All of that...AND a unicorn?!?

Somehow in the frenzy leading up to Tuesday's presidential election, we missed this item on Huffington Post from our friend, Theresa Darklady Reed, in which she points us to a prediction from the extreme religious right that an Obama presidency will lead to a nation with unfettered access to pornography.

Quoting from a Focus on the Family screed obstensibly written in the future, the as-yet hypothetical Letter from 2012 in Obama's America, the many potential dangers awaiting us down the road include a new, liberal Supreme Court that has :

... applied more broadly the “Miller test” from the 1973 decision in Miller v. California, by which a work could not be found obscene unless “the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.” In the 2011 decision, the court essentially found that any pornographic work had some measure of “serious artistic value,” at least according to some observers, and thus any censorship of pornographic material was an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment.

But wait--there's more! As "...all city and county laws restricting pornography were struck down by this decision ...pornographic magazines are openly displayed in gas stations, grocery stores and on newsstands (as they have been in some European countries for several years)."

And, natch, the court also eliminated all FCC restrictions and, thusly, "...television programs at all hours of the day contain explicit portrayals of sexual acts."

We might observe that a mere "D" by a leader's name doesn't necessarily translate into a laissez faire approach to the exchange of ideas--President Clinton was the one who signed the Communications Decency Act into law back in 1996, afterall. But if we listen to those with a proclaimed relationship to the powers on high, free speech advocates need just kick back a bit and wait for the flood-gates to open.

Bring it!

There are definitely a few more significant issues we might ponder. The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was struck down again, as an appeals court upheld last year's ruling by a federal judge that the act is "overbroad and unconstitutional." And an entirely different appeals court just tossed out the FCC fine that was once levied across Janet Jackson's infamously bare nipple.

But it's hot and it's sticky. And we'd just as soon sit here in the dark a/c, looking at sexy women in our underwear. Or their underwear, rather.

We're not sure if this is actually provocative or our worst freshman gym class nightmare finally realized...but enjoy!



(Snagged from Violet Blue, whose post on sex in advertising could have us procrastinatingresearching examples for days to come!)

Action Alert! Contact CBS and support Swingtown

Conservative media watch-groups and religious political extremists are already hard at work trying to get Swingtown pulled from the air. While we don't necessarily like to send them traffic, from the America Family Association there's this and from the Parents Television Council we have this little gem.

To counter the form letter complaints that are right now making their way into the FCC folders of various local CBS affiliates, now would be a good time to send a brief note of your support of the show. As a former programming director for a small-town station in a largely conservative market, we can assure you that your positive input will be most welcome!

See below for the how-to particulars and feel free to spread this info widely:

***
NCSF Entertainment Media Update for "Swingtown"

Show Title: Swingtown
Episode Title: "Pilot"
Original airdate: June 5, 2008
Series continues: Thursday, 10 pm
Network: CBS
Produced by: CBS Paramount Television
Executive Producers: Michael Kelley, Allen Poul and Carol Barbee

Description:
From the program's website - "SWINGTOWN, from the director of 'Big Love' and 'Rome,' traces two generations of friends and neighbors as they forge intimate connections and explore new freedoms during the culturally transformative decade of the 1970s. It portrays the ever-shifting "swing" of the pendulum that reflected the change in America's collective value system -- morally, politically and socially. After moving to an upscale lakeside Chicago suburb in July of 1976, Susan and Bruce Miller must confront temptation in the form of their provocative new neighbors, Tom and Trina Decker, while not abandoning their old friends Janet and Roger Thompson. As the adult couples evaluate whether to embrace or avoid newfound personal freedoms, the curious Miller and Thompson children begin to discover and assert their own morality and sexual identities as they come of age in a world on the precipice of change. In a shifting social climate -- defined by its music, fashion and style -- everyone in SWINGTOWN is confronted with personal choices, experimentation and varying attitudes."

More info, including clips and the most recent episode of the show, can be found at:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/


NCSF Reviewer's Note:
Originally intended for a cable network outlet, "Swingtown" has obviously been retooled to meet broadcast standards and withstand certain scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nonetheless, while it shies away from nudity and direct depictions, the show still manages to take a refreshingly positive approach to sexual exploration and freedom. The most adventurous couple of the three featured, the Deckers, is presented as sharing a mutual enjoyment of their open marriage and seem to have a healthy, affectionate relationship. Similarly the Millers, introduced to the swing lifestyle in the first episode, are shown to be in love, but just seeking a little something to rev up their sex life.

It's a little difficult to predict where the series will go over the course of its initial 13-episode run, but given how quickly the Millers jump into the action - counter to what most swingers themselves would counsel - there are sure to be complications ahead. While there are likely some consequences to be faced down the line, hopefully the show will maintain the sex-positive tone it exhibited in its premiere episode.

