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SOUND THE ALARM: Imagine our surprise when the latest pin-up
calendar appeared in the office. We were shocked and a bit confused,
hovering above the images, unsure what to make of all those women.
All 12 months and not one cleavage shot. It's mind-boggling.
We'd like to think the Women Firefighters 1998 Calendar ushers in new respect for the working woman. Published by Tom Boyz in San Francisco, we have to give due credit for moving beyond the typical cheesecake publication touting breasts, bikini lines and big rigs. Instead, this one depicts competent and proud women engaged in their careers, which are a far cry from posing spread-eagled across muscle cars.
It's sort of troublesome, actually--forcing femininity to exist somewhere between the familiar objectification of we whom Simone de Beauvoir labeled the "second sex," and the knee-jerk emulation of portraying women "just like men." Posed tit-for-tat (so to speak) like their flame-retardant male counterparts, these beefy women merely reify the male-dominated status quo rather than challenge it.
The Women Firefighters Calendar is a step, but a small step...in a size-12 boot. But we'll wait for the female version of Studmuffins of Science (another favorite alternative pin-up around here), and see what photographers can do with a woman's Bunsen burner. In the meantime, you can order the firefighter calendar by calling (415) 821-2178; or faxing (415) 821-3482. SEE JANE KICK ASS: Sassy magazine founder Jane Pratt is the editor-in-chief of a new publishing venture, humbly titled Jane. We were unable to reach her, shuffling as she was between L.A. and New York this week, but in the coming weeks we'll get the full skinny on this 35-year-old paper tiger. Her feisty take on fashion, femininity and pop-culture revolutionized the teen magazine industry, and she brings the same verve to this new market: Look out Cosmo, here comes Jane. In this second issue, we're treated to a hilarious road test of runway fashions, wherein reporter Gigi Guerra hits the streets in "an Alexander McQueen top with a missing sleeve, and a crotch-slit skirt that's way too tight on (her) butt." Some NYPD bike cops admitted they thought she'd just come from Central Booking. Other civilians polled include teenagers with squirt guns, a pick-up basketball team, and a car-wash employee who offered the appraisal "scrumptious."
DEVOTION & HERESY: Catchy title for an unusual poetry
reading, but that's just what The Sonora Review
promises at noon Saturday, December 6, when Allison Moore,
Kimberly Grob, Deborah Bernhardt, Linda Smuckler and others
converge on the Garden of Gethsemane to read original works
in the equally original sculpture garden (part of the Santa Cruz
River Park, on Congress Street just west of I-10).
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But we're not sure to whom it's marketed. It appears a celebration
of women past and present: Each month is so saturated with birthdays
of famous women, even the most ardent feminist can up her knowledge.
And from January to December, the fairer sex is decked out in
firefighter garb, complete with hose and ax.
Take Ms. May: a strange hybrid of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid,
simultaneously cute and ready to kick ass in the latest action
thriller about firefighters. As Paula Poundstone once wrote, "I
hate women. Instead of reaching our potential, we're tied to the
thought that says: 'We want to do what men do.' That's why tobacco
and gun companies target us."
We also enjoyed the "if you're loaded" fashion selections,
including the $2,350 Fendi silk purse. Obviously, they hadn't
seen the Victoria's Secret Christmas catalog yet, or we're sure
the $3 million Miracle Bra would've received a form-filling nod
therein. Snowboarding, a totally cool pictorial by 23-year-old
photog artist Sabina Spaldi, irreverent and invented celeb gossip
in a column called "Dish," an update on America's real
homeless (the average age is now 25, folks), new fiction, shopping
for a shrink, and so much more on nearly 200 glorious, glossy
pages--all of it smart and funny. Finally, a girl mag for grown
ups!
