Nazi Abortion Laws, Menstruation Pamphlets, & Nipples!
Dear Pulpistx,
Happy birthday to the alien-lobed Aquarians among us! Y’all are delicious, communicative, creative freaks, and we love you.
This past week, I went to Las Vegas for work. I’ve always sort of despised Vegas, but then two things happened. The first is that I went to Vegas with someone who has a lot of money — that will change anyone’s mind about anything. The second is something my friend Monet once said. “Think of Vegas as a shitty bottle of generic ranch dressing,” they said. “The plastic bottle is all bedazzled and covered in gold and diamond dust, but underneath, it’s still just a shitty bottle of ranch dressing.”
And that juxtaposition — the high-brow-low-brow combination — really just *did it* for me. It feels, strangely, oddly reflective of the way we as humans love and appreciate the sensational: a mix of vibrant, glitzy, dazzling, with a healthy dose of cheap ass thrill.
I was so grateful to return home to PULP, whose mission is exactly that: the disposability, and yet vitality, of pulpy things — of literature, of cheaply-made smut, of sneaking a peek.
In love & filth,
July (+ Katie)
You’re A Young Lady Now, by Emilie Haertsch
“I flipped through “Now you are 10” first. The booklet contained illustrations of a perky, ponytailed girl wearing a poodle skirt. It told me that at my current age I would have the urge to start wearing my hair differently (I had been considering curly bangs recently to complement my glasses), notice “pretty” curves emerging (definitely in my thighs), and look forward to co-ed parties.”
The Fall Of San Fernando Valley, Pt II, by Ben Van Alboom
“Scene 1: The hair of the businesswoman must be pulled back, her white shirt needs to be neatly tucked in her skirt, and her red tie should end near her hips. The dominatrix dresses just as uninspired: black, leather dress; ditto shoes. But in the second scene, she is allowed to wear a white shirt as well, while the businesswoman (or foot slave, if you like) exchanges her red tie for a black one.
Oh, and also extremely important: NO NUDITY. On the other hand, “Any verbal humiliation is absolutely welcome.”
The Nazi Law Being Weaponized By Far Right Extremists, by Alex Foley
“It came as a shock to me, then, when I learned about the state of abortion law in Germany, liberal Germany — lynchpin of the European project — with its far more permissive attitudes towards sex than us repressed Brits. Abortion rights are now under threat in Germany by the same far-right forces that have laid siege to them in the US, thanks to a Nazi law that has recently been exhumed.
The history of abortion legislation in Germany is understandably complicated.”
My Nipples, Myself, by Livie Campbell
“Because I was pregnant again, I wanted to scream at my nipples: “No, stop! You’ll need that hard-won, toughened outer layer again in a few months!” but apparently each baby gets a newly softened set to obliterate. Upon indoctrination into the nursing life, nipples crack and bleed like pencil erasers mangled by the mouth of an absent-minded thinker.”
The Pulpit Presents: The Bloody Truth. By July Westhale
