Amazons International # 53 ************************** Contents: Words from Editor Matthew W. M-S.: Amazon Theater & Bio Thomas: The Way(s) of the Warriors Ron B.K.: The Amazon Tao Part 2: Spirit Guides mac: Where, Oh, Where Are the Amazon Women? Date of publication: 09.07.96 ********************************************************************* WORDS FROM EDITOR I've created a web page with a collection of Amazon links, aiming to cover the entire spectrum of meaning that has been attributed to the term "Amazons". I intend to keep on expanding and maintaining this page as a reliable source for Amazon-related material. Feel free to link to it if you want. You'll find it here: http://www.math.uio.no/~thomas/lists/amazon-links.html I've also created a page with the basic info about Amazons International, how to subscribe and unsubscribe etc., which you may want to add to your hotlist. You'll find it here: http://www.math.uio.no/~thomas/lists/amazons.html The two pages are linked to each other. Nothing fancy (yet), just plain text. ********************************************************************* Date: Thu, 4 Jul 1996 07:40:02 -0700 (PDT) From: Matthew W Mitchell-Shiner Subject: Amazon theater & Bio Greetings! My name is Matthew Mitchell-Shiner, and my interest in Amazons is an old, and nagging one that I have made into a current and intense issue for study, thought and writing. I am currently a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in their drama department. I returned to school after four years of working professionally as a production stage manager. I returned to school after my wife returned to work on her MA/PhD, and now I am interested in continuing my education to the advance degree level. My current interest is still with production stage management, but also I have branched off into directing and playwriting, one of my first loves. I think no matter what, I will always write. I am married to a feminist (although not an Amazonian feminist), who also challenges me to look at the world from a different point of view. My first introduction to legend of Amazons came when I started my education at UC Irvine, and we staged a production of Penthesilea. Although the production was flawed by many minor things, the overall production was amazing. It was interesting to see a whole Greek legend/myth that I had never heard of before. Later, in a post-mortem of the production, the director discussed other production possibilities, including setting the play in the Victorian Era. The idea stuck with me for a long time (seven years now). Then recently, I saw an art show, featuring the drawings of Lari Pittman, and one painting brought that idea of women in the Victorian Era, their roles, and they way to break out of those molds. (The Victorian Era was probably one of the low points in women's rights.) So, I am currently working on my Honor's Project, which will be a full length play based strongly upon the Penthesilea legend set in 1860 (most probably in New England). The working title, Pergola Hall, refers to an all women's school that serves as the back drop. I am using the melodramatic style that was popular at the time as a framework, but will shatter and skew it as the drama unfolds. The play will deal with very strong, aggressive women in a society whose ideal women is neither. (In my concept now, the "ideal" Victorian women are played by men.) Is the fact that men could neither appreciate nor deal with a woman who wanted nothing less than to be treated as equal, or maybe superior, if their talents merited it. In my version the Penthesilea figure will die, but one of the Amazonian women takes down a guy (to set up the image that a dead man is the most perfect man ;-) . . . . maybe?) I am interested in engaging in any type of conversations about the Amazon Legend, both classical and it's effects through time, to the 1860's and beyond. I already have some of the form and ideas set for the play, but it's flexible. I still have eight months until the stage reading. Although the play may not be dealing with Amazons directly, it will be heavily influenced by them. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me, and meeting me in cyberspace. I look forward to discussion, and reading other's views of the legends and developments. Matthew W Mitchell-Shiner ********************************************************************* From: Thomas Subject: Review of Shi; samurai ethos; Way of the Warrior; Xena; some counter-trends; and more THE WAY(S) OF THE WARRIORS The Way of the Warrior is the story of Ana Ishikawa -- Shi. Daughter of an outcast of the Sohei warrior munks and a Western Catholic nun, Shi is double outcast, torn between Japanese and Western culture, shaped by the traumatic event of being forced as a 5-year old to see a Yakuza mob leader brutally killing her father and brother, then trained by her grandfather in The Way of the Warrior. Created by Bill Tucci, published by his Crusade Comics, a company created in order to preserve his full artistic control of his creation, Shi is the quintessential synthesis of an uncompromising Amazon story and the Japanese samurai