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,is a non-profit אשת חיל – Fallopian Falafel Jerusalem-based feminist zine established in May, 2007. Editor-in-Chief: Hadass S. Ben-Ari Contributors: Merav Fima, Nicole Walker, Leah Moses, Sara Eisen, Roy Runds, Yahm Reichart, Mindy Aber Barad. Layout and design: Hadass S. Ben-Ari, NY Productions (www.nypcanada.com) Cover Art: Powerpuff Girls: created by Craig McCracken; Ultraviolet: drawn by Randy Green, Rick Ketcham and Steve Firchow; Wonder Woman: drawn by Terry Dodson, created by DC Comics, William Moulton Marston; Anita Blake: created by Laurell K. Hamilton; Alissa White-Gluz photo: by Geoff Roecker. Order: To order a copy of any issue of the zine, contact the editor and provide your mailing address as well as the number of the issue you want. Prices may vary depending on the weight and destination of the requested issue. Submissions and Letters to the Editor: Submissions to the zine may include (but are not limited to) feature stories, personal essays, poetry, short stories, op-eds, rants, reviews, recipes, and visual art pieces (photography, drawings, paintings, cartoons and caricatures, comics, collages, etc.). Submissions to the zine may be in Hebrew, English, or French. The editor reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity or space. However, any changes made will be discussed with the author prior to publishing to preserve the message of the piece as well as the author’s freedom of expression. Contact Info: E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.fallopianfalafel.com © Copyright 2008 All rights reserved to Hadass S. Ben-Ari, editor-in-chief and אשת חיל – founder of Fallopian Falafel Zine. Rights to the submissions remain the rights of the authors. Any use of the material on the zine, in whole or in part, without prior authorization is strictly prohibited. 1 Hadass S. Ben-Ari opular fairy tales have originally intended to be. mostly the same elements When you send an article to a – a stunning beauty cursed P popular newspaper, the editor will by an evil witch until a handsome slice and dice it, butcher and shred prince comes to her rescue. Popu- it beyond recognition before pub- lar superheroines in comic books lishing it. Your byline will still be share many of the same features on it, but the piece is clearly no – flowing hair, high heels and gi- longer yours. DIY zines will rarely gantic breasts. edit anything, if only for size or Sure, it’s great to have these in- grammatical purposes, and your credibly toned women kick ass, article will keep the same explicit, but exaggerating their physi- bold message it was intended to cal assets is quite generic, as a convey. So DIY is a means one can woman’s body is use to avoid being something that is sold out. heavily exploit- However, pop culture ed in pop culture is still a part of our and media. And lives one way or an- sure, Disney’s other. Whether our heroines have parents read us pop- all affected us ular children’s stories one way or an- before bedtime, or if other, but their we watched popular passive nature, movies or grew up which causes with Sesame Street or them to fall un- the Muppets, or even der the spell of if we played with an evil witch or Cabbage Patch dolls under the spell or G.I Joes, popular culture affect- of Prince Charming, makes me ed us no matter how indie-vegan- wonder if girls don’t deserve a feminist-anarchist-pothead-hippy- more powerful role model. punk we may be today. This is why we feminist indie zin- This issue features various elements esters look to the culture of DIY of pop culture in all its forms: art, for expression and entertainment. films, poetry, music, dolls, plus There is nothing better than get- a special interview with Alissa ting your hands on a demotape White-Gluz, the lead vocalist of put out by a band that refuses to Canadian Death Metal band, The abide by the rules of popular Agonist. record labels, and keeps its mu- sic as raw and honest as it was Enjoy! 2 A Study of Frida Kahlo’s Legacy Merav Fima rida Kahlo (1907-1954, Mex- thoughts, fantasies and sensations, ican), the first female artist to Kahlo challenged this prevalent no- Fsell a painting to the Louvre, tion, imbuing the female body with excelled at her art despite her se- a certain depth. vere physical disability, breaching a field until then largely governed A close examination of Kahlo’s paint- by men. Yet, until recently, her fame ings clarifies her insecurities as a fe- had been overshadowed by that male artist. While women often ap- of her husband, renowned Mexican pear in power positions, such as her muralist and political activist, Diego nurse and Mother Earth, endowed Rivera. with nurturing, creative properties, she herself is often illustrated clad in Kahlo’s conflicted identity as a fe- corsets. Even