Sporting Goods, 2005 (ROUND 3)
Let's workshop this poem about a bowhunting DVD whose cover conjures images of black-men-on-blonde-belle gangbangs (and even of whites posing next to black bodies lynched after her cries of rape)
Sporting Goods, 2005 On a lone spin rack of DVDs, creamed between a row of premium fishing rods and a stack of portable stoves on sale, one stands out: Whitetail Obsession 8— a bowhunting video I mistake at first, as my wife fingers the colorful lures down the aisle, for low-budget porn. Its images grainy and jagged-edged (as if blown up from sub-par cameras), it has that same home-printed cover: flat finish, faded color, fuzzy detail, paper cockeyed beneath a plastic overlay smudged by handlers like me (mirrored in the fizzing flickering fluorescence). Then there is the title itself: too large, font chosen hastily by sophomoric eyes, above a pixelated twelve-pointer head held up by a blonde (satisfied) in camo. I shake my head as I read the subtitle (“In the Heat of the Rut”), musk from balls and oily rawhide of hung baseball mitts reminding me where I stand. Even then the flipside—off-kilter text with several typos against a washed-out screen grab— talks of “dark monsters in freakish heat,” “enormous inches,” “a deep penetration backshot on a fawn,” and how “Tammi takes on the biggest buck of her life.”
This poem is unpublished
Photo: louisianasportsman.com/hunting/deer-hunting/lady-bowhunter-arrows-megatron-in-mississippi/
SAFE SPACE REPORT
The poem "Sporting Goods, 2005" is a lurid depiction of a bowhunting DVD cover. The language is graphic and so inappropriate for college classrooms. It makes allusions to pornography (of a racialized nature) and objectification of women, and even subtle allusions to the dark history of lynching.
First flag: Sexual Content.—One of the reasons why this poem is not for college kids is its explicit sexual content. The bowhunting DVD cover has phrases like "musk from balls," "oily rawhide," "deep penetration backshot on a fawn.” These sexually suggestive phrases and imagery are distressing for vulnerable populations such as young people (especially if they are BIPOC and trans—and especially especially if they have experienced trauma related to sexual content). The poem's depiction of sexual acts and references to body parts in a hunting context may evoke discomfort, distress, or unwanted associations for readers who have personal experiences or sensitivities to these themes.
Second flag: Objectification.—The depiction of a blonde woman on the DVD cover, described as "satisfied" in camo, holding up a twelve-pointer head, objectifies women as trophies or objects of conquest. The language used to describe the woman, such as "satisfied" and "takes on the biggest buck of her life," perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes and objectification of women. This portrayal of women in a hunting context will trigger any good person, especially if they have experienced objectification, misogyny, or gender-based violence.
Third flag: Racialized connotations.—Racialized porn and lynching: The poem's description of a bowhunting DVD cover that conjures images of black-men-on-blonde sex and subsequent lynching perpetuates harmful stereotypes and promotes racism. The poem's racially charged language “dark monsters” and “enormous inches” will demoralize the college student. And the indirect suggestions of lynching, a horrific historical act of racial violence, reawakens trauma for the most vulnerable and oppressed group the world has ever seen: American blacks.
This poem is a no no with no redeeming qualities.