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Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Queers Claim Webspace
Of course, this isn't a new thing- a small, but precious niche for queers has been carved out on the Internet, providing resources and information for a long time. And we gay and fey folk have done what's natural and created groups and networks on various non-queer sites to represent ourselves. And yet, there's a new trend sweeping by thatBut what I love and impresses me most about these new sites is the level of interactivity. Following off of famous models like Youtube, Myspace, and so on, they are often even better because they combine the best features of these various sites, creating a one-stop shop where you can catch up on news, write your own blogs, post pictures and post videos (hooray for these sites that allow for PG as well as X-rated videos and pictures!), chat in real time, talk in delayed time through forums, read literature, create your own 'page' to represent yourself, spread the word about events, befriend people in virtual space and leave them comments, play games with other users, join groups of like-minded people, take polls, search out members in your area . . . the list goes on.
Case in point: go visit that lesbian place where all the hot girls come, Digiromp, or FtM haven The Men's Room, where you can do all these things and more. And, to a lesser extent (both in terms of what you can do on the sites and in 'queerness factor'), nifty places like Sharing Is Sexy, Playful Bent, and Creative Filth (among others).
Compared to the sites of old, where information was one-way and hardly interactive, and it's evident that we've come far- very far (especially when these amazing websites are being created, not by super-advanced technological experts, but ordinary folks with just a little web design knowledge to their names). The community grows and evolves by the interaction of the users . . . which isn't to say that the big professional non-interactive sites where the information only comes from the creators (often limited by and dependent on sponsorship from advertisers) don't have their place as well. But there's something to be said for these new sites popping up, grass roots-style, with most content being collaboratively shared and created.
Or maybe I'm just being supremely influenced by my computer-assisted language learning class this semester and hence I'm all starry-eye'd at the idea of technology helping queers get together and learn together.
Either way, it's cool.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Japanese Queer Girls FTW!
I'm so thrilled!
Lots of countries seem to be jumping onto the scene with their queer grrl revolutions in ways that let us not-so-worldly Americans get a taste of their national dyke cultures. Just take a look at Emilie Jouvet- whose incredible porno "Pour Une Nuit" (translation: "One Night Stand") suddenly brought it to my attention that, hey, whoa . . . France has gay girls, too! It's just amazing, really, to be exposed to cross-cultural queerness.
And yet, my favorite country, the one I visited twice and long to return back to, has kept itself surprisingly mum on the whole lesbian thing. I searched longingly high and low for Japanese GLBT resources. Of course, there are amazingly talented Asian-American queer men and women doing really great things- just take a look at, for one example, Good Asian Drivers (okay, okay, I admit it- I'm pimping them mostly because I'm in love with their totally queer version of "I Kissed A Girl"). But every attempt to explore Japanese GLBT culture (from the States, that is) pretty much let me down.
In Japan, I made sure I didn't leave before visiting Tokyo's famous Shinjuku No Chome- a fantastic little street lined with gay and lesbian bars- the one and only place that queerness was openly celebrated (flags on the street proclaimed it, in English, as "Friendly Town"), and, indeed, even just visible. Finally, there were some girls who escaped the "kawaii syndrome" (wherein everything for girls is cute, feminine, and quite often girlish, even for older women) and validated my theory that there's queerness everywhere, even if it's in hiding. My Japanese language skills at the time limited the scope of our conversations, unfortunately, but the tantalizing glimpses of a rich community were there.
Lots of countries seem to be jumping onto the scene with their queer grrl revolutions in ways that let us not-so-worldly Americans get a taste of their national dyke cultures. Just take a look at Emilie Jouvet- whose incredible porno "Pour Une Nuit" (translation: "One Night Stand") suddenly brought it to my attention that, hey, whoa . . . France has gay girls, too! It's just amazing, really, to be exposed to cross-cultural queerness.And yet, my favorite country, the one I visited twice and long to return back to, has kept itself surprisingly mum on the whole lesbian thing. I searched longingly high and low for Japanese GLBT resources. Of course, there are amazingly talented Asian-American queer men and women doing really great things- just take a look at, for one example, Good Asian Drivers (okay, okay, I admit it- I'm pimping them mostly because I'm in love with their totally queer version of "I Kissed A Girl"). But every attempt to explore Japanese GLBT culture (from the States, that is) pretty much let me down.
