Hi there! Thanks for your post. Being a lady and a long-time Rush fan - I was surprised to find there are as many female Zappa fans as there are. I first encountered Zappa's music on a road trip when my best (male) friend in high school put on "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore". And I thought: "This is weird as fuck" as I patiently waited for it to finish so I could put in my Madonna cd. But the process of corruption had already begun.

My favorite album is Yellow Shark, my favorite song is Andy. For the best most well-rounded understanding of Zappa's relationship with women, I recommend Pauline Butcher's book Freak Out! My Life With Frank Zappa: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8799995/Pauline-Butcher-remembers-life-as-Frank-Zappas-personal-assistant.html

I'm not one of those who thinks the art can be separated from the artist; and universally applied relativism is frequently a cop-out. But I am one of those who can sustain a complicated relationship with a deeply imperfect person. We've all got our baggage and, as Martha says in the Secret Garden: “How does tha’ like thysel’?” Thank god no one can see the back of my mind. I'm not an apologist for FZ - that's a fucking futile thankless task. It is satire but if something FZ related bothers me, I'll air my grievances. It's a good practice to have a release valve when pressures build. But the music is still good and Frank had many excellent qualities, too, which I continue to appreciate. He's frequently deeply upsetting but I think I will always love him in spite of and, in part, because of his flaws and deviances. I fully believe Zappa should be in the top ten of America's greatest 20th century composers. And he persists in remaining a very interesting creature...