Rad Dad #18

(www.microcosmpublishing.com) I was not familiar with this long-running zine about parenting, but I did not approach it with optimism. Anytime I come across a self-described punk mom blog I'm always struck that no matter how much they doth protest, no amount of punk attitude makes their parenting approaches or stories any less mundane than stuff written by square moms and dads. And that Neal Pollack's Alterna-Dad book might as well have been a transcription of a hack Christian-audience stand up comic telling cute stories. However (and perhaps it's because this is the sex-theme issue) I have to concede that these parenting treatises are outside the box. Contributors discuss open marriage, being deep into radical/anarchist communities and having to deal with the anti-breeder philosophies of colleagues, fears about anal sex while episoiotomy scar tissue is still fresh in pressures from anarchist (some are Rad Moms as well), none of which would fly in a Ray Romano standup routine. Though I imagine may of these writers will get more from putting this stuff on paper than readers might get from it (one running theme is that parenting is a personal experience that is different for everyone) I was never bored and was happy I read this stuff. And happy that I'll never get an episiotomy.