In Japan, I made sure I didn't leave before visiting Tokyo's famous Shinjuku No Chome- a fantastic little street lined with gay and lesbian bars- the one and only place that queerness was openly celebrated (flags on the street proclaimed it, in English, as "Friendly Town"), and, indeed, even just visible. Finally, there were some girls who escaped the "kawaii syndrome" (wherein everything for girls is cute, feminine, and quite often girlish, even for older women) and validated my theory that there's queerness everywhere, even if it's in hiding. My Japanese language skills at the time limited the scope of our conversations, unfortunately, but the tantalizing glimpses of a rich community were there.
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But once back in America, it suddenly became that much harder. Books on the subject were either incredibly academic and dry (Sharon Chalmer's "Emerging Lesbian Voices From Japan"), fetishized (any manga featuring yuri, a.k.a. cartoon lesbian love comic books), or both general and outdated (the 1998 "Queer Japan: Personal Stories Of Japanese Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals, and Bisexuals"). (There is, however, a wonderful exception: the new "Sparkling Rain", which I haven't gotten my hands on yet, but greatly hope to soon). The highly-touted first Japanese film both by and about lesbians ("Sugar Sweet") was directed by Malaysian Desiree Lim and pretty much flopped, even by independent film standards. And what with the website AuntieTeck.com (which worked to faciliate building community between lesbians in Asia) all-too-recently going belly-up since its creation in 1997, my Google searches for "Japanese + lesbian" get me lots and lots of porn sites . . . and none of them, unfortunately, are Crash Pad-style.
It seemed hopeless. Surely there were resources out there for Japanese lesbians, unfortunately in kanji-laden, .jp domain websites that would take me years to completely translate and decipher. All information that readily came up in English were pretty basic and very fragmented . . . there was nothing personal, nothing revolutionary, nothing very queer. No big sites to guide you through Japanese lesbian culture.
Until now!
Or, really, I suppose the fabulous Tokyo-based website Tokyo Wrestling has been around for a while . . . since April '07, according to its archives (now celebrating its one-year anniversary!). Perhaps you more in-tune folks had previously discovered it. But for me, the site, with extensive information, numerous links, GLBT news headlines, and the ability to view it in Japanese, English, and even French, is pretty astounding. The focus on being not only lesbian, but rather queer oriented, is really refreshing. And it's even prettily designed and consistently updated.I'm just happy as a clam. And even if you aren't a total Japanophile, I suggest checking it out.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Most Amazing Porn Intro I've Ever Seen
Honestly. I'll tell ya more in the link below.
I've been spending a little bit of time lately going through my old porn DVD's and getting reacquainted with them- re-familiarizing myself with the hotness I'd forgotten they had. I had popped in an old standby, "Real Butch Dyke Lesbians", which, despite its rather uncreative name, cheesy tagline ("Do not fuck with these dykes! They hate men! They want pussy!"), and its fishy, I-sense-exploitative-fake-lezzie-porn box cover, actually houses some very hot and real, if a little dated, butch lesbian dyke action.
