R E C E N T L Y
Why feminists are co-dependent with philandering Bill
The sexual symbolism of Ted Kaczynski's crimes
Deconstructing the Kennedys
Should an economist wear a short, tantalizing black dress to work?
Prozac is for wimps
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A L S O
About Camille Paglia
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C O L U M N I S T S
Sexpert Opinion
Bestseller Hell
Spice of Life
Telling a book by its cover
Right On!
Word by Word
Ask Camille
Second Thoughts
Sound Salvation
Unzipped
The Awful Truth
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A S K_C A M I L L E +|+ C A M I L L E+P A G L I A
PAGE 2 OF 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dear Camille:
Are you a Winter
Olympics fan? Do you get caught up in the "USA! USA!"
nationalism? And what do you think of Canadian skating star Elvis Stojko's
efforts to inject some testosterone into his sport? After getting
relatively low marks from the judges on his short program, he defiantly
said: "If the message is to change what I'm doing, I'm not going to change
... I'm
a powerful skater, a masculine skater. I don't skate feminine; I'm not
going to be that way. I don't have a feminine side."
Elvis fan
Dear Elvis fan: As a Hellenophile, I revere the Olympic tradition, which connects the present to the great pagan past. The sacred games were a way for the war-torn ancient world to momentarily unite and divert destructive nationalistic energies into symbolic ritual display. Athletics provide a safe arena for flag-waving, a process of tribal identification that may be hardwired into the human brain. In the past, I've despised the provincialism of American TV treatment of international sporting events, which has overfocused on American stars at the expense of brilliantly accomplished foreign athletes. CBS's coverage thus far of the Nagano Winter Olympics seems more reserved and dignified than usual, which is promising progress. As for Elvis Stojko, the 1997 world champion who just won the silver medal at Nagano, I don't want to offend Canadians, for whom I feel great affection (except, of course, for those tiny Ontario pockets of rancid, American-style Stalinist feminism), but the extraordinary, nervously overcompensating remark you quote from Stojko is truly awful. As the camera focused on Stojko's mother after his short program, the CBS commentator stupidly put this boast in her mouth: "My son is a stud!" In what galaxy? Alas, I have never been impressed with Stojko, whom I regard as a Mr. Pallid Potato Head with no shoulders and limp, stringbean arms, a clunky lurcher into demagogic whirling-dervish tricks. He has none of the grace, style and fire of the Russian skaters, who of course enjoy the advantage of a proud national heritage of classical ballet. On the whole, few top skaters possess the dance virtuosity of a Dorothy Hamill, for example, who had exquisite, elegant extension into her arms and hands. These days, even champion skaters clomp around on ice with protruding butts, dead torsos, stiff necks and pathetically flapping arms. They can pump all the rock music they want at us, but they sure don't feel it. They're clueless about the internal, integrated, fluid rhythms of dance. None of this will change until African-Americans get the childhood financing and social opportunities for skating lessons. Then world-class skating choreography will be revolutionized, and earnest overachievers like Stojko will stop identifying artistry with effeminacy. Dear Camille:
I caught your always commonsensical comments on CNN the other day (with your
favorite Greta Van Susteren) regarding the uproar over the then-pending
execution of Karla Faye Tucker, born-again Christian and admitted pick-ax
murderer. Although I have conflicted feelings about the death penalty
personally, I was once again disgusted by the outrageous hypocrisy of those
who seem to have no problem executing anyone who's not "born again" (read:
slimeball Jerry Falwell). Do these people actually believe we should only
execute non-Christians? Bring back the Inquisition? Please share your
thoughts on this frightening proposition.
Eric Hallquist
Dear Eric Hallquist: I favor capital punishment as society's ultimate judgment on particularly atrocious crimes. In the ancient Roman and Old Testament way, I view punishment as retribution and revenge, not as rehabilitation. I loathe the way namby-pamby social-welfare ideology has crept into the criminal justice system. As a libertarian, I believe our laws should be simple and few, with no arcane subsets such as those nosing into ambiguous motivation (as in "hate-crimes" statutes) or those excusing heinous acts because of sudden prisonhouse reformation via psychologists or clerics. Karla Faye Tucker's predicament was tragic, but she committed acts of barbaric savagery for which a man would be expected to pay the price. As an equity feminist, I believe that women cannot demand equal opportunities in society without also being ready to accept equal risks and responsibilities. Women should not ask for special protections based on gender -- on death row or on the battlefield, where women with the right level of physical stamina and training should be sent into combat. Tucker's conversion to evangelical Protestantism cuts no ice with me. As an atheist, I feel that no sect has a right to intervene in the legal process. As a pugnacious Amazon, I also dislike the way Tucker's new, very breathy, very feminine persona played on conservative heartstrings. There have been plenty of black men on death row who experienced similar spiritual transformations, but they couldn't play Pollyanna, could they? Despite the advances of feminism, most people still don't believe that a woman can be as criminal as a man. And despite the confused claims of those who have never deeply studied the historical record, we have yet to find a single woman who has committed gruesome atrocities of the level of Jack the Ripper, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. The isolated stalker as rationally systematic, sex-tinged murderer remains a male phenomenon. Karla Faye Tucker, like the giddy girls of the Charles Manson gang, seems to have been on a manic lark with her boyfriend. But that should not let her off the hook. Justice must be blind to gender.
By the way, what the hell was Bianca Jagger doing out there on Tucker's
death watch picket line? (Whatever happened to "Sympathy for the Devil"?)
CNN's cross-cutting among Bianca, the Rev. Jerry Falwell (serenely enthroned
in his library) and me was as amusingly surreal as a vintage Andy Warhol
video. I had no warning that Bianca would be there (protesting outside the
prison) until I was actually on air, from the middle of a chaotic Philadelphia
newsroom. I had to repress the desire to ask her about the coke-fueled glory
days of Studio 54. There's no business like show business!
Tired of conventional wisdom? Ask Camille. |
