Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 5:32:21 +0100
From: Thomas Gramstad <thomas@math.uio.no>
Reply-To: Thomas Gramstad <thomas@math.uio.no>
To: ftp@etext.org
Subject: New READ ME for Amazons Intl
Message-Id: <CMM.0.90.2.815286741.thomas@polydevkes.uio.no>
Status: O


  ************************************************************
  *                                                          *
  *  The most recent version of this file is available from  *
  *  amazons-request@ifi.uio.no by sending a mail with the   *
  *  command _info amazons_ (without the underlines) in the  *
  *  text (not subject) of the message.                      *
  *                                                          *
  ************************************************************


This file contains information about all practical and policy
issues concerning Amazons International.  Please read it
carefully, and keep it handy.

This file consists of the following parts:

(1) Welcome text
(2) FAQ (answers to Frequently Asked Questions)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

(1)              Welcome to AMAZONS INTERNATIONAL!

Amazons International is an electronic magazine for and about Amazons
(physically and psychologically strong, assertive women who are not
afraid to break free from traditional ideas about gender roles and
femininity/"feminine interests and behavior"), and their friends and
lovers.  Amazons International is dedicated to the image of the
female hero in fiction and in fact, as it is expressed in art and
literature, in the physiques and feats of female athletes, and in
sexual values and practices.

I have three broad, general goals for this mailing list:

      ***** FUN *** LEARNING *** MORAL SUPPORT *****

Fun: How fun it is to be or to know an Amazon!

Learning: All the things you can do or be as an Amazon or as a friend
of one!

Moral support: There is nothing wrong and everything right about being
a strong and active female who doesn't like or fit in with the
femininity as weakness, wimpiness and subordination thing.

Topics covered include but are not limited to:

mixed wrestling               female fighting
arm wrestling                 bodybuilding
weight lifting                strength feats
boxing                        kick boxing

Here you can write about the wrestling match you had with your SO
yesterday, or you can write a review of Marion Zimmer Bradley's
"Amazons!", or you can post information about some event or
publication, etc.

Tell about your favorite literature, activities or stories.
Historical, anthropological or science fiction/fantasy stuff about
Amazons and Amazon cultures is also welcome here.  Sexuality: are
there attitudes, practices and emotional experiences that are only
possible in the company of Amazons?

Political, ethical and religious issues may be discussed when they are
relevant to the Amazon concept or to how Amazons are perceived and
treated; be calm and clear and recognize the fact that others may
disagree with your analyses or opinions.  Flames (aggressive attacks
or outbursts) are not allowed.  I want a positive attitude and respect
for others on this list.

Subscribers are encouraged (but not required) to post a biography.


---------------------------------

(2) THE AMAZONS INTERNATIONAL FAQ

Index to FAQ:

Topic (Question no.)


Amazon Feminism (1)
Anonymity (3, 4, 10)
Archives (12)
Bboard subscription (7)
Biography (14)
Contact Service (3)
Copyright (8, 9)
Erotica policy (15)
FAQ file (0)
Frequency of publication (2)
FTP (12)
GIF files (13)
Giving out names and addresses (see privacy)
gzip (12)
Issue size (2)
Male editor (11)
Matchmaker (3)
Paper subscription (6)
Picture files (13)
Posting (10)
Privacy (3, 9)
Redistribution (8, 9)
Subscribe (5)
Sharing (8, 9)
Unsubscribe (5)
Volume (see issue size)


(0) What is a FAQ file?

A FAQ file is a file that contains answers to Frequently
Asked Questions about an electronic forum.


(1) What is Amazon Feminism?

Amazon feminism is dedicated to the image of the female hero
in fiction and in fact, as it is expressed in art and
literature, in the physiques and feats of female athletes,
and in sexual values and practices.

Amazon feminism is concerned about mental and physical
equality and is opposed to gender role stereotypes and
discrimination against women based on assumptions that women
are supposed to be, look or behave as if they are passive,
weak, secondary or helpless.

Amazon feminism rejects the idea that certain characteristics
or interests are inherently masculine (or feminine), and
upholds and explores a vision of heroic womanhood.  Thus
Amazon feminism advocates e.g., female strength athletes,
martial artists, soldiers, etc.


(2) How often is Amazons International published?

There are two factors determining frequency of publication:
the amount of material (including submissions from YOU!) to
be posted and restrictions on my time.

On average there will be 1-2 issues per month; once there was
5 months between two issues, and once there were two on the
same day.

Each issue is typically about 20 k.


