Edited by Brian AwehaliAK Press
I am really bummed that I missed out on LiP magazine's entire existence, but it isn’t the first time I’ve made such a mistake. As a teenager, I poured over prom dresses and Patrick Dempsey in Seventeen as the much more empowering era of Sassy passed me by. Now I surf around on eBay and Craigslist in search of used copies of Sassy that most people are unwilling to sell in the first place.
As luck would have it, LiP has spared me from extra time hunting on the internet for back issues. The former editor of LiP, Brian Awehali, has just released a collection of the magazines greatest pieces in a book entitled Tipping the Sacred Cow. Every single article in this anthology forced me to shift my thinking about issues near and dear to my heart (feminism, the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr., eco-friendly policies—even the fine art of using the toilet). Readings were extremely political, but without pointing fingers at conservatives or liberals. The overall feeling I got from each reading is that the world is pretty screwed up, and we all need to step up to the plate to make major systemic change.
I particularly enjoyed the first article (by Bitch co-founder Lisa Jervis) about feminism and its reliance on gender separation to keep the movement going. Mattilda, aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore, penned an equally moving article entitled “Sweatshop-Produced Rainbow Flags and Participatory Patriarchy: Why the Gay Rights Movement is a Sham.” Both of these articles forced me to reflect about my own close personal ties to the women’s and gay rights movements and to think outside the box in terms of how these movements might need some major revamping.
The book is also full of in-depth interviews with various authors, visionaries, and other experts. Instead of the usual drab questions from most magazines, from interviewers who barely study their subjects ahead of time, I found LiP’s interviews to be fascinating dialogue. I cared just as much about the questions being asked as I did about the responses.
Tipping the Sacred Cow teaches a depressing lesson in the ups and downs of the ruthless magazine publishing industry—that even the best, most transformative writing may not equal a sustainable publication.
Review by Kerri Kanelos
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1 comments:
This book was a mindfuck! Yea, When I was reading the Sweatshop-Produced Rainbow Flags I was thinking that this was diametrically opposed to what I have believed so far. Then I ralized that my whole way of thinking was shifted for enough time to think that there may be more. Nice review. The AK Press crew takes on some great projects.
I never heard of this magazine untill they put it in my hands. Thanks again.
Cheers
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