Asimov's SF magazine condemned as "too adult" by school

[villager]

Adult magazine part of school fundraiser

Asimov's Science Fiction, a magazine that was part of a school fundraiser.


(Grandville) It is natural to assume that magazines purchased through a school fundraising drive would be suitable for children, especially since children are the ones doing the buying and selling. So you can imagine a Grandville mom's surprise when her daughter was able to order a magazine full of sexual content.

Asimov's Science Fiction is the magazine in question, and from the outside cover, doesn't look like an "adults-only" publication. But open it up and you will find it is.

Marilyn Becker's 13-year-old daughter loves science fiction. So it was no big deal when her daughter wanted to buy Asimov's Science Fiction from Grandville Middle School's magazine drive. When it came in the mail, mom just happened to look at it first.

"I just started flipping through and glancing at it and kinda reading things that didn't seem right," said Becker.

Inside the magazine she found various short stories, science fiction, yes, but with strong adult content.

<snip>

http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1645394&nav=0RclKpQF

[everythingsxen]

1. My god..

That Asimov is one sick bastard!

I bet he is a commie too...

LOL

Link?

[villager]

2. just linked...

...had to go back and fetch it. Note it's from "Wood TV!"

[AngryYoungMan]

5. Just noticed your Avatar

"Must protect Veidt's new utopia. One more body against foundations makes little difference. What are you waiting for? Do it. DO IT!"

[Khephra]

6. Someone needs to do the Watchman smileface

as an avatar.

[AngryYoungMan]

7. Agreed

"Spirit of '76." "Mmmmeltdowns." "The lynchpin of America's strategic superiority has apparently gone to Mars!" "We're both leftovers." "Behind you." "We stay at DefCon 4, and we sit, and we wait." "See you in the funny pages." "Spiritual enlightenent, I can take it or leave it." "Big figure. Small world." "Daniel, you are...a good friend." "Suit yo-self, jive-ass." "What's up, Doc?" "I leave it entirely in your hands."

GOD, that thing was good. Shame about the aborted Terry Gilliam movie.

[villager]

9. Yes, Kef!

Or should we just search one out and upload it?

[villager]

8. hurm.

n/t

[AngryYoungMan]

3. This makes me sick

A smart kid is up against some woman's idea of what "kinda...didn't seem right."

I was reading sci-fi when I was thirteen and I'm a published novelist today. (published by Simon & Schuster)

I HATE this. More "family values" crap. Today's smart kids are so screwed

[villager]

13. likewise

published novelist, heavily influenced by f/sf growing up (primed me for magical realism later on!), given relatively free reign, mind-wise, in school...

...yeah, Jesus. For today's kids, it'll be like Charlton Heston at the end of "Soylent Green:" "I didn't know...," etc.

[Khephra]

4. Sigh....

Maybe this is a good place to post these two articles:

ARKANSAS AGREES NOT TO ENFORCE ACT 858

Earlier this month, the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas issued a Memorandum Opinion and Certification Order in relation to the challenge the CBLDF and co-plaintiffs filed against an amendment to Act 858, which would require any content deemed "harmful to minors" to be both segregated in a different region of a retail outlet, and blinded, with 2/3rd of the cover obscured from view.

more.................

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9315

MICHIGAN AGREES NOT TO ENFORCE HB4360

According to a report in the Detroit News, the state’s 83 county prosecutors have agreed not to enforce House Bill 4360, which became law on January 1st. Regular Newsarama readers will recall this to be the new amendment to Michigan’s current law which would bar bookstores and retailers from displaying materials deemed to contain sexually explicit material. The non-enforcement of the law will stand until a federal judge rules on a challenge to the law mounted by many groups, including the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

more.............

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9277

[villager]

11. so we have to wait for the outcome of the CDLDF case...

...bastards always pick on comics and genre stuff when they can't/before they do go after more "mainstream" stuff...

[Loonman]

10. Funny

My High School had that available for circulation in the library for years and years.

[jus_the_facts]

12. SIGH.....and I suppose other mags would be better suited......

....like say...MS...which so many female teens will begin a life long inferiority complex for not lookin' like the models in them!! :puke:

[villager]

14. MS.? Models in MS.?

Do you perhaps mean "Cosmo" or "Seventeen?" Or were you writing shorthand for "Mademoiselle?"

[jus_the_facts]

15. This one....but any of those'll do too.....

....models in all magazines IN GENERAL! x(

[villager]

16. but she's not a "model,"

...just the woman they put on the cover. I don't see Ms. as part of the "self esteem" manipulation problem that more mainstream pubs use for advertising purposes...

[jus_the_facts]

17. all these types of magazines in my opinion are used manipulate...

....people....in one form or another...that one included...that woman on the cover was used as a model...she posed for it in a shirt that's made to look like the end all american woman...just read what the caption beside her says. :eyes:

[villager]

18. well, JTF, we may have to agree to disagree...

You cited MS., to the exclusion of all others, as the type of magazine that might be used to "manipulate" young women, so either you're against any periodical being available to these students (since, you're right, all publications will come with some POV attached), or making them all available...

[Book Lover]

19. Asimov's Response

http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0403/response.shtml

Reporter Kristi Andersen and the News 8 anchors portrayed the QSP magazine drive as children buying and selling magazines. As a matter of fact, in this fundraising drive, students sell magazines to their family, their neighbors, and their parents’ coworkers. We reviewed the QSP catalog with the reporter and showed her that many of the magazines are for adults, including Esquire, Vogue, GQ, and Elle. As we showed the reporter, the QSP catalog has a section specifically geared to children, and indicates age-appropriate titles. Asimov’s was correctly listed in the catalog, not under "Children," but under "Science/Technology/Environmental." The reporter chose not to include this information in her report, and, in fact, said that we "did not know it was on the school magazine list."

In Ms. Andersen’s report, she stated that QSP dropped Asimov’s as a result of the parent’s complaint and News 8’s subsequent investigation, saying the "magazine has now been pulled from the list," and that "since 24 News 8 started this investigation, QSP has permanently severed its relationship" with Asimov's. In fact, we provided Ms. Andersen with documentation showing that our relationship with QSP ended several months earlier over remit rates (the amount of money the publisher receives from the agent for each subscription the agent sells), not as a result of this incident.

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. Please, don't confuse Christian zealot idiots with rational people

who would understand the difference between labeling Asimov's as an adult title, and the ability of stupid people to think it was a proper children's book, especially since it was sold as a children's fundraiser, and especially don't try to bring reason to a people who believe anything intellecutal is inherently of the devil, especially science-fiction, since it believes that aliens might not be of the devil and worthy of God's consideration, which obviously they aren't, or else Jesus would have said so, or at least Paul would have, but they didn't, so reading is, obviously, evil, unless it's reading the Bible, a book approved by the new Messiah George Idiot Shrub, or a Lehaye "Left Behind" book.

Oh, I'm sorry. Was that negative? oops. me bad.