(3) What is your policy with respect to giving out names and
addresses of subscribers?

I don't give anybody's name and address to anybody without
explicit permission.  I may, to a limited extent, forward
messages to specific users.

However, I do keep the from-field (with E-mail address) in
submissions unless I'm told otherwise.

Notice that AI archives are available by anonymous FTP
and gopher.

Let me stress that Amazons International is not a contact
service.  One of the purposes of AI is to create an
environment in support of the people as well as the
ideals/values.  If this results in people getting in contact,
falling in love etc., that's great.  But it is not a primary
purpose of AI.

There is a vast variety of contact services all over the net,
such as the alt.personals-newsgroups on USENET, or the
various WWW-based contact services.


(4) Can I subscribe anonymously through one of the
anonymous-mail services?

No.  I want to have some idea of who is subscribing.  (Also,
those services frequently move around, and some of them have
size- or other limitations on mail submitted through them.)

However, submissions to Amazons International may be
anonymous, in the sense that only I know where the posting
came from.  If you want a submission to be anonymous, you
must tell me at the beginning of the submission, and I'd like
you to provide an alias to insert for your name.  You must
follow this procedure each time you want to submit something
anonymously.


(5) How do I subscribe or unsubscribe from Amazons
International?

Send a mail to amazons-request@ifi.uio.no, with the following
text in the text part (not subject) of the message:

subscribe amazons xxxx

replace xxxx with your E-mail address

To unsubscribe, follow the procedure above, but type
unsubscribe instead of subscribe.

Please send your message from the user account that you want
subscribed or unsubscribed, not from another account.  Please
take care that there are no typoes in the E-mail address that
you ask to have subscribed or unsubscribed.


(6) I've heard about Amazons International, but I don't have
net access.  Can I get a paper subscription?

Sorry, but no.  I did intend a parallel paper distribution,
but it's just too much work/too time-consuming.  Maybe when I
get rich and can hire a secretary.

(If you publish something that may interest me, we may trade
subscriptions.)


(7) Can I subscribe to Amazons International as a local
bulletin board at my site rather than getting it in my
personal mailbox?

No.  Amazons International contains personal and sometimes
sensitive material, and therefore it is a private, not a
public, group.  It is specifically designed for people who
share Amazon values, therefore it is in principle a closed,
not open-to-everybody forum.

However, notice that AI archives are available by anonymous
FTP and gopher, and on the Amazons Arena BBS.

The bottom line is that I want people to find AI when they
are actively looking for it.

Notice that there has been created an Amazon newsgroup,
alt.amazon-women.admirers.  The newsgroup is a separate
entity with a somewhat different scope, structure and
dynamic.  This is your bboard.


(8) Can I share Amazons International with my friends?

Certainly, I welcome sharing AI with other persons on an
individual basis, as well as quoting in reviews, and other PR
for AI.

You may not charge money from anybody you distribute Amazons
International to.  (They may provide you with a floppy.)

You may not publish or forward Amazons International to any
forum (including other mailing lists) without prior
permission.

You may not spread any E-mail address that you learn from
submissions in Amazons International without that user's
permission.  You may not use such addresses for purposes of
solicitation or business without permission from each
individual user.

Amazons International is available by anonymous FTP (see
question 11).


(9) Who owns Amazons International submissions, what's the
copyright issues?

Any author retains the right to publish his or her submission
elsewhere.  In such cases I'd appreciate the author
mentioning Amazons International, but I do not require it.

I retain the right to redistribute or publish material from
Amazons International in other fora, however:

(a) I will not forward submissions of a personal nature
without permission from the author.

(b) I will not give away or publish the name or E-mail
address of the author without explicit permission from the
author (that also applies to non-anonymous submissions, of
course).

Notice that AI archives are available by anonymous FTP
and gopher, and on the Amazons Arena BBS.


(10) How do I post to Amazons International?

Send your submission to amazons@math.uio.no.

Alternatively, send the submission to thomas@math.uio.no and
put a note on the top of the article stating that it is a
submission to AI.

If you want anonymity (i.e., your name and E-mail address
withheld from the posting), you must say so in the note, and
please provide a fictional name or pseudonym.  You must do
this every time you want to submit an anonymous posting.

If the mail for some reason bounces, try again later.

If you still can't get through, try one of these addresses:
simstim@math.uio.no
sigar@ifi.uio.no


(11) If Amazons International is for and about women, why is
a man in charge of it?

I'm in charge of it because I created it.  Hopefully you
don't hold the specifics of my reproductive system against
me.

