Humping Stumps
March 8th, 2007 Posted by V
**Disclaimer: This subject matter is not for everyone, and many will find it disturbing.**
As I have mentioned before, I am endlessly fascinated by various deviant subcultures of society. I have no desire to be a participant, but rather I prefer the role of the voyeur; observing and studying the people hiding within the fringe.
It is with that preface that I bring you Larry W. Green’s artzine Women Without Limbs. I found this publication hidden (literally!), under stacks of other zines at my local emporium of choice.
As I sat on the floor and thumbed through every issue, I felt like a sicko fuck. But all I could think about was how i had to have it and wondered what this author of dark-sided festishes was like.
Mr. Green, under the guise of an artist, is my first encounter with a real-life Devotee. The proper term for a Devotee is an Acrotomophiliac. In short Acrotomophilia is characterized by sexual arousal from being with an amputee.
Women Without Limbs is a collection of Mr. Green’s drawings of amputee women, and I picked up the first issue with accompanying stories of the women. I should note that this isn’t any kind of publication mass distributed. It is a stapled, B&W copied zine and I’d wager to bet I’m the only person to have ever purchased it at
this shop.
I never have adverse reactions to any of the filth I read, research or what not. But this is the one thing that actually succeeded in turning my stomach. The idea of it, while perverse, wasn’t too offensive to me. But when I began reading all the material from Mr. Green’s perspective, I became torn between feeling sad for how consumed he was with his obsession and being digusted by the how far he would go for the promise of pleasure.
I want to share the story that made my jaw drop.
The Love Note
It had been a horrific accident. One day Diane was just a happy and healthy young woman. The next day her body had been changed forever. She had been damaged, depressed and alone these past two years. Most of her family and friends had deserted her. She lived by herself. Diane had dreamed of romance. She dreamed of having some one to love her, but that idea had vanished like her arm and legs when she was struck by a drunk driver. But one night she heard a noise outside of the door of her apartment. She manuevered her wheelchair to the door and found a sealed envelope. She read the note inside. She didn’t know if she should be afraid or delighted. That night she lies in bed and reads the mysterious note again; “I love you. Your secret admirer.” Diane lays there thinking to herself and then seh begins to smile. She realizes one thing. Be it good or bad. She has a secret admirer.
Mr. Green does this a lot in Women Without Limbs. He tells a story of someone else from a 3rd party perspective, except that he is IN the story. It gives me such an uncomfortable feeling that my skin crawls. It’s some real Jeffrey Dahmer John Wayne Gacy style storytelling.
Oh yeah, and for an artist he really sucks at drawing.
Tagged: amputee, deviant, devotee, NSFW, perverse, sex, subculture
11 Comments Add your own
1. Lee Helms | March 10th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
First off, your comment that he “really sucks at drawing” is, I think, mostly a reaction to the subject matter rather than an actual art critique. These ain’t stick figures. The examples shown make effective use of shading to convey depth, which takes far more skill than you’ll find in your average office-meeting doodler.
Second, although you may be turned off by the storyline, may not like contemplating how life might go on for an amputee, things like this DO happen in real life. A few years ago here in the Detroit area, a young woman named Tricia Taylor was hit by a drunk driver and lost both legs. The occasional follow-up story that appeared in the local news (like reports on the driver’s trial and sentencing) indicate that her life has gone on. This is legitimate story-telling.
Finally, in any story that’s told from a narrator’s viewpoint, the narrator has to be present in the story, or he isn’t going to have much to report. And while news reports about stalkers these days have given secret admirers and secret admirer stories a sinister connotation, that wasn’t always the case. In years past, from what I hear, many women considered secret admirer stories romantic. It may be that you’re just part of a different generation.
2. CaffietineFiend | March 14th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Oh yeah, and for an artist he really sucks at drawing.
Seems to me that he sucks at writing, too. (Ever heard of a tense-shift, Larry?)
Overall, though, I have to agree that this sort of societal underbelly is fascinating. I’ve always been drawn to the bizarre, and nowadays, more and more things are becoming blase that used to be fringe.
Thank you for sharing this!
3. ziava | March 14th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
i find the cover image erotic.
is it time to have myself committed or what.
4. V | March 17th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Interesting Ziava. Care to share what about it does it for you? I’m curious.
In my reading up on devotees and people who are sexually turned on by amputees, I discovered an interesting documented fact.
As weird an perverse as this interesyt/fetish/whatever you want to call it may seem, the roots of it in most individuals who exhibit this behavior are completely innocent.
According to a several different sources I found online, often the obsession/sexual interest in amputees comes from a child growing up and having some exposure to an amputee in a positive relationship role.
For instance, a male devotee may have been friends with a female amputee at school or had a female cousin or neighbor they were close with who was an amputee. Or even simply had an amputee classmate who they couldn’t look away from (but not in a negative way).
I just found that interesting and wanted to share it.
5. jama Bennett | March 26th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Did what you read make you feel like a sicko f**k because you think amputees or disabled people are disgusting therefore any attraction to them is sick? As a female amputee who has been rejected by some men because I was different, I was pleased when I found out there were men out there who were attracted to amputees. Their attraction is not the entire focus of any relationship with the lady - it is an initial attraction (like some men’s attraction to blonde hair or large breasts). If there isn’t more between the two people to sustain the relationship, the presence of a stump or a disability (or blonde hair or large breasts) isn’t going to make it work.
Try to be a little more open to understanding what you find in your research.
jama bennett
6. Jama Bennett | March 26th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
PS: I know lots of devotees (I prefer to call them admirers) and they are normal guys (most are intelligent and successful) who are probably a lot like you, including Larry Green, whom I also know personally. They just have a unique interest - like you again - I would say your “endless fascination of deviant subcultures” is a unique interest…wouldn’t you?
jama
7. V | March 26th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Jama, I wanted to respond to your comments. I most certainly do not find disabled people disgusting in any regard. But at the same time I am not disabled and therefore do not understand fully what life is like for disabled people. I am imagine dating must be difficult. Hell, dating is difficult for most everyone.
From the materials I read on devotees and amputee relationships, the camp seems fairly split into two groups. The first being people like you who like being appreciated and understood as you are.The second group I discovered, who I suppose I agree more with, say that it should not matter if they are missing a limb. They want the person they are with to be attracted to them, as a person, not the fact that they are handicapped.
But at the end of the day, I guess it doesn’t really matter if you fall into group 1 or group 2. If you are accepted and loved and happy, the fine print remains just that.
8. DMKLOVESYOU - » mag&hellip | March 27th, 2007 at 11:42 am
[…] mag.nificent is a blog dedicated to some of the best magazines that you’ve never even heard of. Some of the most outrageous magazines have been shown on their website. From gay Netherlanders to pictures of women without limbs, they have it. […]
9. Jama Bennett | March 28th, 2007 at 11:35 am
V,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. You’re right - disabled, admirer, or not, if you are accepted and loved and happy, it doesn’t matter if you met your loved one because of a disability because you love that person for who they are.
jama
10. Humping Stumps at Dethron&hellip | April 17th, 2007 at 8:21 am
[…] Hand-drawn nudes make this NSFW, perhaps, but who can deny the strange appeal of sexual fantasy about “Women Without Limbs,” as told in Larry W. Green’s acrotomophiliac art ‘zine? [Mag.nificent.com] […]
11. V | April 17th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Thanks for the link on Dethroned!
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