OPINIONS ON SOME PRINTED MATERIAL THAT I ENJOY
Ed. Richard Ekins and Dave King, Virginia Prince: Pioneer of
Transgendering (Haworth Medical Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY,
13904-1580, 2005, $19.95 U.S., www.HaworthPress.com)
I
must confess I had not heard of Ms. Prince, but she was evidently the
publisher of Transvestia, the first national transgender magazine
(1960-1979), and had many of the same problems that Harry Hay and the
like had in the 1950s and 1960s with the Postal Service in America, not to
mention the legal powers-that-be (both fearsome enemies of self expression at
times).
This
is a collection of pieces, both by and about the title figure, ranging from
biography to psychological/sociological essays, some from the dark ages of the
50s and 60s (though do not kid yourself that things are all that much better
now in the medical/psychiatric world), and also includes some photographs of
the subject in recent years, since she is evidently still doing some work in
her field, despite now being in her 90s.
Some
of the more interesting, and contentious, aspects of her work presage many
‘gender outlaws’, since she feels, in about 90% of cases, gender reassignment
surgery is a mistake (a stance an increasing number of transfolks have taken).
This
slim volume is, nevertheless, both educational and fascinating, and well worth
preserving and absorbing for posterity.
Eric Jourdan, Translated by Thomas J.D. Armbrecht, Wicked Angels
(Southern Tier Editions/Harrington Park Press/Haworth Press, see above for
contact info, 2006, $12.95 US)
The
influence of Jean Genet is unmistakable in this slim volume, a book
banned in France from 1955 to 1985, written by the author, when he was 17, about
two 17-year-old cousins whose sadistic/masochistic love for one another can, of
course, only lead to doom.
In
this respect, it is like many of the books from the dark ages, where gay
characters have to die for their fun - except that, in the case of this volume,
they DO have wicked fun, though I suppose that lies in the interpretation of
the reader. Even someone like me, who
is not entirely uninterested in sadism, found some of the descriptions a bit
much.
It IS a very lurid book, both in terms of blood
and sex, and its high drama and over-the-top glorification of both violence and
angst can perhaps be explained somewhat by the writer’s youth and the fact
that, judging from the very brief biography, some of it may be disguised fact. However, much like the Canadian film Being
At Home With Claude, the mixture of nihilism and romance is heady and
intoxicating. A fascinating, dark,
intense work. As I can read French, I
must attempt to find the author’s other works, as none of those have been
translated to English yet – to see how they compare…
Ed. Milo, Mutate
Zine #10 (2935 N. Fratney, Milwaukee, WI, 53212, 2006, [email protected], www.mutatezine.com, free)
Sad to say, this
may be the last volume, as the editor has become busy with various other
projects of equal worthiness.
This time, there
are analyses of SuicideGirls.com (which I must admit I’ve not seen – it’s
evidently somewhat commercialized/watered-down punk porn), detailed info on how
to be a conscientious objector, a celebration of celibacy, a hanky code that
must be adopted immediately, meditations on cartoon characters and whoredom, an
ode to accessories, a handful of media-related reviews and a meditation on
pro-choice politics (very important in today’s America). Oh, and a wonderful quote from Emma
Goldman which once again makes me feel so cool to have gotten her in an
on-line ‘what historical feminist are you?’ quiz. J
All this in the
special long format I have come to know and love from Milo’s output. We’ll miss you, fella…let your freak flag
fly…
Alan Moore, David
Lloyd, et. al., V For Vendetta (Vertigo, 1990, $19.99 US)
So I saw the movie
before I read the comics. Shoot
me. It drew me to the book eventually,
if only to see Parliament go boom on a document I could look at over and over
and study without having to pause a recording (yes, I’m sick).
While the comic
has more to say about Thatcherism, given its era, than the movie’s fairly
pointed attacks on ‘national security’ and the like, it is still sharply
satirical and merciless.
Not wanting to
ruin the movie for you, I will simply say that the differences are slight
(Stephen Fry’s character in the movie is absent from the books, and Leader,
interestingly, is a more sympathetic figure in the panels…) and that both have
their twisted and anti-authoritarian charms.
Kevin Smith, Silent
Bob Speaks: The Collected Writings of… (Hyperion, 2005, $13.95 US, www.silentbobspeaks.com)
I must confess to
not having seen a single film by the man.
Like a number of average guys, I just want to jump his bones.
OK, perhaps not
average. In fact, most of the fellows
in that particular fan club are above average size, kind of furry and tend to
say ‘woof’ a lot (which I presume Silent Bob does not – of course, the
mind can derive any number of ways in which said gentleman could be KEPT
silent…many of which are illegal and immoral, but not fattening in small
doses…).
Now I must confess
I want to see some. Though his tales of
Reese Witherspoon are somewhat disconcerting in light of her image,
and his odes to how much he likes to
fuck his wife, touching and actually kind of vicariously interesting as they
are, do wear after a while, his hysterical fantasy around a comic book
convention and the hetero boner he seems to have for Ben Affleck (meh)
and Tom Cruise (eek) are both well written and amusing.
Not writing for
the prudish or the faint-of-heart, to say the least, and the pieces on morbid
obesity – hmmm, flipping ahead…too close to home… However, if the writing in his cinematic body is on par with this
book, I’d definitely check one out soon.
Of course, I’d also be checking out HIS body…but you had probably
figured that out already… J
Ed. Ron Suresha, Bear
Lust: Hot, Hairy, Heavy Fiction (Alyson, 2004, www.alyson.com, $15.95 US,
www.suresha.com)
Pornography. Body Hair.
Big men. There – the few nice
twinks and prudes on my reading list have run screaming home to watch Longtime
Companion, read Heather Has Two Mommies and guzzle down Nair.
Let us look behind
this curtain. Are those the feet of Queer
Eye For The Straight Guy? No? Let us begin by saying that, sometimes, Thor
loves Hephaestus. Yes – this does
happen.
Okay, so now that
I’ve blasphemed A Room of One’s Own, let me get to the point. I like written smut, and I don’t much care
who knows it. I especially like this
book, be it the improbable mythological mating described above in Furr’s
“Forged By Stalbjorn” or the alternately tender and raunchy “Balsam Poplar
Buds” by Jeff Mann (whose book Edge
I also recommend for its interweaving of intellect and lust). Of course, there is much much more from many
different points of view and style.
If your idea of a
good time is sweaty rolling with furry fellas, then this is the book for
you. If it isn’t – well, put the book
down. I’m sure you have a razor around
somewhere – shouldn’t you be shaving that one o’clock shadow of yours? J