Titty Hijab In Twilight of Hustler

There ought be some melancholy for the waning days of the magazine industry. Specifically, one unadulterated publication that focused on pussy shots like its livelihood depended on it. It did. Hustler. The magic has largely left the building.

Larry Flynt is many things, largely foul and disgusting. But Flynt’s never wavered in sticking the finger at Puritanical censors irregardless of political affiliation. In a day when the ACUL picks and chooses its civil libertarian battles based on the Congressional aisle, Flynt might be the last of a dying breed of First Amendment purists. Good luck finding a soul in power today granting free speech absolutely.

In the 70’s, Flynt’s Hustler cover beaver spill in American flag thong drew a ton of ire. That’s what he was looking for. The bullet not so much. Flynt elevated the obscene to a stage where people were forced to reveal their true support of uncomfortable speech. Or prove themselves largely toothless. 

Hustler’s new cover includes a chick flashing a nipple beneath an American flag hijab. Is Hustler jabbing at the repressive Islamic State or the repressive American State? Probably both. The provocative symbol no longer merits discussion. Not in a landscape of ceaseless cacophony. Where Kathy Griffin leaking a photo of herself to TMZ hoisting a bloody Trump head dominates five hundred media outlets within fifteen minutes. Her essential point was what exactly? The answer to that question no longer matters.

When Flynt finally leaves this Earth, there will still be muckrakers poking the bear. Only they’ll be hired guns penning propaganda on behalf of some political action committee funded by self-serving interests. The bear wins. It used to be a closer fight.