Erotic Truth

Rediscovering Cecilia Tan

2009-09-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

Everything I needed to know about Life, I learn... by webcarve
View other Usenet T-Shirts

I still think there's something bizarre and strange about looking back at the days of Alt.Sex.Stories as "the good old days." I remember running into Cecilia Tan as Ctan on Usenet. Yes, before it was known as "The Internet." I was reading her early works on that newsgroup with a UUCP feed with a 14.4 dialup.
Uphill. Both Ways. In The Dark.

Now, life happened, and I kind of got distracted from making and enjoying erotic works; it seemed that speaking of the immediate ethical failures of Certain People was more important than crafting tales that - even then - were explorations of sexual ethics. I wrote a few, enough to learn just how difficult it is. But then, Ctan and a short list of others were the standard I measured myself against.

But of late I've returned to the field, concentrating on the Graphic Novel format, to discover that Ctan has not been significantly distracted at all. Her Circlet Press imprint has become one of the best known for quality erotic fiction, and may be found in your better book stores, while also providing discreet online fulfillment in print and electronic formats.

There's a significant distinction between erotica and porn; and way back when Ctan proved to me back then that the distinction was not about the amount of explicit sex. Ctan's sex scenes will melt your brain. Even if she's writing counter to your own sexual preference and orientation.

Trust me, that's hard. It's easily as difficult as writing a plausible antagonist who's entire worldview conflicts with you and your protagonist. And crafting a story with a lot of sex so that it's actually a story and not a way of getting from hello to squirt in the shortest number of words is exactly the same challeng as crafting a story with a lot of loud explosions.

If you can top Ctan - you can top Die Hard. You could probably top Die Hard without topping Ctan. Die Hard requires suspension of disbelief. Ctan seduces your belief. I am deeply envious.

Back then a new Ctan story was worth setting aside for dessert. Well, the more things change, the more things stay the same.

I have not yet read "The Prince's Boy." I skimmed part of chapter eight, and then I went back to the first (linked) episode, which has what may be the most compelling hook I've seen in a long time. I'm doing this for ME. Because I absolutely do intend to read it and I want to be able to find it.

It gripes me rather a lot that I can't set the time aside to do that right this instant,but I have deadlines too.

If you use twitter, you can keep up to date with Circlet Press. And - in keeping with the ethos of "Shared Pain is Diminished, Shared Joy Increased" - Circlet Press is twittering wonderful and painful excerpts from their slush pile @Circletslush.

If you MUST shop at Wal-Mart... Wear the right shirt.

2009-09-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just don't have a choice. The amount of money and the distance to payday says that you will be visiting Wal-Mart.

You may be aware that I make t-shirts. Some of them are rather naughty and/or political. Some few are outright rude. But now that I've seen this hilarious site, I see no downside to wearing them to Wal-Mart. Fa sure, there isn't a dress code here!

You could make people think - or you could make it onto The People Of Wal-Mart yourself.

So here's a few suggestions for shirts that you might think amusing to wear to Wal-Mart. Some are mine, some are from friends, some I found JUST for this post.

Do You Measure Up? Extra Crispy Ego by webcarve

Trained Stunt Pervert by webcarve

CONSERVATIVES Pro-Life??? by Warlords

Alien Lover T-Shirt by webcarve
View other Pod people T-Shirts

J.S. Mill on Conservatism by webcarve

Maude Says by webcarve
Get a tee shirt at zazzle

* Yes, it is cold * by mulgath

You Really Do Need A Girlfriend T-shirt by DocEcho
Make a custom t shirt on zazzle

Unemployed Fruit Smuggler T-Shirt by webcarve

Gotopless.org - a new Raelan Revelation

2009-08-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

TOP
by tonyapts

GoTopless We are a US organization, claiming that women have the same constitutional right to be bare chested in public places as men.

Maitreya, Rael, spiritual leader and founder of goTopless.org states: "as long as men can be topless, constitutionally women should have the same right, or men should also be forced to wear something hiding their chest."

I must give credit where credit is due; the Raelians have done something worth doing, and are taking heat for doing it. From where? Well, it's not from where you might expect... it's from Terribly Serious Nudists, who grump about how the Raeliens are causing people to take this issue less seriously than it should be taken.

Well, frankly, naked people who wish to be Taken Seriously should put some clothes on. That is what clothes are for. They convey status and social position. They indicate rank and station. They hide our flaws and scars and pot bellies, while allowing us to not look at things that might give us woodies or wide-ons, which would surely be seen if we were... well, it's a circular observation, ain't it?

Personally, I can't imagine why one would wish to pretend that being naked could be divorced from human sexuality, or for that matter, why that would sound like a good idea in the first place. "Grimly Naked" just sounds... not fun. And chilly.

Look, this is a very simple idea. If looking at another human being bothers you, don't look. "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out," the Bible advises. Not "beat the woman until she puts on a burkah." Thine woodie is thine OWN issue. Cut it off or whack it off, whatever you need to do to maintain an even strain within a civil society, but don't put your issues where they don't belong. That is the essential ethical point behind this struggle, and a bit of whimsy does make the point go down better.

And frankly, only those already discounted by the mainstream could afford to do something this courageously, conspicuously, subversively ridiculous. The various nudist and naturist associations might think they deserve to be taken more seriously, a point that is beside the point. It's rare that they are considered or consulted or indeed, thought about. Meanwhile, the Raelians got behind the cause and jiggled.

And lo, it was seen that it was fun to watch, and nobody died.

This is a core liberties issue. I'm more than willing to - urm - support this cause and not merely because I like boobies. After all, this is not about asserting the right to show off a nice pair.

There are entire industries devoted to that, after all. No, this is about equality, and the right to bear your chest, regardless of whether or not one could get paid, or at least tossed a string of beads.

It is a matter of equal rights; the sight of breasts cannot be argued to be harmful to anyone, and if the thinking of those offended argues otherwise, that it justifies bad behavior, let us look to the Blackletter law, that those who commit violent acts are the ones who are justly held accountable.

Even if there are boobs wagging about, violent tantrums are NOT permissible.

However, as an artist and aesthete, I do hope it's a right that is exercised with some discretion. I may hope - but I have not RIGHT to demand it. That simple understanding, recognized in law, is the entire point to the exercise. Equality under the law.

And of course this:

"Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense!
Our template driven Go Topless T-Shirt by webcarve is designed to be modified, to celebrate your own subversive experience - and it can also be used to fundraise for an upcoming event in your town next year. An excellent idea, methinks. There are substantial discounts for bulk orders. :)

Voyeur, meet Exhibitionist.

2009-08-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

HIGH LINE'S STANDARD HOTEL DRAWS VISITORS AS GUESTS POSE NAKED IN WINDOWS - New York Post H/T The Daily Beast

Make of this what you will; for me, the interesting thing is that the Post has dropped any pretense of disapproval. This sort of tabloid used to be driven by faux outrage; long-lens nippleslippages presented as proof of how very very decadent and evil "those people" were. But perhaps several years of dedicated, uppercase Faux outrage has made the lowercase hyporcacy seem a tad retro.

Now, they seem willing to admit that they like boobies and expect their readers do as well. I concur. Boobies are fun.

More people are flocking to the High Line's Standard hotel as word spreads of X-rated sights like these gals cavorting behind floor-to-ceiling windows.

The city might want to rename its newest park the "Thigh Line."

Thrill-seekers yesterday flocked to the Meatpacking District's newly christened High Line urban paradise to catch a glimpse of the free skin show playing out in the massive windows at The Standard hotel, which straddles the park.

I must say, The Post treated this in a classier way than one would expect. This hotel, with all that cavorting, and nothing whatsoever was made of the fact that it's in the "Meatpacking District" or that the hotel is clearly visible from a city park built on the former "Elevated Line."

Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink, Know What I Mean?

I presume that Benny Hill is no longer on the Editorial Board.

Graphictruth: Don't Piss on the Crazy Bush

2009-08-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Any discussion of any topic of any importance (say, human trafficking and slavery) will be degraded into incoherence by dealing with the sort of people who insist on their right to be heard because of what the insects in their heads tell them is Too Important To Be Ignored.

This advice does not merely apply to such people speaking out against you. It's far more humiliating to have such people thinking they have a place in your "posse."

Crossposted from Graphictruth.

The thing about us cosmopolitan elitists is that we have learned that taking crazy people seriously can make you crazy. They USED to teach people in Journo 101 that you don't give credence to the incredible.

It is fun at times to ridicule the ridiculous - but some things are so fucking INHERENTLY ridiculous that pointing it out amounts to insulting the intelligence of any audience worth having.

Rick Perlstein -- Birthers, Health Care Hecklers and the Rise of Right-Wing Rage - washingtonpost.com: "So the birthers, the anti-tax tea-partiers, the town hall hecklers -- these are 'either' the genuine grass roots or evil conspirators staging scenes for YouTube? The quiver on the lips of the man pushing the wheelchair, the crazed risk of carrying a pistol around a president -- too heartfelt to be an act. The lockstep strangeness of the mad lies on the protesters' signs -- too uniform to be spontaneous. They are both. If you don't understand that any moment of genuine political change always produces both, you can't understand America, where the crazy tree blooms in every moment of liberal ascendancy, and where elites exploit the crazy for their own narrow interests."

Never mind watering the Tree of Liberty. Stop pissing on the Crazy Bush!

That's how you deal with crazy people. You firmly tell them that the shit in their heads is their shit, and they have to own it.

At the very least, before inviting others into the private regions of your head, you should pick up the trash and do the laundry. There's a perfect example of that right here.

People who behave like that in public should be treated in the same way as a five year old who has yet to learn that public masturbation is inappropriate.

Renegade Evolution quotes the crazy in full, and mistakenly attempts to respond to the crazy as if she were talking to a rational person who was attacking her for sane, if malicious reasons. A mistake, I fear. I have a stock t-shirt for just such occasions.

While it may have worth citing as a textbook example of disastrously flawed rhetoric or to feature as an example of what happens when you roll a double zero on your critical thinking skill table, one only had to read three paragraphs down to realize that any deeper consideration would be entirely misplaced.

The signers of the letter say they are “members of the academic community.” The media quickly converted that into “50 professors.” In fact, quite a few are not full-time professors or administrators at these institutions; rather, some are adjunct faculty, graduate students, or retired. At least one signer seems to be an undergraduate.

You see, the nutball letter states that these persons who claim to be "members of the academic community" are, indeed, members of the academic community, precisely as they claimed. Citing that media has failed to correctly cite their credentials is not a valid criticism of the credentials they claim, if anything, it more firmly establishes their proper credentials - as representing the entire range of the academic community, that is to say, people who's primary qualification is to think about stuff and derive useful insights that may advise others who may, though no fault of their own, have less time to devote to such matters.

Such as, Margaret Brooks and Donna M. Huges of Citizens Against Trafficking the co-authors of the above paragraph.

See, having established that they cannot think, one may cease to be concerned with what they think regarding any appareant mutual concerns, because any response amounts to Pissing on the Crazy Bush.

Any discussion of any topic of any importance (say, human trafficking and slavery) will be degraded into incoherence by dealing with the sort of people who insist on their right to be heard because of what the insects in their heads tell them is Too Important To Be Ignored.

This advice does not merely apply to such people speaking out against you. It's far more humiliating to have such people thinking they have a place in your "posse."

It's like hearing "Chemtrails" in conversation - it's a signal to switch to meaningless small talk. Trust me, they will not notice the difference, and you won't feel the need to crotch-punch them, so it's a win-win.

Some things are so awesomely, majestically, comprehensively stupid as to be worthy of standing alone in all their awful majesty. I understand why Ren takes this nasty little screed personally, but she's mistaken in doing so.

It's not that I'm saying that she should "understand" their position. She shouldn't even try. You don't encourage people to rationalize a phobic response. You either accept it or you do not, and that reaction depends entirely upon whether the irrational spasms pose any danger.

Likewise, as a responsible person, you cope with your phobia or you do not, and arrange your life accordingly. A phobic has no reasonable expectation that people should accommodate their irrational fears, much less enable them in oppressing the people they are phobic about.

"Doctor, it hurts when I do this."
"Well, then, stop DOING that!"

I may squish a spider in order to keep my wife's brains from leaking out of her head. I will not harm a person because she reacts to them in the same way; I'll take her to the mental health clinic. We both understand that distinction, and she would do the same for/to me. There is a limit to which reasonable people expect their irrationality to be accommodated.

Sane public policy cannot possibly accommodate all irrational fears and phobias, nor may it advantage personality disorders over civility and long persist. Government, along with every other human activity, cannot sacrifice outcome in the name of process.

Bring facts, bring reason, bring a coherent argument with, you know, facts and stuff, or stay home.

From this elitist bastard's perspective, you may just as well. I'm not going to waste precious, publicly funded photons on arguing with crazy.

(Should I forget, do feel free to remind me.)

The Dreamwalkers Webcomix Universe

2009-08-13T16:36:00.000-07:00

You probably know about Webcomix, and if you do, you probably already know about Drunkduck.com, which justly brags that it hosts more than 1500 webcomics. Heck, people who host their own comics on their own url MIRROR them on DD (as it's lovingly abbreviated), simply for all the luscious traffic and the benefits of community.

