Kink On Tap

Kink On Tap 51: Harmful Social Norms

Emma — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:48:02 +0000

An Israeli woman cries rape after consensually sleeping with an Arab, stripper-chic comes to security-theater with Flying Pasties, blowback against Malaysian sex education efforts are a mirror on American paranoia, “no” means “pull down my top and put me in your Girls Gone Wild video,” and Indian sex-workers draft a bill of rights that finally acknowledges consent.

This week, we get a first peek at the ready-to-launch mixed-media erotica from Syzygy Magazine courtesy of its editors, Brad Hanon and Susan Beaver. Syzygy Magazine wants to take fan art of gay male erotica and present it with a female gaze for anyone who enjoys such things, whether they be men, women, or some different gender. Because the answer to bad porn isn’t no porn, it’s better porn!

On a bit of a meta-note, we’re having some odd issues with our audio recording setup but don’t have the expertise necessary to trace the problem to its root. If you’re a talented audiophile with some spare time, please have a look through our documented production setup and let us know where we can improve our setup. (Thanks!) Also on the wiki are instructions for contributing stories to the community links feed, instructions for helping with show notes, and a whole lot more!

Kink On Tap 50: Let’s Do A Reenactment

maymay — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:51:10 +0000

Anti-porn activists’ wet dreams are soured as the first D.C. obscenity trial in 20 years gets dismissed, talk radio is too sexy for Mississippi, and might as well be for the FCC as well, France hypocritically teaches Muslims a lesson about forcing women to wear veils by forcing them not to, sweet counter-rallies against the National Organization for Marriage’s bitterness make headlines, and a bankrupt gay teen Internet magazine might be strong-armed into violating its own privacy policy.

This week marked the 50^th episode of Kink On Tap! To commemorate, original co-host Sara Eileen joined us to reminiscence and to tell us about her work at one of this summer’s play events, The Floating World. Friends of the show Arvan Reese, the founder of SexGenderBody.com, and Aida Manduley—one of the Queer Action of Rhode Island members rallying against NOM—dropped by as well.

It’s been an incredible 50 episodes; thanks to everybody who’s helped us get here from Kink On Tap episode 1! As always, you can continue to support us by nominating guests, editing show notes, writing reviews, sharing links, and ongoing financial donations. And more than anything else, of course, we hope we’ve inspired you to speak up and out! Here’s to another great 50 episodes!

Kink On Tap 49: Can I Get A “Fuck You”

maymay — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:23:17 +0000

The Defense of Marriage Act is ruled unconstitutional because “equal protection under the law” applies to gay people, but not if Republican Senate candidate Ernest J. Pagels has his way. Then again, “what would you do if a gay or lesbian were in your shower?” (Well, are they cute?) Of course, maybe none of this would be a problem with gender-conforming prenatal hormone therapies. Also, while the World Cup distracts South Africa from its AIDS crisis, AIDS activists in America don’t want porn sites calling too much attention to that very issue at home.

Three sexuality bloggers and a lefty politico? Hells, yeah! CrooksAndLiars.com contributor, podcaster, and political blogger Blue Gal joins SexGenderBody.com founder Arvan Reese, Emma, and myself on this week’s episode. It was actually Arvan, a long-time friend of the show, who introduced us to Blue Gal after he appeared on The Driftglass and Blue Gal podcast. We took a listen and decided we definitely needed to get her on the show, so who better to join us than Arvan himself? (Stay tuned to our scheduling spreadsheet to see when Blue Gal’s co-host, Driftglass will join us!)

As always, if you like Kink On Tap, please consider sending us a few bucks, or rating us on iTunes! And don’t forget how easy it is to participate in our community-curated links feed just by tweeting or tagging your bookmarks. ‘Til next time, remember: don’t just blame the media, become the media!

Kink On Tap 48: They Call Themselves Gayglers

maymay — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:04:31 +0000

Muslims can buy Halal sex toys online, men might soon have a birth control pill of their own, gays at Google (“Gayglers”) get a tax-break in the form of higher pay, a syndicated parenting columnist worries that social networking is replacing sex, and last but certainly not least, a 6-story Jesus statue gets destroyed by God’s wrath. Take that, false idol!

In this episode, Emma and I were joined by the jovial creator of FetLife.com, John Baku. And no, we didn’t just ask him on the show because we couldn’t get American guests for our July 4^th recording! :P John is, first and foremost, a character, an exceedingly kind and generous one. We asked him about his views of the proposed .xxx Internet top-level domain, and whether or not he’d get one for FetLife.com. We also tangled over differences of opinion in Missouri’s new blue-law. All told, I hope next time Emma and I aren’t the only ones enjoying wine on-air!

It should also be noted that John and his team at FetLife used to produce a similar, BDSM-focused podcast called This Week In Kink, which I was once a guest on. Although I had some criticism of the show, it was part of what gave me a kick in the ass to start Kink On Tap again, for which I’m very grateful to John and the rest of the FetLife employees. As usual, please send us your feedback and comments or help us out with an iTunes review. Thanks!

Kink On Tap 47: Used Largely For Massaging

maymay — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:57:29 +0000

Gay and bisexual men love them some sexy vibrations, but few swingers love gay or bisexual men. And, interestingly, Dutch swingers have higher STI rates than some groups of men who have sex with men. Meanwhile, the Internet might be getting its own red-light district, outrage over female genital mutilation misses a teachable moment about intersexuality, and Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri gets praised for being a bigot.

Although Emma binged on Doctor Who and I proved myself a homebody by missing all the San Francisco Pride parade parties, we spent Sunday with two scintillating panelists who both joined us for the first time. Sex journalist Rabbit White, whose writings about men range from male anorexia to male prostitution, offers an all-too-rare look at examining male sexuality from a feminist perspective, while being a woman. Lena Chen, freelance author of Sex and the Ivy fame, stayed up late to speak with us all the way from Germany and provided the most nuanced analysis of the recent female genital mutilation controversy at Cornell University we’ve heard yet.

Also, can I just say, again, super-big thanks to the chat room for one of the most supportive backchannel discussions yet. Y’all helped me with everything from getting medical terminology right to offering your own stories about circumcision and vibrators! Emma and I sometimes have trouble finding energy to produce this show, but connecting with the chat room and then getting an increasing amount of feedback afterwards really helps us burn the midnight oil. Please keep contacting us to let us know what’s on your mind, and don’t forget to subscribe to the community links feed to catch up with all the stories we didn’t have time for on the show itself!

Kink On Tap 46: But What About The Children

maymay — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:59:26 +0000

An anti-porn activists’ conference has the ear of both right- and left-wing political media outlets but, swept up in outrageous rhetoric and severe sexual paranoia, few journalists are bothering to read between the lines. While anti-porn crusading absexuals shout about the need for strict and narrow-minded moralism, sexual health and rights advocates remain deeply divided themselves. This so-called culture war is not new, and unless a nuanced and deep understanding of the issues reaches public consciousness, extremists on both sides will continue to polarize the issue and ignore the possibility of a “both/and” solution.

This week’s episode is a little different because, rather than our usual poly-glut roundtable of sexuality-related topics, Emma and I devoted the entire show to discussing two noteworthy events that took place the weekend of June 12^th. While Emma and I were participating in KinkForAll Washington DC 2, a group called Stop Porn Culture held an international conference in Boston featuring speakers including none other than Donna M. Hughes, whom we know thanks to her unsuccessful attempts to brand me a sexual predator. Thankfully, our panelists this week, a handful of sex-positive activists, educators, and bloggers attended the conference in order to challenge the one-sidedness with which these “Feminists Against Pornography” portrayed people like us.

Our guests this week were:

Debauched Diva, a New York City-based sex blogger instrumental in the production of the annual Sex Blogger Calendar fundraiser, which for two years in a row helped fund sex workers’ rights advocacy group Sex Work Awareness and its SpeakUp program, founded by former sex worker and our friend Audacia Ray. Diva has blogged about her experiences at the Stop Porn Culture conference, as well as her experience on Kink On Tap.
Long-time friend of the show and KinkForAll Providence unorganizer Aida Manduley, Chairperson of the Brown University Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council (SHEEC). Numerous campus events sponsored by SHEEC including Sex Week 2010 have been attacked by Donna M. Hughes’ collaborator and professor of economics at Bridgewater State College, Margaret Brooks, who also attended the Stop Porn Culture conference. Like Diva, Aida has also blogged about her experience at the Stop Porn Culture conference and, moreover, why she wanted to attend.
AASECT certified sex educator and sexologist Megan Andelloux, founder and director of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health (CSPH) and yet another target of Donna M. Hughes’ smear campaigns.
Women’s Studies undergraduate student and CSPH intern Deirdre, who took her first steps into the larger world of sexual health advocacy along with Megan at the Stop Porn Culture conference and has quite the story to tell thanks to it!

