The Doug & Lydia Show: Lazy Day Podcast

Doug and I talk about our stroll down Sunset Boulevard on Sunday to photograph the next installment of Gibson Les Paul structures. (Link here.) We debate the benefits of appealing to Christians the way Dan Savage did at a Seattle high school where he spoke about bullying and silly hypocrisies in the Bible that people ignore. (My writeup on it is here!) I mentioned SiriusXM Radio’s DJ Lüc Carl and his funny site, http://drunkdiet.com, and how apparently he dates Lady Gaga?? (Check out Carl’s “GagaPedia” page here–lol!)

Doug and I discuss The Counter’s gourmet burgers and beers, Mad Cow Disease, the series “Survivorman”, the emasculating t.v. ads for the ten-calorie Dr. Pepper, Octomom’s offer from Vivid’s Steve Hirsch to perform in a porn for one hundred thousand dollars (tacky??), and the Howard Zinn documentary You Can’t Be Neutral On A Moving Train.

Help out friend Tony Gamble as he battles a rare blood disease by buying his album (left sidebar) and donating to his fund (right sidebar).

Also, special thanks to Dawson and Brain for dropping in. Here is a link Dawson shared in the comment thread at my Mixlr page: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221×161032

“The Doug & Lydia Show: Lazy Day Podcast”: http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee/showreel/the-doug-lydia-show-lazy-day-podcast

God Bless Dan Savage

This needs no writeup, but I would like to point out that the take on this by NYDailyNews.com is quite different from the text around it at JoeMyGod.com. Maybe that is because JoeMyGod.com offers the video, which clearly illustrates the tone and tempo of what Dan Savage is conveying.

According to NYDailyNews.com:

In a twist of irony, anti-bullying and gay-rights advocate Dan Savage is accused of “bullying” a group of students who walked out of a talk he was giving at a Seattle high school journalism conference.

The controversy began last month when the columnist called a group of two dozen high school students “pansy-a–ed” after they left his talk because he spoke negatively about the Bible’s references to gay people.

“We can learn to ignore the bulls— in the Bible about gay people… the same way we have learned to ignore the bulls— in the Bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation,” he said. “We ignore bulls— in the Bible about all sorts of things.”

Then, while a dozen students were walking out, he quipped, “It’s funny, as someone who’s been on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the Bible, how pansy-a–ed some people react when you push back.”

Read more here…

Thing is, Savage didn’t make the comments as the majority of students walked out. He actually finished his assertion about silly Bible hypocrisies and mentioned the walkout as an afterthought. He also apologized.

Regardless, maybe he did handle it wrong, but I think his message is brilliant! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!

(And honestly, isn’t it, if anything, more of an affirmation to Christians that you can be Christian and love and embrace your fellow man/woman regardless of their sexual orientation?)

Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Ira Isaacs, Obscenity & Cooperation

Quick summary:

Lydia talks about Ira Isaacs’ obscenity convictions, Mike South’s observation that pornographers get into trouble by not treating talent well, Gene Ross’ coverage of her interview with Bill Margold, and how cooperation and maturity within the adult community can help the industry overcome its stigmas and issues without imploding.

Long summary:

News hit last week that Ira Isaacs, a maker of scat and bestiality videos, had been convicted on five counts of obscenity. I posted an article about one non-porn producer’s take on Isaacs freedom of speech issues (at this link), but after going back and forth a bit with a couple of people, I, personally, feel the bestiality issue is not covered by free speech. It seems clear to me that the only beings capable of understanding, consenting and entering into a contractual agreement are adult human beings who command the full capacity of their mental and emotional processes. That would exclude minors, animals, mentally challenged adults and adults experiencing diminished capacity: inebriation, drugged state, etc… I’m still interested in opposing views, but it makes sense to me. Isaacs argued that his was “art”, but it’s been pointed out that he never mentioned the word “art” anywhere on his site. If you follow this link about a Canadian special effects artist caught in an obscenity ordeal, you’ll read that the art community rallied around him. I have not read accounts of anyone corralling around Isaacs to champion his right to make his work. Doesn’t mean there aren’t points to be made, though.

