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Anorak News | Men Only

Men Only

by | 10th, October 2003

‘WE can’t stop women reading Anorak (although we are looking into new technology to see if we can).

A man who stands out in a crowd

All the same, we do our best, through our ferociously masculine editorial content, to put them off.

However, there are always a few, and to them, we say: Enough is Enough! Stop reading now – or face the consequences. What follows is STRICTLY MEN ONLY MATERIAL.

Are we alone, gentlemen? Splendid! Let’s begin…

After years of searching in vain for a Biggles or a Bulldog Drummond title to read on the journey, we here at Anorak have given up perusing the shelves of WH Smith.

Self-help, new age, chick-lit, celebrity biography – they can stick that lot in their pipe and smoke it, as far as we’re concerned. If they have a pipe, which they probably don’t.

But now, things look set to change.

The Telegraph reports that David Elliot and Brad Thompson believe that there are too few “good reads” for men and that Britain has become so feminised and “touchy-feely” that, in the paper’s words, “rattling good adventure yarns, books by men on men, and novels about boozing, smoking and sometimes debauched ‘real chaps’ have been sacrificed on the altar of feminism”.

Hear, hear! (Although we’re not sure about this “men on men” business.)

Now the two men have founded a publishing company that will publish only male authors.

Elliot, who is divorced, says that the books they publish won’t have positive female characters, like the Harry Potter books.

“Violet Elizabeth Bott was a whingeing, snivelling sneak who was always frightened,” he thundered. “That’s how I would like the girls to be.”

Hear, hear, again!

And three cheers for the name chosen for the company: Young Spitfire.

And they aren’t afraid of a bit of ack-ack, either. They have come out all guns blazing, and are demanding an Arts Council grant, like the one given to the all-women outfit Virago.

Asked if he was concerned about being prosecuted under sex discrimination legislation, Elliot replied: “I haven’t looked into that, but I don’t care.”

Then, with a cry of “Scramble!”, he strapped on his leather flying helmet, and was gone into the clear blue sky.’



Posted: 10th, October 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink