“Theodor Seuss Geisel, better-known as Dr. Seuss, was a legendary children’s book author, radical ideologist, and a lover of reading. Among his many creative feats is a fairly unknown, fairly scandalous one: In 1939, when Geisel left Vanguard for Random House, he had one condition for his new publisher, Bennett Cerf — that he would let Geisel do an “adult” book first. The result was The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History’s Barest Family.”
The Seven Lady Godivas: Dr. Seuss’s Little-Known “Adult” Book of Nudes (BrainPickings)
“It’s great when a movement speaks to you, and the moment that that happens, you might discover just what is that you want and hope for in this world. I wonder: who felt like a movement was speaking to them when we started seeing the giant orange billboards going up all over Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area? Who read the billboard, “Porn Kills Love. Fight for Love” and was like, YES, you guys, I finally know what I stand for?”
When Porn Complicates The Relationships Of Straight White Christian Hipsters, It’s Not Our Problem (Medium/HARLOT Magazine)
“So 2016 could be the year of the quantified cock. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should and the one thing that neither company is copping to is a lack of consumer interest. The quantified-self movement is already masturbatory enough. Do we really need a device to tell us how to get it on?”
Junk technology: Why your penis pedometer is DOA (Engadget)
“Sovereign Syre, who’s been in the business for six years, says that before every shoot she’s done, she also has talked to her co-stars about boundaries and preferences. The conversation continues throughout the scene. Even directors she’s known for years, Syre says, will ask before tucking in the label on her underwear or rearranging her hair. If, during filming, things get too intense, actors on BDSM shoots use agreed-upon safe words.”
How to Talk About Consent Like a Porn Star (Mother Jones)
“Cock rings have been around since 1200 B.C., but what happened when your ancient ancestors needed a little extra staying power before there were things like rubber, silicone, or stainless steel? Goat eyelids. No, you read that right: real and actual goat eyelids. The premium joints even came with the goat’s eyelashes still attached, for her pleasure and so forth.”
Quack science. Goat parts. Nazi automatons. Your favorite sex toys have sordid histories. (Inverse)
“In order to apply for a job as a courtesan at Sheri’s Ranch … you have to have access to the Internet, know your measurements, and have three really hot pictures (unfiltered, if that’s even a thing anymore) of yourself. Yeah, so anyone, including my mom, can visit the employment section on Sheri’s website and apply to be a courtesan. But that doesn’t mean anyone can actually be one: the process is incredibly selective.”
What Actually Happens at a Nevada Brothel (Thrillist)
“According to the Kinsey Report, around 37 percent of women will experience sleep orgasms by the age of 45. If you’re in your 20s or 30s and have still never woken up climaxing, you’re in luck. The highest incidences of nocturnal orgasm for women overall occur between their 40s and mid 50s—unlike men, who sadly experience all the dream-coming in their teens and early 20s before seeing it diminish rapidly in their 30s. While sleep orgasms can be a relief for those of us in a sex drought, it’s incredibly frustrating for those who can only come while asleep. Message boards and forums are full of cries for help.”
What Are Sleep Orgasms, and How Can I Have One? (Broadly/Vice)
“I have seen a lot of responses to the allegations against James [Deen] saying things like “why would they come forward now, years later?” They did come forward. They told their friends. They told people on the inside. They put James on their no lists. They just didn’t tell you.”
Predators and Profit: James Deen (Lily Cade)
“Sex and romance plays a substantial role in Fallout 4, and IGN’s complete wiki guide will get you started to the road to building relationships and flirting with every available companion. At this time, Piper, Magnolia, and Preston are confirmed romantic options. A player’s lovable status is affected by a Relationship Level referenced in the Loveable Achievement.”
Sex and Romance – Fallout 4 Wiki Guide (IGN; image via Kotaku)
“There was, of course, the much-discussed pegging episode of Broad City, but the rubbery member also popped up on Orange Is the New Black and Sense8. This is exciting for many reasons—the strap-on can be used to invert gender roles, portray a broader spectrum of sexuality, and honestly depict lesbian sex, just to name a few. But its rise is also a hard-won victory, considering the shameful ways Hollywood has previously portrayed objects that provide sexual pleasure.”
How Sex Toys Penetrated Television (Broadly/Vice)
“In Sweden, an all female porn collective — New Level of Pornography — thinks there’s more to sexually arousing filmmaking than cute teens and coeds. “To us it is important to change the term ‘porn’ from the inside,” says Zara Kjellner, the woman behind New Level of Pornography and its corresponding website, where feminist adult entertainment can be seen for free. “We wanted to contribute to the industry with our own ideas of what porn can be.””
[NSFW] Inside Sweden’s Feminist Porn Wave (The Creators Project/Vice)
“The idea that pornography causes – or is at least linked to – sexual violence is often simply accepted without question … But what role does porn actually play in violent crime? The most honest answer to this question is “we don’t know”. There’s no one perfect kind of research that we could do to find out whether porn causes violence. We can show students porn in the lab and see whether they give somebody more electric shocks afterwards, but would the findings apply to people in the real world?”
Asking whether porn causes sexual violence is the wrong question – here’s why (Independent UK)
“Veronica Hart has been in the adult film industry for nearly four decades. She started as an actress and has since become a director, producer, and even a caterer for porn sets. Although porn was once a way pay the rent, Hart kept with it because, she tells us, she sincerely likes the people with whom she works. Still, as a woman, mother, and wife, Hart feels some responsibility for the product she helps put out into the world.”
A Former Porn Star on the Ethics of Adult Films (Men’s Journal)
“Sex is probably the furthest thing from your mind when you think about Star Wars, even though the entire saga is predicated upon a particularly convoluted paternity issue. For an entire series whose existence is due to one night of forbidden love-making, there’s a conspicuous absence of sex. It begs the question: Will there ever be a Star Wars sex scene?”
The Problem With Sex in ‘Star Wars’ (Inverse)