Mike South compares Isaacs case to that of Max Hardcore’s to say that this is something you have to expect will happen when you don’t treat people well. He makes an important point. His article (here) states that it was the direct result of performers taking evidence to the Department of Justice that led to their convictions. All-in-all, it is always a good idea to treat people under your employ well. It’s good common sense and sound advice.

Beyond that, I get to discuss Gene Ross’ covering of my Bill Margold interview. Writeup is here. It’s thorough, highlights all the interesting points Bill made, and is just generally good. I’m enjoying Gene’s posts lately. He’s an entertaining writer.

I talk about industry cooperation and the benefits of agreeing to disagree. I speak briefly about ignoring bullies if the things they are saying are not true. Focus, nurture your compassion and don’t get too wrapped up in taking it all too personally. It’s always a good idea to find healthy ways of coexisting.

“Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Ira Isaacs, Obscenity & Cooperation”: http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee/showreel/hangin-with-lydia-lee-ira-isaacs-obscenity-cooperation

RogReviews.com link about the Haidl Case here: http://www.rogreviews.com/1171/sharon-mitchell-article/

To help Tony Gamble as he battles a rare blood disease and endures yet another surgery, buy his album (left banner), and/or donate to his www.gofundme.com page (right banner)!

A few good articles: Beth Brigham’s Site & Ira Isaacs

First of all, Beth Brigham is Gail Dines’ former protégé. Interesting group of words, right? “Gail Dines’ former protégé.” Well, Beth Brigham is an interesting person!

We met a number of months ago and she has a lot of life experience share. I know I am bookmarking her site for regular reading.

On The Blank, Beth’s Bio (SFW):

“Beth Brigham” enrolled to study business, marketing and public relations at Simmons College in Boston, MA, in 2003. Soon after, a documentary film screened in the prerequisite Communications course “Media, Messages & Society,” which featured nearby Wheelock College American Studies Chair and Professor Gail Dines, caught Brigham’s attention. When she realized Dines was speaking at a memorial for late “radical” feminist Andrea Dworkin, Brigham decided to attend and introduce herself. Dines warmly welcomed Brigham’s fiery passion for gender studies and invited her to cross-register in one of her Sociology courses, Women, Culture, and Society. Immediately in love with the coursework, Brigham passionately, if not adamantly, petitioned the department of Women & Gender Studies at Simmons to permit her to substitute as many courses as possible within the prerequisites for the major with Dines coursework at Wheelock.

Dines became a mentor to Brigham, and soon after, Brigham was employed as Dines’ assistant, traveling with Dines to her presentations around New England, including her infamous failure during participation in a Yale Law debate panel alongside the incredibly talented entrepreneur Tristan Taormino. Brigham assisted in research for both her Yale presentation, “The White Man’s Burden: Gonzo Pornography and the Construction of Black Masculinity,” and Dines’ latest book release, “Pornland.”

Shortly before Brigham was set to graduate with her double major in Marketing/Public Relations and Women/Gender Studies, Dines and Brigham began to clash. Brigham began questioning her goal of obtaining a PhD in Sociology, becoming inclined to focus on her hobby as a vocalist after graduation. Brigham also started to regret the choice Dines whole-heartedly supported of boycotting COMM101, a major prerequisite course taught by a renowned Communications professor who also made anime pornography and wrote suggestive poetry, instead petitioning the department to permit her to do an independent study. Simmons College declined, and Brigham quickly began to despair graduating with only a B.A. in a single subject area. Depressed, Brigham could barely bring herself to do Dines’ latest research assignment: to document findings in the women’s magazines Brigham had grown up cherishing and had always told her family she would one day work for. This seemed to put a bad taste in Dines’ mouth, such a bad taste in fact, that Dines officially terminated Brigham’s employment while she had all of Brigham’s classmates at her house as well, for a semester-end celebrating. Devastated and betrayed, Brigham had to scramble to find another internship, as Dines had now terminated the internship required for Brigham to graduate on time. Luckily, a Simmons professor she had known longer than Dines came to her rescue, and she managed to graduate on time and with Cum Laude honors, though with a B.A. in only one degree, despite having taken all required courses other than COMM101 to be a double-major in Marketing/Public Relations.

