The Porn Performing School Secretary

Thanks to Brian for flagging up this story to me. According to reports, a teenager has been suspended from classes after revealing on a Facebook page that an office assistant at his Quebec City-area high school was moonlighting as porn star in her off-hours.

This is such a contrast to UK stories in which the private sexual lives of those working in schools have been exposed and condemned. In this incident, as word of the Facebook page spread around school, the secretary went to her bosses and told them of the situation.

The boy was reportedly asked to take the Facebook page down but said he couldn’t and now cannot access the administration. The school officials seem to be now putting some distance between themselves and the secretary but it's still an encouraging story for not amounting to another knee-jerk reaction.

It also re-raises the issue, which I've previously discussed, about the 'revelation' of our online selves to students/peers. This is increasingly going to be a challenge for schools too. It might always be as newsworthy as being a porn performer, but it could be a cock pic on Gaydar or one's presence on Grindr.

Documenting the Gloryhole

Perhaps one of my more memorable workshops I deliver is when I take students into a university public toilet (which I seal off). This is so they can explore how public sexual encounters in a 'tearoom' or 'cottage' might play out. Yet one aspect, 'the gloryhole', remains a point of fascination. I've come across one blog that focuses upon 'tearoom' encounters (it's US based) and celebrates the glory hole. This video, which is most definitely not safe for work (NSFW) as it contains images of a sexual nature, reveals the 'view' from inside a cubicle of a couple of glory hole encounters. The video was designed as porn, but I would suggest, it can be viewed as documentary. Check it out here.

DADT

Ahhh, as predictable as night follows day, DADT (the US military policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell) remains in place. This is despite Obama signing a repeal following the vote of the US Senate to repeal the 1993 Clinton law last year. I was one of the few party poopers who noted it wouldn't be simply swept away and I'm sad to say I seem to be right. The repeal doesn't kick in until the Pentagon certifies that military readiness won't be impacted by a repeal. That can be as quick or short as you like. It is a classic 'how long is a piece of string?' clause.

If you want to stall (as the military seem to), you can require reviews, reports, all terribly time consuming. You'll emphasise how committed to equality you are, but nobody wants to put our brave service personnel at any greater risk. The armed forces aren't the same as Walmart etc. Play the old nationalist card and you're safe for another six months.

On the other hand, if you were serious about change, you'd emphasise that change never comes quickly, that it's important a clear signal is sent out. Our brave men and women have never ducked the hard decisions and the difficult challenges, thrive on challenge, and we're implementing this reform immediately. We know it's going to be tough blah blah blah.

This latest move is by Log Cabin Republicans (apparently not because you can fit all the gay republicans in the world into a tiny log cabin), who have brought a legal action in California to challenge the ongoing delay. One to watch, but immediate can be such a flexible term.

Toxic HIV?

The HIV porn performer Mason Wyler (the marmite of the porn world, and I am firmly in the 'on my toast' camp), recently re-launched his blog (NSFW), and in his latest post talks about privacy and his sex life. He writes: 'I get hit up for anything and everything, by boys next door to boys in porn, as long as it's not privy to the public. Considering that most of these boys live their lives out in the open, tweeting everything they experience from haircuts to hard fucks, it's quite insulting that I get swept under the rug. Even strictly platonic friendships have been relegated to strictly private places [...] I bought into thinking my reputation was so toxic that I would have a detrimental effect on anyone seen with me.'

Here is a very public sexual figure- openly HIV positive and openly a barebacker who continues to have people who want to have sex with him (presumably bb) and who want to be friends but who feel they have to do so privately. Our complex attitudes to HIV and bareback behaviour do not stop it, but they do mean that gay men increasingly must hide behind what I've described as a cloak of legal homonormativity (an article is due out on this theme).

Mason might also want to keep an eye on France and an interesting legal decision this week. Edwin J Bernard reported on his blog that a 40 year old man has been found guilty of administering a harmful substance to one's spouse or common law husband/wife with the consequence of lifelong impairment ("administration de substance nuisible par conjoint ou concubin ayant entraîné une infirmité permanente") for not disclosing his HIV status to a former partner in 1999, who subsequently was also diagnosed HIV-positive. Read the full story here.

