While Americans may not experience the kind of censorship writers face in other countries (at least not yet), certain editorial decisions can hold the smack of censorship. Case in point, my beautiful sister-in-all Magdalene's letter to the editor, which appeared in yesterday's New York Times Magazine. Magdalene shares her story here:

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a letter to the NY Times Magazine. The Letters editor wrote back that they would like to publish it in the 1/22 magazine with edits for "length and clarity." Some of their edits are excellent, but one bums me completely.

Here's what I wrote:

"One look at the all-male photographs accompanying Arthur Lubow's article "The New Leipzig School" made me want leap up and yell "Where are the Guerilla Girls?" Even when painter Neo Rauch mocks American collectors' blind approach -- "Is he young? Does he come from Leipzig?" the question of the painter’s gender doesn't come up, it's already assumed to be male.

Thankfully Rauch, who stops working each day to cook lunch for his painter wife Rosa Loy, doesn't ignore artists with vaginas the way American art collectors do. Perhaps the collectors could learn to follow his lead in this, too, and throw the gals a crumb."

Here's what they published:

"The New Leipzig School"

"One look at the all-male photographs accompanying Arthur Lubow's article (Jan. 8) and I wanted to leap up and shout "Where are the Guerilla Girls?" Even when painter Neo Rauch mocks American collectors ("Is he young? Does he come from Leipzig?"), the painter’s sex is assumed to be male.

Thankfully Rauch, who stops working each day to cook lunch for his painter wife Rosa Loy, doesn't ignore artists who are women the way American art collectors do."

They took the "vaginas" away!

Odd how frumpy my edited letter made me feel.... like a stodgy old
conservative feminist instead of a wild exciting one.

I think censorship is all about fear--in this case, fear of speaking openly and honestly about women's bodies. At least that's how it seems to me. Yay to Magdalene for speaking for vaginas! The New York Times Magazine may try to silence them, but I'll happily give those vaginas a forum here.

Speaking of vaginas, I'm going to be taking part in a reading of The Vagina Monologues on February 28th at Back to the Grind in Riverside. I'll let you know when I have more details...