Well, I happen to have two comics underway that you might be interested in. It should come as no surprise that "23" and "Dreamwalkers" are entirely concerned with sex. Sex, and power. Sex, power, and what happens if you try and navigate between the two without a functional ethical compass.

As it happens, the "Dreamwalkers" universe is loosely based on personal shamanic experiences, with a whole bunch of the estoteric lore I've picked up over the years, levened with a hearty appreciation for BDSM and fetish illustrations. Further than that, well, that would spoil the story.

Dreamwalkers is frankly adult, while 23 shoots for a "mature" rating, while being more precisely called a "graphic novel."

I think you will enjoy them.

Patriotic Latex!

2009-04-20T17:34:00.001-07:00

metropolis_red, originally uploaded by Slinka.

It really needs a screen-printed maple leaf...

Ego Assassin
Toronto, Canada

FBI workers accused of spying on dressing room

2009-04-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

FBI workers accused of spying on dressing room:

"MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Two FBI workers are accused of using surveillance equipment to spy on teenage girls as they undressed and tried on prom gowns at a charity event at a West Virginia mall.

The FBI employees have been charged with conspiracy and committing criminal invasion of privacy. They were working in an FBI satellite control room at the mall when they positioned a camera on temporary changing rooms and zoomed in for at least 90 minutes on girls dressing for the Cinderella Project fashion show, Marion County Prosecutor Pat Wilson said Monday.

Gary Sutton Jr., 40, of New Milton and Charles Hommema of Buckhannon have been charged with the misdemeanors and face fines and up to a year in jail on each charge if convicted. Sutton has been released on bond, Wilson said, and Hommema is to be arraigned later this week. Wilson did not know Hommema's age.

The workers were described in a complaint as 'police officers,' but prosecutors did not say whether the men were agents or describe what kind of work they did."

If you want to keep the baby, you need to get a Second Life

2009-04-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

The Gathering Stormfront of Stupid

2009-04-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Steven Sums it Up

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Brisol Palin Explodes Abstenance Mythology

2009-02-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

In her first public interview, Bristol told Fox News' that abstinence is "not realistic at all."

I'm sure that went over well in the Heartland. But unpalatable as it may be, had Bristol Palin been exposed to a brutally real sex-ed resource that speaks in language that is so blunt that it cannot be misunderstood even by horny teenagers, she probably would not have become pregnant.

This is what Carla of Feministe has to say about it:

Scarleteen is a sex education website for teenagers and young adults. It’s sex positive, focuses on everything from safety to pleasure, anatomy to emotional responses to sexual relationships, promotes non-intercourse types of sex as worthwhile options and is completely LGBT inclusive. It also works to dismantle rape culture with discussions of desire and enthusiastic consent.

This is MY go-to resource for real answers for urgent questions. They are always in need of funds. You should really drop some bucks on them.

I should point out that Bristol's pregnancy is a legitimate social concern - as is her STD status. Her "purity" and "innocence" are not. Sacrificing the former concern in service to maintaining pretenses regarding the latter leads inexorably to diseased and pregnant teenagers.

But, at least ONE person involved seems to have gained insight as a result of experience. Bristol Palin.

Kudos, kiddo.

Sabra Hemmingway - Second Life Artist

2009-01-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

3118773044_ed7e1154d5_o, originally uploaded by sabrainsl.

It's a shame I missed the opening of the exhibition in Second Life Oh, who am I kidding; I really do avoid concentrations of people; that's one third computer limitations and two thirds wetware issues. So now is a perfect time to go, from my point of view. And if it's not still there - well, then it's time to look at her photostream.

There's one more example immediately below, selected because it's themed for this blog. Nonetheless; some of her most powerful images are urban landscapes dominated with swirls of colors in high electronic impasto. Stunning work and absolutely worth a Second Look.

Varla Dane explores WilliePunk genre

2009-01-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Varla Dane is an inspired uber-retro comic strip that harks back to the fetish artists of the 1920's, (Such as John Willie) complete with an analog interface steeped in crackle-finish and smelling faintly of ozone and presented in glorious black and white.

And yes, there are t-shirts and posters. :) Not enough-but well worth a look.

Putting Feminist Theory Aside For The Moment...

2008-12-10T10:25:00.001-08:00

36, originally uploaded by jasfire.

Biology clearly has a part to play.

Of course, this is also about how quickly rrrowwwllll can turn to awwwww!

Boobs and new baby smell. Two of the most viscerally amazingly wonderful things. I have found over my lifetime that it's far, far better to make positive sense of them, rather than try to argue with myself or with others that that viscereal sensation is some subtle snare of the devil.

"There is no sin but that thinking makes it so," and as far as I'm concerned, this is a great illustration of "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense."

Here's a life lesson for you...

2008-10-29T11:46:00.001-07:00

clipped from thecurvature.com

It would seem to me that in most cases, if a 49-year-old man intended to sexually abuse a 16-year-old girl and she stabbed him, the cries of “self defense” would be deafening. Under most circumstances, if a 16-year-old girl was sent to jail for 2 to 2 1/2 years because of stabbing a man who attempted to sexually abuse her, there would be public outrage.

So why silence now? Is it not self defense when you’re working as a prostitute? Are we back to the legal system’s “prostitutes can’t be raped” theory? Does this dehumanizing, misogynistic and rape apologist myth now apply to children, as well?

Even worse, the prosecution openly admits that the girl’s claims of kidnapping and attempted rape are credible:

he man she killed seemingly without a doubt had intent to sexually harm her. The prosecution accepts that the girl’s story is credible. And both the defense and prosecution admit that if the case had been allowed to go to trial, she would have likely been acquitted.

And what does this teach you, children? What example does THIS set?

It seems to me that this does not reflect well on either prosecution or defense, and in the particular case of defense council, I cannot help but think that an ethics review is in order.

Oh, and an appeal based on the clearly improper advice of council is damn well in order.

Yeah. It's Like that.

2008-10-26T18:54:00.001-07:00

clipped from men.style.com

It occurred to me, as I sat there watching an interracial couple banging, that jacking off in a hotel room was not unlike the larger experience of campaign reporting. You watch two performers. You kind of like it when one of them gets humiliated. You know they’re professionals, so you don’t feel much sympathy for them. You wish you could participate, but instead you watch with a hidden envy and feel vaguely ashamed for watching. You think you could probably do as good a job or better. You sometimes get a glimpse, intentionally or not, of society’s hidden desires and fears. You watch the porn week after week, the scenes almost always the same, none of them too memorable. The best ones get sent around the Internet.

Blogging, of course, is a particularly unrewarding form of solitary vice.

What's even worse is that this silly post will be my money shot for the month, because it has "jacking off" and "Porn" in it.

I'm just too jaded to take this any further, other than to say that the mindless ejaculations of Palin Supporters DO remind me of the mindless ejaculations of the fans of Hot Wife Porn over on flickr.

Except that it seems somehow less degrading to everyone involved.

Ownership Culture, BDSM and The Ethics of Power

2008-10-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

I Speak from Authority

It's probably obvious by now that I have a certain bias toward power exchange relationships.

BDSM and the ethics of BDSM are part and parcel of my core understanding of interpersonal relationships. It's especially useful to me because BDSM makes a fetish - so to speak - of explicitly stating relationships that are more commonly (mis)understood on a dynamic, ad-hoc basis; often assigned arbitrarily and without much attention paid to competence. As an Asperger's male, that makes me absolutely nuts.

This tendency has been particularly conspicuous in political life of late, and most particularly on the Authoritarian end of the political spectrum. There are many people who are drawn to power - both in the sense of submission and in the sense of having others bend the knee - with almost no attention paid to donating power responsibly or using it wisely and well.

More below the fold...

I deal with a great deal of irony in my personal life, as I'm a reflexive anti-authoritarian - with the need to be in authority! Yes, I know, it's absurd - but my way to deal with that is to chuckle in a deeply masculine way and state with more than mere hubris that, yes, I damn well AM an authority - on that which I'm talking about. When I don't know, I smile and nod wisely, with an air of interested skepticism conveyed by a slightly raised eyebrow.

But as a person who has that need to be an authority, I am pretty much obliged to explore the extremes. Childhood was my introduction to one extreme, so now I'm doing the utterly predictable - attempting to find a way of recapitulate my childhood from the other side. Or so any family therapist would say.

Accurately, I'm afraid. But the difference is that I've learned that mindless mimicry of one's formative examples is a very, very bad idea. At the same time - that's who you are and that's how you think. It behooves one, therefore, to think very carefully about how to think that way in ways that bring approval, success and the ultimate proof in this context - a life-long relationship.

That, by the by, takes two. And it is in this sense that a power-imbalanced relationship must be equal, for everyone involved has an equal responsibility to maintaining that particular balance of power.

I have to say that I've learned almost nothing about "being in control" from Dominants - not because of who and what they are, or because they lack competence and wisdom, but because I'm so not that guy. The most important thing I did learn about it from one well-known lifestyle and scene dominant was that in many ways it IS about compensating for one's flaws, flaws that one might get away with in a more "vanilla" context. His issue was that he was an reflexive asshole and abuser. His kink was messing with people for fun - and he'd come to not like the consequences. At the same time, it was who he was.

So, while that's primarily the single lesson I've learned from other "tops," it's a critical one; the one that makes all the "hows" and "why's" I've gleaned from submissives useful to me.

One must stand and lead from the place one is. One may be a "Reiker," a "Janeway" or a "Picard," and if one is IN command, one must lead from that essential nature. You can put on a character for a scene, for an evening, or even (I know to my own cost) a few years - but since it's not your life, it won't last. Trust me on that.

This is not to say that it's not fun to step out of one's comfort zone or even entirely outside of reality. Hell, I absolutely recommend it! But for "The Lifestyle" to work, it really has to come out of your gut, your essence and your nature. For most of us - and by us, I include all of "us" that are willing to admit being more than somewhat kinky - life is far less exciting than people outside of the relationship probably assume.

That's because "The Lifestyle" has to allow for all the things life includes - children, clogged sinks, jobs, family, community - all things that tend to take you out of "head-space."

But ordinary, successful vanilla heterosexual, monogamous marriage does not depend on "head-space," either. And that is really what we are talking about - without, of course, insisting on the aspects of heterosexuality, monogamy or vanilla sex.

Which, by the by, matter far less than you might think. Successful relationships may arise out of such things - but the grow into far much more, to the point where the things you thought would be critical are no longer issues at all. That's what happens when everyone in that relationship is coming from that core of authenticity.

Of course that rather requires that you are honest with you and yours about what that core is.

Me, I'm a caretaker personality, a socially clueless male autistic and a sadist. What I'm not is "dominant." I like being in control - but I don't at all enjoy having to control someone. I'm not into walking into a room and taking charge. I can do it - but there has to be a damn good reason. I don't particularly enjoy confrontation or competition, because I simply do not do that "male culture" thing.

That's because, frankly, my hind-brain treats such things in very stark terms, and if forced into conflict with a competitive male, it won't be symbolic. It took a lot of years, bruises and a few close calls to sort this one out. The way I do it is to draw sharp lines. "Mine." "Not Mine." Those lines work for me, and anyone within those lines had best understand that this is a non-negotiable, bedrock thing for me.

No doubt John Bradshaw would have much to say about this - but here I am, and that's what I am. My solution is to not change who I am, but to be who I am as best and as ethically as I possibly can - and so far it seems to be working for me well enough to indulge my tendency to speak from Authority.

As I said, my life is a great big old pile of rusty irony. I'm committed to the concepts of human rights. I'm an anti-authoritarian. I snicker aloud when my fellow man claims that his stiff penis - or penis substitute - gives him the inherent right to rule. I become incensed when such men drag God into it.

For myself, I see no isolated "right." I see a drive, mutual but asymmetrical needs and a consequential duty; these give meaning to the word "right." As in "it's my job to be..."

If you must rule and if you expect to spend any time doing it, you had best learn to lead wisely and well, to the general betterment of all "under your hand." And those "under your hand" are most comfortable when their position is as natural, comfortable and fulfilling for them as it is for you.

That means that there is no place within my concept of "ownership culture" for perps and victims. If your kink is to be debased and discarded - well, I'll accept that it's your kink - but don't expect me to participate.

Nor will I tolerate perpish behavior toward me and mine. There's nothing in BDSM or even within Ownership culture that justifies being an arrogant, incompetent asshole - and in practice, your odds of a successful Saturday night are one heck of a lot better outside of this culture if you are.

create & buy custom products at Zazzle

"Top" illustration: Ownership Event Invitation
by Ownership

Good way to get help in a store?

2008-10-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

Good way to get help in a store, originally uploaded by buxomdream.

My comment was "That's udderly unethical." The first priority was to make a cheap and satisfying pun. But the question itself is indeed worth asking?

My feminist friends will say that she's objectifying herself (if they don't use the term "prostituting.") For myself, I think that the males involved are behaving as quite predictable objects. And we also have to question whether it's a reaction she could physically avoid provoking.

I find I am not immune - and at an age where I really "should" be. Common wisdom, of course; I'm of the general view that much "common wisdom" is uncommonly stupid.

