Volume , Number 0
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Features
Hotel Satire
Lydia Sargent
Justice
Ashwin Raman
Health
John e. Peck
Photo Essay
Joseph Nevins
Homeless
Viviana Mazza
Grassroots Media
J.p. Leary
Poetry & Performance
Sue Katz
Labor
William Johnson
Fog Watch
Edward Herman
Children
Alex Halperin
Interview
Victor Tan chen
Conservative Watch
Bill Berkowitz
Foreign Policy
David Bacon
Zaps
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NOTE: Z Magazine subscribers and sustainers have access to all Z Magazine articles here and in the archive. The latest Z Magazine articles available to everyone are listed in the Free Articles box at the top of the table of contents, and are starred in the list below. Questions? e-mail Z Magazine Online.
NFL, Nipples, & Nudity
W elcome to Hotel Satire where a lot of “shocking” things have happened recently that seem to threaten civilization as we know it. No, we’re not talking about the so-called shocking revelations that our beloved, and manly, President Bush lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (we all knew there weren’t any, since it didn’t really bother us until after September 11). Come on, folks, what’s wrong with you? If you’ll complain about little things like lying us into a war, you’ll complain about anything. We wanted to look tough and in charge and we did. So shut up. Who cares why or how? What’s the difference?
That said; let’s get on with the important shocking events. Yes, the Hotel Satire phones have been ringing off the hook with calls from gals concerned about what they see as radical lesbian feminism (radles- fems) run amok.
First, many of you are very upset about the gay marriage thing. True, it violates the beauty of traditional marriage as dictated by God a couple of thousand years ago. By the way, nowhere has this tradition been more beautifully depicted than in TV’s current reality shows where husband-seeking gals vie for millionaires (lying, as it turns out) or average Joes or whatever. These shows reveal how sacred (and marketable) the traditional one man, one woman marriage is, especially after a romantic courtship before millions of viewers, squeezed in between commercials for products married people need.
But to be shocked by the gay marriage thing is to miss the point about marraige, i.e., that traditional marriage involves a chain of command and a gender division of labor/behavior that is God-given, therefore genetic. As long as the “man” is at the head and he is in charge of HIS “wife” and boss of HIS kiddies, plus he is on top at all times, then you’ve got yourself an approved marriage, according to Jerry Falwell, who is in direct contact with God, as you know. This chain of command also implies the man doing important stuff, the gal being a domestic appendage. Anyone who maintains this gender order, gay or straight, can marry without threatening civilization as we know it.
Moving on to the flap over the Stupor Bowl half-time show where we saw Janet Jackson’s naked breast for a few seconds. By the way, since we see gals’ breasts hanging out everywhere on TV/ movie screens, it wasn’t the breast exposure that shocked, it was the nipple sighting.
Sure, it was upsetting to see the nipple and that detracted from the lovely halftime show of half naked gals singing, dancing, cheerleading, and dry humping everything in sight—microphones, themselves, each other, the football. But let’s not get carried away with talk of network censorship and fears of femgals and their nipples taking over the planet. Why? Because the gender order couldn’t have been more beautifully depicted and maintained than on that football field: That is, guys play football and beat each other up; gals cheer them on and become perks for the winners—along with a car, a trophy, cash, and the occasional trip to Disney World for more cleavage viewing.
Also, what’s all this complaining about kids being exposed to the nipple? Puhleaze. Kudos to news stations for showing us over and over the proper gender order, exemplified by Justin Timberlake tearing Janet’s top off, thereby showing kids that in life guys are the ripper; gals are the rippee.
Speaking of nipples and shock over them: what do these outraged folks think the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is all about? It’s about a gazillion ways to show gals’ nipples—through wet T-shirts, bathing suits, sand, rock formations in the Caribbean, and whatever else they can titillate guys with, regardless of age. Why are gals posing, nipples and crotches exposed, in sports magazines that are presumably read by boys as well as men? What does this have to do with sports? Why are there half naked models at boat shows and every other sporting event you could care to mention, including perched on car engines, breasts popping? Answer: to remind us that men are people; and gals are hood ornaments. It’s in the Bible somewhere, we’re sure.
By the way, can you imagine a professional women’s sports event with all male cheerleaders, half naked, genitals flailing as they shout encouragement, to be later awarded to the winners—giving new meaning to the “game ball.” No, this would be disgusting and a threat to civilization, especially if that was pretty much all men were considered good for.
