Max’s Rant

Title (as given to the record by the creator):  Max’s Rant
Date(s) of creation:  April 1996
Creator / author / publisher:  FaT GiRL, Max Airborne
Physical description: One column of a two-column zine page with text in black and white
Reference #:  FG5-007-Rant
Links: [ PDF ]

Max’s Rant

Read This, Sisters 

I was sitting up last night pondering two things: 

1) the major impact FaT GiRL has had on the lives of many dykes from all walks of life, which I know to be true based not only on the slew of letters FaT GiRL receives, but also from the number of folks who approach me personally and tell me how much FaT GiRL has affected them. 

And 2) the fact that there are many “feminist” and “lesbian-friendly”  bookstores that refuse to carry FaT GiRL. Some say they have rules about not carrying anything with S/M  content, some say they don’t think it will sell (never mind that we offer it to them on consignment, so even if it didn’t sell, it would be no loss to them whatsoever.) The owner of West Berkeley Women’s Books, after carrying it based on receiving numerous requests from customers, sent it back with no note or anything. I called to ask her why, and she reluctantly admitted that it annoyed her that men who came in picked it up. Geez, why wouldn’t they pick it up? It’s interesting! Full Circle Books in Albuquerque said they wouldn’t carry it because only a tiny percentage of their customers were fat S/M dykes. Never mind that most of the content of the magazine has nothing to do with S/M whatsoever, and that many of our readers aren’t into S/M at all, and many of them aren’t even fat! 

But that isn’t even really the point. The point is that here we have a fledgling dyke magazine that is really doing something to bring dykes together to express ourselves honestly, and then we have our “sisters” who own bookstores, in a position to offer support to fat dykes in their community at no cost to them, but refusing based on their prejudicial attitudes about sexuality (or whatever it is). It’s a kick in the butt, reminding me that no, not all of my sisters are very sisterly. Part of me thinks “silly me for assuming they would be,” but wait a minute, why the hell should I expect any less from other dykes? After all, I do believe in community, and I do believe that dykes are family and should treat each other with respect and help each other out whenever possible. And yes, I even believe that “Sisterhood is Powerful.” Come on sisters, we need each other! Let’s stop being so damn afraid of each other and communicate! Just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean we should try to censor each other. Really. Haven’t we been through this for a couple of generations now? How long will it take? 

If you like FaT GiRL, please, tell your local bookstore how much you like it. Thank them for carrying it. If they don’t carry it, request it. If they refuse to carry it, stop supporting them, and tell them so. FaT GiRL ought to be accessible to as many fat dykes as possible, not only to dykes in large cities or dykes “in the know.” 

By Max Airborne