Politics of Anger and Trauma Disclosure in Michelle Bowdler’s Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation and a Manifesto (2020)

Abstract

This article focuses on the memoir manifesto as an intersection of forms and analyzes Michelle Bowdler’s Is Rape a Crime? (2020) as being representative of this subgenre in the current ‘manifesto moment.’ Bowdler as author narrates through the lens of trauma, with an emphasis on the affects the political reflection of trauma evokes. Through the personal narrative, her anger about the injustices of rape culture is explored and affective truths are disclosed without adhering to the hegemonic narrative of overcoming trauma. Instead, the book narrates an emotional arc from lonely suffering to communal activism, engaging the reader in a mode of angry witnessing.

Keywords

• manifesto
• memoir
• trauma narrative
• anger