We’re extremely grateful not only for the opportunity to speak with each of our guests this week, but also for their unwaveringly respectful behavior in the face of what I can only describe as sheer contempt for them and their views. (Aida tweeted that she tried to shake Donna M. Hughes’ hand, which was refused.) Not only that, but each of our guests have faced harsh and, I feel, undeserved criticism from some fellow sex worker rights and pro-porn activists for their decision to attend and live-tweet the Stop Porn Culture conference, following their preferred form of activism. I think it’s unfortunate that some pro-porn-identified people have contributed to the toxic environment on which anti-porn activists like Donna M. Hughes and the Stop Porn Culture organizers thrive with their inconsiderate vitriol, rather than dissipating it.

Anyway, this show is the longest Kink On Tap we’ve ever recorded, and we hope the conversation offers you some insight into what it’s like to be a sex-positive person surrounded by people who hate or fear you. That experience, sadly, is far too common in the world today. If you’d like to help us change that, we encourage you to become active in whatever capacities you feel able and motivated—and only in the ways you feel able and motivated.

Like bodies, activism comes in all colors, shapes, and sizes, from the angry and militant to the calm and nonviolent. Yet regardless of your chosen form of activism, we ask you, please let honesty, courage, common humanity, and consideration be your guides. Oh, and if you haven’t yet, do subscribe to the Kink On Tap community links feed. :)

Kink On Tap 45: Who Are You, Anyway?

maymay — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 22:21:33 +0000

Tits on legally-male transgender people cause a tempest in a teapot on a Delaware beach, the US State Department lets people change the sex on their passport without going under the knife, low pay and few promotions are causing women to leave careers in engineering more often than men, and despite the drumbeat of moral panic, only 8% of women say sex before marriage is a bad idea.

This week, Emma and I returned from KinkForAll Washington DC 2 and promptly invigorated ourselves in a conversation with educational psychology Ph.D. Karen Rayne and “uppity Portuguese woman” and intersex activist solidad decosta. We were treated to a short poetry performance by solidad on the struggles of intersexuality and gender identity, and Karen Rayne showed us her marvelous Belly Project photo blog, which is well worth a look!

By the by, I want to take a moment to apologize for the tardiness of this episode’s publication, due in large part to our tremendous effort to ensure KinkForAll Washington DC 2 media got produced and uploaded quickly (check out our Sexy Fun Time with Google Apps video!), as well as our sound engineer Ian’s recent job change. Emma, Ian, and I work pretty hard each week to produce episodes, but don’t forget that you can always watch a replay of the most recent episode at live.kinkontap.com immediately after we record it. Also, if you like the show, please help us keep it going by donating $2 or $5 a month—that’s less than the price of a fancy coffee!

Kink On Tap 44: Change My Skin

maymay — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:28:45 +0000

Missouri’s “Show-Me State” sobriquet is almost too red-district for your blue laws, Feminists Against Pornography should consider “FAP”-ing more often, and soap operas start offering public education about HIV/AIDS. Also, Pakistani police can’t tell the difference between a birthday party and a marriage ceremony while the media can’t tell the difference between a gay man and a trans woman, and as more homosexual Americans come out of the closet, gay-bashing loses its cool.

On this week’s episode, sexuality author, educator, artist, and shaman Lee Harrington joins Emma and I, sharing inspiring and personal stories in a far-reaching conversation snaking through the importance of bardic traditions to modern-day politics. Lee also tips us off to myriad projects he’s currently undertaking, including editing two anthologies: one, Spirit of Desire: Personal Journeys in Sacred Kink asks for your stories around altered states of consciousness, sexuality with intent, sex magic, and BDSM and its intersections with faith, while the second, Coming to Sir, is Lee’s invitation to explore our relationship to this often-said but rarely explored word. Coming to Sir is also a fundraiser project benefiting the Community-Academic Consortium for Research in Alternative Sexualities. Our sincerest thanks to Lee for his insight, contributions, and continued capitol-W Work in this world.

