- The sex work vs. trafficking issue is a clear signifier of understanding around pro-choice. If they can’t demonstrate they understand the difference between adult women having consensual sex and girls being raped on the “Lolita Express” (Epstein) then they can’t be trusted with lawmaking around female bodily autonomy. Our bodies, our choices. We do not become children when we have sex on our own terms, nor is it vice-versa. The upside of this news item? Regular people get it now, and are asking lawmakers real questions. “In two separate exchanges during a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders was asked how he would distinguish between sex work and sex trafficking, an issue of particular relevance to people here. But the Vermont senator could not give a clear answer.”
* Bernie Sanders didn’t give a definitive answer on sex work vs. sex trafficking (CNN)
- Oh god. Oh no. No no no no [DENIAL INTENSIFIES]… “Louise Linton, Instagram-disgraced wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, is filming a “sex thriller” with Ed Westwick (better known as Chuck Bass) … Linton wrote, directed, and stars in the film, Me, You, Madness, which is about a thief who robs a Malibu mansion, only to discover that it belongs to a serial killer, played by Linton [who] plays a “bisexual psychopath killer” who is “uninhibited” and “very carnal and confident in her sexuality.””
* Did You Know Louise Linton Is Filming a ‘Sex Thriller’ With Chuck Bass? (The Cut)
- “[RealDoll/Realbotix] upped their game with RealDoll X, a new Android app that allows users to create their own digital girlfriend. Similar to the beta version of the app released in 2017, the upgraded app enables users to design her personality, and then upload it into one of those sophisticated sexbot heads for an added boost of realism.”
* RealDollX App Gets X-Rated Upgrade with Foreplay and Sex Modes (Future of Sex)
- The upside is that now we have big outlets like Out asking these questions. “In the wake of Tumblr banning porn and the increasing censorship of pornography as well as suggestive material online, many began to flock to Twitter as an outlet to share and consume pornographic content. But this week, a report from XBIZ pointed out that the service’s newly updated Terms of Service could put an end to communities that include porn stars, other sex workers and “alt accounts.” The social media platform, however, has no plans to restrict such content.”
* Your Alt Account (and Favorite Porn Star) Have a Home on Twitter (Out)
Are we gonna talk about Megan Rapinoe in Sport's Illustrated and how she's the first openly gay woman to be a SI swimsuit model? 😍 pic.twitter.com/o83xEGpQgc
— christina (@steeniston) July 9, 2019
- “Driven by a need to find community and speak freely about our lives, trans folks were able to find each other online. The trans internet grew out of the activism of the previous decades, when trans women like Anne Ogborn fought and put themselves in harm’s way to make sure that later chat forums and meet-ups could exist, online and IRL.”
* An Oral History of the Early Trans Internet (Gizmodo)
- When life gives you lemons? “Harris matched with over 600 men. She started all of her conversations with a simple blunt request: “Dick pic?” In addition, her Tinder bio notified users that she was on a dick-pic hunt for a project … She says the flood of photos was almost too much for her phone to handle. “I had to turn [off] my notifications as it kept crashing my phone,” she said.”
* 140 Dicks From Tinder (2019), Oil on Canvas (The Cut)
- It’s the least that should’ve been done. “Federal judge Joan Ericksen has sentenced Prenda Law’s John Steele today to 60 months in prison for fraud.”
* Prenda Law’s John Steele Sentenced to 60 Months for Fraud (XBIZ)
- “According to former Badoo employees, Bumble has a misogyny problem within its own parent company, and her founding partner, with whom she says she speaks between two and five times every day, is right in the middle of it.”
* Exclusive Investigation: Sex, Drugs, Misogyny And Sleaze At The HQ Of Bumble’s Owner (Forbes)
- “French, who had never dabbled in sex work—and didn’t even watch porn—was aghast at the idea … Two weeks later, with her financial situation stretched to the breaking point, she created a profile on a cam site. To her surprise, she loved it. “I realized that I was so wrong to think all the things I thought about camgirls before I became one, because it was not at all the reality of what it is to become a camgirl or a sex worker.””
* The Former Cam Girl Shaking Up the Porn World (Daily Beast)
- Some people like to play with different senses withheld. Other people live there 24-7. “When I bring my hearing loss explicitly and intentionally into sex by turning it into play, it makes me feel understood and appreciated in a way that very little else does … I like to play with my partners’ sense of hearing (those who have normal hearing, that is) because it evens the playing field a little and gives them a brief glimpse into what sex is like for me.”
* Having Great Sex With Hearing Loss Takes Practice (Vice)
- “Talent agencies in the adult industry have begun complying with new California Labor Commission requirements requiring them to “provide educational materials on sexual harassment prevention and eating disorders to performers who work with them.” This requirement, also known as California Assembly Bill AB-2338, applies to all talent agencies operating in California, both mainstream and adult.”
* Adult Agencies Begin Complying With New Sexual Harassment, Eating Disorders Rule (XBIZ)
- “On Saturday, billionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for the alleged sex trafficking of dozens of minors in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005.”
* Everything We Know About the Sex Crimes Case Against Jeffrey Epstein (New York Magazine)See also:
* Alex Acosta strongly defends handling of Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case (Telegraph)
* Everything We Know About Jeffrey Epstein’s Private ‘Pedophile Island’ (Intelligencer)
* Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion: ‘Vast trove’ of lewd photos, a life-size doll and other oddities (USA Today)
* Southern District of New York memo Re: United States v. Jeffrey Epstein (Scribd)