Derrick Jensen is an environmental philosopher and author of over 25 books. In this conversation with Stella and Bret, he traces the intellectual lineage from anarchism through queer theory to trans, explaining how the rejection of all social norms, including those protecting children, found its way into academic theory and beyond.Jensen discusses how his book The Culture of Make Believe predicted the rise of the insane right, but when he tried to write a companion critique of the insane left, his publisher held the manuscript for five years before dropping him entirely for criticizing queer theory.He walks through the founding documents most people have never actually read, including Gayle Rubin's 1984 essay "Thinking Sex" and Michel Foucault's advocacy for abolishing age of consent laws. The conversation also covers Karen Horney's concept of "womb envy," Peggy Reeves Sanday's cross-cultural research on sexual violence, and DARVO, the pattern where abusers deny, attack, and reverse victim and offender. Stella and Bret also ask Jensen about his viral "Queer Theory Jeopardy" moment.
