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Answer Me!

Answer Me! was an American alternative magazine edited by Jim Goad and his wife Debbie Goad, published in Portland, Oregon, from 1991 to 1994. The publication consisted of four issues that featured essays, rants, interviews, and articles on transgressive topics including subcultures, sex, violence, murder, serial killers, suicide, and critiques of mainstream American culture. Known for its raw, unfiltered style that challenged social taboos and norms, Answer Me! pushed the boundaries of underground zine publishing with a focus on hate, self-destruction, and societal hypocrisies.^[1] The magazine gained significant notoriety for its provocative content, particularly the fourth issue released in 1994, which centered on rape and included graphic imagery and explorations of the rapists' mindset to underscore the act's horrors. This led to widespread controversy, including obscenity charges against newsstand operators in Washington State for distributing the issue, framed by prosecutors as promoting pornography under state laws. Distributors faced pressure to cease sales, sparking a free speech battle defended by the ACLU, which argued the magazine constituted literary and political expression rather than obscenity. A Whatcom County jury acquitted the defendants in 1996 following a trial that highlighted tensions between community standards and First Amendment protections.^[2]^[3] Despite facing bans in several countries and domestic distribution challenges, Answer Me! influenced transgressive literature and zine culture by rejecting sanitized discourse in favor of direct confrontation with uncomfortable realities. Later compilations of its issues, including expanded editions with additional essays by Goad, have preserved its legacy as a artifact of 1990s countercultural defiance, though it remains polarizing for its deliberate shock value and refusal to moralize.^[1]

Origins and Editors

Founding and Early Production

Answer Me! was founded in 1991 by Jim Goad and his wife Debbie Goad in Los Angeles, California, as a self-published zine aimed at exploring taboo subjects through unfiltered essays, interviews, and satire.^[4] The couple established Goad to Hell Enterprises as the publishing imprint to handle production and distribution independently, reflecting the DIY ethos of the underground zine movement prevalent in the early 1990s.^[5] The inaugural issue, Volume 1 Number 1, was released in 1992 and centered on themes of American culture, including critiques of subcultures, music scenes, and social dysfunctions. Production involved low-cost methods typical of zines, such as stapled photocopied or offset-printed pages with bold, hand-drawn covers—front art by Jim Blanchard and back by Frank Kozik in early editions—resulting in limited runs distributed via mail order and select alternative outlets.^[5] Debbie Goad assisted in editing and contributed to content selection, while guest appearances, such as from Adam Parfrey, added to the zine's raw, collaborative edge.^[5] Subsequent early issues maintained this format, with Issue No. 2 also dated 1992 under Goad to Hell Enterprises, expanding on misanthropic rants and explicit explorations that quickly garnered notoriety in punk and countercultural circles for their transgressive style.^[6] The Goads' hands-on approach ensured tight control over provocative material but constrained wider reach, relying on word-of-mouth and zine networks rather than commercial printers or mainstream advertising.^[4]

Jim and Debbie Goad's Roles

Jim Goad founded and primarily edited Answer Me!, serving as the magazine's chief architect, writer, and interviewer, where he produced editorials such as "The Underground is a Lie," investigative pieces like "Death in Bakersfield" (co-authored with Debbie Goad), and conversations with figures including Iceberg Slim and Richard Ramirez.^[4] His contributions extended to conceptual elements, including hoax zines like Chocolate Impulse and sections featuring prank calls, which underscored the publication's transgressive style.^[4] Debbie Goad functioned as co-editor and assistant, handling production aspects alongside writing duties that included acerbic rants such as "Babies are Dirty," "I Hate Women," and "He Tried to Fuck Me," as well as scripting prank calls to targets like Jack Kevorkian and suicide hotlines.^[4] Her involvement emphasized personal, misanthropic perspectives that complemented Jim's broader critiques, with the couple jointly overseeing the zine's output under Goad to Hell Enterprises from their base in Los Angeles beginning in 1991.^[4]^[7] The Goads' collaborative dynamic, as a husband-and-wife team, infused Answer Me! with raw, unfiltered content drawn from their shared experiences, though Jim's vision dominated the editorial direction and volume of material.^[4] This partnership persisted across all four issues published between 1991 and 1994, prior to Debbie's death in 2000.^[4]

Publication Issues

Issue No. 1 (1992)