But what really got me was seeing, again, the "Warning" section that came up before the actual video. Once I saw it, I instantly remembered how impressed I had been with it then, and I wanted to share it with you now. Here it is, reprinted in full, word-for-word:
Warning! Mojo Home Video manufactures videos for the sole purpose of adult fantasy entertainment and to better help sexually educate the public. The video you are about to watch presents fictional accounts of sexual relations designed solely for the purposes of adult fantasy entertainment and sex education. This video presents the ideas that sex and the expression of sexual conduct are very important parts of adult relationships. This video is meant to serve as a pictoral record of the different methods and expressions of sexual conduct. There are many different sexual problems and issues, especially when it comes to the idea of sexual expressions; this video has been manufactured to help provide a forum to open these ideas of expression and to open communication. Please be advised that the fictional sexual relationships found in this video do not always exhibit intimacy, sensitivity, communication, and other traits that are most important in real life adult relationsihps. The people in this video may or may not be engaging in safe sex. Regarless of that choice, we are very strong advocates of the practice of safe sex. We strongly encourage you to educate yourself regarding safe sex before engaging in sexual activity. You can find this information very easily online or at your local library. For more information about safe sex and intimacy, you can also email us. We are happy to help!
All this scrolled down at a slow and leisurely pace so you could read it, followed by the old, usual and required standard "All models filmed were 18 at the time blah blah blah". But I've simply never seen another porn video or company, no matter how conscientious, with a warning/introduction that was even half that.
Who is/was Mojo Video? I can't find much about them in my quick and dirty Google searches. They were also the producers/releasers of some other, shall we say, interesting titles, like "Bed Bug Bitches", "World's Biggest Whores", "Amber the Lesbian Queefer", and "Bitches and Hos". Were these videos also preceded by the same great intro as "Real Butch Dyke Lesbians"? Who was the mastermind who said "Let's write the truth about our porn for viewers, and do a little education while we're at it?"? Where have you gone, Mojo?
In today's day and age, I sometimes worry that with all the consumption of porn that either has misogynistic and/or degrading and violent undertones or outright messages (particularly if said porn is not BDSM-related), the impressionable youngsters of today's age are getting a message that this is what sex is really like. Heck, it can even be nice, tame, respectful porn, and I still worry, because it rarely shows any degree of reality in terms of real, average bodies, getting to sex, negotiating sex, safe sex usage, and especially real female pleasure and what women really orgasm from. And no matter how people may scoff, underage kids (and adults!) are curious and horny as hell, and lots of them turn to the only recourse they have- porn, free and copious on the Internet- to learn about anatomy, bodies, and sex. It's hardly even easy for some adults to remember that sex doesn't usually work the way it does in porn- pizza delivery boys do not get fucked in lieu of payment and you generally have to treat a woman a certain way (polite, with respect, taking your time) to get her to bed you. I can't remember where I read it, but I know there was a survey/research done that showed that porn consumers, when polled, believed that things like anal sex, facials, and BDSM were more prevalent in the real world than those who didn't consume porn. Obviously, no matter what we may tell ourselves, we can fall prey to the idea that what we're watching is real- particularly in Gonzo-style, breaking-the-fourth-wall, cameraman talking to the actors, type of stuff that makes it feel like it's in real time, uninterfered-with, and ultimately, like it's been documented, Nature Channel style.
I wonder . . . would it change if every porn video and website out there took just a moment to tell their viewers "Hey, this ain't real, it's just a fantasy we've produced for you, so enjoy, and remember that sex outside your TV screen or computer requires a totally different approach."? It certainly couldn't hurt, right?
That's my thought for today. I'd be thrilled if I popped in another DVD and found a similar statement. Sigh. One can hope, right?
I've been spending a little bit of time lately going through my old porn DVD's and getting reacquainted with them- re-familiarizing myself with the hotness I'd forgotten they had. I had popped in an old standby, "Real Butch Dyke Lesbians", which, despite its rather uncreative name, cheesy tagline ("Do not fuck with these dykes! They hate men! They want pussy!"), and its fishy, I-sense-exploitative-fake-lezzie-porn box cover, actually houses some very hot and real, if a little dated, butch lesbian dyke action.