though they represent male artist of the medical de- Jewish descent Her trademark uni- vices used to cure clearly preoc- her injured back, cupied her, as brow and unsmooth they are curiously demonstrated upper lip point to her reminiscent of the by her numerous corsets historically self-portraits, desire to transcend worn by women making up for aesthetic pur- about a third of the gender barrier poses. Such cor- her oeuvre. She sets restrain the once asserted, and to establish her- body, restricting “I paint myself, the woman’s range because I am so self as a recognized of motion, in order often alone, be- and respected artist. to fulfill a fashion- cause I am the able ideal, usually subject I know best.” conceptualized by men for their own pleasure. The persistent depiction of her- self on canvas reveals her inner Despite her fondness for bright, col- struggle to reconcile her feminine orful dresses patterned after tradi- and artistic aspects, as well as her tional Mexican costumes, Kahlo often ceaseless questioning whether a fe- donned masculine suits. Her trade- male artist is a worthy subject for mark unibrow and unsmooth upper a portrait? For centuries women’s lip, captured by her self-portraits, bodies have been featured in ma- point to her desire to transcend the jor artworks, not as active, creative gender barrier and to establish her- beings such as herself, but rather self as a recognized and respected as passive objects of admiration artist. By adopting a persona that by male voyeurs. By painting her integrates both genders, she may 3 “Roots” by Frida Kahlo - One of her many self-portraits have sought to universalize her ing Jean Paul Gaultier, have been artworks, defining herself primar- intrigued by her eclectic style of ily as an artist. Yet, she maintained dress, modeling their own collec- her feminine instincts, grieving her tions on her favorite clothing items. inability to bear children in a se- However, Calvin Klein’s underwear ries of paintings of fetuses in the advertisement, The Suicide of Frida womb. Kahlo, featuring her adorned head juxtaposed with a muscular male Kahlo’s fascinating character and torso, reflects the instability of her artistic innovations have inspired gender, and perhaps a man’s refus- numerous other artists to produce al to believe in a woman’s creative works based on her life and paint- powers. ings. At least six films have been made, the best known of which Kahlo’s greatness as an artist de- is Frida (2002) starring Selma rives from her perseverance, de- Hayek. Moreover, a dozen plays spite the pain she suffered and the have been performed worldwide, difficulties she encountered as a as well as dance shows by three woman. Indeed, she seems to have different companies in Europe and transformed these obstacles into North America. Likewise, Italian art- creative stimuli, explicitly engag- ist, Marco Corona, has published a ing with them in her paintings. It is graphic novel entitled Frida Kahlo: no surprise, then, that she continues A Surreal Biography (1998), while to inspire others in their own artistic Nikolas Muray photographed her. endeavors. Finally, fashion designers, includ- 4 Hadass S. Ben-Ari grew up in the Barbie genera- is enormous tion. Being my spoiled little self, compared to I I had a whole load of them, with the rest of all their accessories and a fully fur- their body nished, three-story doll house, with and Mick Jag- a plastic elevator operated by a ger is obvi- string. What frustrated me most ously jealous about the dolls was not their slender of the size of figure, as I was probably the human their lips. Talk representation of their proportions, about misrep- but their asexuality. Their breasts resenting hu- have no nipples, and neither they man propor- nor the only Ken doll I ever owned tions. had any signs of genital organs. I thought if Barbie caused such a stir Even as a little kid What frustrated me because of her I used to dream looks, maybe the of anatomically most about Barbies next plastic idol correct Barbies for little girls to that would al- was not their slender come out would low me to play be a little less of- around with their figure, as I was prob- fensive. facial expression ably the human rep- Then again, I’m because my Bar- thinking huge bie had moods, resentation of their head, small body, and her smile big eyes… doesn’t was too fake and proportions, but their that remind you of static to repre- another figure? A sent those moods. asexuality. cartoon character I also wanted my who came before doll to have extra movable joints in Barbie was even conceived… Betty the fingers and toes, and that her Boop ring a bell? butt and breasts would be made of a softer material to make her seem As alienish as she may seem, that more human.

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