ethos. "Revenge? Selfish to some, ignoble to others... But still the only perfect circle in human behavior. All else is confusion." But there are moments of tenderness as well, indeed a lot of the nerve in this story comes from the tension between tenderness and the demands of circumstance and samurai discipline. At this time, there are two albums, or books. The first one is comprised of the first four parts of Shi's story (previously published as four consecutive comic magazines). This is a fastpaced presentation that achieves a hyperreal impact on the reader by virtue of its stylization of just the right details at the right time, details that both express the character of the persons as well as drive the story onwards; and also by virtue of the highly skillful integration of quotations from Sun Tzu and Musashi. These quotations are offered not only for contemplation in their own right, they also serve to communicate Shi's character and state of mind to the reader. Add the dramatic high-quality drawings and the excellent paper quality, and one is sitting with a high quality product. The other album (The Senryaku Collection) is not a story, but a collection of stratagems, the stratagems of the Way of the Warrior. Each stratagem is doubly illustrated: first by a drawing (of Shi and others), and second by a story from Shi's life providing example and concretization. Tucci calls what he does visual literature; a title that seems well earned. It is hard to give these works the praise they deserve without becoming gushy; still harder to continue the praise without giving the plot away, so I'll end the part about Shi here, and continue with other examples of The Way of the Warrior. I mentioned Musashi and Sun Tzu; Musashi was a famous samurai, he wrote the book titled _The Five Rings_, about the psychology, character, and strategy of a warrior. Sun Tzu was a famous general, he wrote the book titled _The Art of War_, a book about the nature of conflict, setting forth the principles, strategies, tactics and mindset of dealing with conflicts. There is also an illustrated version of _The Art of War_, a sort of comic book version. And there is the recently excavated and published book titled _The Lost Art of War_, by Sun Tzu II, believed to be the grandson of Sun Tzu. Having read all this material recently has no doubt added to my enjoyment in reading Shi, as well as in reading Eve's (Scathach's) WWW pages (announced in the previous issue of AI) -- if you haven't already looked them up, then by all means do so. They are here: http://www.gvn.net/~greyowl/warrior/warrior.html -- and also linked from my Amazon links page. You will find an introduction to Sun Tzu, a brief history of the samurai, various articles and quotes, Martial Arts info, creeds, codes of honor, warrior names, the symbology of skulls, book references, an article about the ancient Amazons, and more. You will also find a thorough and up to date link collection to Xena web sites. That's right, the TV series Xena. Half a year ago, there was only the official MCA web site (MCA being the producer and owner of the series). I still remember the day I followed a link from some obscure web site to the MCA Xena site. They had quite a bit of information about the series, some pictures and a web discussion forum. That was enough for me. I started the process required for getting a Xena newsgroup (there are procedural requirements, depending on what kind of newsgroup you want; I was familiar with the procedures, as it wasn't the first time I created a newsgroup. I created the alt.feminism.individualism newsgroup about two years before that, and before that I did some preliminary work directed towards creating an Amazon group, before Jim Woodward came on the scene and then Jim got alt.amazon-women.admirers on the air). So, after organizing a support campaign among people from the Xena web forum and from alt.amazon-women.admirers, I created alt.tv.xena November 23rd 1995, about six months ago. I knew that Xena would stay, and grow. Today there are 20 or more Xena web sites, 3 or more Xena mailing lists, a couple of Xena magazines, a fan club that is also online, various articles, and pictures and interviews from Lucy Lawless' various apperances on TV shows like Letterman, KTLA and more. (You'll find all this from Eve's page of Xena links, or from my Amazon links page.) And I still haven't seen a single Xena episode... We don't have Xena in Norway. But I think we will, eventually. So there are good developments. In fact, I think that Xena, and independent comics companies like Crusade Comics, may have a vital impact on the popular culture, galvanizing current ideals and concepts of women and gender. But there are also bad trends. My friend Svein Olav Nyberg pointed out one of them: A new turn in several bodybuilding magazines, such as Flex, of portraying strong women as submissive; instead of focusing on their strength, they display the female bodybuilders in "bimbo positions". Such a tendency has always been present, but it seems to be the case that it is increasing rather than diminishing. And that certainly is the wrong direction, even if you wouldn't