But I'm minded of Papa Heinlein's comment, paraphrased: "If I ever stop looking at pretty girls, push me over; I'm dead."

Several articles and television programs have fueled this thought, particularly one I saw last night on the effects of testosterone on both men and women. It's behavioral effects are profound, but one of the more interesting things about testosterone production in people (and estrogen, I suspect as well) is that it's levels also fluctuate according to things such as social status, competitive success and whether or not one has fathered a child - or indeed, whether or not one has recently held a baby!

My lifelong observation of human behavior and it's rationalizations have led me to believe that the current social insanity that the United States suffers from is in large part due to our touching belief that we can rise above the promptings of hormones and hind-brains, when in fact our fore-brains are at best equipped to steer us safely toward fulfilling those urges without screwing up or screwing over others.

"Buxomdream" will always produce the reaction she's blogging about in a certain proportion of males. It's no doubt been one of the foundational truths of her life since the girls popped out and said "hello."

From looking at her stream, the use of "appropriate foundation garments" would just make things worse for the unwary male.

By being accepting of herself and aware of the effect her breasts have upon men, she's also creating a dynamic that allows those so affected to realize that they are reacting and behaving on a primal level, and that it's ok, as long as everyone involved is having fun.

Let us also remember that certain men, by virtue of genetics, have attributes that make them extremely attractive to certain sorts of women; traits such as height, symmetrical features indicating a high testosterone level, broad shoulders - well, pick any "most eligible" from US or People, and whatever one's sexual preference, social status or life priorities, one WILL have to figure out how to work that to some sort of advantage with good outcomes - or one will pay the price in drama.

Ultimately, we all have to live with the genetic lottery results we are gifted and cursed with - and whether it's a curse or a gift (trust me on this one) is very much a question of our own choices and our awareness of how those "lottery results" affect how we fit into the culture we live in.

Any morality that makes us less aware and therefore more likely to cause harm to others out of moralistic judgement of ourselves or others in relationship to ourselves is unethical, and of course immoral in a much broader and profound way than any system of morality is likely to admit.

"An it harm none, do as ye will" - that conditional clause is a stone bitch.

First, Do no harm: Please sign the DSM Revision Petition.

2008-09-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

The DSM Revision Petition is gathering signatures from individuals and organizations
calling on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to adhere to empirical research
when revising the diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM).

Statements currently within the DSM Paraphilias criteria are contradicted by scientific
evidence therefore NCSF must conclude that the interpretation of the Paraphilias
criteria has been politically, not scientifically based. This politically motivated
interpretation subjects BDSM practitioners, fetishists and cross-dressers to bias,
discrimination and social sanctions without any scientific basis.

Petition:
"We, the undersigned, support the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) own
goal of making its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) a scientific document, based
on empirical research and devoid of cultural bias. A diagnosis of a mental disorder can
have a severe adverse impact on employment opportunities, child custody determinations,
an individual's well-being, and other areas of functioning. Therefore we urge the APA
to remove all diagnoses that are not based upon peer-reviewed, empirical research,
demonstrating distress or dysfunction, from the DSM. The APA specifically should not
promote current social norms or values as a basis for clinical judgments."

To sign, go to: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/DSMrevisionpetition
(You can make your signature anonymous on this secure petition site so it doesn't
appear on the Internet)

To find out more about the DSM and the Paraphilias section, read the NCSF & ITCR: The
Foundation for NCSF's "White Paper on the DSM Revision" at www.ncsfreedom.org

For more information, email: DSMrevisionpetition@yahoo.com

Free exhibition of abdominal muscles

2008-08-20T12:10:00.001-07:00

Free exhibition of abdominal muscles, originally uploaded by jml0256.

From his Flickr profile: jml0256: "I only want to share pictures and don't want any -degenerates- as contact! I'm not interessed by a dick's man or sex parties..."

Yes, of course, you would have to be a degenerate to think this image had any focus other than her abdominal muscles.

It's an erotic truth that humans avoid admitting the erotic truth even when it's painfully obvious.

But that's what makes this gig fun. :P

Social Condom-Nation

2008-08-15T11:00:00.001-07:00

clipped from www.worthalaugh.com

A litttle Ethnic Humor...

2008-08-11T07:36:00.001-07:00

clipped from dontclickthis.whatingods.name

Or, you could take it as an example of the depths to which an artist will sink in order to glean a little attention.

Note: link goes to an old fashioned htmlized ftp server; click any other link at your own risk. NSFW ... randomly.

Natalie Galitzine: Female

2008-08-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

Natalie Galitzine: Female

Yes she is - yet the usual angst and hints of drama of "young people," she's also got an eye for composition and color and a confidence in her own skin most of us would envy.

A Gap in our Selves? Erotic manipulation of our purchasing decisions.

2008-08-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

Do you worship at the The First Church of Christ, Mallwalker?

This video by Jessedocs explores the intersection of art, religion and marketing via the classic manikin. While I abhor stereotypes, it's difficult to say which are more stereotypical, the artificially perfect female manikins created by this company, the males creating them, or the marketing of them.

Personally, I can't say that the artificial perfection of display manikins has ever done much for me, artistically or erotically. But then, they don't exist to work on me - these forms are not aimed at men; they are made by men in order to construct in women the ideal of a perfect form.

I must be honest, at first, I thought I was watching a documentary about the people behind the "real doll " poseable sex toy.

By the way guys, if you are going to do portraits of your dolls - hire a hairstylist!!!

I was surprised and more than a bit creeped out to find that the people at realdoll seem far less creepy - and their products a little more realistic - at least, unless they are just utterly absurd.

My wife watched a full documentary about the men who buy real-dolls, sort of creeped out by the idea, but you know how it is; you keep waiting for the trainwreck. Well, there were indeed some creepy scenes - but more simply moved her to tears. Here's some YouTube examples - take your chances, if you will.

They actually have several fairly realistic bodies to go with faces that could easily be Faux News Spokesmuffins. In other words, these are not perfectly idealized faces. Yep, even men that want to have sex with a manikin would like a little more individuality than the people who make store manikins think is appropriate.

But then, when it comes to self-image, we have no sense of humor about our own appearance and far less tolerance for individual variation than the people looking at us. I've always found that the most attractive women who are accepting of their bodies whatever shapes they may be blessed with, and however divergent their faces are from the current whims of fashion

So, if you want to go for an idealized stereotype ... consider something like this.

It's no harder to have your head inflated and your skin plasticised than it is to become a perfectly symmetrical 35, 24, 36.

Come to think of it, Miss July reminds me of Dolly Parton. But then, they are both cartoon-inspired.

(The thing I most love about Dolly Parton is that she'd laugh and agree with the statement. Personally, though, I prefer her interpretation. On the other hand, she's a lot harder to book. )

Broken Dreams 2 Poster

2008-08-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

A poster I stumbled across that I would love to collect myself....

Broken Dreams 2
by

ColoradoIrish

Poster printing By Zazzle.com
See more Arts Design Fashion Posters

Beer Pong Gives You Herpes

2008-07-21T14:48:00.001-07:00

Beer Pong Gives You Herpes

Posted using ShareThis

Graphictruth: Tim Couch; Is he a Pedophile, an Idiot, or just a Republican?

2008-07-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Graphictruth: Tim Couch; Is he a Pedophile, an Idiot, or just a Republican?

Rep Tim "Creepy" Crouch wants to "keep your children safe" by ensuring they aren't harassed by "online bullies."

He intends to do this in such a way as to make sure that any pedophile with a website will have a legally unassailable reason for collecting your child's personally identifiable information. Oh, and yours too. Just in case they also happen to be into credit fraud.

"Por No" - Colombian Artist/Singer Innata's second album

2008-07-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Bad Pun + Good Art=Worth a Look

Above the fold, her "censored image" as shown in her blog story about the album. (you will need a translation, probably.)

Por No - The Uncensored Cover
Via Flickr

View ¡ no !'s map

Taken in a place with no name (See more photos or videos here)

Wednesday, june 18th, 2008.

This early morning, the Colombian singer Innita do a short comeback to public arena and shock-press-conference at Santa Marta, Colombia, releasing officially “por no”, her first long album, following the successful 2006’s debut EP called “innita”. Her new album’s tunes are stronger, heaviest, more in styles like ebm, joan jett’s riffs, long guitar solos and thus, less in Pop. In the cover of this conceptual album she is wearing nothing but a pair of vegan boots, which have created all kinds of comments after her daddy’s ballet-dancer girl image 2 years ago. “por no” is now all-free download, featuring today the first single “Mozart was a lesbian” which is the opening-song.

Innita said she abandoned her studies 3 months ago after a happy incident , ( www.flickr.com/photos/innita/2354187294/in/set-7215760420... ), and then it was inspirational for working in full time of composing and writing of this 20-songs album, which deals about “mental nudism, emotional menstruation and scarlet fairy-tale characters as veganvampires” in her own words. About the explicit photo of the cover, she says is a “universal homage to nature and personal homage to ‘Puss in Boots’, one of my favorite tales”.

A long interview will be published anytime soon.

In her myspace site, from today, there is available 5 tracks (3 of her debuting 2006’s EP), free to download.

www.myspace.com/innita

to be continued .....
continuará .....

Hecho Tiempo Conmigo

2008-07-11T09:32:00.001-07:00

Hecho Tiempo Conmigo, originally uploaded by Jen Villota.

For some of the most amazing, painstaking SL compositions revolving around, sex, pain, violence and death, you simply must visit Jen Villota's Flickr stream.

Caution - this is one of the very few that simply implies all these things, most crotch-kick you and shove it down your throat, with a tape-gag following it.

Wet, tacky and dangerous!

you are a f******** pig

2008-07-08T15:31:00.001-07:00

you are a f******** pig
Originally uploaded by til01

This will SO not play in Peoria... but the point made about the typeface is really very correct.

I mean, should it not be as offensive as if it were done in Goudy Stout
or Impact?

And yet, it is not.

The Sudbury Dryad's Last Repose (detail)

2008-07-07T14:25:00.001-07:00

The Sudbury Dryad's Last Repose (detail)
Originally uploaded by Bob King

Detail from a very large image I just uploaded to zazzle.com Please click thru and give us some love...

We need to get these devices into our schools...

2008-06-29T10:10:00.001-07:00

Japanese Sex Toy Culture

Is cultural acceptance of masturbation toys and lower birth-rate correlated? (PG)

clipped from www.literaryescorts.com

The Japanese are famous for their love of technology as well as their embracing of sexuality, at least compared to most Western cultures. The combination of the two has produced a state-of-the-art sex doll that has led to a widescale sex doll fetish.

But it's also produced other devices, three of which I'll cover here.

A more compact and cheaper alternative is provided by the Japanese company Tenga, which has the tagline "New Adult Concept." This is a modern company all about new masturbation devices.

These cups come in various styles, each with their own color: "standard" is red, "hard" is black, and "soft" is white. A larger-size "U.S. Tanga" style (red with silver stripes) was the most recent edition (parallel to the recent development of larger-sized condoms in the U.S.).

Because this is Japan, where seemingly everything has to be sold through cute characters, each color even has their own anime girl character.

Why? Well, because the Japanese are now complaining of a low birth rate - JUST as Jocelyn Elders predicted!!!!

For the best in (spurious) Bore-Stroke Compatability

2008-06-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

The most popular Penis-Reduction Placebos on the market today!

Oddly, this did not make it to the front page of Fark!

clipped from www.penisreductionpills.com

We here at PenisReductionPills.com have a solution for men with any size penis who want everyone to believe, probably mistakenly, that they have an enormous johnson, without the possibility of doing anything to change the size of their penises. To do this, we pledge to sell the finest penis reducing placebos available today, using only government-approved placebo ingredients, shipped in boxes with our logo and name emblazoned in large type on all six sides. We are the premiere male ego enhancement product on the market today under $10.

Our products are all placebos, designed to not affect the size of the penis in any way (save the unexplained placebo effect).

Our boxes, approved by all shipping services, display our logo and name in large type on all six sides.

Satire in a bottle! Irony in a capsule! Perhaps the best 9.95 you could ever waste!

Especially if you send it to a Republican Politician who insists on dicksizing the rest of the world.

Sexy Mishy

2008-05-19T17:01:00.001-07:00

sexymishy, originally uploaded by M/s Boudoir.

I love working with interesting women, and it's so much better when there's some synergy.

Do check out sexymishy.com

Step by step instructions to turn a tee-shirt into a sexy dress.

2008-04-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

How to Convert A T-shirt in A Sexy Dress - video powered by Metacafe

I'm going to have to try this on an old shirt to see where the graphics end up. Once I know, I'm going to create some sexy designs just for this.

i found meaning of my life

2008-04-26T19:19:00.001-07:00

Nude Photography

Exploring the human elemant (R)

i found meaning of my life , originally uploaded by Inguun.

Call me conventional, but to me, the erotic requres some element of the human in to it. Inquun's photo stream captures that... or at least something close enough to "that" that I believe we are on the same page.

Delicate fragility.

2008-04-26T19:07:00.001-07:00

Delicate fragility., originally uploaded by Beat..

