'Tush' Magazine

Tush magazine...

FRAUEN UNSERER ZEIT

Martha Gellhorn- an American novelist and journalist who
 covered both WW2 and the war in Vietnam. Although a renowned
writer in her own right, she also gained celebrity by marrying fellow
American writer Ernest Hemingway. 

Nein, es gibt keinen besonderen Anlass. Es liegt weder ein Weltfrauen- noch Muttertag an. Nicht mal der Todestag einer Martha Gellhorn oder Elisabeth Selbert jährt sich heute.

No, there is no special occasion. It is neither a World Women or Mother's day. It is not even the anniversary of the death of Martha Gellhorn or Elisabeth Selbert today.

Aber reglementierte Zeitfenster, in denen Frauen der Historie und Gegenwart gepriesen werden bevor ihr Schaffen wieder vom Alltag gefressen wird, legen wir am besten in die imaginäre Schublade mit der Beschriftung „Unsinn“. Denn: Unsere Kultur, unsere Zeit, unser Leben wären nur halb so toll, würden sie nicht konstant von Frauen geprägt.

But regimented windows of time, in which women of past and present are praised, before their word is yet again engulfed by the everyday, lies best in the imaginary drawer with the label 'Nonsense'. Why?: Our culture, our time, our lives would be only half as great, were they not molded constantly by women. 

Lange blieben die weiblichen Ambitionen ungesehen, ihre Stimmen ungehört. Vor allem in der Kunstgeschichte wurden Frauen wie Camille Claudel oder Sonia Delaunay bestenfalls als talentierte Schatten ihrer Männer angesehen. Ihr eigenständiges Oeuvre blieb lange unbeachtet. Künstlerinnen wie Niki de Saint Phalle, die fortschreitende Emanzipation, die Gleichberechtigungsbestrebungen, die sexuelle Revolution, Musikerinnen wie Janis Joplin oder Kathleen Hanna – all’ diese Punkte, zu denen sich noch zahlreiche Faktoren gesellen könnten, leiteten das Heute ein. Das Heute, in dem schon viel erreicht wurde und noch viel vorsteht. Das Heute, das von starken "Zeitgeistfrauen" mitdefiniert wird.

Camille Claudel - French sculptor,
graphic artist and the elder sister of the
poet and diplomat Paul Claudel.

Long have female ambitions stayed unseen, their voices unheard. Especially in the history of art, women like Camille Claudel or Sonia Delauney were at best seen as talented shadows of their male counterparts. Their independent work stayed long unobserved. Artists like Niki de Saint Phalle, the gradual emancipation, the equality efforts, the sexual revolution, artists like Janis Joplin or Kathleen Hanna- all these points , which could still be joined up by numerous factors, ushered in today. The today, in which much has been reached and still more is projected. The today, that is co-defined with strong 'Zeitgeist women'. 

Eine wichtige Popkulturfigur ist Janine Rostron aka Planningtorock. Die englische Musikerin, Regisseurin, Performance Künstlerin und Gründerin des Labels Human Level nimmt eine Sonderstellung im momentanen Geschehen ein. Allein mit ihrer kreativen Vielfältigkeit könnte sie als Gesicht der Slash-Generation dienen – das reicht ihr aber nicht. Obendrauf setzt sie politisches Engagement und eine sozialkritische Haltung. Mit ihrem Album „Human Drama“, das Anfang des Jahres erschien, erschuf sie ein vertontes Manifest für Gleichheit, selbstbestimmte Liebe, das Öffnen von Geschlechtergrenzen.

An important pop-culture figure is Janine Rostron aka Planningtorock. The English musician, director, performing artist and founder of the label Human Level occupies a special position in current events. With her creative diversity  alone, she could serve as the face of the Slash-Generation – but it is not enough for her. She puts political engagement and a socially critical attitude on top of it. With her album 'Human Drama', which was released at the beginning of the year, she created a manifesto set to music for equality, self-determined love, the opening of gender boundaries. 

Sophia Amoruso

Auch Sophia Amoruso gehört zur Riege der Superfrauen. Mit 22 Jahren gründete sie 2006 nach langen Irrwegen den Ebay-Store „Nasty Gal Vintage“. Zunächst als Ein-Frau-Unternehmen, heute mit über 350 Mitarbeitern. Sie erkannte das wachsende Interesse für Vintage- und Second-Hand-Stücke, nutzte geschickt die Möglichkeiten der Digitalität, baute sich ein 100 Millionen Dollar Geschäft auf. Ihre Erfahrungen und Ratschläge gibt Amoruso in ihrem Buch#GIRLBOSS auf persönliche und universelle Weise weiter. Eine etwas nahbarere Erfolgsgeschichte, als die von Sheryl Sandberg.