go quite as far as I'd be willing to in the opposite direction. (When will we see the first female bodybuilder with one or two smaller "male bimbos" on the front page of a mainstream bodybuilding publication?) Another example of bad trends came floating to me out of cyberspace some time back; a message that I got from the WISHPERD (see AI # 40) network, and they got it forwarded from another network. I'll include that message here: ######BEGIN INCLUDED MESSAGE###### Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 10:55:16 EST5EDT Sender: Women in Sport, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance From: Tara Magdalinski Subject: Wrestling with gender equity To: Multiple recipients of list WISHPERD This message recently came over another network that I am on. I thought it related well to the earlier message which mentioned a case about a girl on a wrestling team. Some states, it seems, are still living in the dark ages! Tara ----- Forwarded Message Follows ------- From: mesplitt@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu Date sent: Mon, 20 Nov 1995 15:42:43 -0600 (CST) Subject: Wrestling with gender equity To: lgb-sports@hookup.net Send reply to: mesplitt@aardvark.ucs.uoknor.edu I found an article in today's Oklahoma Daily (OU's student paper) that is relevant to the recent discussion of equity in sports. A 14-year-old girl in Valley Center, Kansas, has not been allowed to try out for the boys' wrestling team and the board that made the decision also failed to pass a motion to start a girls squad. (They noted that there would be no other girl teams to compete against). The girl had wrestled as an eigth-grader, but has been prevented from wrestling in high school. One of the local residents was quoted as saying "It's inappropriate for boys and girls to handle each other in this manner. It's way too physical in a sexual way." (So, would I be mistaken in thinking this person supports boys touching boys in a sexual way?!) It's such a sad state of affairs. This situation in Kansas seems to be reflective of the national problems with gender equity in sports. It is really too bad that folks can't work together to solve these issues. The casualty will be some wonderful sports (such as wrestling). Mike Splitt ######END INCLUDED MESSAGE###### So as you can see, we live in a time of opposing trends. I believe that the cybermedia -- electronic networks, virtual communities like this one, self-publishing on the WWW etc. -- will play a pivotal role in determining future trends. Indeed, they already play such a role. The advantage is that these media are flexible and desentralized, so there is a structural tendency to favor diversity and pluralism -- and that means liberty. Nevertheless, such a tendency isn't automatic or failsafe. They almost got the CDA, and they still haven't given that up; and the networks may be used to facilitate surveillance, and effective communication between fundamentalists, just as well as diversity and an open society. Use your voice on the net and on the web; and support that which you find to be of value in the popular culture. This too is the Way of the Warrior. Thomas Gramstad thomas@math.uio.no ********************************************************************* Date: Sat, 25 Nov 1995 09:03:06 From: Ronald B. Kugel Subject: The Amazon Tao Part 2: Mysticism AMAZON SPIRIT GUIDES Many primal cultures tap into their unconscious through the use of spirit guides. These guides may come in the form of dreams or visions, or the appearances of certain animals. They may be experienced personally or sometimes introduced through a shaman. This method of self-awareness is often too elusive for those of us in Western civilization to grasp. We frequently doubt not only the efficacy but also the believability of such things, and resort to more clinical and certainly more costly methods of self counsel. A few years ago, I was in rather deep emotional trouble, the details of which are not germane. It is enough to say that I became filled with fear. I was afraid to do even the most mundane things. There were things that needed to be done for my own benefit that I was afraid to do. I could not explain this fear, or what it was exactly I thought was going to happen. This went on for longer than I can remember. Just as I seemed to be nearing some sort of breaking point, I experienced a series of visitations. I began to have dreams involving females I had known. The common link between them was that they were all Amazons of one sort or another, who, because of my inhibitions, had previously intimidated me. The first instance involved an appearance by Cherri, whom in high school, I had admired from afar. She was a friendly girl but didn't seem to have time for those who were too shy to deal with her. Cherri was heavy, with a devilish grin, big chest and very long, almost black-red hair. It is a curious fact that her legs were so big and muscular that hardly anyone ever noticed her more 'usual' attributes. Everyone called her Putski (from Ivan Putski: A popular professional wrestler of the time who was known for his leg muscles). Not only did she not try to hide her