But what really got me was seeing, again, the "Warning" section that came up before the actual video. Once I saw it, I instantly remembered how impressed I had been with it then, and I wanted to share it with you now. Here it is, reprinted in full, word-for-word:
Warning! Mojo Home Video manufactures videos for the sole purpose of adult fantasy entertainment and to better help sexually educate the public. The video you are about to watch presents fictional accounts of sexual relations designed solely for the purposes of adult fantasy entertainment and sex education. This video presents the ideas that sex and the expression of sexual conduct are very important parts of adult relationships. This video is meant to serve as a pictoral record of the different methods and expressions of sexual conduct. There are many different sexual problems and issues, especially when it comes to the idea of sexual expressions; this video has been manufactured to help provide a forum to open these ideas of expression and to open communication. Please be advised that the fictional sexual relationships found in this video do not always exhibit intimacy, sensitivity, communication, and other traits that are most important in real life adult relationsihps. The people in this video may or may not be engaging in safe sex. Regarless of that choice, we are very strong advocates of the practice of safe sex. We strongly encourage you to educate yourself regarding safe sex before engaging in sexual activity. You can find this information very easily online or at your local library. For more information about safe sex and intimacy, you can also email us. We are happy to help!
All this scrolled down at a slow and leisurely pace so you could read it, followed by the old, usual and required standard "All models filmed were 18 at the time blah blah blah". But I've simply never seen another porn video or company, no matter how conscientious, with a warning/introduction that was even half that.
Who is/was Mojo Video? I can't find much about them in my quick and dirty Google searches. They were also the producers/releasers of some other, shall we say, interesting titles, like "Bed Bug Bitches", "World's Biggest Whores", "Amber the Lesbian Queefer", and "Bitches and Hos". Were these videos also preceded by the same great intro as "Real Butch Dyke Lesbians"? Who was the mastermind who said "Let's write the truth about our porn for viewers, and do a little education while we're at it?"? Where have you gone, Mojo?
In today's day and age, I sometimes worry that with all the consumption of porn that either has misogynistic and/or degrading and violent undertones or outright messages (particularly if said porn is not BDSM-related), the impressionable youngsters of today's age are getting a message that this is what sex is really like. Heck, it can even be nice, tame, respectful porn, and I still worry, because it rarely shows any degree of reality in terms of real, average bodies, getting to sex, negotiating sex, safe sex usage, and especially real female pleasure and what women really orgasm from. And no matter how people may scoff, underage kids (and adults!) are curious and horny as hell, and lots of them turn to the only recourse they have- porn, free and copious on the Internet- to learn about anatomy, bodies, and sex. It's hardly even easy for some adults to remember that sex doesn't usually work the way it does in porn- pizza delivery boys do not get fucked in lieu of payment and you generally have to treat a woman a certain way (polite, with respect, taking your time) to get her to bed you. I can't remember where I read it, but I know there was a survey/research done that showed that porn consumers, when polled, believed that things like anal sex, facials, and BDSM were more prevalent in the real world than those who didn't consume porn. Obviously, no matter what we may tell ourselves, we can fall prey to the idea that what we're watching is real- particularly in Gonzo-style, breaking-the-fourth-wall, cameraman talking to the actors, type of stuff that makes it feel like it's in real time, uninterfered-with, and ultimately, like it's been documented, Nature Channel style.
I wonder . . . would it change if every porn video and website out there took just a moment to tell their viewers "Hey, this ain't real, it's just a fantasy we've produced for you, so enjoy, and remember that sex outside your TV screen or computer requires a totally different approach."? It certainly couldn't hurt, right?