Anton Hysén

The Guardian today carries a wonderful interview with Anton Hysén - the only professional footballer to be 'out'. More photos are included in the print edition (in the G2 section) with his mum and dad, which do add something to the story. The main picture (also online) left me pondering towels of all things - they do look rather random and manky in the background - I was expecting immaculate towels. This may seem a random observation but it left me wondering where it was shot and whether that was significant. I would expect his club's changing rooms (perhaps wrongly) to be turned out a little differently and thus is the photo a reflection of a lack of club support for this sort of story or what? It's probably my over-active mind but I did wonder if there was another aspect to the story.

The more obvious aspect of this story is the state of homophobia in football. One out footballer is a start but it's absurd to believe that Hysén is the only gay professional footballer. That others have yet to come out, tells us an awful lot about the limitations of the law, and the new protections and freedoms that have been introduced in the last ten years or so.

Read the Guardian story in full here.

Event: Porn Audiences Workshop, May 5, ULU, London

Readers may be interested in the below workshop:

Porn Audiences Workshop, May 5, ULU, London

This workshop examines the study of pornography’s audiences and is organized by the AHRC funded Onscenity Research Network.

The speakers will include Alan McKee, Chief Investigator of the ‘Understanding Pornography in Australia’ project 2002-2004, and author of The Porn Report (2008); Murray Perkins of the British Board of Film Classification; and Clarissa Smith, author of One for the Girls!: The Pleasures and Practices of Reading Women’s Porn (2007) and lead on a new project on the everyday uses of porn, recently launched at http://pornresearch.org.

The workshop will run 1-5pm in the Malet Suite, University of London Union Building, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY. The event is free but places are limited. To reserve a place, please email Feona Attwood at f.attwood@shu.ac.uk.

Porn Research

Some friends and colleagues are engaged in a research study about porn. You can check out their promotional video at the bottom of this post and read more about their project here. The research team describe their project below:

'Our project is concerned with the everyday uses of pornography, and how the people who use it feel it fits into their lives. Pornography is of course a highly topical issue, subject to many opposing views and ‘strong opinions’. And we are not saying that there are no moral or political issues. But we are saying that the voices of users and enjoyers have been swamped. In fact, there is very little research that engages with the users of pornography, asking how, when and why they turn to it.

We want to gather the thoughts and responses of people who have chosen to use pornography of their own accord. We believe that there can be many different and complicated reasons for looking at pornography. We also don’t believe that all the materials that go under that label, ‘pornography’, are the same – only to be distinguished by how ‘extreme’ or ‘explicit’ they are.'

Complete the survey by clicking 'start' at the bottom of this page.

Changing Names: a question of discrimination?

Jane Fae has been doing wonderful work exploring the legal issues around changing a name - an issue that take on particular significance for those transitioning, but it has wider applicability. She's now put together a 'White Paper', essentially exploring the issue and offering some proposals. The hope is that lawmakers will pick up on these proposals. You can download the document from Jane's blog here.

XXX

The recent announcement by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the international group that controls Internet domains announced the approval of the 'xxx' domain, meaning that 'pornographic' websites will have a clearer identity rather than merely be '.com' or '.co.uk'. The Guardian reported that Dot Triple-X will be managed by the online address registering company ICM Registry, which has long fought for a legitimate domain set aside for sexually explicit material on the net.

More than 230,000 pornographic websites have reserved an address ending in .xxx, in anticipation of the eventual approval of the domain name, and the name is expected to go live in June or July of this year. The emergence of the domain has been viewed as an attempt to create an online 'red light district' by some, and the US based group, the Free Speech Coalition has been deeply critical of the move along with much of the porn industry.

