Madame Boissevin does not explain herself. She issues statements.
First published in Norden Magazine and Norden+ Magazine, these columns were written under deadline pressure and left unedited.
What remains is sharp, uncompromising, and not particularly interested in being understood.
It doesn’t feel right. I itch all over. I have been waiting for years for an issue filled with beautiful men in uniform, and now our publisher is merging Norden and Norden+ into something I can only describe as a cross between Linda and an IKEA catalogue. It doesn’t feel right at all, such a … Read more
I live in my imagination. How beautiful life can be then. Sitting on the sofa, I talk to people who may once have existed, but more often they are inventions of my own. Sometimes I dream of beautiful women with a penis between their legs, while my partner, in a ridiculous leotard, performs elderly gymnastics … Read more
No one had a drinking problem. You simply kept drinking at birthdays, and by the end of the evening you would conclude that the same drink “suited” one person better than another. I am still one of those people who occasionally reads a book, and I still speak proper Dutch, without a preference for English … Read more
Look at the people in those boats, I said to my partner during Pride. You can tell there has been a pandemic. They are all equally emaciated. If I had to share a household with anyone, I would prefer to be married to myself. I have never known real love, but I have not missed … Read more
It is almost a miracle that the municipality of Amsterdam is still willing to allow a Pride in the city. Amsterdam is becoming a place where almost nothing is allowed. It all still happens, but as a resident of the city centre you can clearly feel the ambition to turn it into a well-behaved village. … Read more
Even the most hopeless technophobes can be taught to work digitally, as long as the reward involves sex or vanity. I am still getting used to it. I had assumed this entire magazine would be filled with attractive men in leather, or tough policemen handing out tickets to effeminate types, but that clever little Tio … Read more
Nice. Norden+ is a success. The cat can finally eat something decent again, and my vicious partner has been wanting a night out for ages.As far as I’m concerned, on a leash. It is getting worse by the day. Van der Kamp, who admittedly always wore a leather vest, has now bought a motorcycle jacket … Read more
Even back then, there was already one of those Delft-blue tiles hanging above his desk that read: I don’t invest in friendships, but in expenses. I am Madame Boissevin, and I belong to NORDEN whether there is a plus sign in the title or not. I had already made a fine pattern for a leather … Read more
Previously in print. Now left unsupervised. Anyone trying to sell a few extra barrels of beer has started a Mister or Drag competition. Half the community is walking around with a sash across the shoulder or a crown on an empty head. I was discussing it recently with my malicious friend, the vacuity taking over … Read more