Now some of you were also shocked by the post-Stupor Bowl celebrations, particularly the ones that “got out of hand” in Boston, resulting in fires being set, cars overturned, and one fatality. Well, not to worry. New England Patriot fans’ post-game rowdy celebrations were a fine example of what we’ve been teaching at Hotel Satire for years: Guys are about getting drunk and violent—that’s one of the perks of being a guy, along with getting access to cars and gals’ breasts. The police understand this, that’s why there were only 36 of them in the streets that night.
By the way, the police also understand that when there’s a demonstration for peace and justice (clearly radlesfem issues), they need tens of thousands of cops in the streets armed with head-bashing batons, guns, tear gas, mace, and other violent stuff to restore the gender order of things. Football fans, however, are just rowdy guys doing what guys do, requiring no interference from the police.
Another topic of shock had to do with gals’ attire at movie/music award ceremonies, as well as on TV dramas. Many of you point out that these gals show so much cleavage they might as well appear topless, even completely nude. Say the complainers, it doesn’t seem to matter what their profession—lawyer, doctor, coroner, secretary, cop, judge—TV/movie gals wear high heels and skimpy outfits. On some cop shows, gals are in tank tops while guys are wearing long- sleeved shirts and jackets up to their chins.
This enlarging and showing of breasts is especially worrisome because many see it as a feminist plot (as stated in many gals’ fashion mags) to “be all that gals can be.” Yeah, right. It’s fine by us if you femlesgals want to find fulfillment in your breasts, weight, looks, and sexual availability.
Fortunately, the fashion industry understands the gender order of things and how to sell gals on breast/crotch-exposing clothes that reinforce sexist oppression for profit. We were surprised, however, to read an article in the fashion section of the February 13 New York Times “Sex Doesn’t Sell: Miss Prim Is In.” Are they kidding? Apparently not. Says Wayne Koestenbaum, author of Cleavage: Essays on Sex, Stars and Aesthetics : “Sadly, getting nude isn’t really a threshold anymore.... We are looking to go beyond nudity....” (What does that mean? Skeletons as fashion statement? An MRI?) Actually, it means wearing clothes from the 1950s, before the gals lib movement, thank goodness.
But what matters, vis-à-vis the fashion industry, is that (1) men decide what gals wear; (2) whatever gals wear—be it sexy or prim— their clothes must reflect their place in the gender order, which means as decorative, slightly ravaged, sex objects, who service men. If the outfits also restrict a gal’s movements, even cripple her, so much the better.
Also cause for alarm was the recent Showtime movie Iron Jawed Angels about Alice Paul and her struggle for suffrage and to pass an equal rights amendment. Callers to Hotel Satire were worried that this movie showing gals taking control of their lives (i.e., trying to be men) would be a serious threat. But they needn’t have panicked. The ad (pictured here) features a gal, wrapped in a U.S. flag, back to the viewer, naked to the waist, with “votes for women” imprinted across her spine.
What’s going on? Is she a ballot box? Is she seducing men into giving gals the vote? Do only half-naked gals get to vote? We don’t know and we don’t care. Suffice to say: as long as gals are pretty, funny, sexually available to men, fond of shopping, and willing to pose nude in a bathtub, as they are in this movie, then they can agitate to their breasts content, but nobody will take them seriously in the long run. Because they’re gals!
Finally, many gals were shocked about the hot new Showtime series, “The L Word” (L refers to lesbians, in case you didn't know). The show is mostly about lesbian (and a few straight) gals obsessing about their looks, weight, and sexuality. As in most shows featuring gals as protagonists, it’s really ultimately about men—their fantasies, their view of gals, their gender order of things. By the way, the lesbian gals are pictured below. Threat to civili- zation or not? You decide.
Lydia Sargent is a writer, actor, and Z staff member.
Z Magazine Archive
Announcements
LABOR - May 1 is May Day. Workers of the world will celebrate the 124th anniversary of International Worker’s Day. Born out of a call for an 8-hour workday in the United States, this day is an opportunity for all workers to show their solidarity with one another, as well as to renew the call for labor rights.FARM CONFERENCE - The Farm Conference on Community and Sustainability will be held May 24-26 in Summertown, TN, in partnership with the Fellowship of Intentional Communities. Tour green homes, see sustainable food production, learn about solar installations, alternative education, midwifery, and more.
