No, no, please, oh yes... I mean NO!

No on Prop 8, that is! And with just one week left before the votes are tallied, here's a way to get into the fray while making sure that both activist and libidinous urges are fully sated.

For one day only--Tuesday, October 28--Comstock Films will be passing along all proceeds from the sale of their wonderfully erotic documentaries to benefit the "No on Proposition 8" campaign and support same-sex marriage.

That's 100 percent of the price of any DVD from their ground-breaking series that profiles the passions of real-life lovers--including past CineKink festival favorite, Damon and Hunter: Doing it Together--donated for every purchase made until midnight on Tuesday.

As they say...buy early and buy often!

Slap on your leathers and come on down!

CineKink @ New York Leather Weekend - TONIGHT!
As part of NYLW, a weekend-long celebration of NYC's almost-back-to-burgeoning leather scene, we're presenting 'Give and Take,' a kinky collection of shorts that probe, prod and play with the dynamics of sexual control and submission. Assume the position!

Date/Time:
Friday, October 10 - 8 pm

Location:
LGBT Community Center
208 W. 13th Street (bet. 7/8th), NYC

More info and full program line-up is here!

It's 10 pm. Do you know where your children are?

Amazing but true, but give the Midwest Teen Sex Show a few key concepts, some colorful props and several feet of rope and they manage to convey in the space of several minutes what it takes many a fetish-friendly documentarian - self included - a good half hour to express.

Herewith MTSS Episode #18 (Fetishes)



(Though we know they're kidding, our internal safety nazi wishes they'd spent a wee bit of that time literally underscoring the unwisdom of leaving anyone in bondage unattended. Probably the kids just get it?)

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

So gay!

Or, to be more politic, so same-sex!

We're slightly chagrined to admit, but our first thought upon learning that the California State Supreme Court had struck down laws limiting same-sex marriage was of the wedding invitations that would soon be winging their way to our mailbox. We do love a good party!

And ever since we endured the sweet tortures of planning our own wedding a few years back, one of our secret indulgences continues to be wedding porn, with a sordid, lingering taste for the occasional Whose Wedding is it Anyway? marathon.

So, while we're of course enraptured by the right-minded arguments of equality and fairness that surrounds this crucial advance, and there are many videos that might bring us to the edge of sincere choked-upped-ness, given that afterall, this is all really about the basic and simple ability to be publicly and legally joined with the a person you love, we'd also like to say, with this clip from the gay wedding episode of Party, Party - welcome to the freak show!

Bite the Apple!

As part of New York Leather Weekend, CineKink presents a fundraiser for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom ....

Friday, October 5th – 9 pm

CineKink, "the really alternative film festival," presents a special screening of film and video shorts from New York directors for a celebration of kinky Gotham. Dark and gritty, sleek and sophisticated, seamy and ... well, come and take a bite for yourself!!

On My Knees
Directed by Kim Wood, 2003, USA, 13 minutes.
Culled from the secret diaries of Hannah Cullwick, a Victorian fetishist and “maid-of-all-work,” a life of unabashed deviance is traced.

DragonLily
Directed by Napoleon Lake, 2005, USA, 21 minutes. On a stroll around Greenwich Village, DragonLily discovers Steven Speliotis' book Asia Bondage and is transported to her own explicit fantasy world of intricate bondage.

The Black Glove
Directed by Maria Beatty, 1996, USA, 30 minutes.The flame of the candle that illuminates and torments, reveals the wondrous form of the willing slave, whose haunting, wide eyes and full, parted lips recall the classic silent screen goddesses.

Meat
Directed by Joe Gallant, 2005, USA, 7 minutes.
A meditation on love in the crosshairs, the post-mod tectonic power-shift so visible in contemporary relationships.

Plus, for the first-time ever altogether!
CineKink Trailer Redux
Directed by Lisa Vandever, 2003-06, USA, 10 minutes.Since its start in 2003, CineKink has featured various NYC scene illuminaries in the trailer that runs before each festival program. With titles including Gay Cowboys Eating Pudding, CineKink Veterans for Truth, You Horah! and Sissies Gone Wild! - who do you know?!?

