The revolution will not be televised, but can be seen on various cable outlets.

A sprawling, four-part documentary, Sex: The Revolution, takes on just that when it airs on VH1 this week.

We missed the first episode ourselves, but as with all things VH1, repeats are a-plenty and there's still time to set your dvr! Or, if you're feeling a little more highbrow, catch the encores when they're broadcast on the Sundance Channel next week.

Starting with the sexual repression of the 1950s and moving into the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, the series promises to "... explore a time in American history that challenged centuries of traditional morality about sex. A time that eradicated people's fear, loathing and ignorance about sex. A time that promoted unprecedented sexual honesty and expression. And in the end, a time when laws were changed and rulings made to end censorship and legal retribution for people's private sexual behavior."

How much of a back-sliding we've experienced since then we'll try not to contemplate. And turn our attention instead to this clip from the series about Barbarella and the sexual trends that the movie exemplified:


video.vh1.com

Um. Pornography is in focus?

A twist on an old joke has cropped up around CineKink, surfacing more frequently around festival submission time:

"What's the difference between art and pornography?"

"Pornography arrives with its 2257 compliance properly identified."

Bah dump bump.

Anyway...an expansion on some of the topics we discussed during our recent SXSW panel, The Porn Police: Know the Rules, an article by attorney Alan Levy has just been published in The Yale Law Journal.

First tracing the history of federal 2257 record-keeping regulations and its recent judicial back-and-forths, the article then goes into the implications that they present to all filmmakers, including those working with actual and with simulated depictions of sexual conduct.

Mainstream filmmakers should be especially concerned with the language of the most recent published § 2257 regulations, in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrote, “Section 2257A requires that producers of visual depictions of simulated sexually explicit conduct maintain records documenting that performers in those depictions not be minors.” Does this mean that a noted film such as Taxi Driver, in which a twelve-year-old Jodi Foster portrays a thirteen-year-old prostitute, is unlawful? What about the more recent controversial film Hounddog, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and portrayed twelve-year-old Dakota Fanning as a rape victim? Even a film nominated for Best Picture at the 2008 Academy Awards may be affected by § 2257A. Atonement has one scene of explicit simulated sexual conduct involving actress Juno Temple, who was seventeen years of age at the time of filming.

While filmmakers working in the adult arena are, for the most part, all too aware of the regulations, their existence seems to escape notice of documentarians who occasionally stumble into the realm of actual sexual conduct. (And again, we ask, what the hell does that mean?) And with the expansions presented by 2257A, a huge new class of fiction filmmakers is folded into the mix.

For all, it is critical to know both the rules and the risks - and to work together in protesting their chilling presence.

To read more of Alan's article: How “Swingers” Might Save Hollywood from a Federal Pornography Statute

Viva returns!

For those fortunates living in the NYC-metro area, another chance to take in Viva, as it opens for a run at Cinema Village on Friday.

Winner of the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at CineKink 2008, Viva is a gorgeously stylized film that draws on classic exploitation cinema for its look, characters and story-line, giving us the sordid story of a bored housewife who gets swept up in the sexual revolution - nudists, swingers, hippies, orgies and lesbians - oh, my!



The film's multi-hyphenated director and star, the lovely and delightful Anna Biller, will be on hand during weekend screenings, along with her charming co-star Jared Sanford.

Tickets are available here!

That and a stiff upper lip!

Snagged from Viviane's Sex Carnival, a jolly and forthright presentation on the benefits and how-to of regularly checking for testicular cancer, as demonstrated by the host of the UK programme Embarrasing Illnesses and a freshly scrubbed rugby team. (Yes, there are naughty bits!)

And this, recently forwarded by CineKinkster's mum, just one selection from an email entitled "What's Under Those Kilts?"



Color us anglophilic!

We are on!

We'll check in again with even more detail on this year's wham bam program schedule for Cinekink NYC, but here's an overview to get you salivating:

Tuesday, February 26
8:00 pm - Kick-Off Gala & Opening Night Screening

Wednesday, February 27
7:00 pm - Shortbus Tribute Screening
9:00 pm - New York Stories

Thursday, February 28
7:00 pm - Triple X Selects: The Best of Leszploitation
9:00 pm - Viva

Friday, February 29
7:00 pm - Call Me Troy
9:15 pm - Susan for Now
11:15 pm - Sex Mannequin & Superfreak

Saturday, March 1
1:00 pm - Lust, Animation!
3:00 pm - Chick Flicks
5:00 pm - Women Behind the Lens
7:00 pm - Mix, Match & Mingle
9:00 pm - Give & Take
11:00 pm - The Three Trials

Sunday, March 2
1:00 pm - Annie Sprinkle's Herstory of Porn
3:00 pm - Sunday How-To Sex-O-Rama
5:00 pm - Silken Sleeves

6:30 pm - Awards Celebration
8:30 pm - AfterGlow!