Shortly before graduation, however, Dines and Brigham’s relationship headed into a downward spiral, which would explode when Brigham chose to protest Ron Jeremy’s presence at Simmons for an on-campus debate on pornography without Dines’ guidance. … Read more here

Everyone knows now that Ira Isaacs has been found guilty on 5 counts of selling and distributing obscene materials today. I didn’t follow this story because I find the “scat” thing to be very gross. But, what consenting adults do, we know they can and will do.

What I did not know was that he also featured bestiality in his videos. I was incredibly freaked out by that because I love animals and my mind started turning over the “consent” issue, etc. But I found a good article from 2008 by a non-porn person who had a sober message about it.

“The charged crime here is obscenity, not drug use, not rape, not assault, not child molestation. The prosecution of this particular crime seems to be done because the government sees obscenity, a purely moral offense, as being inherently worthy of prosecution.”

I know. Too little too late, but I’m featuring the article anyway!

The League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Should Ira Isaacs Go To Prison?:

Ira Isaacs is a filmmaker. Chances are excellent that you would never, ever, ever want to watch his films. I sure don’t. Isaacs makes sexualized fetish films, often depicting bestiality and defecation. For the record: YUCK.
The Feds are prosecuting him. They intend to show six hours of his movies to a jury in Federal Court in the very near future — in a courtroom presided over by noted judicial free-speech scholar Alex Kozinski, a judge frequently mentioned as a possible future nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here is the applicable legal definition of obscenity: “(a) whether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards’ would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Miller v. California (1972) 413 U.S. 15, 24.

Lots of issues here, which are old news to freedom of speech scholars. Who, exactly, is the ‘average person‘? From what ‘contemporary community‘ does this ‘average person’ come, and what ‘standards‘ apply within that community? What is the difference between a ‘patently offensive‘ description of sexual conduct, and a non-offensive description of sex? Who is to judge whether a putative work or art has or lacks ‘serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value’? A lot of today’s advertisements, despite containing no nudity, is nevertheless powerfully sexually suggestive.

When Chief Justice Burger wrote the Miller opinion, he seemed to be taking dead aim at pornography. Thing is, pornography is pretty mainstream now — millions of magazines and DVD’s are distributed daily which are unabashedly pornographic. They depict things that, back in 1972, would probably have flunked the Miller test — any of a variety of sex acts in various stages of completion, and quite apparently offered for no apparent reason other than to appeal to the viewer’s prurient interest (that is, to engender sexual stimulation). It seems fairly clear that no substantial literary, artistic, political, or scientific exposition is proffered by this stuff.

And, by the standards prevailing in most of the country in 1972, much of what you can buy at the corner liquor store or order on pay-per-view in your hotel room today would have been considered ‘patently offensive.’ I suppose in some places and by some people, it still is. But nearly anyone I know these days takes the attitude of, “Well, if you get off on it, that’s your business.” Which is pretty much the opposite of what Burger was shooting for by making the focus on “contemporary community standards.”

Can we agree that if your neighbor were to buy a copy of Penthouse at the corner liquor store, you would not find that particularly offensive? Seriously, why would you be offended? Why would you consider it any of your business? Why would you even care, other than a level of mild discomfort with the intrusion into your neighbor’s privacy? If Penthouse is a bit too spicy for your tastes, what about Playboy? Or Maxim? Or the Victoria’s Secret catalog? At some point, it’s going to become being something for you to not worry about.

Read more here…

Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Interview with Bill Margold

Bill Margold: Maverick! Scoundrel!! Hooligan!!! (What you won’t hear is Bill being called reserved, shy, or demure–that’s for sure! )

I got to speak with Bill Margold, but mostly I got to listen. A controversial and outspoken figure, Bill’s been in the industry since 1971 and he has no regrets. You may not agree with everything he has to say, but his knowledge and insights are informative and I hope I get to interview him again because this was our first lengthy discussion.

One thing I didn’t get to do was respond to his observation about porn stars being lonely in a crowd and the kind of people who’d prefer a hug rather than a screw. I got out “You’re right” before the subject transition, so I’d like to take a moment and clarify my thoughts on that.

I spoke to Craig Gross about this briefly, as well, and there definitely being a relationship between carefree entertainment types and their later battles with agoraphobia, anger issues and spiritual quests–among other things.