Issue No. 1 of Answer Me!, released in 1992 by editors Jim Goad and Debbie Goad under their imprint Goad to Hell Enterprises, served as the inaugural publication of the zine, establishing its signature style of raw, confrontational commentary on societal dysfunctions. Printed in a modest run typical of early 1990s underground zines, the issue centered on critiques of American culture, blending personal rants, cultural analysis, and boundary-pushing discussions that rejected mainstream pieties.^[8]^[9] Key content included explorations of subcultural fringes and psychological extremes, with articles delving into themes of alienation, hate, and human folly through a lens unfiltered by conventional moralizing. A notable feature was an interview with counterculture icon Timothy Leary, whose psychedelic perspectives aligned with the zine's interest in challenging normative thought patterns.^[9]^[10] The publication's format emphasized dense, polemical prose over polished presentation, reflecting the Goads' DIY ethos and disdain for institutional gatekeeping in media.^[7] Reception among niche zine readers highlighted its unapologetic misanthropy, positioning it as a antidote to the era's burgeoning victim narratives and feel-good multiculturalism, though it drew immediate polarization for its refusal to soften edges in favor of ideological comfort. No major legal or widespread public controversies attached specifically to this debut issue, unlike later editions, allowing it to build a cult following through word-of-mouth in punk and alternative circuits.^[7]^[11]

Issue No. 2 (1993)

Issue No. 2 of Answer Me!, published in 1993 by Jim and Debbie Goad under Goad to Hell Enterprises, expanded on the zine's confrontational style with a focus on fringe personalities, extreme subcultures, and pathological violence. Clocking in at approximately 100 pages, the issue featured lengthy interviews with provocative figures such as Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein, shock rock musician El Duce of The Mentors, the hip-hop group Geto Boys, and underground filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler. These discussions delved into themes of rebellion, taboo-breaking, and cultural outsiders, reflecting the Goads' interest in unfiltered expressions of human extremity.^[12] A centerpiece was the extensive article "Night of a Hundred Mass-Murdering/Serial-Killing Stars," which profiled dozens of infamous killers, emphasizing patterns in their behaviors and societal reactions without endorsing or moralizing. This piece exemplified the zine's misanthropic lens, treating violence as a raw human impulse rather than a product of external victimhood narratives critiqued in prior issues. Additional essays, such as "The Wrath of Goad" by Jim Goad, offered personal rants against perceived hypocrisies in mainstream culture, aligning with the publication's broader rejection of politically sanitized discourse. The issue's content drew from punk, underground film, and countercultural sources, maintaining a raw, DIY aesthetic with illustrations and collages to amplify its satirical edge. While not centered on a single theme like victimology in Issue No. 1, it amplified the zine's exploration of hate, deviance, and anti-establishment voices, contributing to its reputation among niche audiences for challenging taboos on murder, race, and sexuality. Circulation remained limited, primarily through mail order and zine networks, with the Goads handling production amid financial constraints.^[1]

Issue No. 3 (1993)

Issue No. 3 of Answer Me!, published in July 1993, centered on the theme of suicide and adopted the zine's characteristic blend of dark humor, graphic illustrations, and irreverent commentary on taboo subjects.^[13] The issue spanned approximately 60 pages dedicated to explorations of self-inflicted death, eschewing conventional sensitivity in favor of cataloging methods and historical examples with a satirical edge.^[14] Edited by Jim and Debbie Goad, it featured contributions from underground figures including Boyd Rice and artwork by Jim Blanchard, maintaining the publication's raw, photocopied aesthetic.^[15] The centerpiece article, "Killing Me Softly, Roughly, and Just About Every Other Fucking Way Imaginable: 100 Spectacular Suicides," compiled by Jim Goad and illustrated by Mike Diana, listed 100 historical and notorious suicide cases, emphasizing elaborate or unusual methods such as self-immolation, electrocution, and ingestion of household chemicals.^[14] Goad introduced the piece by expressing a hope that it might inspire readers to "off yourself in style," framing suicide not as tragedy but as a potential act of personal agency or absurdity, consistent with the zine's critique of maudlin cultural narratives around victimhood.^[14] Other content included an article on Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who confessed to 52 murders, illustrated by Marcel Dzama, linking themes of violence and self-destruction.^[16] Additional features profiled figures like Jack Kevorkian, the pathologist advocating assisted suicide, and Al Sharpton, alongside interviews or pieces involving The Kids of Widney High, a band of developmentally disabled musicians, underscoring the issue's interest in fringe personalities and societal outliers.^[13] The content provoked by juxtaposing factual accounts with mocking asides, challenging readers' expectations of solemnity on mental health topics and aligning with Answer Me!'s broader rejection of politically sanitized discourse.^[17] The issue drew controversy in 1995-1996 when linked to the suicides of three British men associated with neo-Nazi groups, one of whom had contacted Goad requesting a copy shortly before their deaths; media reports alleged the article's detailed methods influenced the acts, though Goad rejected claims of causation, attributing blame to pre-existing personal failures rather than the publication.^[14] This incident highlighted tensions between provocative journalism and perceived incitement, with outlets like Willamette Week scrutinizing but not substantiating direct responsibility, noting the men's prior interest in extremist ideologies.^[14] Despite such backlash, the issue contributed to Answer Me!'s underground notoriety without facing legal repercussions akin to those later encountered by Issue No. 4.^[17]