There. Now that's taken the taste out of my mouth. Equally formal, and paradoxically, actually erotic, though in a beautifully cerebral way.

Is This Republican Sex?

2008-04-26T18:58:00.001-07:00

Full Frontal Artistic Failure

Triple X Yawn from the Hamburg Erotic Art Museum (Mature)

Oil on Canvas by David Russell at Erotic Art Museum Hamburg, originally uploaded by santoshat60.

Because it looks like Republican Sex, as illustrated by an artist working for the Works Progress Administration, in the style of Socialist Realism.

Oil on Canvas by David Russell at Erotic Art Museum Hamburg

The Erotic art museum at Hamburg is very famous for its intense erotic atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the photographer chose this painting instead.

I'm sure this is intended to give one a very formally composed erection... but it just doesn't do it for me.

Perhaps I've insufficient shame and guilt for it's imagery to work on me. Perhaps an homage to "Justine" with a repubican elephant stuck in the background strikes me as rather trite at the moment, or perhaps a tad too arch.

Well, whatever. The fact that it makes me scratch my head and think about why it's so counter-erotic makes it good art instead of failed porn.

Or at least, that's what I'd say if it were in my collection. :P

The Sex Project: Blowjobs

2008-04-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Truer words were never spoken....

Really and for true.

The Sex Project: Blowjobs: "Sucking a man's penis is one of the pure pleasures in life. It's sad to think that many women don't appreciate just how much fun it can be. The reason for this is they don't know how to do it correctly and so it doesn't end up being much fun because if you mess up, you don't get your reward. The penis doesn't get hard, the man doesn't have a good time and the woman feels like a failure."

Many more true words at the source.

Perfect for Playparties - and Pre-school.

2008-04-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Silence is Golden T-shirt by Le_Fetish

Yes, I laughed hard enough to blog all over myself. Sorry about that...

Black Rain

2008-03-26T09:46:00.001-07:00

Dark Fantasy Nude Art

I just stumbled across this on Zazzle, and I was so impressed that I had to blog it. Why? It's been online since 2004 and it's gotten no comments and no love at all. I think that's very sad, so please pass this on to your friends. Buying a copy probably wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings, either! (R)

Black Rain
by

oneeye

Get this custom print
at Zazzle

Personally, I'd like to see this artist a lot more - and I give good odds you feel the same, so send kudos!

Amazingly beautiful

2008-03-25T06:53:00.001-07:00

SFX Creation - D&L Artwork, originally uploaded by Aeleen Demina.

Tribal whitework, lighting and some sheers with a great shape and skin - all pretty much what ever sl AV strives for. What's the difference? It's the composition and sheer talent.

SL, it turns out, is a great place to make art.

alive.nude.person

2008-03-21T08:13:00.001-07:00

Click to visit in Second Life

Nebo Rossini (Nastya Grisch) - a 21-year-old architectural student from Russia, presents "Alive.Nude.Person."

All resulting from short sessions with live models, with the intention of capturing the human form in the fastest, most emotional way, the sketches represent not only the light and color contrasts, but also the emotional mood of the artist in relation to it.

The medium is white gouache,a water color and packing paper about 60x80 cm. in size. She used pastel and color pencils in some of the pieces.

This show was exhibited once in Moscow at the club "The Cult" in 2005. The Nantucket show is the first show of for the artist in Second Life, but not the last.

NeboRossini 2008

Her Flickr portfolio can be found here. I do hope we will see more of her work.

Powerbush On Parade

2008-03-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Second Lifers aren't just weird in Second Life
Second Life Profiles - Meet the real people in second life!

Spassfraktion - Pictures

It's got to be some edge-to-edge digital imaging process. Now, don't you wish you could get your girlfriend to pose for this?

Me, I want a body double.

It seems to be a selfish cunt...

2008-02-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

Because it seems to be designed so that the only possible sex acts within it's no doubt comfy clutches would be solo acts. In self-service to that end, there seems to be plenty of storage for toys and magazines!

But - as most things who's inspirations and ergonomics are taken from the human body - what's most striking about it is that the most "sinful" aspect is probably how sinfully comfortable it must be.

Indeed, I imagine that the most likely outcome of falling into it's psudo-lubricious clutches would be to sleep like a baby.

best of craigslist : Pink Upholstered Vagina Couch: "best of craigslist > s.f. bayarea > Pink Upholstered Vagina Couch
Originally Posted: Tue, 15 Jan 11:46 PST
Pink Upholstered Vagina Couch
Date: 2008-01-15, 11:46AM PST

For Sale - beautiful pink 'vagina couch' that I made in art school and no longer have space for. The couch is large: measures 5' 3' long, 3' 3' wide at the middle, and stands 2' 3' tall (and is heavy like a couch). The pics are from my portfolio and are several years old; as a result, the couch has some scuffmarks and stains around the bottom from being moved, but otherwise is in excellent shape. A professional upholsterer helped me build the couch, so it is also functional and durable as a piece of furniture. The couch must be picked up in Mendocino, a 3-hour drive north of SF. I am asking for $600 and a loving home! Call Willow at [deleted] or reply to posting."

Oh, and the other thing that strikes me is that with a change in fabric colors, this couch would be ideal in the "living area" of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile.

The Power Of Unreasonable People

2008-01-29T05:25:00.001-08:00

clipped from www.nytimes.com

With the American presidential campaign in full swing, the obvious way to change the world might seem to be through politics.

But growing numbers of young people are leaping into the fray and doing the job themselves.

Andrew Klaber, a 26-year-old playing hooky from Harvard Business School to come here (don’t tell his professors!), is an example of the social entrepreneur. He spent the summer after his sophomore year in college in Thailand and was aghast to see teenage girls being forced into prostitution after their parents had died of AIDS.

So he started Orphans Against AIDS (www.orphansagainstaids.org), which pays school-related expenses for hundreds of children who have been orphaned or otherwise affected by AIDS in poor countries. He and his friends volunteer their time and pay administrative costs out of their own pockets so that every penny goes to the children.

Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. Bill Drayton, the chief executive of an organization called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs, likes to say that such people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry. If that sounds insanely ambitious, it is. John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan title their new book on social entrepreneurs “The Power of Unreasonable People.”

Lounging among the Lesbians

2008-01-16T11:59:00.001-08:00

Lounging among the Lesbians, originally uploaded by M/s Boudoir.

It has a certain attitude to it.

Hello Kitty Underwear - Hello Kitty Hell

2008-01-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

Via Hello Kitty Hell, evidence that we may be going to hell in a very cute and overpriced pink plastic hand-basket.

While I find everything Hello Kitty disturbing, there are some things that turn up the disturbed barometer a bit more than others. I’m still having trouble figuring out if this Hello Kitty underwear that Sanrio is producing in multiple patterns is for boys or girls:

In either case, they are just plain wrong. And a closer look tells you just how wrong they are. What exactly is Hello Kitty trying to sell here?

Yes, you read that correctly. This is Hello Kitty kid’s underwear with “Juicy and Sweet” right across the crotch and the question “Want a bite?” directly above. I’m not too sure how appropriate that is for adult underwear, let alone children’s. Then again, it doesn’t seem like Sanrio is having much of a problem selling adult themed products masquerading as something else these days…

Of course, the native Japanese licensing deals are even stranger and if possible, more inappropriate. Say hello to Hello Kitty Douche. A highly reccomended blog for those who both hate and love Hello Kitty, with apparently inexhaustible depths of plausibly deniable cartoon depravity left to plumb. It makes me want to whomp up a Hello Kitty Tentacle Monster, but I am half afraid it might turn out to be a violation of an existing Sanrio copyright...

Personally, I suggest "Duck Tape"

2008-01-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

And this isn't even the most extreme example of "what's the point" swimwear at this site. (Click photo to go there.)

You could pare these sticky triangles with their selection of "string ONLY" swimwear which might make you street-legal.

Personally, though, this is the sort of "absurdly obscene" clothing that makes me snicker instead of stare, and frankly, I think full frontal nudity is less of an offense against whatever community standards there might be than these bits of tape that might well be legally sufficient coverage in some jurisdictions.

That's the irony, of course, and that's why I draw your attention to this. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the trashy, nearly naked blond. Nothing whatsoever.

What part of "Personal Responsiblity" do you not understand?

2007-12-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

UPDATE BELOW:

Daayamn, she's good!

The Naked People Made Me Do BAD Things! | hell's handmaiden:

Sorry, but I’m not buying it. Reactions like this– originally encountered at NoPornNorthhampton– do not come from watching naked people have sex. I’m sure the account is true in that it is an accurate reflection of the author’s experience, of her emotional reations and her subjective state. Damage like this does not come from watching nudie flicks. This kind of pathology is well on its way when you get to the porn.

I was claiming power, the all-elusive power that women strive for their entire lives, from degrading and enjoying the degradation of other women. I had absorbed a lesson from the patriarchy: women are easy to degrade, weaker, and more vulnerable, so much so that even another woman can take their power.

…The idea of humiliating a man was so foreign to me that my mind discounted the possibility of it immediately, before it even blinked on the radar. I had spent my life with men controlling me it was clear, at least to me, that I would never get power from them. Instead, I turned to women even more vulnerable than me. Women who were even EASIER targets to take power from than I was.

I don’t mean to discount the author’s pain. Certainly she went through a bad spell, but she has her causes desperately confused– like the alcoholic blaming the alcohol. Its not the alcohol. Its you. Some of us drink now and then and don’t become self-destructive maniacs. In fact, a lot of us drink and do not spiral into liquid hell. It isn’t the alcohol. It is you. It is your brain, your biochemistry, your emotional history, your genes, your personality. It isn’t the alcohol. Blaming the alcohol is a convenient distraction, a way to avoid admitting that, “Hey, I’m fucked up.”

This is absolutely true. And I think the anti-pornography crowd is really much better thought of as the "how dare you trigger me into thinking about the festering crap I refuse to deal with" movement.

But take it from me, there ain't no law that's gonna make the tapes in your head stop playing.

UPDATE: I'm concerned that in casually throwing out these last two paragraphs, I may have hit too close to home. I just edited out the word "inadvertently" upon realizing I was trying to cover my ass. Women and Pornography: My Story is no longer publicly available, as the entire site, bitingbeaver.blogspot.com has gone invite-only.

Nope, I will stand by the above, and raise the stakes: Been there, done that, got the damn t-shirt. And I may already have said this to her, as it seems I have an email for the author. But I'll repeat and expand what I said over at The Maiden's site:

Why is it that anti-porn activists cannot make an argument without going straight for my lunch? I assure you, most consumers of porn are as disgusted by coporphagia as anyone else. It’s an extreme niche fetish and we have a saying regarding “your kink is ok, ~~just don’t ever breathe in the same room with me~~, it’s just not my kink.”

There is absolutely no combination of porn and persuasion that could ever convince me, or most other folks, that such a thing was sexy.

I’m with the Maiden on this one: If images of any kind trigger thoughts like you describe, it’s because there’s stuff in your background you have repressed. That’s where most seemingly bizarre sexual practices arise - generally from abuse at the hands of someone highly trusted.

So, in a way, being triggered by porn is a good thing. I mean, have you considered the obvious connection between your “wicked” desire to sexually dominate other women and your father’s behavior toward you and your family?

The sum total of Republican Family Values seems to be shooting the messenger.

Meanwhile, take another look at NoPornNorthhampton:

Without even taking issue with many of the bizarre allegations made about porn - many of which can be debunked with the most trivial exploration via google - it's casually obvious that the most flagrant characteristic of this anti-porn blog is it's obsessively prurient focus on the most bizarre perversions - and a dishonest equation of, to take their most blatant obsession, anal-oral porn with such things as my good friend and sponsor over at domai.com.

The implication that looking at happy naked women leads inevitably to disgusting sexual behaviors is so truly bizarre that it speaks far more about the issues of the authors and fellow travelers than it does about the objective value or harm of either happy naked women OR anal-oral contact.

But anyway, let me tell you a little bit about my own reasons for being involved with porn, because I come at it in a uniquely backassward way. I must also add one caveat; I'm on the autistic spectrum and therefore my perspective on the human sexual dance is rather unique - pretty much that of a bemused alien spectator trying to discern the rules of hockey by watching the highlights on the news.

My own direct personal interest in porn took about six months to run through, way back in the seventies. I sought out hard core porn because I wished to know precisely (and without all the damnably infuriating innuendo and sappy poetry) HOW Tab A fit into Slot B. Once I knew that, I was pretty much done, and everything else got filed under either "art" or "so NOT art." There just isn't much about the heterosexual dance that is at all artistic from any perspective other than that of the participants. Indeed, I've made several abortive and unpublished attempts to approach it in a representational way - and all that works is that damnably infuriating innuendo and sappy poetry.

To nutshell it, I fairly much ignored porn from the mid-seventies to the mid-nineties - when I got onto Usenet. And there, the issue was fairly difficult to ignore - especially if you had your own UUCP hub and accidentally requested a binaries group!

But even that was an issue of mild curiosity. What really caused the issue to become important to me was the painful process of realizing that I - and hundreds of other people suddenly able to share their issues on alt.sexual.abuse.recovery had INDEED been deeply affected by porn. But - although the context and consensus would have suggested that I run around in circles denouncing the evil plague, my rather alien wetware insisted on focusing on what was being said, rather than the means of illustrating the story.

