The Institute of Absurdity Archive.com
Lunatics with Purpose!
The Belly Play
Months after the success of the First Annual San Francisco Farting Contest, the Institute of Absurdity decided to embark on another profoundly offensive play: the search for the Most Beautiful Male Belly in America! Toteras felt that, in this age of 12-pack abs and endless dietary and exercise regimens, and all the energy spent by the Super-Fit Generation to 'look beautiful', the very idea of Beauty had been usurped to mean only that which was thin, lean and aggressively concerned with the exterior. This, according to Toteras, was in stark contrast to how former periods viewed Beauty, when a Man with a large belly was proud of himself because he had earned the right to be large, and the most beautiful Women were those who exaggerated their curves and natural softness rather than trimmed themselves to the bone.
The Institute decided to offer an alternative to the present-day standards of Beauty and embarked on a voyage to find the Most Beautiful Male Belly in America! The Belly Pageant, as it was called, would be a traditional beauty contest between large, proud men in non-traditional poses and settings.
Once word got out, the Institute was flooded with applicants and a suitable location was quickly chosen: El Rancho Tropicana in Santa Rosa, CA, with its 1500 seat hall.
The Problem: Neither Toteras or Uncle Tad were large enough physically to be appropriate MC's for the show, as they strongly felt a Man of real girth must be found to lead and lend legitimacy to the proceedings. Enter the impresario, Paul Pindaro, a profoundly large and eloquent speaker with years of stage experience. Unfortunately, on the eve of the premiere, Pindaro was struck down from a heart attack and the play was canceled in his honor.
Below is a description of the documentary:
Sunday with Toteras, or The Belly Play
“In July of 1989, Demetrius Toteras and Uncle Tad Baker had devised their most outrageous play to date, The Belly Play, a beauty pageant for obese men, yet were missing the event's cornerstone: an obese Master of Ceremonies. They struck gold when Paul Pindaro, the legendary impresario, agreed to come on board the project.
In this documentary, spend a pleasant afternoon with the team at Toteras' estate in the hills above Sebastapol, California, and get ready for a rare view inside The Institute of Absurdity's Inner Sanctum.”
The Anti-Feminist Meetings
In the fall of 1990, the Institute embarked on a series of informal events at the Rumours Cafe on Broadway in downtown San Francisco, in what would be called Uncle Tad Baker's Anti-Feminist Meetings. The events were designed as a vehicle for Toteras to explore his 'anti-feminist, pro-woman' beliefs in an environment which might foster Thoughtful Understanding rather than Mayhem. What was remarkable about these evenings was not only the idea of holding events dubbed 'Anti-Feminist' in perhaps the world's leading Feminist city, but that the evenings were ultimately quite pleasant and the dialogue and conversation, while lively, was always civil, a stark contrast to the furor just months before at the Loon Show.
There are no films made from the Anti-Feminist Meetings (due to several so-called 'poets' objecting to being seen in an Uncle Tad movie, "It might damage my career and I'm gonna sue you if you do!" one narcissistic poet whined), only a short 5 minute promo featuring Toteras. The 5 minute promo is made available to the public by using the YouTube link below.
The Anti-Feminist Meeting
with Demetrius Toteras:
5 Minute promo
Uncle Tad Baker's Men's Club audio recordings
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Uncle Tad Baker's Men's Club performs at the University of Colorado Boulder, with Demetrius Toteras as the Professor. In this 30 minute recording, join Toteras as he discusses personal issues with relevance to Men:
Toteras, 'I'm a nobody, I don't read'; on Tits; on treating Women as superior; on your Mother, 'Women don't want to be fucked, they want to be loved'; the smells of a Man.
Backstage with the Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, with Demetrius Toteras as the Professor. In this 30 minute recording, join Toteras as he discusses personal issues with a member of the Institute's Inner Sanctum, Gordy Creech, and then speaks on the following themes with relevance to Men:
'We're a collection of bad habits, so make art out of it'; story of Toteras' Mom at the bar; Gordy's ultimatum from Lisa; 'there are no rules, just rationalizations'; Gordy falls apart; 'you either respect yourself or you don't!'; a Woman's fidelity gives you a sense of security; Modern Man hedges his bets; getting away from Women; Man's only problem is not accepting who he is; mating instincts of Men; our great belief in Authority.
5 minutes with Demetrius Toteras
Join Demetrius Toteras at Uncle Tad Baker’s Men’s Club at the University of Utah April 1991 for a 5 minute sample of what would become a very raucous evening, so much so that the remaining recording is essentially unlistenable. Still, Toteras addresses several themes of relevance to Modern Men:
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‘Commuter Masturbation, Carpooling and getting felt by a queer, the odor of a Man, no time to fuck your wife, not paying attention to your wife, fucking your wife while she sleeps, the Boss is fucking her’.
The Institute of Absurdity Archive is a non-profit philosophical and historical project. All content is presented for the purpose of commentary, criticism, and education under the Fair Use principles of U.S. Code 17 § 107. We prioritize Free Uncensored Thought to ensure the creative life remains free to the public. © 2025 Uncle Tad Baker.
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