legs (as many did, with less to hide than she), she seemed proud of herself in every way. Her skirts were always very short, her socks always rolled down around her ankles, and she even used to wear a blue T-shirt with the big Superman 'S' insignia across the chest. I remember too, that she had a laugh as broad and as beefy as her calf. I used to admire the way she seemed to occupy a space twice her size. She was so buxom and brawny in appearance and so gregarious in personality, that others just seemed to be as flat and vague as shadows. In the dream she chided me for never getting up the courage to ask her out. She gave me no indication that I would have met with success had I been able to do so: She only mocked me for never having tried. My eyes scanned the breadth of her, and I felt small against her husky voice. I was soon gripped by a longing regret that I had never had the courage to approach her. No matter the outcome, it would have been worth the risk. The same night I encountered another Amazon from my past named Lisa. I was a couple of years older and a bit wiser when I originally met her. I was very attracted to her. She was a tall strapping girl with a sweet heart. Although not a heavy girl, every limb and every feature she had, seemed slightly bigger than the norm. Together, it made for an impressive sight. Over time, through mutual acquaintances, we had become rather good friends, but I found her apparent size so daunting, that I was never able to suggest a more intimate course. In the dream she knew how much I wanted the relationship we *did* have, to have been even closer. In a quiet conversation she enveloped my hand in hers, and moved her large face nearer to mine, and confided earnestly: "You should have said something! Why didn't you tell me? We wasted so much time!". Her words rang in my head when I awoke, I felt as though I had just actually seen these girls. They seemed so real, and their voices were still so fresh in my memory. I was sure that I had just had a spiritual experience. The following night I had another dream. This time it involved a woman I had dated whom I called Mare. Mare was the quintessential jockette: A thin sheet of sun streaked blonde hair, bright blue eyes, freckles across a face of tomboyish good looks, and a strong cleft chin. It was midsummer when I first saw her. She worked in a small convenience store. I had gone in for a pack of cigarettes and there she was behind the counter. Her broad shoulders, sturdy neck, and smooth round muscles were as telling as the college varsity letter for swimming she must have kept in her drawer at home. We hit it off right away, but it wasn't until I almost developed a hacking cough (from all of the packs of cigarettes I had to buy as excuses) that I got up the nerve to ask her out. When Mare came to me in the dream, we met outdoors, on a vast area of grass. She hadn't aged a day. Her wide smile beamed behind stray strands of golden hair. Her pretty biceps poked out from beneath her white cotton shirt as she sat with her arms folded across her shins. We talked about our time together. Her words seemed so kind and encouraging. After a time, she left me alone in the sun, wrapped in her potent warmth and optimism. When I woke, I was transformed. I understood what they were all trying to tell me. Fear only has meaning if I allow it to. I was just as terrified of Mare as I was of Cherri and Lisa, but I worked through it. How can I let fear keep me from those that would enrich me? Upon reflection, I was able to see the common thread in these dreams, and earlier ones that I had ignored. It was only when the message came from the mouths of Amazons that I was willing to listen. Only the Amazon could communicate this message to me in a manner that I would understand and accept. My life was profoundly changed from that moment on, and I have never been the same. Now when an Amazon appears to me in my dreams, I know it's important. There have been many such occasions, and in each one, there is something for me to learn. They never speak to me without the intention of aiding me in some way, leaving me with the feeling that I am somehow under the psychic protection of these wonderful women who have chosen to act as my spirit guides. It is a glorious feeling that has only deepened my respect and admiration for all Amazons, and convinced me that there is more to the Amazon than meets the eye. Ron B Kugel [Part 1 of the Amazon Tao was published in AI # 51 -- Editor] ********************************************************************* Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 08:22:16 -0800 From: mac Subject: Where, Oh, Where Are the Amazon Women? After perusing the Amazon Arena BBS, the ftp site, alt.amazon-women.admirers, and various other "Amazon" related Web sites for the past six months, I have reached some disheartening conclusions, the first of which is that while men love, worship, and adore Amazons, the gals themselves do not have, or at least express, reciprocal feelings for their admirers. Judging from the poor showing of women on the aforementioned forums, I have also concluded that most Amazons (as