Contact: Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com; http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/.
PALESTINE - The Conference of the Palestinian Shatat in North American will be held June 3-5 in Vancouver. The conference will examine the future of the Palestinian liberation movement.
Contact: palestinianconference@gmail.com; http://www.palestinianconference.org/.
LABOR - The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association’s 45th annual conference will be held May 3-5, in Portland, OR. This year’s theme is Labor Under Attack: Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future. A call for presentations, workshops and papers is currently underway.
Contact: PNLHA, 27920 68th Ave. East, Graham, WA 98338; 206-406-2604; PNLHA1@aol.com; http://www3.telus.net.
MARIJUANA - On the first Saturday of May marijuana legalization activists will hold informational and educational events, rallies and marches in over 300 cities around the world.
Contact:http://globalcannabismarch.com/.
ECONOMICS - The Union For Radical Political Economics will hold its 39th annual conference May 9-11 in New York City.
Contact: http://www.ramapo.edu/eea/2013/.
RECLAIM THE DREAM - The 2013 Poor People’s Campaign & March from Baltimore to Washington D.C. will be May 11. Communities, schools and unions interested in participating are encouraged to contact the Baltimore People’s Assembly.
Contact: 410-500-2168; 410-218-4835; BaltimorePeoplesAssembly@gmail.com; Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Baltimore and the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly, 2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218.
MOTHER’S DAY - The 17th Annual Mother’s Day Walk For Peace will be May 12th, in Dorchester, MA. The walk began in 1996 for families who had lost children to violence. The day has become a way for thousands of people to financially support the work of the Louis Brown Peace Institute.
Contact: http://www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org/; http://mothersdaywalk4peace.org/.
NATO 5 - An International Week of Solidarity with the NATO 5 has been called for May 16-21. Supports call on supporters to raise awareness of the NATO 5 and support funds for the defendants on the one-year anniversary of their preemptive arrests.
Contact: nato5solidarity@gmail.com; https://nato5support.wordpress.com.
MOUNTAINTOP - The 2013 Mountain Justice Summer Activist Training Camp will be held May 19-27 in Damascus, VA. It will be a week of workshops, field trips to view Mountain Top Removal coal mines, direct actions, and service project.
Contact: http://rampscampaign.org/.
FEMINIST SCI-FI - The feminist science fiction convention WisCon 37 is scheduled for May 24-27 in Madison, WI.
Contact: WisCon, ? SF3, PO Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701; concom37@wiscon.info; http://www.wiscon.info/.
ANARCHY FEST - A month-long Festival of Anarchy is scheduled for May in Montreal. The festival includes The Montreal Anarchist Bookfair (May 19-20).
Contact: http://www.anarchistbookfair.ca/; http://www.radicalmontreal.com/.
LABOR - The International Labor Rights Forum will present: Down the Supply Chain, Driving Corporate Accountability, on May 22 in Washington, DC. The Labor Rights Awards Ceremony and Reception will honor pioneers in supply chain worker organizing, working solidarity and international labor rights policy.
Contact: http://laborrights.org/.
MULTICULTURE - The 26th annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) will take place May 28-June 1, in New Orleans.
Contact: SWCHRS, 3200 Marshall Avenue, Suite 290, Norman, OK 73072; 405-325-3694; ncore@ou.edu; www.ncore.ou.edu.
MEDIA - The 2013 Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference will be held May 29-31, in San Francisco, CA. Participants will include educators, community leaders, media professionals, journalists, nonprofit leaders, policymakers and students.
Contact: http://www.allcommunitymedia.org/.
RADIO - The 38th Annual Community Radio Conference is schedule for May 29-June 1, in San Francisco, CA, with discussions and workshops.
Contact: 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004; 202-756-2268; comments@nfcb.org; http://www.nfcb.org/.
BRADLEY MANNING - On June 1, a rally will be held at Fort Meade in support of Bradley Manning.
Contact: http://www.bradleymanning.org.
BIKES - Bikes Not Bombs is holding its 24th annual Bike-A-Thon and Green Roots Festival in Boston, MA on June 3, with several bike rides scheduled, music, exhibitors and more.