That's my thought for today. I'd be thrilled if I popped in another DVD and found a similar statement. Sigh. One can hope, right?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Hot 'N Queer: My Porn Recommendations
Lately, I've been getting a lot of questions from people asking me about various types of porn that I promote. I've finally decided to put all the information in one place for anyone who wants it. Enjoy! And if you have anything more to add, please leave a comment, since I definitely don't know about every piece of porn out there, and may have missed something really great.So we all know that the kind of porn that we watch doesn't necessarily reflect on our sexual orientations; if anything, the porn collections of most people will attest to that. I'm sure nobody could decide if I was a lesbian woman, gay man, straight man, straight woman, transperson, or anything by looking at the hodgepodge of stuff that I enjoy. But I do tend to stay away from a certain type of porn. The kind of porn I hate is fake and passionless. Everything about it is fake, from the boobs, hair color, tans, and smiles of its stars to the passion and the orgasms of its women. Nothing about it feels or looks like the kind of sex that I have, and because of that, I can't relate to it. it's often got this misogynistic tinge (or outright male chauvinistic message) that doesn't even bother with the pretense of female orgasms, calls women "bitches", "ho's", "sluts" (and not in the good way or in a specific BDSM-related context), and always seems to end with that cliched and standard facial cumshot (ugh). The lesbians in the porn I hate are not real lesbians- they are inept with one anothers' bodies, they gaze into the camera (and hence the presumed male viewer), and they adhere to a pornographic, heterosexual male standard of beauty and sexiness. The transwomen in the porn I hate are invariably given demeaning names ("shemale", "chicks with dicks"), the porn rarely exemplifies true trans experiences (like difficulty in getting erections when you've been on estrogen for a while), and are treated just as badly as non-trans girls in straight porn. The transmen in the porn I hate don't even exist. In the porn I hate, love, passion, and chemistry are all too rare, eschewed instead for big dicks, big tits, and wall-to-wall gangbang action that tries to make up for what it lacks with the 'quantity over quality' concept.
This list is not about the porn I hate; it's about the porn I love, the opposite of everything I listed above. It's realistic, it's passionate and loving (often with real-life couples), it treats women and sex as beautiful, positive things to be cherished, respected and enjoyed, it features safe sex, and it has real orgasms (my favorite!). Enjoy it. Buy it. Spread it around, because God knows that it's all too rare, and needs all the support it can get.
How To Read This List:
It's organized by the type of sex portrayed within (gay, lesbian, straight, trans, etc.), although you should remember that many of these categories can overlap and share areas with one another. I have them listed first with the production company, then the title, just to make it easier for you (as if putting clickable links wasn't kind enough!). Almost all of these movies can be found as VOD (video-on-demand) at Hot Movies For Her VOD, too, if you'd rather have it on your computer than as a hard copy or just want it instanteously instead of having to wait for it to ship.
Queer [Mainly Lesbian] Porn:
I add in "mainly lesbian" here as a qualifier because while this stuff is technically lesbian, it often features transmen in it, too, just to warn you, if that isn't your thing. All the porn listed here has a least one butch woman in it. I'm not saying that femme-femme porn can't be realistic, hot, and sexy (by God, of course it can!), but it's much easier to find positive and real femme-femme porn than it is to find butch-femme and/or butch-butch. Many of the videos and websites do have femme-femme in it, though, along with butches. So, in no particular order:
1) Pleasure Productions' "San Francisco Lesbians Series", Volumes 1-10
2) Factory Video Productions' "Working Girlz"
3) Pink & White Productions' "The Crash Pad". You can watch the preview trailer for the movie here.
4) Pink & White Productions' "Superfreak". You can watch the preview trailer for the movie here.
5) Pink & White Productions' "In Search Of Wild Kingdom". You can watch the preview trailer for the movie here.
6) Pink & White Productions' "The Crash Pad Series, Volume 1". You can watch the preview trailer for the movie here.
7) Early To Bed's "Coming Home"
8) Early To Bed's "Special Delivery"
9) S.I.R. Video's "Hard Love/How To Fuck In High Heels" (the two are sold together)
10) S.I.R. Video's "Sugar High Glitter City"
11) Fatale Media's "Afterschool Special"/"Turn Me Up, Over, and On" (the two are sold together)
12) Fatale Media's "Take Her Down!: Lesbian Erotic Oil Wrestling Party"
13) Fatale Media's "Full Load: Scenes From Ssspread.com"
14) Fatale Media's "Suburban Dykes"
15) Fatale Media's "Bathroom Sluts"
16) Dirty Pillows' "Pornograflics"
17) Mojo Video's "Real Butch Dyke Lesbians"
18) Hysterie Prod's "Pour Une Nuit"/"One Night Stand". And here is the film's Myspace, complete with lots of non-explicit preview videos.