In light of complaints already being registered from media watch groups and religious political extremists, the CBS network and its local affiliates deserve commendation for airing "Swingtown" and should be encouraged to continue its broadcast. (Reviewed by Lisa Vandever, NCSF Media Committee)


CRITICAL ACTION - GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO YOUR LOCAL CBS AFFILIATE:

Find your station here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/utility/main517034.shtml

(Hard copy letters are generally more effective, but sending an email is better than nothing.)


ADDITIONAL ACTION - GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO THE CBS NETWORK:

CBS Television Network
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

(While hard copy letters are generally more effective, you can also send a direct email to the network via a form on their website - http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml.)


YOU CAN ALSO LEAVE INPUT VIA THE "SWINGTOWN" COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/community/
(requires email registration)


HOW TO WRITE VIEWER FEEDBACK
Viewer letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging or polyamory. Your feedback can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices, and may influence the future decisions of programmers and producers about the entertainment they provide. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.

For more information and suggestions of points to include in your letter, see:
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/index.php?option=com_keyword&id=182

Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org

***
A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org

Countdown to Swingtown!

Back in the summer of 1976, we were mostly looking forward to finally getting rid of our braces and putting the horrors of eighth grade far behind us, but even as we lurked around the edges of trouble, we always suspected we were missing out on something.

Tonight we get further confirmation of exactly that, as a new CBS series, Swingtown, pulls back the curtains on the shenanigans of one fictional suburban couple of the decade, the Deckers, and the friends and acquaintances that come into the swath of their open marriage.



Created by writer Mike Kelley and inspired by his upbringing in the suburban enclaves of 1970s Chicago, the series was originally designed with a berth on HBO or Showtime in mind, but found an unlikely home at CBS instead. While the show did require some retooling for a network broadcast appearance and likely FCC scrutiny, according to an article in the Baltimore Sun, Swingtown has acquired a helpful advocate in CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler - who, it turns out, is related to George and Nena O'Neill, authors of the definitive 1970s classic on the topic, Open Marriage. In addition to programing the show with a presumably strong CSI lead-in, the network has also been putting some heavy promotions into the series. "If we had abandoned or buried Swingtown, I would never have been able to live with myself," Tassler continues in the article. "This is a labor of love."

The love, as they say, kicks off tonight and continues Wednesdays at 10pm throughout the summer.

Meet you in the basement with a couple of Schlitz Malt Liquors?

Yay, um... Fox?

Fox Television is standing firm (sorry) in the face of a $91,000 fine thrust (yep!) upon it by the Federal Communications Commission for a single episode of its reality series, Married by America.

Despite Fox's argument that the material in question was not statutorily indecent, an FCC analyst maintained:
Even with Fox's editing, the episode includes scenes in which partygoers lick whipped cream from strippers' bodies in a sexually suggestive manner. Another scene features a man on all fours in his underwear as two female strippers playfully spank him. Although the episode electronically obscures any nudity, the sexual nature of the scenes is inescapable, as the strippers attempt to lure partygoers into sexually compromising situations.
(taken from Variety via Defamer)

While that might sound like the plot-line of your typical mid-season replacement sitcom - "the guys run amuck!" - the amount of the fine was originally $1.2 million, levied to include all 169 stations, at $7,000 each, airing the 2003 episode. That amount has since been reduced by the FCC so that only the 13 stations that ostensibly received complaints would be fined, but even that degree of outcry is suspect. Through just a bit of sleuthing, journalist Jeff Jarvis uncovered that the number of complaints was not 159, but merely 23. And of those, all but two were identical form letters, boiling down to three original complaints out of millions viewing.

Instead of paying the reduced amount, Fox will file a request that the FCC completely reconsider the fine. In another case currently pending Supreme Court review, Fox also successfully sued the agency over a new restriction on "fleeting" expletives.

The world watches. (Or pretends otherwise, but secretly Tivos.)

Say what you will

Sorta, especially if it's in the form of a fleeting expletive. So said a federal appeals panel as it struck down Federal Communication Commission policies that had, in recent years, taken a tougher stance on so-called obscenties spoken on broadcast television and radio.

The challenge to the FCC indecency fines related specifically to utterances by such celebrity luminaries as Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie appearing on live awards broadcasts, generally involving variations on your basic "f-word" theme.

Reversing decades of a more lenient policy, the commission had found that the mere utterance of certain words implied that sexual or excretory acts were carried out and therefore violated the indecency rules.

But the judges said vulgar words are just as often used out of frustration or excitement, and not to convey any broader obscene meaning. “In recent times even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced sexual or excretory organs or activities.”

As we sit back and ponder what might constitute a "reasonable person," we eagerly anticipate what ruling might soon come down on the matter of another celebrity's fleeting, bare nipple.