Cheerleaders of the Revolution
Radical cheerleaders give a playful, yet militant, feminist flavor to anti-authoritarian protest. After reading through the third edition of the Radical Cheerleader Handbook, I want to grab a pair of pompoms and take to the streets.
The inspiring cheers and rants throughout this radical handbook prepare wimmin for the front lines and can transform a sober action into a party. Cheers for every occasion from a “Take back the night” rally to the anti-WTO/IMF/World Bank protests are represented in full voice.
Drawings of spectacular, hairy wimmin illustrate the text while words about beauty myths and gender roles spread across the pages.
If you are in need of radical cheers, grab a copy of the Radical Cheerleading Handbook now! For more information, write to PO Box 961 Lake Worth, Florida, 33460. Handbooks are $2. Posters of select cheers are also available.—Amanda
Cheer
by Coleen J.
Pretty womyn with your
style and grace
shouting anarchy
all over the place.
Rad-ass womyn who don’t take shit
High-kicking it to, lick my clit.
Hairy legs and arm pits too,
refusing to shave
and smelling natural, woo-hoo!
From blocks away I hear your cheers,
from the crowds you get sneered.
I grab my pom-poms do a split,
then shout loud,
rapist, “shoot them in the dick.”
Roller-skating through the streets,
Watch out cause we’re coming in fleets.
Hoola-hoopin’ along the way,
we are the cheerleaders
of the revolution and here to stay…
So beautiful womyn all over the place,
join in with all your style and grace,
we’re gonna shout it loud and clear,
ANARCHY
RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE!
Beneath the Pavement
Beneath the Paving Stones: Situationists and the Beach, May 1968. Texts edited by Dark Star (2001)
This anthology brings together the three most widely translated, distributed and influential pamphlets of the Situationist International available in the sixties, along with an eyewitness account of the May Events originally published in June 1968.
In addition, the book includes numerous documents, photographs, poster art and graffiti originating from Paris in 1968; it offers the reader not only a concise introduction to the ideas of the Situationists but also an insight into what Situationist material was readily available in the late sixties.
Included in the well put together anthology are the infamous “On the Poverty of Student Life” by the SI and Students of Strasbourg, “Totality for Kids” by Raoul Vaneigem, and “The Decline and Fall of the ‘Spectacular’ Commodity-Economy” by Guy Debord. The book also contains a brief forward which puts the reprinted texts in historical context and an excellent “further reading” list.
For folks investigating the Situationists for the first time or for long time SI adherents and aficianados this book is a must have. It is well laid out, comprehensive and contains some great photos and cartoons.
My only complaint (and this is mostly due to my personal failings in pursuing knowledge in other languages) is that the cartoons, graphics and slogans are untranslated, leaving single language Yanks like me wanting for the witty, sarcastic and brilliant slogans that the SI and the whole Paris ’68 Revolt were known for.
All in all, a great book that should be widely read considering the relevance of the Situationist critique to today’s ongoing society of the spectacle.
—John Johnson