Then I realized something; the narratives being shared on alt.sexual.abuse.recovery were very good fits for certain "genres" of porn.

But I realized something even more critical to my evolving understanding; this sort of porn was also obviously and directly concerned with validating the social status quo, validating male assumptions about their place, and justifying the punishment of women (and by unspoken but very direct extension, all "chattel" such as children and dogs) who did not accept their domination by the Hero Male.

I realized also that it was the direct equivalent of an entire magazine genre I remembered from my youth, the "True Confessions" magazine.

While it would not be considered porn by most people, that's only because it used innuendo to avoid speaking directly about what was going on. It was all about the vicarious enjoyment of the sexual sins of others, followed by the inevitable rape, pregnancy and occasional murder caused by, say, sluttishly wearing a padded bra. I, personally consider such messages to be every bit as disturbing and distractive as any overt, hard-core porn with the same message. From an ethical, moral and essentialist point of view it's not so much how you say it, but what you are saying. The means is simply a choice based on the audience you wish to speak to - and with equal importance, the audience you wish to deliberately exclude.

So, classically speaking, women do not look at conventional male heterosexual porn, while men do not look at the often equally prurient materials conventional women indulge in.

I recall once, utterly desperate for words in a row, resorting to what seemed to be a perfectly conventionally marketed 'bodice-ripper' romance. It curled my nose hairs! And did it without resorting to a single anglo-saxon phrase, somehow making it "not porn." Indeed, it wasn't even labeled as erotica.

I started to poke around, wondering if anyone else had noticed this, and if so, what they were doing about it. I created several sites and services - including a somewhat well-known adult link and review site - revolving around that, as well as maintaining earlier ones that were dealing with direct sexual abuse. There were a LOT of people exploring the new opportunities for sexual expression the internet offered - and for every one that would make you want to toss your cookies, there were two that would make your jaw drop in either amazed appreciation or amused and puzzled incomprehension.

There is really gross stuff out there, no question. Far more is not at all grotesque because (thank ghu) most people do not have the kinks that make the truly grotesque attractive. However, if you are heavily invested in maintain the social sexual status quo, it's the good stuff (in my humble opinion) that will truly screw with your preconceptions and cause you to wonder if the assumptions about yourself and your sexuality imposed by family and culture are, in fact true for you, or even true at all.

And I note that such explorations will indeed result in screen after screen of nakedly pulsing and throbbing exultations. And if in exploring such things, one finds that one's sexuality is incomputable with one's partner and/or social matrix, it could lead to the dissolution of a relationship. It certainly will if one or both freak out and forget they are grown-ups with genuine obligations.

But the pornography - the naked flesh upon the screen, this act or that act - is not what caused the problem. The problem was merely exposed by it, the revelation that there really ARE other people who feel the same way. The fact that a pornographic genre exists at all implies a large enough audience to make it worthwhile - and that translates to "I am not alone!"

That is the important thing to understand here: Pornography is a form of communication which transmits real and important ideas and concepts - ideas that should, and really must be examined and explored more honestly if we ARE to address the very real damage done to thousands of very real people by the twin enforcers of conventional morality - our churches, and the permitted exceptions to blanket suppression of pornographic speech.

That's a critically important discussion. And it is also a discussion that, in order to be comprehensible and meaningful, is pornographic by definition.

Moaning Lisa and Kyle

2007-10-18T09:23:00.001-07:00

Moaning Lisa and Kyle
Originally uploaded by seanbonner

By way of illustrating the previous post, here's Kyle with Moaning Lisa and her piezoelectric pussy.

Women are like a Videogame, artist says.

2007-10-18T09:17:00.001-07:00

Moaning Lisa: A Blow-Up Doll, Upgraded

She looked at me with her motion detectors as I rubbed the piezoelectric sensor between her thighs. Then I spun the potentiometers that jutted out from her chest like nipples. But it wasn't until I stroked the piezosensor on the back of her neck that she began to moan, first quietly and then loudly, like a thousand women reaching orgasm together.

The article, written by Annalee Newitz of alternet AlterNet describes an installation at Arse Elektronika, "a conference in San Francisco last week devoted to pornography and technological innovation." [Her creator, Matt Ganucheau] "..designed Moaning Lisa specifically for Arse Elektronika, with help from conference organizer Kyle Machulis, to demonstrate the videogame-like properties of the human body. Ganucheau used neural network processing in her programming, and the result is that her responses are randomized. Each time you try to give Moaning Lisa an orgasm, your sensor stroking has to follow a slightly different pattern."

I don't quite know what to think of it, or his reasoning behind not creating a male version. Men, apparently, are just too easy. Just grab the joystick, jam down the button and head straight for that Big O in the sky.

Me, I think it's a little more complicated than that, and of all the things this reminds me of, it reminds me most of a hardwired simulator I saw in the seventies - the "limits to growth" simulator, where no matter what you did, eventially the earth perishes from overpopulation.

It's a novel idea, but I think perhaps the simulator is simulating what the artist has in mind more than the actual behavior of an extremely complex system.

Technorati : Matt Ganucheau, Moaning Lisa, art, artwork, sexual behavior, sexuality
Del.icio.us : Matt Ganucheau, Moaning Lisa, art, artwork, sexual behavior, sexuality

Fifty of these are out there, somewhere

2007-08-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

BDSM Emblem
by
webcarve

Get this custom keychain at Zazzle

Someone just ordered fifty copies of this BDSM Emblem keychain from my Zazzle store. I've made a few sales here and there of this image, which I think of as stunningly beautiful, but this is my first bulk sale - and it tells me that someone thinks they can resell 49 of them. (I hope they want one for their OWN keys!)

The whole point to the BDSM emblem (and my own varient) is to discreetly advertise interest in the art and orientation of BDSM. But of late, I've been coming to think of BDSM as being far more about what people agree NOT to do, as opposed to what they prefer to do.

First and foremost, BDSM is a system of ethics - and the more I think of it, the more I realize that the ethics devised for sadomasochistic games apply to any form of power exchange. Like, say, US Citizenship.

The first statement of the ethos of BDSM is "Safe, Sane and Consentual." Well, when you think of it, our current administration operates on values that mean that none of the above is true, and by these standards, any member, up to and including George Bush would be ejected from any BDSM group as conspicuous perps and abusers.

George, when you cannot even aspire to the moral standards of we who proudly describe ourselves as "drooling, giggling, *twirling* perverts" ... maybe it's time to take a break from public life. I understand you are still probably welcome in Dubai.

Pastel Envy

2007-08-02T10:09:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while I stumble across a really interesting artist with an erotic edge plus a twist. I'd like to introduce you to Daniella Uhlig. Daniella goes from innocence to corruption seamlessly, with stops along the whole psycological spectrum. I dare you to predict what the hell to expect from the thumbnails at the link above - it's like artistic russian roulette - every single image turns out to be something not quite what you had expected.

(Her Deviant Art Page is a great way to keep abreast of her work. Heck, keep both!)

Daniella has quite a few prints available through Deev, so you might want to wander over there to see if you have a hole in your art collection...

Retro Punk Pinkup By Ariel McMillion framed artwork at ImageKind.com

2007-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

One reason for this blog is that it gives me the place to put wonderful, sexy things when I run across them. Ariel McMillion is a fellow ImageKind Gallery owner, and has quite a selection of his pinup art for your enjoyment. Hey, if you own a bar and need some great art to spice it up - check out his gallery.

Retro Punk Pinkup By Ariel McMillion :

Originally featured as full-page pinup art in Slitz magazine, Stockholm, Sweden, this alluring piece features a rose-haired, tattooed, lollipop-sucking nude beauty at the wheel of a classic American gas-guzzler, framed in celluloid the color of money. Can little Johnny say "decadence"?

Now, I was intending to brag about my own art, but when I got there, there were kudos in my inbox from Ariel, and I had to go look. Well, I liked what I saw well enough to give him top billing, but now it's my turn. I've just uploaded a couple of new images, and I'd like to show you this one in particular.

This is Eve. And at 36x27" it's just the thing to turn your rec room into a proper bar. It's one of my earlier photomanipulations, and I was surprised and delighted to find it again. By the way, this is probably the perfect "apartment-warming" gift for the young bachelor.

Top 10 banned books of the 20th Century

2007-07-14T08:33:00.001-07:00

How many of these have you read? It's my feeling that you cannot be truly educated until you have read and considered things you "shouldn't."

Thinking the unthinkable is the basis for developing a robust system of ethics that is not easily overridden by some authority figure.

clipped from alternativereel.com

Top 10 Banned Books of the 20th Century

Right, Girl, suck all the fun out of it...

2007-07-11T11:56:00.001-07:00

Cathryn Michon, writing in iVillage, speaks of "girl crushes" and how they lead, ideally, to mellow friendship and not hot girl on girl action.

She's So Fine: The Anatomy of a Girl Crush Annotated

A recent New York Times article postulates that one thing men and women have in common is that we both get crushes on women. This interests me greatly because I just went through a bad "girl breakup" that was the result of a "girl crush."
If you ever try to discuss the topic of girl crushes with a man, his eyes instantly glaze over and you automatically know it's because he is hearing the "do-wacka-wacka" of cheesy porn music in his head. Sometimes you have to clap your hands together really loudly right in front of his face just to pull him out of his catatonic state.
No, it's not that kind of "girl-on-girl action." A girl crush is where you meet a woman whose sense of style or brilliant achievements or personal charisma makes you kind of adore and worship her.

She then goes on to explain very clearly why developing a relationship that is based on an unexamined mutual attraction can lead to bad relationships, based on unspoken commonalities that can - and perhaps should - change.

Amen, sister, amen.

Our subconscious minds are rather good at grabbing our groins as a means to getting us to make changes we should make or proceed in directions we should go. But, alas, our subconscious is no smarter on it's own than it is in concert with our conscious minds, and it certainly isn't verbal. It pays to learn to take those lubricious urges very seriously - and think about what the old hind-brain might be trying to say; if not before, certainly afterward.

And I would like to point out that while hot lesbian sex might not have changed anything in the long or short run you would at least have had *hot* *lesbian* *sex*. I'm not so much advocating it as I am gently poking fun at the author's need to immediately rule out anyone thinking she had had *hot* *lesbian* *sex* with one of her crushes. Gee, all of the unpleasant hormonal whipsawing and no payoff? Does sex somehow devalue the basis for the crush? It seems like a poor reason to suffer a needless bout of Green Disease.

To the extent that this apparent dynamic reflects the absurd tragicomedy of the male "Madonna/Whore" double bind, it's, well, I suppose I expect more of women as intuitive social beings. The whole "I wouldn't be caught dead in a serious relationship with anyone slutty enough to want to have sex with me" is, from any perspective or sexual orientation, evidence of a serious issue of self worth - and projection.

But on the other paw, I've often observed that Lesbianism is not as significantly a gender preference as it is a culture with a distinct approach to and understanding of sexuality. Yes, the overwhelming gender preference of Lesbians tends to obscure that, but once you have known a few, you start to realize that an interest in bumping fuzzies is truly the least significant difference. Further, there are many women who have a sexual preference for women who work within a much more classically male/male or male/female dynamic. It's these exceptions that illuminated the rule for me.

I encourage everyone - of all sexual orientations and preferences, to try it out at least as a thought-experiment. Males do have to make some adaptations. For instance, falling asleep immediately is just rude and wrong. If it's unavoidable, request that your partner awaken you in fifteen minutes so you can snuggle and process.

Yes, this is referring to the classic joke about lesbian sex - an hour of sex followed by three hours discussing the meaning and implications. The joke implies that to be a silly female thing, but it can save you from making either more or less of what happened than you should. That doesn't seem inconsequential to me.

Sex is the expression of the sexuality, urges, needs , comfort and security drives of the persons within a relationship. How could that NOT be worth talking about, if you value that relationship beyond the moment?

I think one of the most important things I have learned from the lesbians I've known over the years is that there is no hard "line" between affection, snuggling, fooling around, physical play and sex.

For most that I've known, it's part of a whole while for most men I've known, gay and straight, it's distinctly separable and most seem to prefer it that way. Personally, I can't imagine wanting that, much less settling for it. While I know that mileage does vary dramatically, I still see the vast majority of people settling for less than they want and need for the sake of a mistaken propriety, or worse yet, seeking out in private what they deny to themselves and others in public.

This has led to so much conflict, death and madness in our culture that it's time that we suck it up and decide to be honest about these things, at least with ourselves. Face it, girls. While a "pash" is not the same thing as the sort of crush a boy has on a girl, it's not entirely asexual either. There is a physical component. There are physiological effects that could and often do lead to a walk on the wild side. It's common enough that in some cultures and contexts, it's considered to be a normal teenage phase of sexual development.

So factor that in. Admit it to yourself. Then do, or do not as seems best, informed by your ethics, your morals and common sense. Remember that whether or not you admit it, our sexual urges and our personal sexualities are part of the whole package that makes another person attractive or unattractive to us, whether or not they are of a gender we will choose to have sex with.