Some of us rush to explore our humanity at a young age. Let’s face it, not everyone can be methodical and measured in everything they do, lest there be no one left to entertain! We are intensely curious about our bodies and minds and can rush into a number of things without much forethought: marriage, childbirth, drugs, the armed forces, porn… Most entertainers (comedians, musicians, etc.) suffer the same kind of flip in demeanor when they spend their youths throwing themselves into this and that. Balance being what it is, nothing lasts forever, and an overly carefree lifestyle can lead to inner turmoil later. I know many ex-sex workers who have fallen into angry bouts of disillusionment, or who embrace a vengeful God as a way of exorcizing their regret and shame. Either way, these people are just as misunderstood today as they were yesterday, and probably mostly by themselves. I agree with Bill that a good hard hug can go a long way. With Bill Margold, I’m guessing a good hard hug can go a really long way.

Enjoy the podcast and look forward to another interview with Bill in the near future!

“Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Interview with Bill Margold”: http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee/showreel/hangin-with-lydia-lee-interview-with-bill-margold

Bill’s website: http://billmargold.com

Mike South’s new book, how to help a friend and other things…

First of all, I said I’d post Mike South and Tim Case’s available book, so here it is!

Stripper Quotes and Other Tales from the Adult Industry available on Kindle (here) or in EPub format (here). A little late in my followup, but I did it! (lol)

To hear my Mike South interview, follow this link, and to read Mike’s observations about a multitude of things (including but not limited to the adult industry), check out his site here. (NSFW)

I’m interviewing adult industry legend Bill Margold tonight at 5:30pm PST, so don’t miss it! Listen in at the above feed (header), at my www.lydiaannlee.com/blog feed (right sidebar), or at my Mixlr page: http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee

To download “Hangin’ with Lydia Lee” and “The Doug & Lydia Show” podcasts–from your iTunes menu: Advance > Subscribe to Podcast > enter “http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee” > OK

Also, mine and Doug’s friend Tony Gamble has a new album out and a donation page to aid him in his battle with a rare blood disease called Prothrombin Factor II. It’s very rare and very complicated, so visit his donation page here. Also show your support by buying Echoes in the Silence through iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon.com, etc…, and also check out Tony’s YouTube Channel, and FaceBook Fan Page!

And from www.ChristianPost.com (SFW):

A new law that was recently passed by the Los Angeles City Council could have on-duty police officers watching pornography in an effort to enforce the current law.

The City of Simi Valley is known for its adult film production and the new law that took effect March 5 would require all pornographic productions to use contraception during the filming of their movies.

The law was written in an effort to make the industry safer in terms of spreading diseases such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

As the law is written producers in Simi Valley have to submit their unedited copies of their adult films to the Simi Valley Police Department for review.

“I’d have to look into that, but that seems pretty absurd,” Edward Arenas, CEO of Naughty America, told the Huffington Post of the new law.

Read more here…

Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Mandy Lion, The Advice Sage

This description (available on iTunes), says it all:

Lydia Lee talks to Mandy Lion about crotch sweat while wearing leather, three-breasted alien women, perverts and the internet, and his shows for charity May 25 & 26 in Nevada–all part serious/part funny, entirely entertaining!

Gasping… for…air… LOL

Mandy gave me yet another great interview. I spun the comedic aspects of talking to him, but the reason he’s such a great interview is because he’s honest and heartfelt. Even when giving a funny answer to an absurd question.

Among the many things we talked about, we discover that Mandy does not sweat in his leather pants because he has fans built into them that, incidentally, bump his “trouser pet”–but in a good way. We now know that three-breasted women are common in The Heartland; he tells us a very funny story about playing Whitefish, Montana with Jake E. Lee; assures us that the internet is good because it helps freaks meet other freaks; and that literally millions of women raped him after his last serious relationship. Practical, sensical, applicable stuff!

On a serious note, please support Mandy and his band when they play Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25th (link here), and Reno, Nevada on May 26th (link here). In conjunction with U Rock On and The Green Army Foundation, they are raising money to help our veterans repair their life after combat. Mandy mentioned an organization called Helmets to Hardhats that helps veterans transition into construction work–link here.

