Scorn for Women & 9 Other Key Points of the Futurist Manifesto

A single woman in London is never more than 6” away from the nearest rat, by Charles ThomsonThis morning’s BBC News reports on the 100th anniversary of the Futurist Manifesto, a document paving the way for Surrealism and Dadaism, as well as vorticists, Situationists, and Stuckists. The latter three movements are not in my vocab.

Women might criticize me for challenging us to be more realistic about our expectations of men in 2009, as I often do in my writing.

So it’s a good reminder for my strong feminist pedigree to read this Futurist Manifesto, and the 10 key points.

I wonder about the extent to which this manifesto has become a foundation for business and the larger 21st century culture. The key points include:

• Love of danger

• Energy and fearlessness

• Courage, audacity

• Aggressive action

• Love of speed

• Splendour and generosity

• The beauty of struggle

• The glory of war

• Scorn for women

• Destruction of museums and libraries

The entire Futurist Manifesto is available in a PDF at Back to the Futurists. A