Amusingly Perverse

2007-07-03T09:08:00.001-07:00

rubber bunny, originally uploaded by battaolo.

By way of introduction to European artist battaolo, who has a way of playing with Japanosorie - until it screams.

This link would be NSFW - but as you will have to log in (or create an account) and then adjust your filters to see much of his work, it's quite safe - and his "safe" items are equally brain bending.

Hmm: Internet porn prevents rapes (Slate, Oct 2006)

2007-07-02T14:52:00.001-07:00

The article has an interesting couple paragraphs on porn:

"Similarly, psychologists have found that male subjects, immediately after watching pornography, are more likely to express misogynistic attitudes. But as professor Kendall points out, we need to be clear on what those experiments are testing: They are testing the effects of watching pornography in a controlled laboratory setting under the eyes of a researcher. The experience of viewing porn on the Internet, in the privacy of one's own room, typically culminates in a slightly messier but far more satisfying experience—an experience that could plausibly tamp down some of the same aggressions that the pornus interruptus of the laboratory tends to stir up.

In other words, if you want to understand the effects of on-screen sex and violence outside the laboratory, psych experiments don't tell you very much. Sooner or later, you've got to look at the data."

clipped from www.slate.com

How the Web Prevents RapeAll that Internet porn reduces sex crimes. Really.
By Steven E. Landsburg
Posted Monday, Oct. 30, 2006

Does pornography breed rape? Do violent movies breed violent crime? Quite the opposite, it seems.
First, porn. What happens when more people view more of it? The rise of the Internet offers a gigantic natural experiment. Better yet, because Internet usage caught on at different times in different states, it offers 50 natural experiments.

The bottom line on these experiments is, "More Net access, less rape." A 10 percent increase in Net access yields about a 7.3 percent decrease in reported rapes. States that adopted the Internet quickly saw the biggest declines. And, according to Clemson professor Todd Kendall, the effects remain even after you control for all of the obvious confounding variables, such as alcohol consumption, police presence, poverty and unemployment rates, population density, and so forth.

Joycelyn Elders Was Right

2007-06-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

We should be teaching masturbation in schools. I do wonder if there is a similar protective effect for women who ejaculate?

BBC NEWS | Health | Masturbation 'cuts cancer risk': "Masturbation 'cuts cancer risk'

Researchers were assessing prostate cancer riskMen could reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer through regular masturbation, researchers suggest.

They say cancer-causing chemicals could build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly.

And they say sexual intercourse may not have the same protective effect because of the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which could increase men's cancer risk.

Australian researchers questioned over 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer and 1,250 who had not about their sexual habits.

They found those who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to develop the cancer."

Now, that's good news for a lot of us...

79 Laugh-Out-Loud Ways to Get Rid of Mr. Wrong - annotated and amplified

2007-06-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

79 Laugh-Out-Loud Ways to Get Rid of Mr. Wrong

Although Elle advice columnist E. Jean Carroll writes mostly about how to find the man of your dreams in her latest book Mr. Right, Right Now!, she reserved the last witty chapter to show women how to drive men away, which you have to admit is pretty tempting at times. But best of all, you don't have to be in the market for ridding yourself of Mr. Wrong to enjoy her hilarious suggestions below. Take a look!

Oh, can we play too?

Best Way #1. Always end arguments by turning some deeply private secret he's confided to you...against him. Then add, "Screw you, you slobbering half-wit!"

1.5 Even Better Way: Stage an intervention. Include his parents and siblings if possible, but make sure that at very least, his boss, co-workers and closest friends are there.

7. Ask him once a week, "So, where do we stand?"

8. Or, if you prefer a more dramatic scrotum-tightener, ask, "So, where do we stand as a couple?"

8.5. At the worst possible, most awkward moment concevable, ask "Do you think I'm pretty?" If you are damn sure the answer will be an unthinking "yes," add "...as Angela Jolie."

8.6 Wake him up to ask these questions. For each one. The night before a critical early meeting. After all, there's nothing more important to you than your relationship.

8.6.5 Remind him of that constantly.

23. Ask him about his "personal feelings concerning the relationship" while he's watching the final two minutes of the seventh game of the NBA championship series. If he doesn't hear you, snap off the TV and hurl the remote out the window.

23.5. For extra points, stage this scene in public during a tense conversation with a social rival.

28. Is he feeling a tad overwhelmed by the serious turn your affair is taking? Surprise him with loads of expensive gifts for no reason.

28.5 For extra points, get your mom and sister to do it.

28.6 Make sure it's clothing designed to remake his entire image into something "acceptable" and alien to his entire being.

66. Trick him, dupe him, deceive him with every breath you take

-- i.e., follow The Rules.

Oooh, catty much? Not that she's wrong on this point. Viz:
66.5 Sleep with his best friend in order to learn deep secrets he won't tell you. For usage, see #1.

76. If you earn more money than he does, make sure you boost his ego by letting him pay for absolutely everything.

76.5. If he doesn't have the money, slip it to him! After all, it's not whether he can afford it, it's that everyone THINKS he can. Because, well, you wouldn't be dating a LOSER, right?

And one whole new one....

80. Make sure he knows you have standards and expect him to live up to them. Should he actually do that, raise the bar immediately!

Japi Honoo to exibit in Atlanta

2007-06-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

This starts out with an excited Myspace blast from artist friend, Japi Honoo.

mood excited!!!!!!
Sorry for late news... but from June 8, 2007 through August 4, 2007, is start my exhibition with Jack O'Hearn in a dual show at Nozoku Gallery!!!

If some one live near Atlanta will be nice go to see my image not more in virtual mode...

this is what nozoku gallery wrote:

Jack O'Hearn and Japi Honoo will be exhibiting in Atlanta for the first time, although they are no strangers to the art scene. O'Hearn has an established national following, while Honoo has made a name for herself internationally. ... Japi Honoo sends her love from Venice, Italy, as well her imaginative digital works that subscribe to her motto, "No rules, no rationality, no prototypes: simply real, self-sufficient one-offs." Without being too dark, Honoo's work is "symbolic realities full of sensuality, surreal characters and landscapes balanced on the edge between nightmares and bliss."

This is the second time I've featured her work. Japi Honoo's vision is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind when I started Erotic Truth; a way of looking at the erotic impulse from a completely new and challenging direction. Here are a couple more examples why you should be familiar with her work. I suggest you pass this on to everyone you might know in the Atlanta area. At the very bottom, you'll find a link to her site.

Meet Monica of Monica Comic

2007-06-09T06:13:00.001-07:00

Monica is a Spanish comic book artist I found while browsing Imagekind to find out who the competition is, and I have to turn you on to her site.

Her comic book style art is stunning, detailed, sensuous and while it's cheesecake in every respect, it's also distinctly individual and delightfully whimsical. It is nonetheless highly charged, sexually.

Ah, those Europeans, who see our prissy American attempts to separate erotica and porn to be an amusing little self-delusion!

I don't often do this, but I put one of her wallpapers up on my computer. I'm betting my wife will love it too. I wish I could afford to buy one of her art prints - I may save up, or I may settle for a cafepress poster version of this, my favorite image of hers.

I was less impressed with the online samples of the adult comics she's illustrated; my Spanish is very very very limited, but I could tell that in many cases I didn't really want to know. But she's clearly not a hack artist - and I'd love to see her try her hand at a mass-market mainstream title, like "Spider Man" or "The X-Men" or take on a seriously adult graphic novel for Dark Horse Comix.

Anyway, she's someone to keep an eye on, and if you collect comic book or erotic art, you probably will want a "Monica" of your own.

Oh, do you offer signed prints? If you do love, drop us a comment!

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.: FGM from an African, Muslim and Female point of view....

2007-06-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Of all the horrifying things people do to one another in the name of culture, their idiot ideas of what "the good book says" or in the name of preserving the virginity of their daughters - Female Genital Mutilation is one of the most horrifying.

And one of the most misunderstood.

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.: FGM from an African, Muslim and Female point of view....: "FGM from an African, Muslim and Female point of view....
In Islam, if a woman is not sexually satisfied, she has the right to divorce her husband."

ABC, The Darlings and the Exploitation of Paris Hilton.

2007-06-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

This just goes to show that you can abide by every FCC guideline there is, to the letter, and still produce total sleaze that would embarrass a pornographer.

ABC Promotes Their 'Love For Paris' In 'Dirty Sexy' Plug

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 9, 2007) - Is ABC using Paris’ troubles to promote their new show?
It certainly appeared that way today to LA.
Plenty of people are asking about the message attached to an airplane, which was flying over Paris Hilton’s house in LA earlier today.

Access Hollywood

The message read “We Love Paris: The Darling Family.”
ABC is launching a new show in the fall, “Dirty Sexy Money,” about a ridiculously rich family whose last name, not coincidentally, is… Darling.

Now, were I Paris, or any other member of the rediculously rich Hilton family, I do believe I'd be offended. It's not so much the allegation as the exploitation.

I do know that the exploitation of Paris Hilton's notiriety offends me. Frankly, it always has - I'm probably the last breathing male with internet access who hasn't seen her sex video. I consider her a vapid, uninteresting and unskilled twat; not a flattering judgment, I'll grant. But she's a vapid, uninteresting, unskilled twat with rights.

And more to the point, why is ABC (the Disney-owned "family channel" running something that makes Dallas look like a morality play and promoting it with this offensive and exploitative campaign?

Between this and the Don Imus thing, I'm getting a clearer picture of ABC's "Family Values."

For Grads and Father's Day

2007-05-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Proud Daddy's 4.00 BLONDE
by
webcarve

Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

I love messing with stereotypes, and with zazzle customization, you can mess around right along with me. Enter the exact gpa and any other text you'd like, then celebrate appropriately.

Natural Girl

2007-04-30T17:19:00.001-07:00

relax 5x7
Originally uploaded by Bob King.

I just needed to make some art today, and fortunately, a flickr friend was available - virtually.

And this didn't even win...

2007-04-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

PHOTO COMPETITION, "NUDE" CATEGORY

It must have been a nipply day!

2007-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

Danwei TV Hard Hat Show: Muzi Mei Sex Blogger

2007-04-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

The world around - everyone hates John Ashcroft - even when they don't know who he is, they know what he stands for.

Japi Honoo - Erotic Surrealist

2007-04-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

And as a picture is worth a thousand words, I think few of mine are needed. Click the picture to visit the site. Oh, and this from the artist:

Prints can be purchased at DeviantArt.prints
for information on images which aren't available yet, please contact me by email.

If you are a serious collector, I'd suggest you get right on that.

Please visit our sponsor - or is it the other way around?

2007-04-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Domai.com: Beautiful nude models

Domai.com is a very unique site, and my love for it goes back to when I was running munchltd.com - now not mine and not linked.

At the time I was running a reviewed link site for the adult web, and Domai was one of the few listings that I had added on my own hook, as I recall. I used it to floss my brain after rejecting some particularly grotesque site.

One thing about Domai is that it is a unique site, devoted to the positive, personal and non fetishized nude female. Despite the nudity, these images are more akin to the best sports action photography or the most stunning wildlife images. They are stunning, beautiful. Compelling. Oh, right, they aren't wearing clothes.

It really is about the third thing to hit you, and on fourth thought, you realize that if they were, or shot so it was, it would be annoying and distracting. In other words, no more than you have come to expect.

Domai.com is a site I'd enthusiastically recommend to anyone, especially to people who need to see how uplifting and beautiful what the best can be, to understand that in this - and by extension, in most other cases - the difference between the sacred and the profane is a matter of perspective and choice.

This is portraiture of women as individuals, and in it's obvious exploration of nude photography as a collaboration between talented equals, it is on a par with the very best of Lesbian Aesthetic photography, an equivalent respect for the model, but from a male perspective.

There is a zen sort of feel to Domai, an aesthetic and an ethos. There are, for instance, no pop ups, no sales previews, no stealth code and a generous amount of ever-changing materials for people like me, who simply cannot justify the time to enjoy such a site, but would like a moment of pure beauty from time to time.

Speaking personally, I am extremely picky about who and I directly promote - I feel that my reputation is affected by it, and this is even more true when there's money on the table.

I feel affiliation with Domai.com reflects well on me, rather than the other way around, and if you take issue with the art here, you will certainly have issues with my own work.

The founder, Eolake Stobblehouse, is generous with his gentle wisdom, his appreciation of beauty, and his bandwidth, and if you have a love for the pure art of the nude - I cannot think of a better, more rewarding way to spend a few dollars.

tag: Erotica, nude women, nude females, art, artistic nudes, Domai.com

When Morality Becomes Idiocy - the prosecution of sexually exploited children.

2007-04-15T07:57:00.001-07:00

blog.myspace.com/duckydoolittle

I'd have more to say about this - but I'll defer to an expert. Besides, if you need an explanation as to why this is fundamentally unethical, immoral and operationally stupid, you probably wouldn't read my blogs anyhow...

Change the System!
A child can not legally consent to sex, so why does our system prosecute child prostitutes as criminals? Once locked up they receive virtually no counseling, psychological care, or help finding a safe place to live. Sadly, when young people get out of lock up, they usually return to the streets. Experts agree that prosecuting sexually exploited young people further traumatizes them and makes it more difficult for them to create any kind of stability in their lives. Sign up for the National Juvenile Justice Network email list and raise your awareness. Learn about how you can support valuable legislation and care for children who need your voice, awareness and light.