Contact: Bikes Not Bombs, 284 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130; 617-522-0222; mail@bikesnotbombs.org; www.bikesnotbombs.org.
LEFT FORUM - The 2013 Left Forum will be held June 7-9, at Pace University in New York City.
Contact: 365 Fifth Avenue, CUNY Graduated Center, ? Sociology Dept., New York, NY 10016; http://www.leftforum.org/.
VEGAN FEST - Mad City Vegan Fest will be held in Madison, WI, June 8. The annual event features food, speakers, and exhibitors.
Contact: 122 State Street, Suite 405 B, Madison, WI 53701; madcityveganfest@gmail.com; http://veganfest.org/.
ADC CONFERENCE - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) holds its annual conference June 13-16, in Washington, DC, with panel discussions and workshops on civil rights, media and other topics.
Contact: 1990 M Street, Suite 610, Washington, DC, 20036; 202-244-2990; convention@adc.org http://convention.adc.org/.
CUBA/SOCIALISM - A Cuban-North American Dialog on Socialist Renewal and Global Capitalist Crisis will be held in Havana, Cuba, June 16-30. There will be a 5 day Seminar at University of Havana, plus visits to a cooperative, urban garden, community development project, social research centers, and educational & medical institutions.
Contact: cuba@globaljusticecenter.org; http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/.
NETROOTS - The 8th Annual Netroots Nation conference will take place June 20-23 in San Jose, CA. The event features panels, trainings, networking, screenings, and keynotes.
Contact: 164 Robles Way, #276, Vallejo, CA 94591; registration@netrootsnation.org; http://www.netrootsnation.org/.
MEDIA - The 15th annual Allied Media Conference will be held June 20-23, in Detroit.
Contact: 4126 Third Street, Detroit, MI 48201; http://alliedmedia.org/.
GRASSROOTS - The United We Stand Festival will be hosted by Free & Equal, June 22 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The festival aims to reform the electoral process throughout the U.S.
Contact: http://freeandequal.org/.
SOCIALISM - The Socialism 2013 Conference is scheduled for June 27-30 in Chicago, featuring talks and panel discussions.
Contact: info@socialismconference.org; http://www.socialismconference.org.
LITERACY - The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) will hold its conference July 12-13 in Los Angeles under the heading, Intersections: Teaching and Learning Across Media.
Contact: 10 Laurel Hill Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003; http://namle.net/conference/.
IWW - The North American Work People’s College will take place July 12-16 at Mesaba Co-op Park in northern Minnesota. The event will bring together Wobblies from branches across the continent to learn new skills and build One Big Union.
Contact: http://workpeoplescollege.org/.
PEACESTOCK - On July 13th, the 11th Annual Peacestock: A Gathering for Peace, will take place at Windbeam Farm in Hager City, WI. The event is a mixture of music, speakers and community for peace. Sponsored by Veterans for Peace.
Contact: Bill Habedank, 1913 Grandview Ave., Red Wing, MN 55066; 651-388-7733; billhabedank@yahoo.com; http://www.peacestockvfp.org.
CHILDREN’S DEFENSE - July 15-19, join clergy, seminarians, Christian educators, young adult leaders and other faith-based advocates for children at CDF Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee, for five days of spiritual renewal, networking, movement building workshops, and continuing education about the urgent needs of children at the 19th annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry.
Contact: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org; http://www.childrensdefense.org.
ACTIVIST CAMP - Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp will have sessions in July and August in Ben Lomond, CA; Portland, OR; Charlton, MA. YEA Camp is designed for activists 12-17 years old who want to make a difference in the world.
Contact: info@yeacamp.org; http://yeacamp.org/.
LA RAZA - The annual National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Conference is scheduled for July 18-19 in New Orleans, with workshops, presentations and panel discussions.
Contact: NCLR Headquarters Office, Raul Yzaguirre Building, 1126 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036; 202-785-1670; www.nclr.org.
LABOR - The Eastern Conference For Workplace Democracy: Growing Our Cooperatives, Growing Our Communities, will be held at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, July 26-28.
Contact: info@east.usworker.coop; http://east.usworker.coop/.