Sophia Amoruso also belongs to the league of super-women. At 22 years old she founded the Ebay-Store 'Nasty Gal Vintage' in 2006 after a long struggle. Initially a one-women business, now with over 350 employees. She recognized the growing interest for vintage- and second-hand pieces, using clever digital possibilities, building up a million dollar business. Amoruso offers up her experiences and advice on in her book #GIRLBOSS in both a personal and universal manner. A slightly more approachable success story than that from Sheryl Sandberg. 

Tavi Gevinson and Petra Collins

Nicht fehlen darf Annie Clark, die als St. Vincent der Musikavantgarde neue akustische und optische Reize bietet. Oder Petra Collins mit ihrer Entourage bestehend aus Tavi Gevinson, India Salvor Menuez oder Karley Sciortino, die ein Zukunftsbild der Weiblichkeit erschaffen. Leandra Medine. Grimes. No Bra. Stella McCartney. Deine Mutter, Nachbarin, Schwester, Freundin oder Feindin. Es sind alles Frauen, unsere Welt prägen, zu neuen Denkansätzen und Handlungen inspirieren. Ohne bestimmten Anlass. Ohne vorgegebenes Zeitfenster.

Annie Clark can not be missed out, offering new acoustic and visual charm as the music vanguard St Vincent. Or Petra Collins with her entourage consisting of Tavi Gevinson, India Salvor Menuez and Karley Sciortino, who create a future picture of femininity. Leandra Medine. Grimes. No Bra. Stella McCartney. Your mother. Neighbour. Sister.  Friend or foe. They are all women, mold our world, to inspire new approaches and attitudes. Without a particular occasion. Without a given time window. 

Powerfrauen

With her career spanning nearly half century, appearing in over 54 films and being at a stage the highest paid actress in the world, she has been rightfully called a legend: Marlene Dietrich.

Marilyn meets Marlene 

Born into a military family during the depression years in Germany, she grew up in Berlin. Her father, an German police officer, mysteriously disappeared from family life when Dietrich was only eight years old. With her mother working as a cleaner to support both her and her sister she was left alone to create the persona that would form her working life. She starred in films from the age of 19, described as being 'chunky' and 'not beautiful' she struggled a while, that was until she met an assistant film producer, Rudolf Sieber. 

After marrying and having her first child, Dietrich met Josef von Sternberg. Despite in her audition her Sternberg saying she couldn't act, sing nor have good looks, he cast her in The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel) as the lead. Not only did he create the first 'Marlene Dietrich' but also embarked on an adulterous affair with her during the filming of The Blue Angel.

The Blue Angel previewed in Berlin on April 1st 1930. It was a sensation, with its release said to have gone down in movie history. On the very night of the preview she left for America, leaving husband and daughter behind, she took up a life in Hollywood. She continued to collaborate with Josef von Sternberg, her next film being the hit, Morocco. Cast as a risque cabaret singer, this film revealed her ambiguous sexuality with a night club scene showing the first kiss between two women actresses on the American film screen. 

Marlene Dietrich and daughter Maria Riva

While Morocco had great box office success, the film marked the disintegration of Sternberg and Dietrich's affair, with Sternberg's wife filing for a $500,000 law suit. Dietrich was hailed the 'love pirate' by the press and Sternberg severed ties with her both emotionally and professionally. This didn't seem, however, to have any effect on Dietrich's steam rolling success at Paramount film. She became the highest paid woman in the world, earning over $200,000 a week. By 1939 she had also become a fully fledged diva. She famously demanded a full to ceiling mirror at her sets to inspect her lighting and appearance. However, she was not the only one interested in her looks. Hitler took particular interest Dietrich, keen to preserve anything German. But Marlene had stars and strips on her mind and ignored the tempting offer to come back to Germany to be the darling of the German cinematic world. 

Despite the enormous political pressure for her to come back to Germany and the danger her mother and sister were in back in Berlin, Marlene applied for American citizenship. She considered herself a soldier, touring with American battalions entertaining and preforming to boost moral. She even traveled back to Germany with American troops, even being trapped behind enemy lines on 3 occasions. In 1945 Dietrich was made a captain in the US Army.

Morocco, starring Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou

Coming back from the army in 1945 she was broke, having lived on GI pay of $21 a month. On her return she took up her preforming arms again and worked feverishly like she hadn't worked before. She worked as nightclub performer mainly in Las Vegas but her one woman show also toured the world. Even at the age of 70 she was still going strong, with her shows described as being 'like a form of open magic'. 

In 1975 she fell during one of her acts and broke her leg. It marked the end of her preforming career as she was almost unable to walk. Retreating to an apartment in Paris she became a recluse and after almost 15 years of isolation she died in 1992. It is thought these years of loneliness were to preserve her fans image of her, she could not cope with thought of aging, she wanted to remain the flapper, the cabaret singer, the star.