Don’t forget, if you’re on the East coast, to join Emma and I at KinkForAll Washington DC 2 this Saturday on June 12^th. Some of our favorite sexuality activists, speakers, thinkers, and bloggers will be at this free, sex-positive, day-long unconference. Friend of the show Molly Ren has been doing a fantastic job unorganizing so far, and will be setting up at The DC Center at about 9 AM for a prompt 10 AM start!

Kink On Tap 43: 55 Minutes of Wankin’ (PENIS!)

maymay — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:21:39 +0000

Online sex toy retailer Web Merchants, Inc. brings Internet sin into the garden of EdenFantasys, Australia officially gets creepier as its customs officials search travelers for porn, researchers find water-based lubes may aid the transmission of STIs, and Microsoft says a sex education video game is too “sexual” for Xbox Live. Hey, Microsoft, the porno set called and they want their Xbox back.

In this week’s episode, Cuddle Party co-founder Reid Mihalko takes a break from MC’ing the Center for Sex and Culture‘s 10^th annual Masturbate-A-Thon to talk with us and returning friend of the show, The Beautiful Kind.

As an aside, with all the anti-porn morality Apple’s been puking lately, last week I found out that iTunes automatically censored the word “vagina” in the title of a previous Kink On Tap episode. That’s why, this week, I’m shamelessly adding the word “penis” to our show title to see how iTunes reacts. Now, I do like Apple products, and I’ll continue to encourage y’all to review Kink On Tap on iTunes, but if you’re aware of alternate podcast directories that we’re not yet listed in, now’s an obvious time to let us know.

Kink On Tap 42: Sex 2.0

maymay — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:54:44 +0000

The third annual Sex 2.0 conference is held in Seattle, Washington, with sessions ranging from “Media Whoring” to “Participatory Community Organizing,” both of which featured yours truly.

This week, Emma and I bring the Sex 2.0 conference to you with a special show featuring a collection of short interviews recorded live at the conference! Say hello to Sex 2.0 conference organizers Clea and Zephyr, as well as Allena Gabosch, Executive Director of the Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), which was one of the primary organizing bodies. We spoke to our new friend Koe the Valkyrie, fellow podcasters Graydancer of the Ropecast and Cunning Minx of Poly Weekly, friends of the show David Phillips, Megan Andelloux of The CSPH, and many more sex-positive individuals about their experiences at the conference. Reid Mihalko, who we hope will join us next week for a full conversation, shares some of his tips for handling media attention, and I talk at length about the value of transparency and collaboration in doing Whatever It Is That You Do.

We had an absolute blast at Sex 2.0 this year, and would like to thank everyone who graced us with a brief interview, but especially the amazing folks at the CSPC. Not only were they a big part of making the conference possible, but they threw an awesome after party in which we encountered a vulva-shaped marzipan cake topping. (Really.) For more coverage of Sex 2.0, be certain to peruse the Twitter #Sex20 hashtag stream, and of course, please keep sending feedback for Kink On Tap via iTunes.

Kink On Tap 41: Why is there a baby?

Emma — Sat, 22 May 2010 05:22:31 +0000

Reality TV “virgin auction” wants to shoot in Nevada because it’s too dirty for Down Under, just like tampon artwork is too dirty for the Fashion Institute of Technology. Sex gets better (and more frequent) when you’re a sexagenarian, a new Christian sex education campaign is setting a trend for talking to youth, and it turns out Chimpanzees use sex toys just like we do. (Well…kinda.)

This week, divinity student Lilly Dagdigian and her partner Per join us and answer questions from queerness to Quakers! (Not the oats.) Per elucidates some of the ways that others’ queer sexuality benefits him as a straight man, while Lily tells us a little bit about the ethics of polyamory in an academic environment. Of course, none of us could resist the monkey jokes.

Remember to check out the new Kink On Tap Briefs, where you can read summaries of some upcoming topics, review Kink On Tap on iTunes to let us know what you think, and if you happen to be in the Seattle area, be sure to check out the Sex 2.0 conference. Both of us are attending, and maymay will be speaking on transparency and social capital for social change.