These fears appeared to be quickly realised with the announcement by the Indian government that they would block the Dot Triple-X domain. According to The Economic Times, one senior Indian IT Minister commented: "India along with many other countries from the Middle East and Indonesia opposed the grant of the domain in the first place, and we would proceed to block the whole domain, as it goes against the IT Act and Indian laws". He added: "Though some people have said that segregation is better, and some countries allow it. But for other nations transmission and direct distribution of such content goes against their moral and culture."

It's already looking a disastrous move for those who support sexual freedom.

Sexting Youths

The New York Times carried a fascinating piece at the weekend exploring the challenge that 'sexting' is increasingly posing for US states. Sexting, is where a nude (pornographic) picture of oneself might be sent to someone else over a mobile network. Accoridng to the NY Times, some states have amended their statutes on child pornography, obscenity or Internet crimes. Many allow juvenile offenders to be charged with a misdemeanor or a lesser offense, so they can qualify for diversion programs and have their records expunged. A few states have tried to define a sexting offense. The NY Times also did some interviews with teenagers which you can read here.

It's a nightmare for English lawmakers too, challenging our simplistic notions of who is and who isn't a paedophile. It's perfectly legal for a 16 year old to consent to sexual activity under English law, but if they take a pornographic photograph of themselves, that amounts to child pornography - and such images can easily be circulated beyond their originally intended audience.

Although this story focuses upon 'sexting', it's worth also bearing in mind the growing role that Twitter can potentially have for the distribution of these images - encouraging as it does rapidly evolving networks. I don't have the solution but I do know it means the legal notion of what a paedophile is, and what wider society understands by that term, is increasingly disconnected.

Gay In Africa: Getting Out

The Observer carried a story yesterday about the experiences of two gay refugees from Uganda, where policies of homophobic hatred are enshrined into law. That piece is worth reading in full. The story comes on the back of a new film project. In the wake of the brutal murder of renowned Ugandan LGBTI human rights activist, Mr. David Kato, and following growing concern over the practice of removing and deporting sexual and gender minority asylum claimants back to their home countries, UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG), Refugee Law Project and the wider Ugandan Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights & Constitutional Law, have produced a revealing documentary on the realities of lesbian, gay and trans asylum-seeking. It's called 'Getting Out'.

The first free London screening is now full but there's a second one one Friday 15 April at 7pm. It's being held at The Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1Q (nearest Tube is Paddington). You'll need to reserve your place by contacting the organisers via: admin@uklgig.org.uk

I sadly can't make it but I hope some of you can.

Free Lube!

It's Sunday and Monday morning blues beckon for many, but fear not dear reader, I bring exciting lube news! ID Lube are trying to promote their Twitter and facebook social media operations by giving away free lube goodies once they hit 3000 fans or followers. They've some way to go to reach their target, but I know you all enjoy a freebie so get following and let the lube flow!

Follow them on Twitter here for their 'gay' page, and their 'straight' Twitter feed is here. Their 'straight' Facebook page is here and their 'gay' one here.

The whole thing got me thinking about lube (as you do), and especially the 'straight' and 'gay' divide that ID Lube seem to have hit upon for their marketing. Gay men are (I think) very aware of lube brands. Liquid Silk is probably a well known UK brand but I wonder how many 'straight' men are aware of it? Are 'straight' men and women restricted to the supermarket Durex lube offerings (albeit more adventurous these days), or are these brands now reaching out beyond the gay market? I'm genuinely curious. Please post any thoughts as a comment.

Don't forget, you can also follow me on Twitter here. I'm afraid I don't offer any lube freebies.

Craigslist and the Gay Identity

One of the more intriguing stories of the last couple of weeks is the emergence of the Homodachi Research Group and the publication of their report entitled 'Exploratory National Gay Sex Survey using User-Generated Content'.

The group sadly don't identify themselves and unlike much of the literature around Craiglist, this study has not been peer-reviewed. It's therefore difficult to work out just how credible this research is. It does not seek to present the 'reality' of gay men's sex lives but rather how those lives are projected on Craigslist. I regard such research as valuable, telling us much about attitudes and performativity in seeking sexual encounters. However, this research looks at the presence of a word, and we do not therefore know whether the word 'bareback' indicates someone saying 'I do not do bareback' or 'I love bareback'. To say this is something of a draw-back is an understatement.

