Norman Mailer: Works and Days

People (Time, 6 November 1972)

A Time 'People' squib quoting Mailer at a rowdy UC Berkeley event ('A little bit of rape is good for a man's soul') and reporting his remark that McGovern was the only man superior to him - which Mailer protested as out of context.

A squib in Time’s “People” section (6 November 1972) quotes Mailer at a rowdy University of California, Berkeley event — at which someone threw a burning jockstrap onto the stage — as saying, “A little bit of rape is good for a man’s soul.” He is also reported to have said that “[Democratic presidential candidate George] McGovern is the only man superior to me,” a remark Mailer protested as out of context in a later letter to Time.

First published: 1972-11-06
Form: article
Lennon & Lennon: 72.21a
Cite as: /works/1972-11-06-people-time-burning-jockstrap
Last updated: 2026-06-04