(As with all of my posts of this nature ~ please re-post and share freely.)
[EDIT: Just to clarify, I am speaking of American girls. If these girls were not American citizens they would be protected under immigrant sex trafficking laws. But because they are American citizens they do not qualify for the benefits and services given to non-citizens. We just need to recognize valid need for our protection. They have slipped through a very large crack.]

tag: child sex trafficing, child prostitution, morality, law, ethics, church-state, moralism

Artwith Designs

2007-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wearable Latex Art
showcases a complely new medium of wearable art in styles any goth would club a bunny for. (Somewhat Iffy for Work)

Their stuff is so good that I've featured them in my Beautiful Things column, and they'll stay there until something else catches my eye.

Here's what they have to say about themselves:

It is our pleasure to bring you a unique and fun idea, perfect for those who possess a rare sense of personal style… Wearable Latex Art!

Each piece of ARTWITH Designs Wearable Latex Art is a handcrafted original, signed and dated by the artist, no two pieces are exactly a like. We do not use molds or die cutting, everything is squeezed out of a "squeeze" bottle: a combinationof drawing, sculpting and painting.

Now, I'm so not goth; I'm punk if anything, and most of what they offer would clash with my entire aura. Nonetheless, it transcends my my dislike for many of the themes and motifs. It's damn hard for any artist in any medium to do that, so be impressed. I honestly think that these are very collectible, investment-grade artworks, aside from the novelty and fun factor and the prices are exceptionally reasonable.

You can find them at their website, but their Myspace is somewhat more user-friendly, and of course, it's Myspace, go friend them and keep up to date on what they have for you to drool over.

A new alt-space by Alternative Magazine

2007-03-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Meet Lexilee on Altspace

She's a twenty-year old alt-model from Birmingham, UK and she's featured on this new-to-me "myspace" type alternative community that is sponsored by the UK-Based Alternative magazine.

ALTSPACE - www.altspace.co.uk , works just like myspace, but it's specific to the tats and piercings crowd - which makes it a fine place to seek out new and different erotic truths.

Your Valentine Here

2007-01-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

Scrapbook Valentine Template
by
webcarve

Get this custom card at Zazzle

This great Valentine's Card template lets you make a great impression this Valentine's Day. Grab an image of his or her website, or a picture of you and put it somewhere handy. Write a verse or two of poetry and clipboard it. Then click on the template and follow the prompts. Yes, it's THAT easy not avoid getting unlaid this Valentine's Day.

When you told us you were gay ...

2007-01-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

[ Your setup here ] by webcarve
customize card at Zazzle

I can't think of a more neglected "special occasion" than a "comining out." I suppose I'm strange that way, but I think a moment of such ... ah... outright courage deserves praise. And speaking as a parent, I'd have to say such lush opportunities come only a very, very few times in one's life. One should not neglect them. So, if you customize this card and target it especially for that festive young person who thought you had no clue... make sure you order two or three. You know, in case the original is lost.

From the mentality that gave us "don't ask, don't tell."

2007-01-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

Teacher arrested under peeping-tom law - Yahoo! News

Ware was charged under a 2001 law meant to protect people from ultra-small cameras that can be used to peek into dressing rooms or up women's skirts. Under the law, filming a person without consent for sexual arousal is a felony.

...but merely watching teenagers wrestle and perform gymnastics in skintight Lycra fetish gear is perfectly OK - as long as you refrain from obviously masturbating.

Every time the Olympics or Pan-Am games comes around, we are treated with front-page crotch shots of apparently pre-pubescent gymnasts, who's fan bases sound as if they are not entirely unaffected by the Reuters-supplied "upskirt" images.

While it's admittedly impressive that these hormonally-depleted dwarfs can plant their tushies on their cutely pigtailed heads while doing a hand-stand, a side-view would be more impressive and less... suggestive.

But then, American Anti-pornography laws have always seemed to be less concerned with protecting women and children from sexual exploitation and more concerned with the social threat of calling attention to the plight of the exploited. So we all are supposed to pretend that there is no possibility that anyone looking at such displays of sweaty hard bodies rubbing against one another and posing to display their perfectly sculpted backsides would ever, ever cause the minds of good Church-going PTA members to stray. Proof to the contrary - as the above story shows - is entirely unwelcome!

Under current law, you can get far more time for possessing photographic evidence of a child being raped than for actually raping the child. Believe it or not. The penalty in law for raping your OWN child is often far lower than if you molest another person's child. But preserving evidence of EITHER act - that's FAR worse. You might make use of it in some socially-unapproved way, like, say, busting a child rapist.

It makes me question the legislative intent, and this new law causes me to wonder even more, along with the real (as opposed to the touted) morality of our nation.

I've been through the wars on this issue, from nearly every angle. I spent several years working in the capacity of online councilor with people who had grown up being molested and raped every day, people who finally broke down under the pressure of not being able to talk about it, people who faced crushing scorn and disbelief from entire organizations dedicated to spreading the idea that any allegation of incest was either the lie of a spiteful child or a therapeutically-suggested "false memory."

And the whole time there was a flood of evidence over in alt.pictures.binaries.erotica.children.

But it's illegal for a survivor of such an event to have a photo proving that it occurred, much less computer records of the sort of search needed to find one, that's right out. "It's MY picture" is not an exception under the law, making this the one sort of crime where a search for evidence of a crime is in itself a crime. I find it increasingly difficult to believe this is an unintentional situation, especially in light of Right-Wing Christianist movements to legitimize and sanctify their patriarchal "ownership society," in which women and children can legally be kept isolated from any reality checks. This is why I'm deeply suspicious of the motives behind most homeschooling movements and most voucher programs. I've seen the alternatives they recommend as being more godly or "accurate." And I thought a public education was an exercises in badly presented social propaganda.

Prudery kills. Toxic secrecy kills. If you disbelieve me, check the suicide statistics for abuse survivors. Or spend an hour a week manning a suicide hot line.

It's a hell of a price to pay for the benefit of those folks who would prefer to believe that we ever lived in Mayberry.

tag: covert pornography, sexual ethics, Morality, Ethics, Republican Values, pornography laws, prudery, patriarchy

Ana Voog, preggers.

2006-12-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

ana is pregnant and having a baby. Like most starving artists, she's short on margin for unexpected expenses. So am I, or I'd simply send her some money via her website. I'm sure that a lot of her lj and Myspace friends are in the same place on this and I'm sure there's a bunch of us that have stuff we make or do, so I was thinking, maybe an auction? I've got this astonishing bit of art that I did when I heard the good news. I'm thinking I could put up some signed prints. Who's in?

This would be perfect for the pool room.

2006-12-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

Nocturnal swim (vertical)
by
jesped

Get this custom poster at Zazzle

"The March of the Penguins," now on iTunes...

2006-12-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Ducky

Via Ducky Doolittle, of course...

Monday, December 04, 2006

Best iPod Accessories EVER!

An iPod powered vibrator!

"OhMiBod is a sleek, sophisticated new generation of vibrator that combines elegance of design with the excitement of your favorite music. The audio enabled integrated microchip allows the OhMiBod to vibrate to the beat and rhythm of your music while you listen." - OhMiBod.com

(Thanks to alanesq!)

I think you might want to have a spare battery or maybe a power supply for that, toto. There's nothing like getting through almost all of The Bolero and missing the climax.

So VERY not safe for work

2006-12-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

A beautiful ad for... something. Shoes, perhaps? Pointer courtesty the immortal PTF via Philip_the_Foole

Along the way, I stumbled across a couple more urls worth your time, preserved below:

--- In divamid...@yahoogroups.com, Graydancer wrote:
>
> My friend EdwardDain gave me a link to a video campaign from Arayal
> women's clothing that features very nice rope bondage. Stills and a
> link via http://www.graydancer.com/index.php (So very nicely not work
> safe!)
>
> Graydancer
> http://www.ropecast.net

Love is Love is Love

2006-11-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Love Is Love Is Love banner
by
webcarve

Get this custom poster at Zazzle

I think this would make an excellent Christmas present for a lot of people, especially when it comes from a family member. I have other things this basic design appears on, both on zazzle and on cafepress in Over the Rainbow - Artistic Pride designs, but this design in particular is intended for those special, intrafamilial moments of healing and reconciliation.

You see, those words, on top and bottom, those are just there as placeholders. Oh, I figure "love is love is love" is a pretty good suggestion, but my URL can go away. You just edit it to something personal and meaningful.

The one I may possibly use is "You realize this means we expect twice as many grandchildren."

I don't think there's anything that a child of mine could do that would cause me to stop loving them - and sexual orientation would be the least of my concerns. Good Lord, there are so many worse things - like becoming a racist, or a right-wing evangelical, or a Republican fundraiser, a fate worse even than being a tax collector or pimp.

And even then, I would love them, as I feel is true of any God or Goddess worth respect and notice. (No, I'm not a pantheist; I simply don't presume to tell Him what Gender She should wear in my presence.)

Xposted to Graphictruth.com and Bonebox.info

tag: Pride Graphics, Pride posters, Lesbigay pride, Acceptance, Tolerance, sexual orientation, sexual freedom, love is love is love, Rainbow, Gay Pride Christmas Gifts, Pride Cards

Some Fooleish Advice for the Young and Impressionable

2006-11-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

Black Cherry by TShirt_Designs

Provoked: Body Image My first reaction to this post is "God, I feel old." I remember this exact same sort of discussion going on over tube tops and french cut jeans. Just a little bit older, and I bet I could remember it in reference to cashmere sweaters and poodle skirts - and Oh, the Horror!

Some argue that dressing in a provocative manner is empowering to young girls. They are free to express their sexuality and do not have to hide their sexuality as if it were something to be ashamed of. I believe in free speech, freedom of expression, and that it is good for people to feel free to express their sexuality. However, I do not think that young girls should be encouraged, even pushed, to be sexual before they are mature enough to have sex. Pollet and Hurwitz state that, “many adolescents embrace these products as a harmless and fun way to wield sexual power, defending their right to express themselves . . .” (Pollet, Hurwitz 20). Are they expressing themselves, or are they simply imitating a stereotypical image of what they believe femininity is? Young girls see so many images everyday of what femininity supposedly looks like, many young girls do not even consider that perhaps there are other ways to be feminine.

CBC [The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation] followed around a preteen for a day. When asked why young girls feel the need to dress sexy, the girl replied, “You get more attention and strange guys come up to you and try and get you to go to nightclubs.” (qtd.in Buying into Sexy… CBC). The fact that this preteen believes that a “reward” for dressing sexy is to have “strange guys” invite her to nightclubs is absolutely frightening. Pollet and Hurwitz say that young girls enjoy “. . . a coy yet brazen, look-but-don’t-touch sexual persona” (Pollet, Hurwitz 20). This off-limits but desirable look makes young girls feel powerful.

Now, it's not that I disagree with what's being said here, nor most of the conclusions being drawn. This viewpoint is at least more sophisticated than the common "cheerleader good, slut bad" sort of logic, where it seems that the distinction between "slut" and "cheerleader" is not the clothing, but the socially approved role. A role, by the way, that includes many of the very same boys as would that of the "slut," and in very many of the same positions.

In other words, if a girl is only sexually available under the correct circumstances, she is not a "slut." If she is social with sexual tension outside of a context where that tension is recognized as “appropriate”- actual sex has little to do with one's reputation. It has everything to do with controlling the sexual expression of girls, and without sneer quotes, for their own good. And it might actually work if the chosen mechanisms had some traction, and the motives were stated out loud, because… well, this idea hasn’t worked noticeably well any time during the rough half century I’ve been around, and my reading suggests that it didn’t work very well before then, either.

Yes, teens and pre-teen girls can get very infatuated with their ability to make boys walk into walls and generally behave like drooling, stunned oxen. Without the proper ethical structures and the ability and permission to set and defend boundaries, this can lead to very toxic circumstances - indeed, the exact circumstances you will find in any Jr. High, or High School.

The fact that sex education has become more moralistic and less factual has simply made this worse. People who live in a state of constant oppression are exquisitely sensitive to cognitive dissonances and the hypocrisy of the society around them. Different people respond to this in different ways; some conform, with the evident goal of becoming oppressors themselves one day, others rebel, either due to need-based necessity or out sheer stubborn unwillingness to play such an obviously perverted game. Those people tend to go toward the extremes; asexuality, or outright slutty. And yes, men can be sluts. Some even excel!

I don't personally attach such a negative connotation to the word "slut" as most people would - because I've been exposed to "The Ethical Slut."

The Ethical Slut - and a variety of other books, such as Jay Wiseman's "SM 101" and "Different Loving" by The Brames grew out of the early ferment of the explosion of sexuality on the internet, when Ugol's Law became manifest.

Please note that Wiseman's work is linked below, while the Different Loving is not. I do not personally agree with many of the assumptions made and have disagreed with the Brames strongly and publicly over the years about their views about "Real Submissive Women." Nonetheless "Your Mileage May Vary," it's just that their advice is not so broadly applicable as they would like to believe it is.