Issue No. 4 (1994)

Issue No. 4 of Answer Me!, published in 1994, centered on the theme of rape, presenting graphic discussions of sexual violence, personal accounts, and satirical critiques intended to challenge prevailing cultural narratives around victimhood and gender dynamics.^[4] The issue featured provocative imagery on its cover, depicting a waitress with a black eye alongside a hot dog labeled "RAPE!" in mustard and a name tag reading "HI! I ASKED FOR IT!", which underscored its confrontational style.^[4] Contributors included editors Jim Goad and Debbie Goad, as well as Boyd Rice, Randall Phillips, Shaun Partridge, Adam Parfrey, Peter Sotos, and comic artist Molly Kiely.^[4] Key articles explored personal experiences and societal analyses of rape and related violence. Jim Goad's "My Sick Mommy" detailed his alleged childhood abuse by his mother, incorporating revenge fantasies to highlight themes of familial dysfunction and retribution.^[4] Debbie Goad contributed "He Tried to Fuck Me," recounting her purported childhood molestation and its psychological impacts.^[4] Jim Goad's "Let’s Hear it for Violence Toward Women!" employed parody to mock contemporary discourses on domestic violence, arguing that such rhetoric often exaggerated or distorted male-female interactions.^[4] "Rapeworld" cataloged real-world rape incidents by perpetrator motivations, victim circumstances, and outcomes, aiming to dissect patterns beyond standard ideological framings.^[4] An outlier piece, "Amputation Nation" by Jim Goad, shifted to discussions of amputees, prosthetics, and bodily modification, linking it loosely to themes of physical violation.^[4] Interviews added to the issue's notoriety, including a teen-magazine-style dialogue with serial killer Richard Ramirez titled "The Nice Stalker" and a profile of Stephen Donaldson, "The Punk Who Wouldn’t Shut Up," focusing on his experiences as a prison rape survivor and activist.^[4]^[19] The publication incorporated grainy medical and police photographs of rape and murder victims to substantiate its raw examinations.^[7] A standout feature was the enclosed cut-out board game "The Rape Game," a satirical insert simulating scenarios of sexual assault to critique perceptions of consent and power imbalances.^[7]^[4] The issue's explicit content on rape, sexual torture, and murder prompted obscenity charges against booksellers in Bellingham, Washington, for distributing it, though a Whatcom County jury acquitted newsstand owner Ira Stohl and manager Kristina Hjelsand of promoting pornography on February 1, 1996.^[3] This legal scrutiny reflected broader tensions over free expression versus community standards in alternative publications during the early 1990s.^[3]

Core Themes and Style

Critiques of Victimhood Culture

Answer Me! critiqued victimhood culture by portraying it as a mechanism that elevates grievance-mongering over individual agency, fostering societal weakness and entitlement. The Goads contended that the 1990s surge in identity politics rewarded exaggerated claims of oppression, particularly among feminists and minorities, allowing claimants to evade personal fault while demanding restitution from perceived oppressors. Jim Goad specifically argued that this dynamic undermined both men and women by promoting helplessness; for instance, he highlighted how feminist emphasis on female victimhood in domestic disputes ignored evidence of reciprocal violence, as documented in police reports and victim testimonies showing women initiating assaults in up to 50% of heterosexual partner conflicts according to contemporaneous studies like those from the National Family Violence Surveys (1975–1985 data). This approach, Goad asserted, shifted cultural norms from dignity-based honor—where slights were resolved personally—to a safety-oriented victim paradigm reliant on institutional intervention. In Issue No. 4, the "Rape Issue" published in 1994, these critiques intensified through compilations of raw data, anonymous accounts, and satirical pieces questioning unidirectional rape narratives. The issue presented statistics indicating that false accusations comprised 2–10% of reported rapes, per FBI analyses from the era, and argued that portraying all women as innate victims obscured female sexual assertiveness and male vulnerability to instrumentalized claims. Goad's editorial stance framed victimhood as a strategic ploy for moral leverage, citing evolutionary psychology principles where signaling weakness garners resources, but cautioned that over-reliance erodes resilience; he drew parallels to historical shifts from frontier self-reliance to welfare-state dependency, evidenced by rising domestic violence shelter funding from $125 million in 1980 to over $300 million by 1994 under the Violence Against Women Act precursors. Critics of the zine, including feminist outlets, dismissed these views as misogynistic apologias for abuse, yet Goad maintained they reflected unfiltered empirical realities suppressed by politically correct gatekeepers.^[20] Broader essays in earlier issues extended this to class-based victimhood, lambasting media amplification of elite-approved grievances while sidelining working-class white male plights, such as higher suicide rates (24.7 per 100,000 for white males aged 25–34 in 1990 CDC data versus lower rates for other demographics). The publication's provocative style—juxtaposing graphic imagery with analytical rants—aimed to jolt readers from complacent acceptance of victim orthodoxy, positing that true progress demands confronting causal behaviors rather than perpetual blame-shifting. This stance prefigured later sociological analyses, like those in The Rise of Victimhood Culture (2018), though Goad's work predated and lacked academic veneer, prioritizing raw confrontation over sanitized discourse.