Overwhelmed by indecision in the face of so many kinky cinematic possibilties? Give yourself over to our CineKink NYC All-Access Pass and prepare to submit completely!

Really, baby, that's just crazy talk

Naturally, just as soon as we finally manage to convince the relevant men in our life that this whole "teeth in the vagina" phobia is merely primal fear turned urban legend, along comes, well, Teeth.

The movie, about a virginal, teen-age girl who discovers that she does in fact suffer from vagina dentata, was a cult hit at last year's Sundance and is going out in limited release this weekend from Roadside Attractions. As is often the case, a comparison of the promotional posters created for its festival vs. theatrical release is pretty illuminating, an interesting glimpse into who the marketing-powers-that-be see is the film's true potential audience - and what needs to be tapped to get them in the seats.


No tagline, but t-shirt reads "Warning: sex changes everything."


"Every rose has its thorns," plus pull-quote "The most alarming cautionary tale for men since Fatal Attraction."

Ooooh, scary boys - look out! To be fair, probably a more accurate pitch, since this isn't some wacky rom-com. But if fear's not your only motivator and you're looking to know more before you go, Lauren Wissot's got the review over at The House Next Door.

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.)

Talk dirty to me.

Oddly enough, we've forgotten all about tawdry, anonymous sex in a men's room stall, but can't stop thinking about Mr. Clinton. Just how nasty do you mean?!?

(Hat-tip jwirenius)

Pick me, pick me!

It's perhaps not the same level of trepidation that used to descend as the teams were divvied up for sixth-grade slaughter-ball, but we had a wonderful time at SXSW last year and we'd love to ensure our return in 2008. To that end, we've suggested a panel discussion for the festival, inclusion of which will be partially determined by the results of the SXSW Panel Picker, which is live and online now! (Pick me, pick me!)

Inspired by the cheerful oblivion to current and pending restrictions on sexual content demonstrated by most non-porn media makers, we've proposed:

The Porn Police: Know the Rules
Already draconian regulations on depictions of sexually explicit conduct were recently revised and now apply to an even wider class of media makers. Not just pornographers, but anyone creating and working with explicit imagery, bloggers, webmasters, narrative filmmakers, documentarians; need to know the rules and the risks.

Last year we noted SXSW's sex-positive inclusivity and the possibilities for this one again look promising. While you're in the picker giving us your vote, also give a nod to:

Violet Blue -
Sexual Privacy Online

Deb Levine -
Online Sex Advice

Cory Silverberg -
The Future of Sex in Interactive Narrative and When No Means 01001: Sexual Ethics and Interactivity

Elizabeth Wood -
Pink Ghetto Blasters: Destigmatizing Sex via Online Community Building

But don't forget to pick me, pick me!

Jet Set Sex

Right coast, left coast, we've somewhat lost track in our travels, but we're off to the airport now.

Actually old enough to remember a time when everybody dressed up to fly, now we'll just have to content ourselves with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and fantastizing about the flight crew...

Californicating?

Still running mind loops on just a few of the many pleasurable moments of our recent little tryst, we have to ponder one question: sex addiction... reality or media-made mythology?

But an even deeper, darker secret lurks. Too cheap to spring for Showtime, we've not as yet had the chance to give Californication, in which David Duchovny stars as a sex-addiction befuddled novelist, the fair and full once over. So, judging from the trailer alone, while it's a little hard to suss how positive a portrayal of sex the show presents, we're hardly pressed to say that there sure does seem to be a lot of it!



Okay, maybe not so positive. And maybe the producers could take our notes on "what to say to a nice girl." But possibly bears actually watching?

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.

Catching up with the furries.

We're not sure what it is, but lately we've been feeling several steps behind in catching up with just about everything. Hopefully we're getting a handle on that. One day... taxes nailed! The next... we're clawing through the episodes that have been stockpiling for our eventual viewing pleasure osmosis.

So, with many thanks to the wonders of digital video, we recently caught up with Entourage's "The Day F*ckers," in which assumed comic relief side-kicks, Turtle and Drama, encounter still more wacky, sexual hijinks in the wilds of Hollywood. This time, barely recovered from their humilating ordeal of sex with old chicks, Turtle comes across a hot blonde who has very specific notions of what she wants from him.



It's put a bit less delicately in the actual dialogue, but sex still being sex for one of them, no matter the trappings, herein is the storyline's, er, denouement:

This just in...