Anything I can do to help Mandy share his hilarious (albeit twisted) humor and good works, I will do. He’s a terrific musician and human being, so check out all of his links and support him!! He’ll be back on “Hangin’ with Lydia Lee” very soon.

“Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Mandy Lion, The Advice Sage”: http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee/showreel/hangin-with-lydia-lee-mandy-lion-the-advice-sage

Lion Links:

Two links will get you to Mandy’s Official Website: http://www.mandylionwwiii.com/ and http://www.mandyliononline.com/
For Mandy’s blog at Metaleater.com: http://www.metaleater.com/thelionsden.php
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/MandyLionRock
The Twitter he will probably never use again: https://twitter.com/mandylionrocks
Mandy’s MySpace (doesn’t appear to use that either–but the blog backlogs are worth rummaging through!): http://www.myspace.com/mandylionmetal
Mandy’s YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MandyLionWWIII

Hangin’ with Lydia Lee: Mandy Lion Today, Bill Margold on Thursday!

Today is a special version of “Hangin with Lydia Lee” because I have Mandy Lion on again, and this time, we are going to get serious!!

I have lots of questions for Mandy. In this ever-changing, complicated world we live in, we need to know about crotch sweat and odor, fan decorum, how to introduce your girlfriend to your PVC collection, and so much more…

Tune in at at 5:30PST, 7:30CST & 8:30EST at http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee to comment, or just listen through either live feed at http://www.juliemeadows.com/blog (header), or http://www.lydiaannlee.com/blog (sidebar).

For our very first interview, please listen at this link!

On Thursday, adult industry legend Bill Margold is live with me at 5:30PST, 7:30CST & 8:30EST. I am going to ask him about the controversial role he plays in industry politics and where he thinks the industry is heading. It is going to be epic!

Tune in Thursday at at 5:30PST, 7:30CST & 8:30EST at http://mixlr.com/lydiaannlee to comment, or just listen through either live feed at http://www.juliemeadows.com/blog (header), or http://www.lydiaannlee.com/blog (sidebar).

A few good articles: Fattorosi on Condoms & The Feminist Porn Awards

Michael Fattorosi is an adult industry attorney and this was sent to me a few days ago via email. It’s very informative, but I’m finding no other reportage in the media on the current status of the condom mandate and meetings.

(NSFW–sort of ) – XBix.com, The Condoms Have Arrived (Sort Of):

As you may remember from my article last summer for XBIZ World, I declared that the condoms were coming. That declaration was in reference to the position that Cal/OSHA had taken at the June 7, 2011, meeting in Los Angeles where a strong contingency of representatives of the industry turned out to battle their attempts to (further) mandate barrier protection use in the production of adult entertainment. It should be noted that technically, barrier protections are and have been mandated by California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 5193 for quite some time. However, the enforcement of such regulation has been spotty at best.

Based on the rather slow enactment of additional barrier protection regulation by Cal/OSHA, Michael Weinstein and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation decided to take their safe sex battle to a different receptive governing body, the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

What Does The Act Require

On Jan. 23, Villaraigosa signed into law, the City of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act, hereby now requiring any production of adult content, within the limits of the City of Los Angeles, to use condoms for anal and vaginal sex while filming content involving penetration and ensuring that all ejaculate remains outside of a performer’s body. The act also requires all producers to be compliant with CCR Title 8, Section 5193, noted above.

Where Does The Act Apply (or doesn’t)

If you are not aware of the city limits of Los Angeles it may be easier to understand what cities the Act does not apply to. Remember this is a City of Los Angeles law and not a County of Los Angeles law. The Board of Supervisors of the County of Los Angeles has not (yet) adopted this law and therefore there are still numerous unincorporated cities in Los Angeles County where the act does not apply. Also, the act is not law within the 88 other incorporated cities in the County of Los Angeles.