Gender Dynamics and Male Perspectives

Answer Me! examined gender dynamics through provocative essays and data-driven analyses that challenged feminist emphases on female victimhood, arguing instead that societal structures often exacerbate male vulnerabilities while dismissing them as normative. The zine contended that modern gender discourse promotes a zero-sum blame culture, where female grievances are amplified but male disenfranchisement—such as in family courts, where men face biased custody outcomes—is minimized or invalidated.^[21] This perspective drew from empirical disparities, including men's overrepresentation in homelessness (estimated at 60-70% in U.S. shelter populations during the 1990s) and incarceration, positing these as symptoms of unaddressed male disposability rather than inherent male failing.^[22] A core focus was male suicide, explored extensively in issue #2 (1993), which highlighted statistics showing white males accounting for the highest rates—around 70-80% of U.S. suicides in the era—linking this to rigid expectations of self-reliance and emotional suppression imposed on men.^[23] The publication critiqued how feminist-influenced narratives overlooked these figures, instead framing gender imbalances as predominantly patriarchal oppression, and included personal accounts and cultural critiques to argue that pathologizing male aggression ignores adaptive responses to perceived emasculation.^[21] Similarly, content addressed male experiences of prison rape, a topic rarely discussed in mainstream outlets, estimating tens of thousands of annual incidents disproportionately affecting male inmates and decrying the silence as evidence of devalued male suffering.^[24] The zine's approach to male perspectives rejected egalitarian platitudes, asserting that biological and cultural sex differences underpin divergent risk profiles—men dominating dangerous occupations (92% of U.S. workplace deaths in the 1990s)—and accused academia and media of systemic bias in prioritizing female narratives due to ideological alignment with left-leaning institutions.^[22] Essays like those juxtaposing images of female violence victims with rants on male expendability aimed to provoke recognition of hypocrisy, where societal mourning for women contrasts with indifference to male battlefield or industrial losses.^[22] While inflammatory, these pieces urged mutual accountability over polarization, warning that unchecked feminist expansions into areas like false accusation skepticism erode trust and amplify gender antagonism without empirical grounding.^[21]

Satirical and Provocative Approach

Answer Me! employed a satirical and provocative style characterized by hyperbolic rants, dark humor, and deliberate shock value to challenge prevailing cultural narratives on gender, victimhood, and social grievances. Jim Goad described the magazine's content as "a wholesale attack on the hysteria and illogic of the 'hard-core feminist critique,'" utilizing exaggeration and irony to expose what he perceived as irrationalities in modern discourse.^[7] This approach often featured raw, unfiltered explorations of taboo topics such as suicide, murder, and sexual violence, blending journalistic elements with fictional premises to provoke discomfort and reflection rather than mere titillation.^[11] The zine's provocation extended to blurring the boundaries between genuine outrage and parody, making it challenging for readers to discern intent, which Goad acknowledged as a flaw in satire: "the intended targets never get it," potentially undermining its critical aims.^[7] Pieces like observational reports on public events or interviews with fringe figures were laced with acerbic commentary, aiming to dismantle sanitized views of human behavior and highlight hypocrisies in victim-centered ideologies.^[4] This method echoed punk zine aesthetics but emphasized intellectual dissection over anarchy, positioning the publication as a counter to what the Goads saw as emotionally manipulative cultural trends.^[25] Critics and defenders alike noted the style's edge derived from its refusal to soften blows, with content that courted obscenity charges—such as Issue No. 4's focus on rape—defended in court as protected satire rather than advocacy.^[26] Goad's technique prioritized visceral impact to force confrontation with uncomfortable realities, prioritizing truth-telling through offense over polite consensus.^[7]

