The SCUM Manifesto was written in 1967 by Valerie Solanas, and it was… intense to say the least. SCUM stands for the “Society for Cutting Up Men,” which already tells you this isn’t your average feminist essay. Solanas argued that men were responsible for basically all of society’s problems and that women should overthrow men entirely. She described men as “biological accidents” and said women didn’t need them for anything. Not emotionally, financially, or even for reproduction. So yeah, the manifesto was wildly provocative. When it was first published, it shocked people. Some took it literally and thought Solanas was seriously calling for a violent uprising against men, while others saw it as satirical, using extreme language to make a point about sexism. Even feminists at the time were split. Some thought Solanas took things way too far and made the movement look bad, while others appreciated how unapologetically angry it was—she said what a lot of women maybe felt but were too scared to say out loud. The SCUM Manifesto also made people uncomfortable because it was brutally honest about gender roles and power dynamics. Solanas basically rejected the idea of women working within the existing system to gain equality. Instead, she called for burning the whole system down. That kind of radical thinking terrified people, especially men who felt attacked. But at the same time, the manifesto became this punk, underground symbol of resistance for women who were sick of playing nice. Today, the SCUM Manifesto is still controversial. Some people think it’s outdated and just too extreme to be taken seriously, while others see it as a powerful piece of feminist rage.