WOMEN/LYNNE STEWART- Radical Women is asking for support letters and cards to be sent to Lynne Stewart. Stewart is a civil rights attorney and political prisoner who is currently in jail. She has breast cancer and authorities have denied her request for transfer from her Texas prison to the New York City hospital where she received medical attention during a prior bout of breast cancer. Send messages and cards to: Lynne Stewart 53504-054, Federal Medical Center Carswell, P.O. Box 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127.
Contact: 747 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109; 415-864-1278; RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com; http://lynnestewart.org/; http://www.radicalwomen.org/.
HAITI/WOMEN - Haiti’s government is considering a legal reform measure that would prohibit and punish all sexual assault, including marital rape. MADRE and the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict are launching a petition to raise international support for this push to address violence against women in Haiti.
Contact: 121 West 27th Street, #301, New York, NY 10001; 212-627-0444; madre@madre.org; http://www.madre.org.
SYRIA/MIDDLE EAST - The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is currently seeking funds to assist more than 200,000 refugees fleeing violence in Syria.
Contact: https://www.mecaforpeace.org.
FOLK FESTIVAL - The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival will be held August 2-4, in the Berkshires, NY.
Contact: http://www.falconridgefolk.com/; falcridge@aol.com.
WAR RESISTERS - The War Resisters League will hold its 90th anniversary conference, Revolutionary Nonviolence: Building Bridges Across Generations and Communities, August 1-4, at Georgetown University. The event will focus on the U.S.’ long history of antimilitarism.
Contact: 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012; 212-228-0450; wrl@warresisters.org; http://www.warresisters.org.
POPULAR ECONOMICS - The Center for Popular Economics is holding its 2013 Summer Institute August 4-9 at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. No background in economics is needed for this intensive training. This year’s theme is, The Care Economy: Building a Just Economy with a Heart.
Contact: Center for Popular Economics, PO Box 785 Amherst, MA 01004; 413-545-0743; programs@populareconomics.org; www.populareconomics.org.
VETERANS - Veterans for Peace is holding the 28th annual convention August 6-11 in Madison, WI. This year’s theme is, Power To The Peaceful.
Contact: http://www.vfpnationalconvention.org/.
DEMOCRACY - The Democracy Convention will take place August 7-11 in Madison, WI. The convention brings together nine conferences including topics such as media, education, defense, race, environment and others.
Contact: https://democracyconvention.org/.
MEN - The 38th National Conference on Men & Masculinity: Forging Justice: Creating Safe, Equal and Accountable Communities, presented in partnership with HAVEN, will be held in Detroit, MI, August 8-10.
Contact: ccardinal@haven-oakland.org; http://www.nomas.org/.
OCCUPY - An Occupy National Gathering will be held in Kalamazoo, MI, August 21-25.
Contact: natgat2013@gmail.com; http://occupynationalgathering.net/.
COMMUNITIES - The Communities Conference is a networking and learning opportunity for co-operative or communal lifestyles, with workshops, events and entertainment; scheduled for August 30-September 2 at the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia.
Contact: http://www.communitiesconference.org/.
LABOR DAY - The 29th annual Bread and Roses Festival, a celebration of the ethnic diversity and labor history of Lawrence, MA, will be held September 2, in honor of the 1912 Bread and Roses Strike. There will be music, dance, poetry, drama, ethnic food, historical demonstrations, walking & trolley tours.
Contact: PO Box 1137, Lawrence, MA 01842; 978-794-1655; http://www.breadandrosesheritage.org/.
OCCUPY WALL STREET - September 17 is the two-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Events are planned in New York City and worldwide.
Contact: http://occupywallst.org/.
TEACHERS - The 13th Annual Conference, “Teaching for Social Justice: The Politics of Pedagogy,” will be held October 12 in San Francisco, CA. The free event features workshops, resources, and free childcare.
Contact: 415-676-7844; teachers4socialjustice@yahoo.com; http://www.t4sj.org/.
HAITI - International Action, which brings clean water and chlorinators to Haiti, seeks office space capable of housing up to six people and their office equipment.
Contact: Zach Bremer, Zbrehmer@haitiwater.org; 202-488-0735; http://www.haitiwater.org/.
MEDIA - The Union for Democratic Communications and Project Censored are sponsoring a joint conference on media democracy, media activism and social justice to be held November 1-3 at the University of San Francisco. Proposals for presentations, workshops and panels from activists and critical scholars are invited.