Controversies and Legal Challenges

Obscenity Trial for Issue 4

In 1994, Issue 4 of Answer Me!, a provocative zine edited by Jim Goad and Debbie Goad with a thematic focus on rape, was distributed through independent newsstands, including Magazine Heaven in Bellingham, Washington, operated by Gary Stohl and Teri Hjelsand.^[3] The issue featured graphic articles, illustrations, and satirical pieces examining societal responses to sexual violence, including critiques of victimhood narratives and gender dynamics, which prompted complaints to local authorities.^[3] ^[27] Whatcom County Prosecutor David S. McEachran investigated the complaints and issued a warning to Stohl and Hjelsand to stop selling the issue, deeming it obscene under Washington state law.^[28] Upon their refusal, McEachran charged them in 1995 with one count each of promoting pornography, a Class C felony carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for violating Revised Code of Washington 9.68.050, which prohibits the dissemination of obscene materials.^[3] ^[28] The charges centered on allegations that the zine lacked serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, appealed to prurient interest, and depicted sexual conduct in a patently offensive manner, per the Miller v. California (1973) test for obscenity.^[27] ^[3] The trial unfolded in Whatcom County Superior Court over three days in early 1996, with the prosecution arguing the content constituted hardcore pornography without redeeming social merit, while the defense, supported by the ACLU of Washington, contended it was protected speech as satirical commentary on cultural hypocrisies, bolstered by testimony from contributors like cartoonist Molly Kiely and experts on prison rape.^[26] ^[28] ^[3] On February 1, 1996, the jury acquitted Stohl and Hjelsand, with lead juror Gene Wowk stating that the prosecution failed to prove the defendants knowingly distributed obscene material and that the zine possessed sufficient value to evade obscenity classification under community standards.^[3] ^[26] The acquittal underscored challenges in applying obscenity statutes to alternative publications, as the case drew national attention for pitting free expression against local moral standards, though critics of the zine maintained its intent was to shock rather than inform.^[27] No further legal actions were pursued against the publishers or distributors elsewhere, despite the issue's controversial reputation leading to bans in other countries.^[29]

Broader Accusations and Defenses

Critics have accused Answer Me! of fostering misogyny through content that appeared to glorify violence against women, such as Jim Goad's article "Let’s Hear it for Violence Toward Women!", which parodied domestic abuse statistics and was later cited as evidence in Goad's 1998 assault trial.^[4] Similar charges arose from Debbie Goad's rant "I Hate Women" and graphic depictions in Issue 4, including Peter Sotos's "Quality Time," which detailed rape and torture scenarios, prompting claims that the zine normalized or trivialized sexual violence beyond mere obscenity concerns.^[4] ^[22] The publication faced broader allegations of inciting real-world harm, including assertions that Issue 2's content on mass murderers was quoted by Francisco Martin Duran, the perpetrator of the 1994 White House shooting, and that Issue 3's focus on suicide influenced the 1996 deaths of three British teenagers described as neo-Nazis, who reportedly drew inspiration from its themes.^[4] ^[30] These links, while publicized by media outlets, relied on anecdotal connections rather than direct causation, with no legal findings of responsibility against the publishers.^[30] In defense, Goad and collaborators maintained that Answer Me! aimed to provoke thought and expose societal hypocrisies through satire and unfiltered examination of taboos, stating their goal was "to amuse, provoke, and maybe jog your lazy-ass mind out of the stupor it's been in," rather than advocate harm.^[4] Supporters, including contributors like cartoonist Molly Kiely, argued during related legal proceedings that the zine's irreverent style critiqued victimhood narratives and political correctness without endorsing the acts depicted, emphasizing artistic intent over literal interpretation.^[31] Goad has consistently rejected accusations of hate promotion, framing the content as a misanthropic mirror to human darkness, comparable to punk zine's shock tactics, and dismissing critics as overly sensitive to uncomfortable truths.^[7]

Chocolate Impulse Hoax

Creation and Fictional Premise

Chocolate Impulse was produced by Jim Goad and his wife Debbie Goad in 1994 as a standalone 32-page zine, published between the third and fourth issues of Answer Me!.^[29] The Goads crafted it as a deliberate fabrication to parody elements of contemporary zine culture and political discourse, drawing on their experiences with criticism of Answer Me!'s provocative content.^[4] In the zine, the Goads assumed the personas of an interracial lesbian couple—one portrayed as Black and the other as white—residing in a conservative small town in Kentucky.^[4] The narrative detailed fabricated accounts of their daily life, emphasizing alleged encounters with rampant homophobia, racism, and hostility from local residents, including vivid descriptions of harassment and social isolation.^[4] This setup included pseudo-personal essays, faux editorials, and features like "In the Crosshairs," which targeted perceived oppressors in their invented community, mimicking the style of victim-focused underground publications of the era.^[32] The fictional premise extended to the couple's self-presentation as marginalized outsiders producing the zine as a form of resistance and documentation, complete with DIY aesthetics, handwritten elements, and calls for solidarity from like-minded readers.^[29] By adopting these identities, the hoax zine simulated the tropes of identity-based grievance storytelling prevalent in 1990s alternative media, including exaggerated claims of systemic persecution to elicit sympathy and outrage.^[4]