Kink On Tap 40: The Beautiful Kind

maymay — Thu, 13 May 2010 06:07:17 +0000

A St. Louis sex blogger gets fired for, well, sex blogging, motherhood is a $100,000+ job, TSA employees bully a colleague with penis jokes after using “strip search” scanners and anti-gay Family Research Council founder George Alan Rekers hires a male prostitute to “lift luggage.” Oh, is that what they’re calling it nowadays? I just got a great idea for a Samsonite ad campaign! ;)

This week, inimitable sex blogger The Beautiful Kind (aka “TBK”) joins us to share her inspiring perspectives on writing about sex, getting fired for it, and being a mother. “I’m really confused by our society,” she says, citing the unambiguous yet very mixed signals about sexuality that mainstream media sends to us about sex. It fosters dangerous and harmful fears like the ones that caused her former employer to “brutally” fire her, even though she tried to remain anonymous, “dress like a mormon,” and be a model employee!

Our sincerest thanks to TBK for coming onto the show to talk with us, and on Mother’s Day, no less! TBK truly is, and our mothers really are, the beautiful kind. :)

Also, we’ve been doing a bit of housecleaning at Kink On Tap. If you’re on Facebook, check out the revamped Kink On Tap Facebook page, where you can watch the most recent episode, add links to the community links feed, and more, all without leaving the fan page! Moreover, we’ve started publishing summaries of many upcoming topics for future shows as Kink On Tap briefs, so you can speak up about the issues with other Kink On Tap listeners by leaving comments on the posts.

Kink On Tap 39: I Eat Them, And They’re Delicious

maymay — Sat, 08 May 2010 06:40:23 +0000

Ohio keeps trying to imitate China and Iran with its Internet censorship laws, Iran covertly wins a seat on the United Nations’s Commission on Women’s Rights, white European women routinely pay black Senegalese men for sex, British conservatives strike a blow to sex education in their country, and Feminist Philosophers asks whether we should respect the privacy of frogs. No, really.

In this episode, Emma and I are joined by Editor of Filament Magazine, Suraya Singh, as well as erotic romance novelist Anne Douglas. We learn what a “shandy” is from Anne (hint: it’s alcoholic), get a bit more educated on British politics courtesy of Suraya, our panelist from the UK, and all together rag a bit on France’s proposed Burqa ban. Also, I buy Filament Magazine’s fourth issue, which is super hot!

This show took a lot longer than I’d have liked to publish because I was traveling mid-week, coming back home from speaking at the Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council’s special panel. If you missed the event in person, Emma and I livestreamed the entire Sex Panic! panel. You can also watch just my presentation, called “Certain Unalienable Rights: Freedom of Expression and Sexuality in the Name of Liberty.” As always, please continue to tell us what you think about Kink On Tap by writing an iTunes review!

Kink On Tap 38: An Entirely Different Region of the Body

maymay — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:24:38 +0000

160,000 women show off their cleavage during “Boobquake” in the name of science, which would only trouble television networks like FOX and ABC if they were plus-size models. Also, the first free, online database of denominational positions on sexuality launches, where you’ll soon be able to see that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America abolished its discriminatory policies against (most) GLBT people. Ironically, now it’s the Gay World Series that faces a lawsuit for discriminating against bisexual men.

Did you hear the one about the Iranian cleric who claimed immodestly dressed women cause earthquakes? SexGenderBody.com founder Arvan Reese did, and he joins us for a second time along with Director of The Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, Megan Andelloux, to talk about—it’s no joke—Boobquake! And then, because apparently one quake isn’t enough, also Brainquake and Femquake. Although amusing, the “*quake” events are actually
a great opportunity to talk about feminists’ varied viewpoints on many issues, including cultural sensitivity (or the lack thereof) and the role of men who advocate for gender justice.

Next week, Emma and I are both recording from Providence because myself, along with this show’s guest Megan Andelloux and others, have been invited as panelists for the Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council‘s (SHEEC) latest event at Brown University, “Sex Panic!: When Educators Are Censors.” You can also read more about the Sex Panic! panel on my blog, fellow invited panelist Reid Mihalko’s blog, on SHEEC Chair and friend of the show Aida’s blog, or on the Sex Panic! Facebook event. As usual, please keep sending us links to interesting sexuality-related news you find by emailing, tweeting, or calling us! See you on the flip side!

