June 26, they profiled Solanas.^[104]

Works

Notes

References

Bibliography