Asa Baber
Encyclopedia
Asa Baber was an American
author
, former Marine
, and columnist
for Playboy.
Growing up on the South Side
of Chicago
, Baber was involved in several incidents of petty mischief before his grandmother arranged for him to attend the Lawrenceville Academy
, a prestigious boarding school
in New Jersey
. Baber went on to Princeton University
where he joined the United States Marine Corps
Platoon Leader Corps. After graduation in 1958, he was commissioned and served in the Marine Corps until 1961, achieving the rank of Captain, and participating in several covert actions
in Laos
. His military experience became material for several essays and, finally, his first book, Land of a Million Elephants
, published in 1971, and serialized in Playboy. Baber performed his graduate work
at Northwestern University
and the University of Iowa
's Writer's Workshop. From 1969 through 1975 Baber was a professor
of English at the University of Hawaii
. He was so beloved that, when the Chicago Sun-Times
published an article about him in 2002 (focusing largely on his failing health), dozens of former students wrote to him to re-establish contact and offer support.
In 1982, Baber wrote an essay called, "Who Gets Screwed In A Divorce? I Do!" which was published in Playboy. The essay was so popular that Baber joined with longtime Playboy editor Arthur Ketchmer to develop a column called "Men", that became a celebrated cornerstone of Men's liberation
. Quickly becoming one of the magazine's most popular features, the unapologetic and politically incorrect
column covered a broad spectrum of subjects including sports, sexuality
, divorce
, male-bashing
, employment
, personal identity
, fatherhood, and personal values.
In September 2001, Baber was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (Coincidentally, Baber shared a birthday with his hero, Lou Gehrig
.) Upon making an announcement on the 2002 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
, Baber was elected to serve as national president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association
, a post he held until his death. His final column, published the month of his death, retained his gritty style and displayed the quintessentially masculine courage with which he faced his disease.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, former Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
for Playboy.
Growing up on the South Side
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Baber was involved in several incidents of petty mischief before his grandmother arranged for him to attend the Lawrenceville Academy
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
, a prestigious boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Baber went on to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
where he joined the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Platoon Leader Corps. After graduation in 1958, he was commissioned and served in the Marine Corps until 1961, achieving the rank of Captain, and participating in several covert actions
Covert operation
A covert operation is a military, intelligence or law enforcement operation that is carried clandestinely and, often, outside of official channels. Covert operations aim to fulfill their mission objectives without any parties knowing who sponsored or carried out the operation...
in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. His military experience became material for several essays and, finally, his first book, Land of a Million Elephants
Land of a Million Elephants
Land of a Million Elephants may refer to:*English translation of Lan Xang, a Lao empire lasting from 1354-1707*The nickname for Laos*The Title of Asa Baber's 1971 novel, based on his experiences as a United States Marine in Laos...
, published in 1971, and serialized in Playboy. Baber performed his graduate work
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
's Writer's Workshop. From 1969 through 1975 Baber was a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
. He was so beloved that, when the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
published an article about him in 2002 (focusing largely on his failing health), dozens of former students wrote to him to re-establish contact and offer support.
In 1982, Baber wrote an essay called, "Who Gets Screwed In A Divorce? I Do!" which was published in Playboy. The essay was so popular that Baber joined with longtime Playboy editor Arthur Ketchmer to develop a column called "Men", that became a celebrated cornerstone of Men's liberation
Men's liberation
The consciousness and philosophy of men's liberation is split into two factions. One is critical of the restraints which a patriarchal society imposes on men. This faction is informed by feminism. The other, critical of the restraints matriarchal society imposes on men, is informed by masculinism...
. Quickly becoming one of the magazine's most popular features, the unapologetic and politically incorrect
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
column covered a broad spectrum of subjects including sports, sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, male-bashing
Bashing (pejorative)
Bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, prejudicial attack on a person, group or subject. Literally, bashing is a term meaning to hit or assault, but when it is used as a suffix, or in conjunction with a noun indicating the subject being attacked, it is normally used to imply that the act is motivated by...
, employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
, personal identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, fatherhood, and personal values.
In September 2001, Baber was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. (Coincidentally, Baber shared a birthday with his hero, Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
.) Upon making an announcement on the 2002 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
, Baber was elected to serve as national president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association
Muscular Dystrophy Association
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is an American organization which combats muscular dystrophy and diseases of the nervous system and muscular system in general by funding research, providing medical and community services, and educating health professionals and the general public...
, a post he held until his death. His final column, published the month of his death, retained his gritty style and displayed the quintessentially masculine courage with which he faced his disease.
External links
- http://blip.tv/file/47217 Playboy Columnist ManTalk Interview Part 1
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20030618/ai_n12506420 Chicago Sun-Time June 18, 2003; " Asa Baber, 66, wrote Playboy's 'Men' column
- http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jun/20/local/me-baber20 Asa Baber, 66; Brought Male Perspective to Playboy Column
- http://www.jazzcornertalk.com/speakeasy/showthread.php?t=1521 Los Angeles Times, "Asa Baber, 66, Wrote Playboy Magazine's Long-Running 'Men' Column"
- http://www.mdausa.org/news/021206writer.html "Chicago Writer Elected to National MDA Leadership"
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/1559721146 Amazon.com: Naked at Gender Gap: A Man's View of the War Between the Sexes (Hardcover)