19) Crash Pad Series Website
20) Good Dyke Porn Website
21) Cyber Dyke Website
Straight Porn:
I'm the first ot admit that I don't watch that much straight porn, for reasons cited above. So I don't claim to have all the great movies that you should be seeing. But here are the few that get my thumbs up, almost all from Comstock Films. NOTE: all of these are fabulous, because all have preview trailers on the sites so you can see what you're buying.
1) Comstock Films' "Jack and Marie: A Hardcore Love Story"
2) Comstock Films' "Xana and Dax: When Opposites Attract"
3) Comstock Films' "Matt and Khym: Better Than Ever"
4) LUST Films' "Cinco Historias Para Ella"/"Five Hot Stories For Her"
5) Libido Films' "Trial Run"
6) Libido Films' "Urban Friction"
Gay Porn:
I watch a ton of gay male porn; I love it SOOO much. But (I confess!) I don't purchase much of it because there's just so much of it available for free on the Internet, and it's of a high-enough quality and good aesthetic and message that it sates all of my needs. So I can't provide much information here, but I will list a few that have caught my eye for going above and beyond:
1) Comstock Films' "Damon and Hunter: Doing It Together"
FtM Porn:
FtM porn has gotten a lot of attention because of butch hottie and total amazing transguy Buck Angel, who put FtM's on the map in the porn world and has carved out a niche for himself. He's won awards, gotten recognized in the adult entertainment community, and paved the way for those who follow. Can we get three cheers for Buck? But there are a couple of people who came before Buck, and several who have come after, to increase the FtM porn out there from 'nil' to 'some'. Oddly enough, most of the FtM porn out there (and most of the videos on Xtube, too) seem to be gay male/trannyfag in nature . . . I'm not sure why that might be or what it means, but that's the state of things, so if you're longing to see transmen with girls, you might have to wait a little bit longer. I'd also like to caution that many of the FtM's here are alongside lesbians or gay men, so go through them on a case-by-case basis to see what'll appeal to you:
1) Fatale Media's "Full Load: Scenes From Ssspread.com"
2) Dirty Pillows' "Pornograflics"
3) Hysterie Prod's "Pour Une Nuit"/"One Night Stand". And here is the film's Myspace, complete with lots of non-explicit preview videos.
4) Morty Diamond's "Trans Entities: The Nasty Love Of Papi and Will"
5) Morty Diamond's "Trannyfags"
6) Christopher Lee's "Alley Of The Tranny Boys"
7) Christoper Lee's "Sex Flesh In Blood" (I can't find this movie for sale anywhere; if you know where to get it, PLEASE tell me)
8) Trannywood Pictures' "Cubbyholes: Trans Men In Action". You can watch it with video-on-demand here.
9) Trannywood Pictures' "Couch Surfers: Trans Men In Action".
10) Buck Angel's "Transexual Man" Website. Buck's a totally prolific actor and has tons of movies, far too many to list here, so you can view all of them here.
11) Crash Pad Series Website
12) Red Handed Porn Website
MtF Porn:
Like I mentioned above, most "shemale" porn feels just as exploitative as the name implies. Where are real transwomen? Unfortunately, I've yet to find much in the way of real transwomen, but here are some sources:
1) Red Handed Porn Website
2) Crash Pad Series Website (has the first post-op transwoman ever in a professional porn- that I know of, at least. Her name's Julie!)
In Summation:
I hope that helps everyone! What can I say; I love porn, and the only way I can make sure that the kind of porn I like continues to get made is to spread the word so that people keep buying it and they'll keep making it. Not to mention that I love helping out individuals and couples who thought their kind of sex and the sort of things that turn them on didn't exist.
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