For more info!

Action alert! Feds move to restrict sexual content. (Yep. Even more than now!)

Apparently, we've had our head in the sand about the pending deadline to submit comments on proposed federal regulations effecting the production and distribution of sexually explicit content. That pending deadline is now very pending, as in Monday, September 10th.

In a nutshell, obstensibly intended to prevent the use of underage performers in adult entertainment, 2257 regulations have been on the books since 1988 and in effect since 1995. To comply with the regulations, producers are required to complete a records keeping compliance form for every model/performer who appears in any work, ie photo, film, video, including depictions of "actual sexually explicit conduct." This form asks for all kinds of personal information, including the performer's legal name, date of birth, any and all stage, webhandles(?!?) or pseudonyms used, and it asks for personal ID numbers, along with an attached photocopy of the performer's ID. These records are to be kept on file by the producer, cross-referenced so that they are easily retrievable by performer name and/or title of the work, and readily available for inspection by the attorney general or "his or her designees."

Recent amendments to 2257, which were proposed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on July 27, 2006, expand these regulations to:

* Cover a new class of so-called "secondary producers," meaning anyone...
"(ii) digitizing an image, of a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct; or, assembling, manufacturing, publishing, duplicating, reproducing, or reissuing a book, magazine, periodical, film, videotape, digital image, or picture, or other matter intended for commercial distribution, that contains a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct; or ‘‘(iii) inserting on a computer site or service a digital image of, or otherwise managing the sexually explicit content, of a computer site or service that contains a visual depiction of, sexually explicit conduct."

Sound like anyone you know? Probably closest to home, this will apply to websites, many of which you possibly visit on a daily basis, including, as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force recently pointed out, adult social networking sites such as Gay.com, AdultFriendFinder, Bondage.com and SwingLifestyles. Anyone who is a "secondary producer" will now need to have copies of the 2257 record for each and every model/performer depicted and keep those readily available for inspection, as above. That's alot of forms.

* Cover simulated sexual conduct in addition to actual sexual conduct. While there is apparently some provision for a safe harbor that might protect mainstream (aka non-adult) entertainment producers from the regulations, that provision is yet to be defined. And whether the largesse will extend behind the coffers of big-business Hollywood to embrace independent producers will also need to be seen. And aside from all that, what precisely equates simulated sex?

* Lump in the "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person" as a new, fifth type of regulated depiction. You can probably guess where we're going with this, but in whose eyes is something determined to be lascivious? In case you're wondering, the regulated depictions already covered are "sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; bestiality; masturbation; sadistic or masochistic abuse" (In case you're wondering, as we certainly were, what the hell is "sadistic or masochistic abuse?" - and for the switches among us, shouldn't it be and/or - it's another one of those terms that could mean nearly anything. For instance, a recent Google search turned up a city code with this definition: "...flagellation or torture by or upon a person clad in undergarments, in a revealing costume, a mask or bizarre costume, or the condition of being fettered, bound or otherwise physically restrained on the part of one so clothed.)

Overall, a burdensome series of hoops that will do little to nothing to protect children and serve only to chill the open expression of sexuality. (We're certainly feeling chilled!)

So, bottom line?
If you're a producer, secondary producer and/or consumer of any depictions of sexually explicit conduct, actual or simulated, produced for the adult entertainment world or not - and/or you're a supporter of full sexual expression for all - submit your comments protesting these regulations by Monday, September 10th.

Address your statements to: Admin.ceos@usdoj.gov .

IMPORTANT : Be sure to include the following in your email subject line: (Section 2257 Docket No. CRM 104).

For some samples of what you might write:

From the Gay Lesbian Task Force a letter focused largely on the rules' effect on adult-social networking sites

From the Free Speech Coalition, some guidelines on submitting comments that relate to the rules' effect on the adult industry, including economic impact; look also for the 2257 FAQ talking points available for download at the bottom of the page.