Revelation and Intended Critique

The Chocolate Impulse zine, a 32-page publication released in 1994, was initially presented as the work of "Val" (a white lesbian) and "Faith" (a Black lesbian), an interracial couple residing in a small Kentucky town, chronicling their alleged encounters with rampant racism, homophobia, domestic abuse, and other forms of oppression while directing pointed criticism at Jim and Debbie Goad and their Answer Me! zine.^[29] This fabricated narrative included lurid, improbable personal anecdotes designed to evoke sympathy through exaggerated tales of persecution, which circulated within the punk and zine subculture without immediate detection of its artificial origins.^[4] The hoax gained traction among segments of the zine community that had previously issued negative reviews of Answer Me! for lacking sufficient "oppressed" perspectives, with outlets such as Feminist Baseball responding positively to Chocolate Impulse and praising its raw depiction of victimhood, thereby inadvertently validating the parody's premise.^[4] Revelation of its contrived nature occurred subsequently through reprints in Answer Me! compilations, where Jim and Debbie Goad explicitly disclosed their authorship and the zine's deceptive framing as a supposed external critique of their own work, exposing how it had duped critics eager for alignment with identity-based grievance stories.^[29] The core intent behind the hoax was to lampoon the prevailing dynamics in 1990s underground zine culture, particularly the disproportionate valorization of publications rooted in claims of intersecting marginalizations—such as race, sexuality, and regional backwardness—over those emphasizing unvarnished misanthropy or male-centric viewpoints, as seen in Answer Me!.^[29]^[4] By embodying the archetype of ultimate victimhood that the scene purported to champion, the Goads highlighted the selective credulity and ideological conformity that rewarded sensationalized suffering narratives while dismissing dissenting or less "authentic" voices, underscoring a critique of performative authenticity in subcultural gatekeeping.^[4] This approach mirrored broader satirical impulses in Answer Me! to provoke reflection on cultural incentives for fabricating or amplifying oppression to secure approval and distribution within insular networks.^[29]

Legacy and Compilations

Influence on Underground Publishing

Answer Me! shaped underground publishing by exemplifying a confrontational, taboo-defying approach that diverged from the dominant punk and riot grrrl emphases in 1990s zine culture, instead foregrounding misanthropic critiques of human behavior and societal pieties. Published irregularly from 1991 to 1994 in Los Angeles and Portland, its four issues—each themed around extreme subjects like suicide, abuse, racism, and rape—prioritized visceral, unfiltered prose over polished aesthetics, influencing creators to experiment with shock value as a tool for cultural subversion. This style, often blending humor with brutality, carved out a niche for "extreme" zines that rejected the zine scene's informal norms of communal positivity, as noted in contemporaneous accounts of its reception.^[33] The zine's reception evolved from initial backlash within the underground community—where publishers decried its content as beyond satirical bounds—to grudging admiration, particularly after promotional stunts like the fictional "Chocolate Impulse" hoax exposed hypocrisies in zine criticism. By surviving obscenity charges and distribution challenges, Answer Me! highlighted the legal precariousness of provocative small-press work, thereby informing later publishers on navigating censorship while amplifying marginalized or contrarian voices. Its aggressively anti-PC posture, rare amid the era's countercultural currents, inspired strands of alternative media that prioritized empirical confrontation with human flaws over ideological alignment.^[34]^[4] Enduring through reprints and compilations, such as the 2017 edition collecting all issues, Answer Me! continues to serve as a touchstone for underground creators seeking to revive analog provocations in digital eras, underscoring the format's capacity for uncompromised expression. Jim Goad's subsequent works, including The Redneck Manifesto (1997), extended its themes into book form, perpetuating influence on writers addressing class-based resentments and anti-victimhood rhetoric in fringe publications. While direct lineages to specific zines remain anecdotal, its model of controversy as creative fuel persists in mean-spirited, boundary-testing outputs within horror, punk, and cult media subcultures.^[35]^[36]

