- File under Fifty Shades of Shady. Jennifer Lynn Pedroza and Christa Beebe claim in court that former ‘Writer’s Coffee Shop’ business partner Amanda M. Hayward conned them out of rights to the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, and now they’re suing Hayward. The Writer’s Coffee Shop was run by four people until it published Fifty Shades, subsequently picked up by Random House. Just before the Random House deal, Hayward got the other women to sign service agreements and route all payments to her “for tax reasons” — and then fired her business partners. Next came a PR campaign claiming TWCS was hers, and hers alone. “It appears that Hayward also defrauded, among others, [nonparties] Random House, and E.L. James, author of the ‘Fifty Shades’ trilogy.
‘Fifty Shades of Greed’ Lawsuit (Entertainment Law Digest)
- Starting with the ability to virtually feel the softness of breasts, Japanese researchers have developed a haptic device that attaches to a person’s hand and can simulate the softness of different materials by producing realistic tactile sensations on individual fingertips.
Researchers Develop Robot That Lets Them Feel Softness of Virtual Breasts (IEEE Spectrum)
- A proposal to ban the possession of child pornography in Japan cleared a key judicial panel on Wednesday. Under Japan’s current laws, only the production and distribution of child pornography are banned.
Japan Close to Banning Possession of Child Pornography (XBIZ)
- The claim that homosexual men share a “gay gene” created a furor in the 1990s. According to the Washington Post, “new research two decades on supports this claim – and adds another candidate gene. But rather than thinking of them as “gay genes,” perhaps we should consider them “male-loving genes.”
How our genes could make us gay or straight (Washington Post)
- A cash-strapped female soldier told a Fort Hood hearing board Tuesday about how a noncommissioned sexual assault prevention officer on base forced her into a prostitution ring so she could buy groceries for her child. Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen is accused of targeting female soldiers with financial woes to recruit into his ring. He pimped out the women to high ranking officers who paid for sex.
Fort Hood sexual assault prevention officer ran on-base prostitution ring: witness (NY Daily News)
- Last week, activists at the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation summit declared pornography to be a “public health crisis” and “untreated pandemic.” Bianca Jarvis nails it saying, “The pornography epidemic is not a public health crisis, it’s a moral panic.”
We need to stop calling pornography an ‘epidemic’ (Daily Dot)
- A $100 million settlement involving NuvaRing, a birth-control device linked to sometimes-fatal side effects, will stand now that the vast majority of claimants have chosen to opt into the agreement, those involved in the lawsuits said Thursday. The lawsuits allege faulty design and testing.
$100 million NuvaRing settlement finalized (Seattle PI)
- I’m working with sex work advertising network Eros Guide to do a series on privacy and digital security (opsec) specifically tailored to the needs of sex workers. The first article explains how sex workers can check for privacy leaks in their online escort profiles.
How Private Is Your Provider Profile? Tips from Violet Blue (Eros Ads)
- Egypt has criminalised sexual harassment and introduced penalties including prison terms and fines, as the country attempts to control a rise in attacks on women. Adly Mansour, the outgoing president, on Thursday approved a decree to make sexual harassment an offence punishable by up to five years’ jail, and / or fines of between $400 and $7,000. The decree defines harassment as any sexual or pornographic suggestion or hints through words, signs or acts.
Sexual harassment made a crime in Egypt (Al Jazeera)
- A state minister from Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party has described rape as a “social crime”, saying “sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong“, in the latest controversial remarks by an Indian politician about rape.
India state minister on rape: ‘Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong’ (Guardian UK)
- Feminist porn is very confusing, apparently.
Feminist Porn Enters the Mainstream (NAME)
- My Granny the Escort, a new documentary that aired this week on Channel 4 in the UK, aims to demystify “mature escorts” — women over the age of 60 who choose to have sex for money.
‘My Granny The Escort’: Meet 85-Year-Old Sheila Vogel-Coupe, Britain’s Oldest Prostitute (Daily Beast)
- Invented by Torrance, Calif., native Charlie Powell, the Galactic Cap condom has two parts: a U-shaped polyurethane adhesive film base, and a little cap that sticks to the film. The base can be put on the tip of the penis hours before sex, so users can shower or urinate with it on. The cap then slides on top of the base, covering only the tip of the penis so the ultra-sensitive coronal ridge and shaft are exposed.
The tiniest condom you’ve ever seen is the future of contraception (Daily Dot)
- Yellowstone County District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh will be censured and suspended for comments he made about a 14-year-old rape victim, the Montana Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday. He sentenced a teacher who raped one of his teenaged students to just 30 days in jail because he believed the victim “seemed older than her chronological age” and was “as much in control of the situation” as her rapist. The victim later committed suicide.
The Montana Judge Who Blamed a 14-Year-Old for Her Own Rape Will be Censured (The Wire)
- Two new poly social networks have been launched recently.
New Poly Social Networks (Opening Up)
Reg. Galactic Cap;
“It will greatly reduce unwanted pregnancy because it enhances pleasure”
Fallacy: negative conclusion from affirmative premise.