Decadence From Nefert... | Sexual Personae : Art And

Camille Paglia's Ambiguous Critical Legacy - Manhattan Institute

Camille Paglia’s seminal 1990 work, Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson , argues that Western culture is defined by a persistent struggle between two opposing forces: the (male, rational, orderly) and the Dionysian (female, chaotic, chthonic nature) . Paglia posits that civilization is an artificial "swerve" away from the overwhelming power of nature, which she describes as indifferent and "red in tooth and claw". Sexual personae : art and decadence from Nefert...

: Published in the Claremont Review of Books , this detailed retrospective examines Paglia’s "anti-feminist" turn and her career-long battle against academic trends like post-structuralism. : A critical look available via the American

: A critical look available via the American Psychological Association (APA), examining how her "personae" serve as vehicles for art's assault against nature. orderly) and the Dionysian (female

: This academic article specifically uses Paglia's theories to analyze the famous bust of Nefertiti. It explores how the sculpture’s "sensuous androgyny" and "sexual ambivalence" contribute to its enduring celebrity.