By way of contrast, Generation SLUT offers a perspective that validates The Darkhaired Girl's" worst nightmares. I offer Hunter S. Thompson's review of this book by 20something author Marty Beckerman: "Good work, you morbid little bastard."

My own perspective is somewhat distinct from both: I feel that a significant part of this trend is that Christianist morality has become so fear based and so focused on the appearance of conformity that it manages to be completely useless, if not actively dangerous to persons who need practical guidance in private circumstances.

Moreover, traditional Christianist moralism has become completely irrelevant to the needs and desires of ordinary human beings who are still operating in the hormonal storm belt. There needs to be more practical sailing advice, because for most people, staying in the harbor until the weather clears isn't really an option. When morality fails us, we must turn to the ethical principles that morality is supposed to be founded on to see where we went wrong.

"An you harm none, do as you will" and "That which is hateful to you, do not do unto others; all the rest is commentary" are two of my favorite "rules of thumb" in regard to any behavior.

Like all rules of thumb, though, they require a bit of context to truly understand. For instance, in the first, which is a mostly Wiccan concept, the whole idea of "will" is among other things, about being authentically yourself and acting for your own, well considered and conscious reasons. If you are appearing to conform, it is not that you are going along with the herd, it's that you are in the midst of a crowd of individuals acting in concert, for reasons of their own, individual wills.

"An you harm none" is a conditional absolute. That is to say, it's a physical ideal that is impossible in practice; perfect observation would require perfect understanding of everyone you ever come in contact with, and all the possible consequences. Even more impossibly, it would require perfect self-knowledge.

But like all truly useful moral guidance, it is as useful in the breech as in compliance. In other words, when we make a mistake and do harm someone, it gives us a framework to understand how to avoid related actions and circumstances in the future.

And this leads me to the great fault of this otherwise interesting and useful bit of writing; the idea that there can be and should be "Safe self-expression."

NO form of self-expression is ever safe. There is always someone who will object or misunderstand, or take it as an excuse to violate your boundaries in some way. Many see that as a reason to restrict, even prohibit certain forms of self-expression that they consider dangerous, subversive or “icky.”

As if that ever worked. Sexuality oozes from our pores once puberty hits. Deluding ourselves that we are NOT sexual beings is outright folly. Only by admitting who and what we are to ourselves (at the very least) can we avoid the absurd and dangerous situations caused by stumbling around in a state of denial. Or in other words, if you don’t wish to act out badly (or do not wish others to), you have to first understand and speak out loud about why people do act out.

Mostly, they wish to get laid, for all the complicated reasons and rewards. And the reasons why Other People wish to keep you, and other folks from getting laid are complex and filled with contradictions, but it boils down to this; they would like to choose, or at least influence who and when you get laid, if other.

That’s not bad in itself, but in far too many cases, those doing that wishing won’t admit their reasoning to themselves. Sometimes, that’s because if they looked at it, there’s more than a little dog in the manger there; if they cannot lay you, none will.

My cynical view is that people who are unwilling to talk to their children about sex – well, it’s probably for the best. The gutter is probably a more sanitary place than their own personal reasons and rationalizations. Probably what they think of as morality, an anthropologist would refer to as a “conditioned aversion,” a “taboo” or “denial.” And that’s the problem. Too much moralism, not nearly enough sexual morality – as in examples of people who live a sexually moral life in full mindfulness of what they do and why.

What we need as a culture is a sane, practical-minded and useful approach to avoiding harm, both to oneself and to others under any circumstances that we may reasonably expect. That is the very essence of "morality." Practical, specific guides for behavior based on ethics and human nature, based not on shame and guilt, but example and praise.

Until there is such a thing, it's pointless to blame teenagers for rejecting what they see as foolish, impractical or actively silly ideas foisted upon them by often obviously delusional, neurotic adults.

Do you wish an example? Have you ever met a "preacher's kid?"

The Trained Stunt Pervert Trucker Hat was created as a refrerence to my good Internet Friend, Phillip the Foole, who, I believe, actually coined the phrase. The Official Archive of Ancient Kung Foole Proverbs contains a depth of practical wisdom and practical moralty the author would be the first to disavow. But you could do far worse than to learn from his mistakes - and successes.

tag: Phillip the Foole, sexual morality, religious abuse, child abuse, bdsm, torture, ethics, SSC, social control, submission, reason, rationality, freedom, liberalism, heterosexism, Christianism, ethics, sexual ethics, teen sexuality, pre-teen sexuality

2006-10-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Dildos are helping the Terrorists!

It seems that evil forces from abroad are conspiring to make good, red-blooded Americans watch dildo-based videos.

Don't laugh, or you will go to hell, just like Molly Ivans will for attempting to "prove" that Texas sodomy laws are ridiculous.

Excerpt from my Yahoo! 360° - The Philosopher King - Introduction and Philosophy

2006-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! 360° - The Philosopher King - Introduction and Philosophy: "
Here is a huge understanding that I've gained over the years. 'You cannot begin from anywhere other than where you are.'

There are lots of people that will offer you 'help' and 'spiritual guidance' that set as a precondition that you radically change who you are, what you do, who you associate with and most especially, what is the most important thing in your life.

This is foolish.

First, it's unethical to expect people to do anything like that as a precondition for help with their troubles.

Second, it's not truly possible. But they will come to harm trying - that's why it's unethical. If you accept such help, you must realize that what they are asking is for you to give up a portion of - well, for want of a better word, of your soul.

The principle is as true for you as it is for anyone else. You must stop expecting yourself to be someone other than who you actually are. Once you do that, then you can get down to the serious work of making what you are worthwhile.

The real trick to it is figuring out what it is you truly need to feel fulfilled, needed, wanted, beloved, useful and well-rewarded. Then you need to find and evolve a personal ethos that allows you to get there honestly and without harming or exploiting others."

monochrome 02

2006-09-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

monochrome 02, originally uploaded by ~yumi.

Yumi is a beautiful young lady looking for some exposure as a model. I think you can see that she's got the basics down quite well.

29 mellow crop poster

2006-08-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

29 mellow crop poster, originally uploaded by ClioLune.

Beautiful, isn't it? Oh, and isn't iteresting that your eyes can so easily fill in the missing lines? The human form is hardwired into our brains...

Imperfect

2006-08-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Imperfect, originally uploaded by Bum Fluff.

Gutsy and provocotive in a way no prude would ever have contemplated.

A longer exploration of this image at Graphictruth: "Imperfect" ?

Fabio Borquez - Clothing women in Light

2006-08-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

casisindecirnosnada, originally uploaded by fabio borquez.

Favio uses light and shadow in a way I find very familiar; it's similar to my own artistic process; to reduce an image to it's essentials, to carve away until I am showing what I think the model or the image is saying to me.

If you visit Borquez's photo-stream, you can see that he is engaged in a dialogue with his models; his art is as much portraiture, or collaboration as it is a consistent artistic vision.

There are a very, very few photographers of this caliber every generation, and I would strongly suggest that people invest in his work now, while it's affordable. Not just due to the investment value, of course - it will encourage him to do more and better work - and that will enrich everyone.

Shower Scene, Internal

2006-08-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

Shower Scene, Internal, originally uploaded by Bob King.

Erotic images need not be explicit to be powerfully clear in their intent. I do not think this image could be more erotic than it is, no matter how many breasts and wabbly bits were added.

Now, this is not an argument against explicit images; to the contrary. It is an argument against prudery, for all prudery amounts to is seeing sexual connotations in everything.

A prude looking at this image will be offended and disturbed, probably about as much as if the image explicitly showed the subject masturbating with a waterproof vibrator.

But it's not the vibrator - seen OR unseen, or even it's existence that makes this image sexually moving. It's the clear expression of erotic self absorption. And yet, there is nothing in this image that would keep t from a "G" rating.

This is why I snap my fingers at anatomically driven ideas of what is "porn" and what is art.

Speaking personally, my nakedness has very little relationship to what's on MY mind, especially in the shower - and generally, a full -frontal image would prove that beyond doubt!

Artists such as myself have been coining money based on this sort of "plausible deniability" for at least a thousand years. We don't paint nekkid people for prurient reasons, oh no, never! We paint "classical scenes." And of course, in ancient Greece, all the women were pretty and mostly buck-nekkid.

Or shall we leer at the religious art of the Renaissance? Oh, those portraits of Sampson and Delilah.

Yep. And this image is no different. But I made it because I liked it, not to appeal to or repel prudes or those who appreciate sexual images and yet wish to avoid being officially busted for the porn on their walls.

It is a portrait of an actual person, from a photo she took herself. All I did was to de-emphasise the brestage so that you would notice the parts that were being sexual. - That is to say, her face, and presumably, her brain. Boobs, being mostly inert fatty tissue (not unlike the brains of prudes and many porn-surfers), are just along for the ride.

tag: erotica, erotic art, pornography, prudery, prudes, sexual, sexy, sexually explicit

On the matter of boobs, and what sort deserves more consideration.

2006-08-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

I found this lingering on the spike. Very old news, and yet, likely to erupt again at any moment, because this is an issue that cannot, will not and should not go away.

Breast isn't best: readers tell US parenting magazine - Yahoo! News:

"The picture in Babytalk was aimed at illustrating the controversy surrounding breastfeeding in the United States, where a national survey by the American Dietetic Association found that 57 percent of those polled are opposed to women breastfeeding in public and 72 percent think it is inappropriate to show a woman breastfeeding on television programs.

Babytalk executive editor Lisa Moran said though most of those who responded to the poll about the cover photo gave the magazine a thumbs up, she was surprised that some 25 percent expressed outrage.

'There is a real puritanical streak in America,' Moran told AFP. 'You see celebrities practically baring their breasts all the time and no one seems to mind in this sort of sexual context.

'But in this very natural context of feeding your child, a lot of Americans are very uncomfortable with it.'"

It seems to me that this is such an wholesome and innocent image that taking offense at it amounts to a genuine perversion; a degree of fetishism and outright filthy-mindedness that it needs far more, widespread and consistent mockery.

The idea that a breast is always sexual and never just there is an astonishingly juvenile view. Sometimes breasts are sexy. Sometimes they are nurturing. And sometimes, I've been told, they get in the way. That's a more grown-up way of looking at boobs. Context matters. And the fact that a woman's breast is partially exposed when a baby is attached should not bother you. Why? Because babies are good things, and don't deserve having their feeding disrupted by their prudery, or stuffed under a hot blanket so that you are "spared" the vision of a nipple being used as nature intended.

When a breast is displayed partially covered by a scrap of fabric that manages to be just barely adequate in a legal sense, there is little outcry, even in the same context where people would be upset at this. Lo, the baby covers more than many bikini tops.

I've been long convinced that cultural taboos involving the human body create the very pervesions they are supposedly intended to prevent. While they may serve to spare the delecate sensiblities of a few prudes here and there, I question the legitamacy of that demand, or why rigid, shame based conentions that have the effect of warping our natural sexual behavior into paths that are often compulsive and distructive. It seems to me that a modicum of courtesy would be a far better way of going about not scaring the horse-faced.

The allure of the Vampyre

2006-08-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Ever since Bram Stoker brought Dracula into popular culture, there has been a magnetic sexual attraction to the entire concept of vampirism , when understanding the needs, drives and ethical challenges of the vampire would make a sane person snicker.

Unless the attraction is the needs, the drives and the ethical challenges - and possibly the struggles of being sane in the face of them.

Of late we have vampure role-playing games and, of course, such hit shows as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."

It occurs to me that one of the things that appeals in the theme of vampirism is the identification with a social or sexual drive that is socially taboo, such as homosexuality, bisexuality and, of course, the unavoidably obvious references to sadomasochistic drives so well illustrated by Anne Rice.

The question is not whether vampire culture is a good thing or a bad thing, moral or immoral. The question is why there is such obvious allure and so many different ways of covertly exploring themes that, were they expressed in plain words, would have us imprisoned, committed or worse.

I'm in favor of safely exploring such concepts in ways that are not too close to the visceral bone, and I must confess being vulnerable myself to the image of a pale throat bared to me. That is very probably a signal that goes straight to the hind-brain. I've learned that the trick to these things is to explore them conciously, lest they explore me without my knowlege. The first approach may not lead to an ethical outcome, but the second absolutely will not. And ethical outcomes are, aside from all considerations of right and wrong, far less painful as a rule of thumb.

I am a very visual person obviously, and ordinarily I'd illustrate such an article with a pure picture. But there is no more powerful statement in our culture than literally wearing your literal desires on your shirt - in the daytime. I mean, who goes to a goth club in a t-shirt? It shows you just aren't trying.

This is intended as a mass-market item. The creator may be wrong or right on that point, but my gut speaks to me of obligatory rebellion, the proud, the defiant, the polymorphously "perverse" among us coming out of the closet, with our fangs bared.

Kindred
by
SophiaDeer

Get this custom t-shirt at Zazzle

40 eyelets....

2006-07-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

40 eyelets...., originally uploaded by Miss Ruby Foo.

2006-07-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hello. I'm Bob King. Below is what I do.

Red Torso
by
webcarve

Get this custom poster at Zazzle