Dear Real Change:
I’m writing in response to the interview of cartoonist Ellen Forney entitled “Lusty Lady,” [Nov. 7-13]. The article is well-written, lengthy, and has a very good, large photo of Forney as well. But I have a problem with it being in Real Change.
I buy it from a vendor I know somewhat personally. I doubt that she and many other vendors could relate to this article, let alone support it. It’s not relevant to any issues for the homeless, which admittedly are very broad ones, such as war, housing policies in our area, etc.
There’s one large area of bolded, enlarged print that I have a special problem with: Forney says that “Insecurity and sexual frustration are big problems for a lot of people, and stifle their ability to really express themselves in a positive way. …[T]hose are the kinds of things that really weigh people down.”
Those statements aren’t linked coherently. Insecurity and sexual frustration are very different problems. There’s nothing Northwest about that, it’s just Forney’s opinion, and very narrow at that.
The large graphic in the center of page two of the article shows a mostly nude woman with her nipples and genitalia blocked out by stars bending over something soft and giving. It’s a very offensive graphic to me, and I’m no prude. I’m a lesbian who’s read much erotica and seen what’s termed “pornographic” photos and illustrations, mostly on the Internet, and studied those with interest. I haven’t read or seen much that I’d call “erotic” in any of it. I’ve read that many people lose interest in the graphics, photos, videos, etc., after the so-called novelty wears off. Others escalate to wanting another level of the same, with some going into violent material, and likely those are trauma victims and returned soldiers of war.
In the article, Forney is quoted as saying that she did a comic called “How to fuck a woman with your hands.” If anybody attempts to penetrate a woman in any orifice with two hands at once, that’s violent action. If it’s part of two hands, nothing states that.
This not only promotes violence, but also bespeaks ignorance of the female body. Violence sometimes infiltrates into areas of our lives we’re not aware of. This article is doing that, surely, for some people, but fortunately not for me; I’m too aware of what promotes violence in the thoughts, emotions, and actions of people.
Tracy Karon Wright | Seattle