Sunday Sex Reads: Best of the Week

“The editors at GOOP find me “strangely confident” in my “assertion that putting a crystal in your vagina for pelvic-floor strengthening exercises would put you in danger of getting Toxic Shock Syndrome” … I did 4 years of medical school, a 5 year OB/GYN residency, a 1 year fellowship in infectious diseases, I am board certified in OB/GYN in 2 countries (…) A woman with no medical training who tells women to walk around with a jade egg in their vaginas all day, a jade egg that they can recharge with the energy of the moon no less, is the strangely confident one.”
* GOOP’s misogynistic, mansplaining hit job (Dr. Jen Gunter)

“I put it on the floor of the office and started Googling “What to do when your vibrator gets stuck” but I couldn’t concentrate on the various funny ER stories that came up thanks to Mr. Wobuffet and his determined buzzing. I figured I was just going to have to hide it under a pillow in another room until it ran out of batteries… The Pokemon’s buttons glowed blue and the app said “UPDATING FIRMWARE”.”
* Mystery Vibe Crescendo: My Misadventures With The Pokemon Vibrator (Ms. Naughty’s Porn For Women)

Warning for survivors of sexual assault, trauma, and abuse. “It’s already dark outside when Deven MacNair laces up her shoes for work. Like anyone’s job, MacNair’s occupation can fall into routine. For her, it’s a lot of direction: “Right arm on left shoulder.” “Left elbow on right hand.” “Right knee on left thigh.” That’s not a game of Twister — it’s a choreographed rape. “I never meant to be a specialist in rape scenes,” MacNair says with a touch of incredulity. “But I really am, because I’m a female stunt coordinator.””
* Rape Choreography Makes Films Safer, But Still Takes a Toll on Cast and Crew (LA Weekly)

Some may remember that I wrote this piece on racism and porn in 2009, and AVN’s response was to write a hit piece on me, attacking me personally. I am not surprised nothing has changed in AVN’s corner of the industry. ““When I went onstage, I did have my Black pride fist up in the air when I first walked out,” [Ana Foxxx] says. “And I got a large response from the crowd.” But when she invited friends to the AVN-sponsored party to preview the Showtime footage of the awards show, she found her image had been removed.”
* Does Mainstream Porn Have a Race Problem? (Glamour)

“George Orwell is said to have kicked off the arena of pop culture analysis when he published his essay “The Art of Donald McGill” in 1941. Donald McGill was a graphic artist who excelled at a certain type of vulgar postcard with a saucy punchline that could be purchased at seaside resorts in England in the first decades of the twentieth century.”
* Confessions of a Dirty Book Writer: The sexy, saucy paperback books of ‘Timothy Lea’ & ‘Rosie Dixon’ (Dangerous Minds)

“I can no longer remember the faces of the first strangers I watched have sex, only that I was in high school, and it was late at night, and I was terrified by the sight of a penis exposed, center-screen, angrily pink and erect. It was aggressive, erotic, uncensored, and entirely new. Penises are not something they show you in the movies. … Even then, I sensed I was doing something deeply wrong and perverted—not watching porn, per se, but watching it as a woman.”
* Prowling for You: On watching sex scenes as a woman (Bright Wall, Dark Room)

And yet, they still stuff our sex books down the hole in US/domestic search. “Amazon’s policies for sellers in India explicitly state that “‘adult-only’ items that are primarily sold through adult-only novelty stores and erotic boutiques are not permitted,” without specifying the reason for the ban. In contrast, Amazon’s policies for selling adult products in the United States are clear and granular, separating items into toys and games, bondage gear, fetish wear, sensual products, and “sexual furniture” like sex swings, ramps, and cushions.”
* American Tech Companies Are So Afraid Of Offending Indians That They’re Censoring All Their Products (BuzzFeed)

“For kids these days whose phones are seemingly glued to their hands (YEP, I WENT THERE), this may not be a downside. But I’m old-fashioned and I like having the controls built into the toy itself. It means I can access settings one-handed and quickly. It means if my phone isn’t charged it’s no big deal. It means I won’t slather my phone with vag juice and lube.”
* Review: We-Vibe Wish rechargeable clitoral vibrator (Hey Epiphora)

““There’s quite a bit of porn out there that appears to be non-consensual,” explains award-winning porn performer Casey Calvert, “from ‘coerced’ amateur movies to very rough ‘rape’ scenes. And yes, some of this porn is, unfortunately, shot in an unethical manner. But a lot of it is ethically produced, and if you enjoy watching this kind of content, it’s not hard to find performers and companies who enjoy shooting it. And if you don’t enjoy watching it, then don’t watch it. The content doesn’t inherently make it any less ethical.””
* How to Spot Ethically Made Porn (Slutty Girl Problems)

“It’s extremely easy to stumble across material you might find personally disturbing while looking for porn, and I had a hard time moving on when I did. But that kind of thing doesn’t really happen with animated erotica for me. I can see all sorts of fucked up things I’m not into IRL and just keep clicking by, because those fucked up things are happening to a cartoon.”
* Why Animated Porn Is the Only Porn Worth Watching (Glamour)

Main post image “The Artist by Ryan Brown” via ARTISTS PAY HOMAGE TO THE LEGENDARY ARTWORK OF HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE (Dangerous Minds)