Kink On Tap 37: It Looks Like A Moonstone

maymay — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:48:56 +0000

Wisconsin teachers are threatened with arrest by “zealot” District Attorney Scott Southworth for obeying sex education legislation, which might explain why during National STD Awareness Month, America’s teenagers are still Number 1 for infection rates! (USA! USA! USA!) Also, President Obama mandates hospitals grant same-sex couples visitation rights, a gay couple shows Mike Huckabee how not to act like a bigot, a Brazilian university expels a co-ed after hysterical classmates riot, and horny yet sterile insects could be an eco-friendly solution to pesticides for controlling pest populations (of insects, not students).

Pinch-hitter panelist Aida Manduley, Chairperson of the Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council (SHEEC) at Brown University joined Emma and I this week, upbeat and awesome as always! Aida blew our minds with a this must-see video of what slug sex looks like, and shared a bit about some events SHEEC is running. Among them, Radical Masculinity columnist and our good friend Sinclair Sexsmith presented her new workshop, Fucking With Gender 2.0 and, on May 4^th, yours truly will be part of a free and open to the public panel with Megan Andelloux, Reid Mihalko, and others discussing student’s rights and freedoms to converse about sexuality without censorship.

As usual, please keep letting us know about anything you think would be worth discussing on the show, and keep the awesome iTunes reviews and ratings pouring in!

Kink On Tap 36: He’s One of My Favorite Feminists

maymay — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:25:25 +0000

A talented female pitcher joins a men’s baseball team, the feminist V-Day movement starts a men-only component called Ten Ways to Be a Man, cultural sex-negativity manufacturers an “epidemic of sex addiction”, racism and classism underlie messages of fat-shaming women, and last but certainly not least, Constance McMillen finds the silver lining after she was sent to a fake prom.

For this week’s show, Emma and I met up in Michigan since I was attending the fourteenth annual Leather Leadership Conference (LLC) in Detroit and so Emma took the opportunity to visit her childhood home. Feminism and its ideological development was heavy on our minds, as feminism was also a strong theme throughout the conference.

Also, although we didn’t win the IWHC Young Visionaries contest, we want to extend our sincerest congratulations to Sunita Basnet from Nepal, who did! Check out Sunita’s awesome proposal and, if you’re in any way able to help her, please do! Finally, of course, thanks to everyone who’s written reviews of Kink On Tap on iTunes; you’ve helped make the About Kink On Tap page much nicer!

Kink On Tap 35: School of Hard Knocks

maymay — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:00:06 +0000

17 seniors get paddled by High School disciplinarians in Alabama, which sounds like something RNC Chairman Michael Steele would pay to see! Also, TV networks won’t let tampon commercials use the word “vagina” or even its euphemisms, Anna Paquin comes out as bisexual in a new LGBT awareness campaign, a Long Island man gets arrested on the highway for watching porn in the rear seat of a vehicle, Connecticut legislators propose an ambiguous bill that would lessen teen “sexting” charges, and 18 senators (17 Democrats and 1 Independent) challenge the FDA’s ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men.

In this week’s episode, Emma and I got the incredible opportunity to speak with esteemed adult sex educator Dr. Charlie Glickman, who has over two decades of experience working with people in their 20′s and older about issues relating to sexuality, as well as Margot Weiss, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Anthropology at Wesleyan University. Margot Weiss is the author of Techniques of Pleasure: Subjectivity and the Socioeconomics of BDSM, which is an ethnographically-researched book exploring the intersections between consumer capitalism, neoliberal rationalities, and racialized, gendered and classed social hierarchies in contemporary sexuality subcultures. We have just one word for this intellisexually gratifying conversation: wow!

Also, although I apologize for the delay in publishing this episode, I do hope you’ll still tell us what you think about this episode and Kink On Tap in general by writing a brief review of the show on iTunes, or at least giving us a star rating if you haven’t yet done so. This feedback is one way you can help us improve the show even more. Don’t forget that you can see and suggest guests you’d like to hear us speak with, send in questions for past guests, and even share links with us as well as other listeners using the community links feed.

Also, don’t forget that if you’d like to join us this week, we’re planning to record on Saturday evening one hour later than usual due to travel considerations, not our regular time on Sunday.