Evan Shapiro of IFC, home to such bold programming as Indie Sex and This Film is Not Yet Rated, is - how shall we put it? - "...very interested in sex."

Perhaps even obsessed.

Pinch hitting for The Reeler, he explains:

What I am obsessed with are the myriad sexual hang-ups ingrained in American society and how they continue to affect and constrain our culture. I don't mean private penchants or fetishes practiced behind closed doors by everyday consenting citizens. I mean the sexual neuroses of those in positions of authority who constantly tell us that our own predilections are not "normal" or "acceptable." These hang-ups are both interesting and important, because they who possess them often seem hellbent on inflicting them on the rest of us. Fact is, America is far more obsessed with sex than I am. By exploring sexuality, and exposing society's sexual hang-ups, we've tried -- in our way -- to de-stigmatize sex in all its forms, and help treat America's collective phobia.

This refreshingly straight-forward, activist-minded stance obviously make its presence known in much of IFC's programming. And it carries through the rest of Shapiro's post, ranging from the production of the Indie Sex series to the relevance of R Kelly's Trapped in the Closest to challenging sexual stereotypes. (WTF? Just read it.)

Four nights of great sex?!

If that's the case, looks like we actually have a bit of catching up to do. Somehow in our July torpor we missed the announcement that the documentary series, Indie Sex, began airing this week on IFC.

Fortunately, it's cable, so last night's missed episode will be back around shortly (and again and again). But we'll be watching closely to see if any of the footage the crew shot at last year's CineKink kick-off gala with the fabulous Wet Spots made it past network censors and into the final production.

And, if we're not lying somewhere on the cutting-room floor, would we be more likely considered the "Taboos" type - episode #2, airing tonight! - or a bit more an "Extremes" sort of girl?

Tune in and find out...

Tonight...

CineKink @ Pioneer/Tuesday, July 31st – 7 pm

"Pornology New York reinvents a time when anybody could go to Plato's Retreat, the Hellfire, Mindshaft, The Vault, the Anvil, Le Trapeze and even Show World, to indulge in their dirtiest, wildest fantasies and fetishes."
- Stephanie Sellars, New York Press

More info and tickets are here!

Yeah, so where do you get off?!

Quite alot of twisted knickers seems to be the result of a new video promoting European filmmaking. A rapid montage of sex scene clips builds and, er, climaxes to the slogan "Let's come together." Granted, the end image of an apparently male-only audience in rapt attention left us a wee bit skeeved, but we suspect much of the reported outrage was piqued by the inclusion of lovers that fall outside of strictly heterosexual and HWP parameters.

Or then again, maybe it's just any excuse for nationalism. Reports The Guardian:

Godfrey Bloom of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party described the film as "cheap, tawdry and tacky" and demanded to know the cost to European taxpayers. "You might say it's appropriate for them to put out films like this," he told the Sun newspaper. "Brussels has been screwing the UK for at least 30 years."

We probably shouldn't take comfort in this, but we're finding it oddly uplifting to know that moralistic posturing isn't restricted solely to this side of the pond.

End July with a bang!

Namely, with a very kinky movie, plus pizza and beer...



CineKink @ Pioneer/Tuesday, July 31st – 7 pm

Audience Choice Award - Best Documentary/CineKink 2005
Pornology New York
Directed by Michele Capozzi, 2005, 85 minutes.
A paean to the New York sexual underground, circa 1970-85, this engrossing documentary brings together four of its most colorful protagonists. Our guide to the action is Michele Capozzi, urban explorer and self-titled pornologist, with an up-close introduction to Neville Chambers, founder of the infamous porn-producing Fuck Factory; Lenny Waller, long-time front-man of the meat-packing district's now-defunct Hellfire Club and renowned pornstar/mistress/shaman, Porsche Lynn - for a look back in time, an assessment of where we are today...and one very wild farewell party.

Free pizza and beer reception follows for all ticket holders!!

"Pornology New York reinvents a time when anybody could go to Plato's Retreat, the Hellfire, Mindshaft, The Vault, the Anvil, Le Trapeze and even Show World, to indulge in their dirtiest, wildest fantasies and fetishes."
- Stephanie Sellars, New York Press

More info and tickets are here!

Rubbing the clitoris, sir?

Over at Sugarbank, they're pulled together an entertaining montage of fondly satirical send-ups of that time-honored classic, the sex education video. Among them you'll find the scene from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, in which bored schoolboys grudgingly recount various methods of foreplay and look on as headmaster John Cleese demonstrates sex with his wife.

Also included is this disturbingly erotic animation, What the Heck is Happening to My Genitals?, featuring Amy Sedaris and her puberty pals:



(Hat-tip Viviane's Sex Carnival!)