'Tis a Pity She's a Whore!

Would read a magazine called "Whore!"?

What if you knew that the magazine's website features a quote, not by Mae West, but Goethe?

"There is no art in turning a goddess into a witch, a virgin into a whore, but the opposite operation, to give dignity to what has been scorned, to make the degraded desirable, that calls for art or character."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832

You might think: What is this "Whore!" and how do we get a piece of that?

Well, you'll have to wait for Spring 2010 when the inaugural issue comes out, but, for now, let's take a peep into the mind of this Whore!

As Jezebel points out, putting out Whore! is an attempt at reclamation. Reclaiming the "heavily loaded" word that usually applies to painted up street walkers or crack whores, or even that super flirty girl that maybe wears her skirts a bit too high and tight and bats her eyelashes like she's a human venus fly trap looking for its next meal.

But beyond that reclamation lies a different intent, which reads (from the editor's letter) a bit like self-absolution, which is fine, if you're into that.

"Whore! celebrates the women (people?) who don't always get it right. Who often get it "wrong" and make no bones about it, and for that they are maybe, possibly, not always quite-so-aptly labeled a 'whore.'"

It sounds provoking enough, like it might get a little dirty and maybe have some fangs at times. Then again, you might same the same about "Dog Fancy."

Here's to a world that has room for both.

Photo courtesy WhoreMagazine.