Recent Compilations and Reprints

In 2015, Scapegoat Publishing issued a revised edition of Answer Me!: The First Three, compiling the contents of issues 1 through 3 from the original 1991–1993 run, augmented by 60 pages of previously uncollected essays penned by Jim Goad following the magazine's discontinuation.^[1] ^[37] This edition preserves the zine's raw interrogations of taboo subjects, including violence, subcultures, and interpersonal conflicts, while incorporating Goad's retrospective commentary on its cultural impact.^[1] Nine-Banded Books followed in 2017 with ANSWER Me!: All Four Issues, a 480-page volume reprinting the complete run, encompassing the contentious fourth issue focused on rape statistics, victimology, and sexual assault narratives.^[38] ^[39] The publication reproduces the original layouts and content without alteration, facilitating access to materials previously limited by rarity and legal scrutiny.^[38] A subsequent 2020 reprint by Obnoxious Books again collected all four issues, reportedly in a full-color format to enhance fidelity to the originals' visual style, including illustrations and hoax inserts like the 1994 Chocolate Impulse zine parody.^[40] ^[29] These efforts have sustained availability amid fluctuating demand from collectors and readers interested in 1990s underground publishing, though distribution remains niche due to the content's polarizing nature.^[29]

References

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ANSWER Me!: The First Three by Jim Goad - Scapegoat Publishing
About the Book Our new edition of ANSWER Me! The First Three has 60 never before collected pages of essays that were written by Goad after the death of the ...
[2]
Answer Me! A Classic Case of Censorship in Washington State - ACLU of Washington
### Extracted Details
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Apr 27, 2021 · Stohl and Hjelsand had been charged with promoting pornography by selling the rape-focused 1994 issue of ANSWER ME!, an alternative "zine" ...
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May 27, 2017 · In 1991, the husband and wife team of Jim and Debbie Goad started their own magazine in Los Angeles called ANSWER Me!. To say this magazine ...
[5]
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[6]
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Interview with ANSWER Me!'s Jim Goad - Alternet.org
Apr 26, 2000 · Few 'zines can match Jim and Debbie Goad's ANSWER Me! for notoriety. ANSWER Me! is intentionally shocking, sour, and contemptuous of ...
[8]
GOAD TO HELL ENTERPRISES 1991/1992 SIGNED
10-day returns"ANSWER Me!" is a discontinued magazine which was edited by Jim and Debbie Goad and published between 1991 and 1994. Extremely misanthropic in its editorial ...
[9]
Answer Me! Magazine Vol. 1 No. 1 (1992) American Culture, Jim ...
Answer Me! Magazine Vol. 1 No. 1 (1992) American Culture, Jim Goad Timothy Leary · Sold for. Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth. · Sold Date ...
[10]
ANSWER ME! MAGAZINE Vol. 1 No. 1 Jim Goad Timothy Leary ...
Publication Year: 1992 ; Language: English ; Publication Name: Answer Me! Magazine Vol. 1 No. 1 ; Genre: Outlandish Discussion of Ideas ; Publisher: Goad to Hell ...<|separator|>
[11]
ANSWER ME! by Jim Goad - Goodreads
Read 34 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. ANSWER Me! is a big black slab of trouble. Originally released as a series of magazines, th…
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Answer Me! Magazine Issue #2 - Rare Jim and Debbie Goad Anton ...
Features a large article on serial killers and mass murderers, Al Goldstein, Anton LaVey, Geto Boys, David Duke, El Duce & more. Original rare second issue of ...
[13]
ANSWER ME! #3 JIM GOAD SUICIDE, JACK KEVORKIAN, FREAKS ...
INCLUDES: JACK KEVORKIAN, AL SHARPTON, THE KIDS OF WIDNEY HIGH, BOYD RICE, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 100 SPECTACULAR SUICIDES, AND THE REST ISN'T TAME ENOUGH TO ...
[14]
“Suicidal Tendencies” From Our March 6, 1996 Edition
Oct 17, 2017 · ... 100 Spectacular Suicides." The 1993 issue devotes almost 60 pages to suicide, a subject Goad treats with little reverence. In the article's ...
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ANSWER Me! All Four Issues by Jim Goad - Goodreads
Mar 31, 2017 · All four issues -- yes, including the infamous "Rape" issue -- of Jim and Debbie Goad's legendary and seismically controversial magazine, ANSWER Me!, have been ...Missing: history | Show results with:history
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Answer by Goad Jim - AbeBooks
Answer Me! (The First Three) by Goad, Jim & Debbie Goad and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com.
[17]
[PDF] Shit Magnet by Jim Goad
and-rape magazine…. ... ANSWER Me! #4, but it's almost inconceivable that she hadn't seen the third issue, which focused on suicide. Issue #3's centerpiece was a.
[18]
Reporters grapple with the 'right' way to cover the far right
Dec 28, 2017 · The suicide deaths of three British neo-Nazis in 1996 were tied to Goad's publication of a suicide issue in his early 'zine, Answer Me! One ...