As I see it, males and females have the potential for _all_
psychological characteristics in common -- there is no
inherent "masculinity" or "femininity" determined by biology.
All psychological characteristics are a part of our common
human condition.

Amazons International is working for recognition, acceptance
and expression of this truth on a cultural as well as an
individual scale.

Personally, I'm just as much opposed to 'femininity
feminists' as I am to male chauvinist pigs.  They are just
flip sides of the same counterfeit coin.

On this background, it should be clear that the plumbing of
the editor of Amazons International is not an issue.  If you
have a problem with that, you probably don't want to
subscribe to Amazons International.

As to the why's and how's of the creation of Amazons
International, I refer you to the interview in Amazons
International # 11.


(12) Are previous issues of Amazons International archived?

Yes, all the files may be retrieved at:

etext.archive.umich.edu

by gopher, WWW or FTP

The URL is:

WWW: gopher://gopher.etext.org:70/11/Politics/Amazons.Intl

or by anonymous FTP:

Login and cd to /pub/Politics/Amazons.Intl

The files have been compressed, and have the extension .gz.

In order to decompress them, you need to use GNU zip.  This
program is available in DOS, Macintosh and a variety of UNIX
binary forms on the ftp server in the directory /gzip.

Direct all questions about this archive to the archive
administration at:

   ftp@etext.archive.umich.edu

I invite everybody to read the previous issues, and I welcome
new comments on old issues, as well as raising new issues.
One of my goals is that each issue of AI shall be as
interesting and fresh to read and comment on in 10 years as
it is today.  So don't worry about posting about something
that has been addressed before, or commenting on something
that somebody wrote a few years ago.  But try to bring a new
twist -- or something from your own experience -- to your
comment, if you can.


(13) Is there an Amazon picture/GIF archive?

Not that I run -- but here are some Web-sites that
I recommend:

Mark Meloons Women's Bodybuilding Homepage:
http://www.ama.caltech.edu/~mrm/body.html

The web-pages of the Amazons Arena BBS:
http://www.globalmark.com/globalmark/amarena.html
(sys.adm. Jim Woodard says that the BBS will offer
full Internet access soon)

The Amazon portfolio web page:
http://www.u-net.com/~sfa/


(14) Is there a bio form?

No.  The bio is a voluntary thing and you may do it as you
please.

The bio should contain something about your own perspective
on Amazons and how or why you developed an interest in the
subject.  It should be more like a small essay, rather than
the typical short non-contextual messages you often can see
in usenet newsgroups.


(15) What is your current policy with regards to material of
erotic content, sexually explicit stories etc.?

I accept erotic material if:

(a) it is compatible with the philosophy of Amazons
International.  Essentially that means that women must be
described as powerful actors and valuers, not as passive
objects, prizes or the like.

(b) the stuff is sensual rather than clinical

(c) I think that it is well written

I always mark the beginning of an erotic text with something
like: THE FOLLOWING TEXT CONTAINS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIAL,
PLEASE STOP READING HERE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE EXPOSED TO
SUCH MATERIAL.

I place the erotic text at the end of the issue (or if
possible, in a separate issue) in order to make it easy to
avoid it.

This sounds simple enough, however as we all know people
disagree about where the different lines go all the time...

One of my concerns is that whenever I get an erotic story, it
seems to be written by a male.  Is there some kind of gender
issue here?  Don't Amazons write or appreciate erotic
material?  Or are they busy doing, leaving the talking to
their admirers? :-)

I do think that sexuality, both as a practice and as a system
of codes and interpretations, is one area of human experience
that is screwed up real bad (pun not intended) by the current
gender role system and the current ways of constructing and
imprinting gender.  Hence erotic material coming from another
base and describing other realities may be liberating and
open up new areas of experience, and to the extent they
succeed in that, they are invaluable additions to the
furtherance and concretization of Amazon attitudes.  And
stories engage, in contrast to arguments, treatises etc.,
not only the mind but also the emotional life.

I welcome your comments and opinions on this hot (pun not
intended) topic.  Either mail me at thomas@math.uio.no with
your private opinion, or provide a mass--, uhm, message to
the entire group at amazons@math.uio.no.


**********************************************************
*  Amazons International                                 *
*  Thomas Gramstad, editor:          thomas@math.uio.no  *
*  Administravia:            amazons-request@ifi.uio.no  *
*  Submissions:                     amazons@math.uio.no  *
**********************************************************
"A Hard Woman is Good to Find"  -- The Valkyries