Kink On Tap 34: Fecal-visaged

maymay — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:54:11 +0000

The Catholic Church again protects clergy who molest children, Arizona legislators bar minors from getting STI treatments or birth control prescriptions without parental consent, shoddy reporting blames Facebook as a cause of syphilis, deep-seated racism is exposed as the root of Kristallnacht-like riots in Washington, D.C., a Mississippi judge rules (homophobic) residents would be “confused” by an LGBT-inclusive prom, and a pair of 200 year old luxury dildos are shown to be good (or at least fun) investments.

This week, I got on my soapbox to say one thing in every way I could think to say it: Don’t let anyone tell you how to spend the one chance you’ve got to live your life. Thankfully, Unspeakable Axe, producer of the amazing Masocast podcast, provided some of the best comic relief Emma and I could ask for, and Brad Hanon, editor of the we-can’t-wait-for-it-to-launch-already Syzygy Magazine, contributed his usual wit and keen observations. This conversation is one not to be missed!

Also, in case you haven’t heard, Emma and I are finalists in the International Women’s Health Coalition’s Young Visionaries contest for our proposal, SexEdEverywhere.com. We’re really honored to be in the running with 9 other amazing proposals to the IWHC and no matter what the outcome, we hope all of the proposals get supported. Finally, please keep sending us your feedback (especially in the form of iTunes ratings or reviews) as well as sending news stories or other articles (especially from your local and community news outlets) our way, which really help!

Kink On Tap 33: Our Huge Vagina Overlords

maymay — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 10:46:53 +0000

Japanese fertility festivals have men struggling to lift giant vaginas, anti-choice Colorado crazies may have falsified petitions in attempts to define eggs as people (no, really, eggs as people), a new study shows abusive men vastly overestimate abuse statistics, a guide to selling your undies online wants you to be judging the people you sellin’ ‘em to, and a federal court finally reasons that you can’t be both victim and perpetrator of child pornography.

Joined once again this week by the brilliant and enthusiastic (if somewhat under-caffeinated) Sarah Dopp, the creator of Genderfork, we broadcasted on-location from the San Francisco Women’s Building. The show was hot on the heels of the wonderful KinkForAll San Francisco unconference—so hot, in fact that we didn’t even leave the venue! Our discussion ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous to the poignant and difficult, as we reflected on some of the presentations at KinkForAll San Francisco with a few of the unconference participants who stayed to watch the show in person.

Also new this week, the proposal for SexEdEverywhere (“SEE”) that Emma and I submitted to the International Women’s Health Coalition Young Visionaries contest earned enough votes to qualify for the finals! We got more than 730 votes, and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who voted for our IWHC Young Visionaries contest entry as well as those who spread the word about our idea. It’s now solely up to the IWHC judges to determine which of the finalists will win the grant.

Wish us luck, and keep listening to Kink On Tap to learn how you can get involved in the future! And, as an aside, I want to apologize for the delay in getting this episode published. The cause of the delay was a frightening and vicious attack on me personally as well as KinkForAll as an idea. I encourage you to follow my personal blog for updates on this issue.

Kink On Tap 32: SHEEC Sex

maymay — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:56:05 +0000

A desperate pregnant teen pays $150 to be beaten until she miscarries, “Vajazzling” is the latest in chic genital jewelry, a new roll-on perfume made from female urine, sweat, and “arousal” goes on sale, New South Wales officially registers the first sexless person, a Mississippi school cancels senior prom rather than let lesbian students attend, and Washington D.C. plans to fight increasing HIV/AIDS rates in women by giving away free female condoms.

All this week at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island is Sex Week 2010, a week-long extravaganza specifically devoted to sexual health, education, and pleasure sponsored by the University’s Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council. We were joined by none other than Aida Manduley, SHEEC’s Chair and “cutest robot ever,” to tell us all about it.

Also happening in short order is KinkForAll San Francisco, which has gotten written up on Good Vibes Magazine and Examiner.com who said it’s sure to be an interesting event. Since we won’t have time to head home after the unconference to do next weekend’s show, we’re also going to be doing a live, on-location shoot at the Women’s Building, so we’re inviting you to join us for the unconference and our recording!

Last but certainly not least, we finally hired a dedicated audio editor to help post-process shows so maymay can get some sleep. Be sure to let us know how you think we’re doing by giving us a 1-click rating on iTunes! Thanks!