From the Pro-Porn Activism Blog, letters - main body and comments - from a pro-porn, free speech perspective

Whichever works best for you, just make sure it's in by next Monday, September 10th!


(Oh, yeah. Please note that we are not an attorney and none of the above should be construed as anything resembling legal advice.)

Get your wonk on!

Tonight's the coming out party for Sex in the Public Square, a new blog/social networking site put together by Elizabeth Wood and Chris Hall.

A little more "about" them:
We believe that sexuality is a fundamental component of human life, and that it cannot be excluded from "polite conversation" without losing an important element of democratic participation. We are working to expand the space available for discussions of all aspects of sexuality, and to build communities where respect and inclusion are the norm. We also believe that talk about sex needn't always be "serious" in order to be "appropriate" and we welcome playful conversations that focus on the fun of sex as well as serious conversations that focus on things like policy, safety, and identity.

Taking place tonight and featuring readings by such perennial favorites as Rachel Kramer Bussel, Lux Nightmare, Audacia Ray - and perhaps even a CineKink morsel or two - more info on the launch is here.

Mom would be so proud...

Actually, she would. A whichever-wave feminist who instilled her values by both word and example, she would no doubt be thrilled to have her daughter creating the type of pornography that helps make the world a place where a woman’s right to determine and enjoy her own sexual pleasure is a taken-for-granted aspect of daily life, right up there with equal pay for an equal day.

Especially if it were award-winning pornography.

Well, maybe next year. Instead, we’ll take our mother’s birthday as the ideal time to belatedly congratulate the winners of Good for Her's 2007 Feminist Porn Awards

Hottest Group Sex Scene
Under the Covers | Candida Royalle; Femme Productions
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Hottest Trans Sex Scene
In Search of the Wild Kingdom | Shine Louise Houston; Blowfish Video

Hottest Straight Sex Scene
The Bi Apple | Audacia Ray; Adam and Eve
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Best New Star
Simone Valentino, Afrodite Superstar | Femme Chocolat

Hottest Gonzo Sex Scene and Hottest Diverse Cast
Chemistry 1 | Tristan Taormino; Adam and Eve

Hottest Love Scene
Matt and Khym | Tony Comstock; Comstock Films
(Alum CineKink 2006)

Hottest Couples Scene
Burning Lust | Skye Blue & Kelly Holland; Playgirl

Best Smutty Schoolteacher (educational)
Hearts Cracked Open | Betsy Kalin
(Alum CineKink 2005)

Hottest Dyke Sex Scene
Superfreak | Shine Louise Houston; Blowfish Video

Best Feature
The Masseuse | Paul Thomas; Vivid Video

Indie Porn Pioneer
Anna Span; Easy On The Eye Productions
(Alum CineKink 2006)

And CineKinkster’s mom will likely be extra proud of Audacia Ray (see above), whose book Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads and Cashing in on Internet Sexploration was just published (a movie and a book in one year?!?), an overview of the many ways that women are utilizing the Internet to explore and expand our sexuality.

Also grounded in feminism and drawing upon her own personal and professional experiences, Audacia talks to women about a range of interactions on the web, fro m those that exist solely in the online world to those that culminate in an actual meeting of the flesh. She considers the new audiences and markets that have opened up for adult products, with Internet commerce providing an anonymous and attractive alternative to the raincoat-infested – perceived or otherwise – brick-and-mortar outlet of yore. And she looks at some of the women who are using the web as a place to commoditize their own sexuality, both literally and in the representational sense as producers and purveyors of porn.

With a healthy dose of realism, Audacia paints an online world that is neither sensational menance nor utopian bliss. Detailing both potentials and pitfalls, she provides an engaging and balanced look at the particular vagaries – ie finding oneself oddly compelled to write in a somewhat stilted first-person plural voice? – of a slightly newish medium, along with the advances it might afford in realizing the progressive possibilities our mothers (literal and otherwise) put into motion.

Now, about that Equal Rights Amendment...

