The contents of a Moche mummy's grave raises questions about ancient Peruvian gender roles
Mon, August 20, 2007
The other day, I found myself stopped in my tracks, staring at a striking image splashed across a poster for the Seattle Tattoo Convention: a woman’s back tattooed with an intricately fantastical, mystical spider. It wasn’t the festival that drew me in, but rather the acute similarity between the picture and the tattoos decorating the over 1,500 year old body of the Lady of Cao, a Moche mummy discovered in Peru last year.
Thu, August 02, 2007
Once again a project spearheaded by Indian diva Ruchira Gupta has made international news. This time, it’s not just her red-light district non-profit Apne Aap that’s getting the attention, but the organization’s publication, The Red Light Despatch. The monthly magazine—more of a booklet than a glossy coffee table decoration—is put together by women in prostitution, women who were formerly in prostitution, and their family members, and tells the stories of the country’s illegal but astonishingly active red light districts. The Reuters article, printed everywhere from the New York Times and CNN.com to the “India Erotica and Sex News” site run by EINnews, quoted health worker Anita Kudge explaining that The Red Light Despatch is, “a platform, a vent for many prostitutes who deposit their anger, hurt and thoughts on these pages. The magazine is for them and it is about them.”