defined by the newsgroup alt.amazon-women.admirers and not by feminists) are either oblivious to the action that is occurring on The World Wide Web or have little or no interest in exploring the Amazon-oriented forums (perhaps they are too busy pumping iron in the gymnasium, eh?). One need only look at the ratio of Amazons to admirers on The Net bulletin boards and newsgroups (and in ads placed in publications such as the AM-FEM directory) to be aware of that witheringly cold, hard fact, one that I find also annoying and depressing. Annoying, because, as one who, for some inexplicable reason, has always fantasized about being lovingly mauled by an oversexed, muscular maiden, I believed newsgroups such as alt.amazon-women.admirers and alt.sex.fetish.wrestling would allow me to actually meet my dream molester. Instead, the majority of participants in these forums are frustrated, adolescently-arrested pervos who sweatily post and exchange endless erotic/pornographic photo files (over and over and over), submit graphic, masturbatory sadomasochistic tales that describe men being humiliated, mangled, even killed by muscular women (a neurosis that seems, to me, to be the male equivalent of the female rape fantasy), and routinely beg in desperation, frustration, and horny anguish, "WHERE ARE THE AMAZON WOMEN???!!!" So, what we have here, in these forums, is pretty much the electronic equivalent of a seedy Saturday night pick-up bar filled with too many sex-crazed/starved clods and Z-E-R-O concupiscent bodybuilding babes ravenous for some playful conversation and action. Feh! Thus, I am forced to conclude that the indisputable superiority that Amazons possess over men has nothing to do with muscle mass or athletic capabilities and everything to do with their apparent complete and utter disinterest in associating with their anxious admirers -- which brings me to the depressing part of this tragedy. Why AREN'T more women subscribing, regularly and eagerly, to the Amazon forums? Why would Amazon women be offended (as I believe they are) by men who, are willing to humble, humiliate, degrade, and even subject themselves to harm for even just a smidgen of female attention? Could it be (as I suspect) that these strong women believe their 'admirers' are weak, pathetic, ridiculous wretches unworthy of respect let alone notice. If they do, I cannot blame them. Because even though, I too, dream about being "womanhandled" by some buxom, brawny "lumberjill," I must confess that if a gal requested me to crush her "between my massive thighs," I'd balk and immediately head for the hills simply because hurting people ain't my cup of tea -- which poses an interesting question: What satisfaction is gotten by Amazons who DO physically dominate men? We all know why some Amazon admirers fantasize about, and willingly pay for, the heavenly sensation of being constricted by a lovely, lethal pair of feminine thighs. But, what thrill does an Amazon get from brutalizing a man? Does she physically enjoy it; i.e., is it an orgasmic high? Is she realizing female "empowerment"? Is she literally male bashing in retaliation against real and perceived crimes by the "oppressive" masculine sex? Or (as I sadly expect) is she merely an aspiring starlet looking for entree' into "Hollywood" or (worse yet) a crass dominatrix dispassionately entertaining a client for a buck? If, in fact, Amazons do not, or cannot, appreciate the domination fantasies held by their admirers, then I must acknowledge that damned immortal and immutable truth: Men are enslaved by a sex drive that women do not possess -- and shall forever pay for it! Thus has it ever been, thus shall it ever be. Phooey! Despite such dire conclusions, I shall continue to surf the Net, and cruise the bulletin boards, newsgroups, and personals -- in vain, yes I know, but hope springs eternal! -- for that elusive rara avis: the Amazon Woman (Do such women exist? Or are they merely illusions -- like angels and dragons -- that exist in the feverish minds of foolish men who render their images in fantastic photographs, stories, and films?). I shall continue to hope that one day Amazon women will favorably acknowledge their admirers and "muscle in" on our conversations. I shall also continue to yearn for the day when men will not be exploited by women AND other men (Female Muscle Line, indeed!) merely because of a hormonal condition and psychological kink, and women will willingly, wholeheartedly, and cheerfully "play" with men, without requiring them to pay (either monetarily or by subscribing to some spiteful and punitive feminist-goddess matriarchal philosophy) for the privilege. And I shall continue to (feverishly, but respectfully) implore, "WHERE ARE THE AMAZON WOMEN?" mac@nmr.varian.com ***************************************************************** * Amazons International * * Thomas Gramstad, editor: thomas@math.uio.no * * Administravia/Listserver: amazons-request@ifi.uio.no * * Submissions: amazons@math.uio.no * * http://www.math.uio.no/~thomas/lists/amazons.html * ***************************************************************** "A Hard Woman is Good to Find" -- The Valkyries