Call Me Troy

Actually, you can call us just about anything, so long as you pull our hair just the right way while you're doing it. But Call Me Troy is the title of a new documentary from director Scott Bloom, whose Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Club was the centerpiece of our latest CineKink @ Pioneer screening.

A profile of gay rights activist and founder of Metropolitan Community Churches, Rev. Troy Perry, the work promises to be an important chronicle of the fight for sexual freedom and a moving tribute to a man who proclaimed that sexuality and religion - Christianity, even! - need not be separate.



The teaser trailer for Call Me Troy screened as part of our Pioneer program on Wednesday. Careful viewers will note an appearance by Skip Chasey (aka Master Skip), who was also a key subject in Pup (Best Documentary Short, CineKink 2005).

NYC Leather Pride was here!

And boy, are we beat!

Still trying to sort out the images flashing through our mind, we're glad that Viviane's Sex Carnival braved the heat on Sunday to take in the scenery at Folsom Street East. As it should be, just a CineKinkster shot or two in the midst, but lots of hot, sweaty men ... eating pie?

NYC Leather Pride is here!

We've been resting up for weeks in preparation for this one...

THE 24th ANNUAL LEATHER PRIDE NIGHT
Leather Pride Night, always a colorful coming together of NYC's S/M, leather and fetish communities, will again feature veteran auctioneer, Jo Arnone, presiding over an array of items to include leather and latex fetish clothing, unique toys and equipment, art objects, Broadway theater tickets and ... CineKink festival passes! Making the auction and festivities all the better, this year's beneficiaries are The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, God's Love We Deliver, Ali Forney Center, Leather Archives & Museum and Heritage of Pride. For more info.

FOLSOM STREET EAST XI
Then, don't sleep in too late, as over 10,000 leather men and women take to the streets for Folsom Street East, the largest outdoor festival of its kind on the East Coast. Featuring, once again - CineKink t-shirts! - this humongous S/M-leather-fetish block party takes place Sunday, June 17th from 2-8 pm on West 28th Street (between 10th and 11th). Stop by the CineKink table and say hello! For more info.

LEATHER PARTY CENTRAL
With a range of pre- and apres- celebrations scheduled, there's bound to be a party (or few) just right for you! And these are just the ones we know about...
6/15 - MetroBears @ the DugOut
6/15 - DSF @ Paddles
6/15 - The L.U.R.E. in Exile; 52 Walker Street, (advance tickets at
Purple Passion, 211 W. 20th)
6/16 - TES @ Paddles
6/17 - LSM @ Paddles

CINEKINK @ PIONEER: CELEBRATING LEATHER PRIDE
Wednesday, June 20th/7 pm

The Pioneer Theater and CineKink team up to present another evening of kinky movies, pizza and beer. This month, we celebrate Leather Pride with a program that includes:

Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Club
(Directed by Scott Bloom, 2005, USA, 56 minutes)
One of the first gay men's social organizations ever, The Satyrs Motorcycle Club was formed in 1954 and lives on as a vital group of Harley-riding, bearded and leather-clad men-loving men. This documentary is a journey back to that illustrious start, and then a trip of the present-day, a visit with the group at their annual outing in a remote Northern California location. Plays with the short, PISSIES NOT SISSIES, a first-hand account of the jovial goings-on in the men's room at a renowned international leather contest. (Charles Lum, 2005, USA, 14 minutes)

A beer and pizza reception follows the screening for all ticket holders.

More info and tickets!

Boot camping it up at LLC!

We're just back from the Leather Leadership Conference, the annual event that brings together hundreds of activism- and education-minded kink folk from around the country to plot strategy for eventual world domination.

After a few days of chewing on such heady topics as non-profit organizational structure, the rudimentaries of a press release and the full decriminalization of consensual BDSM in North America - actually, that last one is pretty heady - we find ourselves returned to the mundanity of our everyday. And jonesing for even just a few hot boys in leather. Rather than face the realities of our in-box, we'd much rather ponder - what did go down at that unofficial "men only" (ahem!) afterparty?

The classic short, Boot Camp, presents at least a few intriguing possibilities...