Louise Perry is a British journalist, author and podcast host. She is a features writer for the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' and a columnist at the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', and has been described as a leading reactionary feminist. Perry co-runs the charity We Can't Consent To This which campaigns around problems with the rough sex murder defence. She is the co-founder and research director of ''The Other Half'', a non-partisan feminist think tank which was founded in 2022. She is the host of the podcast ''Maiden Mother Matriarch''.

Biography

Perry graduated from University of London's

SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

with a bachelors degree in anthropology, which reportedly included women’s studies. She became opposed to

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

, and

sex work Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to volun ...

after working for several years in a rape crisis centre. Her employment there formed the basis of her first book, '' The Case Against the Sexual Revolution''. Published in 2022, the book became a bestseller in the United Kingdom. The book argues for

gender essentialism Gender essentialism is a theory which attributes distinct, intrinsic qualities to women and men. Based in essentialism, it holds that there are certain universal, innate, biologically (or psychologically) based features of gender that are at the ro ...

. ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' described this perspective as heretical, while the religious journal ''America'' stated that the book refutes arguments in favour of the

sexual revolution The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the late 1950s to the early 1 ...

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' characterised the work as radical, stating that it challenged prevailing norms while being well-researched and clearly written. In February 2022, Perry participated in a debate at the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

, opposing the motion “We Should Welcome the New Era of Porn”. She cited evidence of high suicide rates among adult entertainment industry performers, questioned the notion of

informed consent Informed consent is an applied ethics principle that a person must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about accepting risk. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatments, alternative treatme ...

among young adult actors, and urged the audience to avoid

internet pornography Internet pornography or online pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the Internet; primarily via websites, FTP connections, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The greater accessibility of the World Wide Web from t ...

. In October 2023, Perry published an essay in ''

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is a journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society", focusing on theology, liturgy, history of religion, church history, culture, education, society, politics, literat ...

'' on abortion and infanticide in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. The article was discussed in ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', which described Perry as presenting a non-Christian argument in favour of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

. She argued that debates on abortion policy reflect broader discussions about whether society should retain its Christian foundations and how historical Christian values have shaped attitudes towards the vulnerable. On 13 September 2023, Perry participated in a debate with Anna Khachiyan against

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

and Sarah Haider. The debate, referred to as “a clash of the female titans”, was held at The Theatre at

Ace Hotel Ace Hotel is a chain of hotels headquartered in Los Angeles and New York City. Founded in 1999 in Seattle, it operates hotels Internationally in 4 continents, with locations in; Brooklyn, New York City; Palm Springs, California; Seattle, Washing ...

in Los Angeles and was moderated by

Bari Weiss Bari Weiss ( ; born March 25, 1984) is an American journalist. She was an op-ed and book review editor at ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 2013 to 2017 and an op-ed staff editor and writer on culture and politics at ''The New York Times'' fro ...

. Perry was also a speaker at the first conference of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in late 2023. In her panel discussion, she argued that both women and society more broadly had been negatively affected by the abandonment of conservative sexual norms.

Personal life

In 2017, Perry married a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

. She has prohibited her husband from watching pornography. Perry gave birth to the couple's first son in 2021. As of 2022, Perry resides in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Louise British journalists British feminist writers Living people 21st-century British women writers 21st-century British women journalists 21st-century British writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers British women bloggers British women columnists Women essayists British women writers British podcasters British women podcasters Anti-pornography activists Anti-pornography feminists Year of birth missing (living people)