For example Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Avalon, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bell, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Bradbury, Burbank, Calabasas, Carson, Cerritos, Claremont, Commerce, Compton, Covina, Cudahy, Culver City, Diamond Bar, Downey, Duarte, El Monte, El Segundo, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Huntington Park, Industry, Inglewood, Irwindale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lawndale, Lomita, Long Beach, Lynwood, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Maywood, Monrovia, Montebello, Monterey Park, Norwalk, Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rosemead, San Dimas, San Fernando, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Sierra Madre, Signal Hill, South El Monte, South Gate, South Pasadena, Temple City, Torrance, Vernon, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village and Whittier do not have a similar law mandating condoms as a condition to receive a film permit. However, two cities in Ventura County, Moorpark and Simi Valley, are contemplating passing similar municipal laws.

Also, the act does not apply to the 144 unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The act is not law in Ventura County or any other county in California, at the time this article was written.

The act is law only in the City of Los Angeles. However, it is the law and must be adhered to if a production is going to occur at a location that is within the City of Los Angeles. If a production is outside the limits of the City of Los Angeles, then the use of barrier protection is not a required condition to securing a permit.

Read more here…

Thank you Anthony for sharing the link for the article below!

I will not lie, I find Gail Dines’ comment in the thread to be just as shrill and hysterical as Wendy Murphy’s reaction to a very composed Kayden Kross and the pro-Kayden audience on John Stossel’s show in February of this year. It’s a good article by Maura Kelly, I think. From the article:

“What makes these films “feminist” isn’t just that they feature performers who are more diverse in shape, size, sexual orientation, age, and race than in mainstream pornographic movies, but that the performers engage in sexual behaviors they enjoy. The directors and producers often “ask the actors what they like to do,” says Jansen. In mainstream porn, the performers don’t have any say in the matter.” — BRILLIANT!

Since Gail Dines likes to focus on pornographers who lure women in and talk them into doing what they want them to do against their better judgement, you’d think she might be even slightly kinder to women doing what they want to do. So, in Dines’ world, are all women purely academic and mental? Do female human beings shed their sexual skin altogether and stop being sensual creatures? I suppose we should be just like her? Hmm…

(SFW) – The Daily Beast, Can Porn Be Feminist?:

To kick off the annual Feminist Porn Awards on Wednesday night, adult filmmaker Buck Angel screened his documentary Sexing the Transman XXX to a cheering crowd at a University of Toronto lecture hall. In the movie, Angel talks to female-to-male transsexuals, like himself, about their sex-change experiences. Then he films them masturbating, with and without dildos.

Welcome to feminist pornography, a genre of sex films designed to appeal to people who feel put off by mainstream porn. In the world of feminist porn, women come in all shapes, sizes, and sexual orientations. The actresses don’t necessarily conform to the typical big-boobed, tiny-waisted ideal; some sport armpit hair. They look more like the average woman walking down the street or standing in line at Whole Foods than “porn stars.”

Angel’s documentary is one of 41 films from eight countries being celebrated at the annual awards event, which features several days of screenings and presentations, including an awards ceremony, held last night. Award categories include “Hottest Lesbian Feature Film,” “Sexiest Straight Movie,” and “Smutty Schoolteacher Award for Sex Education.”

Some feminist porn movies look like art-house movies—and meander, plotwise, like them too. Take Emile, for instance, one of this year’s contenders. Made by Canadian director N. Maxwell Lander, the movie features a zaftig woman in a silky robe getting herself off, and doing a lot of sexy cigarette smoking, too. There’s more of a narrative in Erika Lust’s Cabaret Desire, another nominated film, about a bohemian gathering spot where people go to hear erotic tales. Lust’s plot-heavy films typically appeal to straight women and couples.

In contrast, director Nenna Joiner’s oeuvre—including her latest work, Hella Brown—attracts and features gay women of color. Sex-ed students, meanwhile, might appreciate Gush: The Official Guide to the G-Spot and Female Ejaculation, also a nominee, a film produced by Good Vibrations, a San Francisco-based company that sells adult toys and educational materials.

The Feminist Porn Awards, now in their seventh year, are the brainchild of Carlyle Jansen, owner of Toronto adult toy store Good for Her. Filmmakers submit their movies for consideration; winners are chosen by a jury. This year’s jurists include Eden Baylee, a writer of literary erotica; Lorraine Hewitt, a burlesque performer known as CoCo La Creme; and Sheila Cavanagh, a gender and sexuality-studies professor at York University in Toronto, and the author of Queering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality and the Hygienic Imagination.

