Axis of Eve
Encyclopedia
Axis of Eve was a women's political advocacy group and non-profit business based in the United States
and active in the 2004 election run-up. Its name was a play on words satirizing US President
George W. Bush
's "Axis of Evil
" epithet for Iran
, Iraq
and North Korea
. They described themselves as "a coalition of brazen women on a mission to EXPOSE and DEPOSE President Select George W. Bush."
The group produced a line of "protest panties" including women's underwear (made by American Apparel
), tank tops, and men's boxers. The slogans on the underwear were based on the risqué double entendre
possibilities offered by president Bush’s name (e.g. "Give Bush the Finger") and by some of his most infamous phrases (e.g. "Weapon of Mass Seduction," referencing his frequent references to "weapons of mass destruction"). A line of men's boxers featured humorous double endendres based on vice president Dick Cheney
's name (e.g. "Yank Cheney" and "Lick Dick").
Axis of Eve followers across the country, encouraged to call themselves “Eves,” often purchased protest wear in bulk and coordinated "pantyware parties" or group trips to political marches and events, such as the March for Women's Lives
. During the Republican Convention in New York City
, the group organized a "mass flash" demonstration in which over 200 women assembled and showed off their political panties
. According to their website (no longer active): "Axis of Eve reclaims women’s bodies as instruments for positive politics and regime change. The mass flash is a demand for transparency and accountability. We bare our protest panties to boldly call for an end to political cover-ups."
Axis of Eve apparel achieved international public recognition as a part of the trend in political clothing, frequently appearing alongside other politically-based products in major publications such as Vogue
, Ms. Magazine
, Time Magazine, The New York Times
; San Francisco Chronicle
, BUST Magazine
, The New York Observer; Time Out; Village Voice; The Nation
; New York Newsday; New York Metro, Miami Herald; Wall Street Journal; German Cosmopolitan; Der Spiegal; French Maxim; Canadian Gazette; and Readymade Magazine (see selected media links are below). They also appeared on various television outlets including CNN
, MSNBC
, and HBO Fashion, and NBC
(Triumph the Dog
on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
).
As part of the drive to turn out the vote among American youth, Axis of Eve frequently organized events with groups like Indie Voter, Youth Voter Alliance, and Rock the Vote
, as well as fellow satirists Billionaires for Bush
and Code Pink
. Celebrities such as Moby
, Susan Sarandon
, and Outkast
's Andre 3000
, and Jesse Jackson
supported the panties. On election day 2004, members of the group allied themselves with Annie A-Bomb
and Melissa Bang-Bang, burlesque performers who are now part of the Cabaret Red Light
, for an effort to increase voter turn out in Pennsylvania, considered a "swing" state that year.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and active in the 2004 election run-up. Its name was a play on words satirizing US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's "Axis of Evil
Axis of evil
"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
" epithet for Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. They described themselves as "a coalition of brazen women on a mission to EXPOSE and DEPOSE President Select George W. Bush."
The group produced a line of "protest panties" including women's underwear (made by American Apparel
American Apparel
American Apparel is a clothing manufacturer in the United States. It is a vertically integrated clothing manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer that also performs its own design, advertising, and marketing...
), tank tops, and men's boxers. The slogans on the underwear were based on the risqué double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
possibilities offered by president Bush’s name (e.g. "Give Bush the Finger") and by some of his most infamous phrases (e.g. "Weapon of Mass Seduction," referencing his frequent references to "weapons of mass destruction"). A line of men's boxers featured humorous double endendres based on vice president Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
's name (e.g. "Yank Cheney" and "Lick Dick").
Axis of Eve followers across the country, encouraged to call themselves “Eves,” often purchased protest wear in bulk and coordinated "pantyware parties" or group trips to political marches and events, such as the March for Women's Lives
March for Women's Lives
The March for Women's Lives was a demonstration for reproductive rights and women's rights, held April 25, 2004 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. The National Park Service no longer makes official estimates of attendance after the Million Man March controversy in 1994, so official estimates...
. During the Republican Convention in New York City
2004 Republican National Convention protest activity
2004 Republican National Convention protest activity includes the broad range of marches, rallies, performances, demonstrations, exhibits, and acts of civil disobedience in New York City to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention and the nomination of President George W. Bush for the 2004 U.S...
, the group organized a "mass flash" demonstration in which over 200 women assembled and showed off their political panties
Panties
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
. According to their website (no longer active): "Axis of Eve reclaims women’s bodies as instruments for positive politics and regime change. The mass flash is a demand for transparency and accountability. We bare our protest panties to boldly call for an end to political cover-ups."
Axis of Eve apparel achieved international public recognition as a part of the trend in political clothing, frequently appearing alongside other politically-based products in major publications such as Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
, Time Magazine, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
; San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, BUST Magazine
Bust (magazine)
Bust is a bi-monthly United States-based women's lifestyle magazine. It was founded in 1993 by Debbie Stoller, Laurie Henzel, and Marcelle Karp.-Content:...
, The New York Observer; Time Out; Village Voice; The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
; New York Newsday; New York Metro, Miami Herald; Wall Street Journal; German Cosmopolitan; Der Spiegal; French Maxim; Canadian Gazette; and Readymade Magazine (see selected media links are below). They also appeared on various television outlets including CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, and HBO Fashion, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(Triumph the Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog
Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog is a character puppet best known for mocking celebrities. Triumph was identified in the early appearances as a Yugoslavian Mountain Hound, hence his distinct Eastern European accent . As his name indicates, Triumph's comedic style is almost exclusively insult comedy...
on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
).
As part of the drive to turn out the vote among American youth, Axis of Eve frequently organized events with groups like Indie Voter, Youth Voter Alliance, and Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
, as well as fellow satirists Billionaires for Bush
Billionaires for Bush
Billionaires for Bush is a culture jamming political street theater organization that satirically purports to support George W. Bush for those activities which are perceived to benefit corporations and the super-wealthy...
and Code Pink
Code Pink
Code Pink: Women for Peace is an anti-war group that is mainly composed of women. It has regional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and many more chapters in the U.S. as well as several in other countries...
. Celebrities such as Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, and Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
's Andre 3000
André 3000
André Lauren Benjamin , better known by his stage name André 3000 is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, best known for being part of American hip-hop duo OutKast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi...
, and Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
supported the panties. On election day 2004, members of the group allied themselves with Annie A-Bomb
Annie A-Bomb
Annie A-Bomb is a modern burlesque and vaudeville performer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Education and Early Life:Born in Philadelphia on January 4, 1976....
and Melissa Bang-Bang, burlesque performers who are now part of the Cabaret Red Light
Cabaret Red Light
Cabaret Red Light is a theater group based in Philadelphia that performs vaudeville, burlesque, spoken word and puppet theater, set to original music by The Blazing Cherries. In their first season, between November 2008 and July 2009, Cabaret Red Light staged the series "The Seven Deadly Sins"...
, for an effort to increase voter turn out in Pennsylvania, considered a "swing" state that year.
External links
- "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Those Old Protest Tactics Have to Go'" - June 13 2004, New York Times
- "Axis of Eve is just beating around the Bush" Sunday, May 23, 2004 - San Francisco Chronicle
- "1 Million Unmarried Women Voting Parties" August 10, 2004 - The Boston Globe
- "Thong Song" - The Boston Phoenix
- "New Axis of Eve Uncovers Strategy to Topple Bush" - Sept 8, 2004, Capital Times