Letters

Naked Lunch

Body heat: For a publication that portrays itself as progressive, I found Deb Hipp’s cover story on Miss Nude America decidedly unprogressive (“Even Cowgirls Win It Nude,” December 7). To profile a woman achieving fame and success (?) through her body is as old as the Rosetta stone. In a time when women are making strides in science, politics, and medicine, the fact that the Pitch profiled Jeannie Bates is appalling.

Did the Pitch‘s female editor, C.J. Janovy, really approve of the article, or was she just pleasing the boys at the New Times? You’ve come a long way, baby.

S.B. Walton

Kansas City, Missouri

A nude lease on life: Jeannie and Lee bring new meaning to romance. Her story breeds new life into the women over 30 in our generation. Thanks for the uplift, and thanks for your courage, Jeannie.

Joy Musch

Schererville, Indiana

Skinny quipping: Two and a half cheers for Jeannie Bates’ overcoming her inhibitions and winning Miss Nude North America.

One hopes, though, that Pitch readers don’t mistake “Nudes-a-Poppin'” as reflecting naturist or nudist values. It brings together strippers, porn stars, and panting male admirers to raise money. The sponsor, Ponderosa Sun Club, isn’t affiliated with either the Naturist Society or the American Association for Nude Recreation.

Lots of people have gotten naked in mixed-gender settings. A Roper Poll conducted recently for the Naturist Education Foundation asked, “Have you, personally, ever gone skinny-dipping or nude sunbathing in a mixed group of men and women at a beach, at a pool, or somewhere else?” A surprising 25 percent answered yes. Using current U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, this suggests that more than 51 million Americans have participated in some form of nude recreation.

While many experience the same first-time fears Ms. Bates reported, the journey to clothes-freedom usually is more inner-directed than a quest for a trophy and a Web site. San Francisco Examiner columnist Burr Snider said it well: “The real nude beach wonders aren’t the young, hubris-ridden gods and goddesses with the flawless hardbodies and the cocoa-butter ultratans…. It’s those less-than-perfect folks whose egos transcend fleshly matters and who can bare themselves unself-consciously, warts and wattles, sags and cellulite and all, who make nude beaches such a joy.”

The Naturists call this “body acceptance.” Nude recreation fosters body acceptance; this is why some of us think it’s not a trivial pursuit.

If America had more body acceptance, there’d be no need for Ponderosa’s kind of exploitation. And Ms. Bates could ride around naked on her tractor if she wanted and nobody would care.

By the way, there was a nudist park called Kan-Tan near Burlington, Kansas, in the 1970s. One wonders if any of the locals remember.

David L. Bitters

Mission Hills

Little Girl Lost

Home wrecker: For chrissakes, Pitch Weekly! Although I was intrigued by Tony Moton’s story on the background and lifestyle of Pamela Butler’s family (“Girls in the ‘Hood,” November 30), I am equally disgusted. Moton did his job in that he captured my interest … like a Springer episode. However, character execution of this dead child’s mother, father, half-sister, stepfather, grandmother, neighbors, and neighborhood does nothing to bring Pamela back.

Sure, Moton slipped in the obligatory tidbits about the child’s overachievement and talent in the arts, all the while writing her ticket out of scum at 7 years old. But what else is he going to say about a child who was abducted, raped, and left for dead in the nude? That she was dull and dumb? INSTEAD, he assassinated her home life and the struggling mother who raised her. His piece gave detailed information proving that Pamela’s environment was dysfunctional, but let’s leave it at that.

Moton’s story served no real purpose. And the Pitch‘s kitschy cover art representing the story was not only disrespectful but better suited for a BAD alterna-rock album. Shame on you all.

Lisa M. Geraghty

Kansas City, Kansas

Warm Front

Reunited and it feels so good: I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed Robert Bishop’s article on The Front (“Back to Front,” November 30). Earlier this year, I contacted Michael Franano and started a Web site dedicated to him (fortunecity.com/skyscraper/market/717). Though it is only an “unofficial” Web site, I have enjoyed working on it and seeing this wonderful band get back together. They deserve all the support and encouragement we can give them.

To the members of The Front, we are happy to have you back on the scene!

Jennifer Dallman

Columbus, Ohio