Jansen says the awards are a way to “acknowledge, celebrate, and endorse films and filmmakers that are redefining what porn can be.” For a film to qualify, a woman must have played a significant role in the making of the movie—in the production, writing, or directing. The film must also challenge stereotypes found in mainstream porn about what’s beautiful or sexy, and depict women or transsexuals experiencing genuine sexual pleasure.

Read more here…

A few good articles: Sledge Hammer and LA City Council Meeting on Condoms

One of the things I find extremely fascinating when it comes to adult industry news is how it’s handled by the mainstream media. It’s typically handled in one of two ways. Either the author takes a condescending tone, as if he or she is only slightly aware of this thing called “pornography” and really hate having to talk about it at all, or the author makes jokes. Either approach is fumbling and always uncomfortably highlighting more about the actual author than the subject matter.

I found a really good article on Sledge Hammer at The Daily Beast entitled, Porn Star Sledge Hammer’s Hidden Demons. It is safe for work, of course, but I must actually credit AdultFYI for reposting it (NSFW). At any rate, Maria Elena Fernandez of TDB published today a remarkable and thorough piece on Sledge, a.k.a. Marland Anderson. Here’s just a bit:

Tall and lanky and growing up in a white, affluent community, Anderson told his friends that he was picked on a lot as a kid. He started working out so that no one else would bully him. In high school, he was on the track and field team and played football one year.

“He started lifting weights and eating like five steaks every other day and potatoes and jars of peanut butter,” Curtis said. “From [ages] 12 to 17, he worked out like a mad man. When I met him, he was a senior in high school and he was really, really big, and I stake my life on it: he never took steroids. He was afraid of all that stuff. He just had really good genetics. He was always very, very sensitive about his looks. He couldn’t handle people saying anything negative. He wasn’t confrontational. He’d obsess over it.”

Read more here…

Now, getting back to AdultFYI.

Gene Ross writes some very good articles. I don’t like to post other’s work in its entirety here, but I do have friends and associates who want to read good articles, but because they are surrounded by other people, can’t or won’t go to sites that show explicit images around the information provided. I emailed Gene to ask him if I can repost some of his articles here, but have heard nothing, as of yet. I hope he doesn’t mind, because the condom-specific articles are informative. I would like to continue this line of reposting articles under ‘A few good articles:’ because good reportage of industry issues are rare. I don’t mind an opinion-based article, as long as it also holds a lot of information.

Here’s an excerpt from Ross’, LA City Council Meets with Reps from Porn in Blatant Attempt to Railroad the Adult Business:

LOS ANGELES — When someone’s mind is already made up it’s not polite to confuse them with facts.

Condoms may be a fait accompli in Los Angeles, but that didn’t prevent representatives from the adult entertainment business from meeting Wednesday morning with the Adult Film Industry Working Group. The Group is a panel put together by the Los Angeles City Council to augment the policy.

The council which is implementing the city’s mandatory condom ordinance, met for a second time to review a 10-page draft of recommendations to the mayor and City Council.

Picture a party where the guest of honor was neither welcome nor invited. That’s the extent of these sham meetings of which the first one was held under cloak and dagger circumstances until attorney Michael Fattorosi called the city on its apparent skullduggery to keep them private affairs. www.adultfyi.com/read.php?ID=53868

Nevertheless, www.xbiz.com reported on the one-hour meeting held at City Hall. Film LA, which coordinates and processes permits for on-location productions in Los Angeles, featured its President Paul Audley and Vice President of Communications & Public Affairs Todd Lindgren describing the process by which adult content producers are identified and whether there’s concern over First Amendment rights violations once a producer discloses that they’ll be shooting adult content.

The First Amendment concerns were addressed by the City Attorney’s office. Attorney Jeffrey Douglas disabused city attorney counsel Kimberly Miera of her notion that “pornography is not protected by First Amendment speech.”

Douglas was quick to point out that “Pornography is fully and completely protected by the First Amendment,” and that there were at least 2000 court cases to attest to that.

According to the XBiz report, Douglas criticized the city for attempting to regulate an industry while excluding it from the process. Douglas said that given only three minutes to speak was not enough.

[It is when you’re attempting to railroad an issue.]

Read more here (NSFW)…

 

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