Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma

Genius is a label frequently applied to influential artists that Dederer endeavors to define in Chapter 5. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity,” Dederer posits that the label is frequently used as a way to excuse artists’ problematic behaviors. She argues that the idea of genius is unavoidably tied to notions of ruthless masculinity, having been consistently used to describe figures such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and contemporary male rockstars. The gendered nature of the term is central to Dederer’s feminist analysis, highlighting Misogynistic Structures in the Art World.

Liberalism is a school of political philosophy with its roots in the Enlightenment that emphasizes individual agency and rights. In Monsters, Dederer explores her own liberal politics, specifically left-wing politics in America during the 2010s. The aspect of this political ideology that she focuses the most on, and ultimately rejects, is its tendency toward believing that history—and therefore its people—are inherently progressive.

“Monster,” the titular term in Dederer’s book, is also the word she struggles to define, tentatively landing on “someone whose behavior disrupts our ability to apprehend the work on its own terms” (47). Dederer applies this definition specifically to artists, but she presents her analysis as more broadly relevant as well. In Dederer’s eyes, the monstrosity lies both in the harmful action of the artist and in the permanent impact that these actions have on the audience’s experience of viewing their work.

Puget Sound is an estuary system on the northwestern coast of Washington state, roughly 100 miles long. The Puget Sound region includes several major cities, chiefly, Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. A lifelong resident of Seattle, Dederer lives on an island in the sound, which she refers to frequently throughout the book. The intimate relationship between her environment, her work, and her cultural perspective is highlighted in various ways from chapter to chapter, always specifically alluding to the Puget Sound region.

Radical feminism is a branch of the feminist movement with its roots in the civil rights movement of the 1960s that demands an overhaul of all societal structures that maintain male hegemony through the oppression of women. This form of feminism reflects a divergence from older branches that focused primarily on alleviating misogyny on domestic and local scales, and which placed little to no emphasis on other forms of oppression that intersect with misogyny, including racism and anti-LGBTIA ideology. In Monsters, Dederer explores her own increasingly radicalized feminism, as well as that of the women around her in the context of the Trump presidency and #MeToo Movement. She also highlights radical feminist artists in the latter half of the book, including Ana Mendieta and Valerie Solanas.