[19]
[PDF] Answer me all four issues pdf
... zine" created by Jim and Debbie Goad, publishers of Answer Me!. Wanting to address the negative feedback they'd received from the zine community, the Goads ...Missing: summary | Show results with:summary
[20]
https://jimgoad.net/pdf/promotional.pdf
[21]
None
### Summary of Gender Dynamics and Feminism Critiques in "Answer Me!" by Jim Goad
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The cruel jerk - Magazine
In the US, ex-punk Jim Goad's Answer Me! fanzine set about causing maximum offence by publishing pictures of dead, mutilated women next to a lengthy ...Missing: zine | Show results with:zine
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ANSWER Me! All Four Issues : Jim Goad, Debbie Goad, Jim Goad ...
Publication date ... Jim and Debbie Goad's legendary and seismically controversial magazine, ANSWER Me! ... Contributions from Debbie Goad, Boyd Rice, and a ...
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[PDF] and) Feminist DIY Practices in Punk and the “Sexual Turn” in Human ...
experience of male prison rape (Goad) and raised awareness for his ... Goad, Jim. “The Punk Who Wouldn't Shut Up.” Answer Me! 4 (1994): 28–31. Web ...
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Answer Me! Chapter Summary | Jim Goad - Bookey
Jul 21, 2024 · Book Answer Me! by Jim Goad: Chapter Summary,Free PDF Download,Review. Provocative Essays Shattering Social Taboos and Modern Myths.
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“The ANSWER: Not Guilty,” From Our February 7, 1996 Edition
Oct 17, 2017 · ... controversial 'zine ANSWER Me! #4, which is published by Jim Goad of Portland. The ANSWER Me! series is intentionally shocking, with ...
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Question Put Before Court: Is Magazine Smut or Satire?
Nov 26, 1995 · Stohl, 45, and Ms. Hjelsand, 25, were charged with one felony count each of promoting pornography, a violation of state obscenity laws. Both ...
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Answer Me! A Classic Case of Censorship in Washington State
Sep 30, 2011 · ... magazine. Published by Portland residents Jim and Debbie Goad, the magazine ANSWER ME! presented a “no-holds-barred” treatment of social ...
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ANSWER Me!: All Four Issues in FULL SCREAMING COLOR
A full reprint of the extremely rare 32-page 1994 hoax zine Chocolate Impulse, in which Jim and Debbie Goad posed as an interracial lesbian couple from Kentucky ...
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The ANSWER: Not Guilty - Alternet.org
'"Given the successes the defense had with witnesses such as ANSWER Me! contributing cartoonist Molly Kiely and prison rape activist Stephen "Donny the Punk" ...
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Chocimp | PDF - Scribd
... impulse “IN THE CROSSHAIRS” will be a regular feature of Chocolate impulse. ... Jim and Debbie Goad of fau-too-popular Answer Me! 'ine. I couldn't think of ...
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Looking Back on Some Bad Influences | The Bedlam Files
An overview of several magazines, self published “zines,” catalogs and other ephemera that fortified me during the past decade.
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From Zine Racks to Hell Sites and Back Again | by Pressland Editors
Aug 23, 2019 · The heyday of zine culture, and how it differed from today's world of social media and instantaneous online publishing.Missing: impact | Show results with:impact
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The History and Characteristics of Zines, Part I
Zine is not short for magazine. A magazine is a product, a commercial commodity. A zine is a labor of love, producing no profit, and zine, information is just ...
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Dangerous Encounters: The Horror Film Fanzine as a Subversive Art
Feb 11, 2022 · I confess, I had no idea there were so many zines devoted to 'freaky' film still being published on an underground level. ... Answer ME!, Blackest ...
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ANSWER Me!: The First Three - First Last, Jim Goad - Google Books
ANSWER Me!: The First Three. Front Cover. First Last, Jim Goad. Scapegoat Publishing, Feb 25, 2015 - Art - 100 pages. ANSWER Me! is a big black slab of trouble ...
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ANSWER Me!: All Four Issues - Nine-Banded Books
yes, including the infamous “Rape” issue — of Jim and Debbie Goad's legendary and seismically controversial ...Missing: 1994 | Show results with:1994
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https://www.ninebandedbooks.com/shop/book/answer-me-all-four-issues/
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ANSWER Me!: All Four Issues - Jim Goad - Google Books
Oct 31, 2020 · All four issues of Jim Goad's legendary true-crime magazine from the early 1990s.Missing: 1992-1994 | Show results with:1992-1994