32 - Friday, December 4, 1982 — North Shore News spt a ve, oT " te 9.8 Gang violence is in the news after a recent stabbing death in Van- couver and a firebomb in North Van. Are you, or anyone you know, involved with gangs? Why frat S TH OTHER day I was in- troduced to something more explicit than®:..Madonna’s wsic.I- was inifoduced to her-néw book; Sex. Madonna has conjured up a storm of controversy and I wanted to ‘find cut what all the fuss was all about. “° This book is about -her sexual - ” fantasies. As 1 began to iook at the book, I .thought, ‘‘This woman has the courage to act ’ these out and share them with the © entire world.’’, -At. the same time I was also feeling that she was totally oblivious to the reality of the ’90s. We are, after all, living in a world of AIDS and other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). After reading the introduction to her book, I learned that all of ~ these. fantasies. supposedly take place in a perfect world, a world ‘without . AIDS,. a place where everyone practises safe sex. But even she knows this is make-. “believe. Many people say that. Madon- -na’s book should be banned. Others advocate, as I-do, freedom of expression. She should be allowed to express herself. Why should some head honcho. decide that this book is too explicit for - the general population to read’: — pardon me — to look at the pic- tures? Why can’t we look at whatever we want? Who has the YOUTH NEWS. power to say yes this book is OK or no we shouidn’t be allowed to read it? t should be aliowed. If you don’t want to read it, well, don’t buy it. On the whole, I found the bock interesting, but I have to admit some of the pictures did surprise me. Before the book hit the shelves, people had heard so much about its contents from TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. !t's amazing how many people con- demiied the book before actuaily seeing it. While interviewing peo- ple who had vet to see the book, many said, ‘‘I’d never touch it.’’ Others, after looking at. it .said, “Well, I thought that it would be much worse.” . From my point of view, the book has shock value, and that’s ‘the reason why people are buying it. Also, Madonna. is a very well known celebrity. Perscnally, I have mixed feelings about the book’s content, but who am I te say? What does the everyday person think of Madonna and her book? I ventured out from my own little woiid to find out more about what others think about Madon- na’s Sex. This also allowed me to explore the issue of censorship. I asked a number of people the following quesiions: Since you’ve seen the book already, would you go out and buy it? Do you find the book shocking? Do you find it interesting? Would you call it art? Would you call it pornography? What are your feelings about cen- sorship? I’ve used initials and age only, to protect the innocent. K.N., 25 (femate): No, I wouldn’t buy the book. It’s expensive. What would I do with it? There is some art, and I like the graphic style. The pictures are good, the way that they.are presented. It’s pornography, artistic porn — sorry lady, it’s been done be- fore, you haven’t hit on anything. I didn’t find the book shocking. You see the same thing in a THE CUSTOMERS ARE SO RUCE! JUST ONCE I'D LIKE TO MEET A CUS- TOMER WHO TREATS ME LIKE A HUMAN BEING! WHAT ARE OL! DOING IN THERE, WALL PAPERING ONE OF THE