This seminar intrigued me in my vast disgruntlement at the very fundamental levels of what futurism is. While I have to admit I was initially intrigued by the act of bringing art into the movement and performing with such passion and revolutionary spirit, I was immediately turned off by the Manifesto’s 1909 proclamations to “fight moralism, feminism, every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice.” While this clause in its entirety infuriates me, I want to focus on Futurist distaste with feminism. We talked about this a bit in class, and Professor Rizzo advanced my presumption that perhaps this element is a result of traditional feminine classifications of weak, fragile, demure, vulnerable–all of which oppose the concept of war so heavily. Of course, if this is true then it is curious as to why, as Professor Rizzo mentioned, Marinetti worked with female writers. I can only presume, then, that perhaps he saw his work with female writers as an attempt to dissuade difference feminism from existence and instead urge these women to become more traditionally masculine–aggressive, violent, mechanical–as Futurism so adamantly elevates onto a pedestal. It is necessary, then, when analyzing the Futurist movement’s relation to feminism to understand the historical timeframe of both movements. Because of the way feminism has evolved (some would argue towards a more liberal, equality feminist lens), current Futurist may not be so opposed. Indeed, it is interesting to question how Futurists like Marinetti would perceive the questioning and dismantling of the gender binary.