The site states that they analyzed over 48,000 craigslist M4M headlines in 23 (US) metropolitan areas, and claim that conducted the largest sample of gay sex survey ever made. They did no such thing, merely mining data rather than really seeking to analyse it. The full report can be downloaded here. They note at the start of the report the following:

Barebacking Capitals: Atlanta, Denver, Houston
Drug capitals: Dallas, New York, and San Francisco
Visitor capitals: Las Vegas & Washington DC
Group sex capitals: Chicago, Raleigh
69 capital: New York
Kink capitals: New York & Denver
Gym-body capitals: Los Angeles & New York

It looks an interesting project and having got this far (which is not nothing), they now move in to the more difficult analytical phase. They really ought to reveal who they are if that process it to be given any academic credibility, and as they seem to recognise, they need to become much more sophisticated in reaching any conclusions. I've previously looked at Gaydar (a sort of UK Craiglist) male for male escort websites and you can check that out here. I therefore know from experience just how much of a nightmare this sort of study can be, and I wish the group well. It could be one to watch.

Condoms in Porn

This story has been rumbling along for a little while now, but the attempts to introduce mandatory condom use in California based porn production seem to be nudging further ahead. Read the Huffington post story here. I have mixed views about the proposal. Sure, preventing the spread of HIV seems sensible, as it does to prevent the spread of any illness or disease. I think that you will see more 'home-made' porn that does not wear condoms (will the State of California prosecute them?), and other parts of the world will sit up and take notice. Elements of the porn industry may relocate to States that have failed to thus far to succumb to what has been termed 'condom Fascism' by the pro-barebackers, and other companies may relent - it will be interesting to see. It's certainly going to be one hell of a pain in the butt for San Francisco based treasure Island Media (and not in a good way). It's probably good news for European bareback porn producers.

If the proposals are successful, I do predict the next stage of argument in California will be about the 'visibility' of condom use. If people appear to be fucking bareback whilst actually wearing condoms (and some companies have already achieved this with some films), then the desire for bareback porn may to some degree be met, but this defeats the 'education' argument. If the pro-condom lobby is really only concerned about the health of porn performers they would have no reason to object. The pro-condom lobby must therefore logically push for condoms to be visible. After that, why not legislate that condoms must be shown being put on, and 'safely' removed. What about swallowing cum? This seems far more complex than those who simply advocate condom-use would initially suggest.

I'm back

OK, it was only a week but I'm back. Please don't expect masses of postings but I do aim to post a couple each week. Thanks to all those lovely people who got in touch one way or the other to say they'd miss the blog. Right, here we go...

Temporarily Closed

I've taken a decision to close this blog for a while. As I've hinted at in an earlier post, I've got too much on at the moment and don't have the space to think. Trying to juggle too many things means I'm making mistakes and things are getting missed. I'm also pretty burnt out. Something has to give and it's going to be this blog - for a while anyway. The module will re-start in October so it will be back for that and I'll probably be back in a few weeks when I feel better able to cope. For now, I need to write other things. Don't worry, I'll still be wasting time Twittering though. I leave you with some Nat King Cole...

Selling Sex in Scotland

Great update on the blog Laura's Diary regarding Trish Godman MSP and the public consultation on her proposed Criminalisation of the Purchase and Sale of Sex ( Scotland ) Bill. Check it out here.

Yey for Incest? *Revised*

The May issue of Gay Times arrived this morning and it includes a two page spread (pp 10-11) with the headline 'Oh Brother'. It states: 'Taboos. They create controversy. We love a bit of controversy'. It then talks about the DVD From Beginning to End which tells the story of two brothers in love. It's a gay incest movie (the GT feature comprises of a short couple of paragraphs against two pages of full photos of the brothers kissing). The article doesn't tell you that it's Brazilian film (trailer below with subtitles) and it does seem a more complex them than the "look at two hot brothers making out" angle that GT has, perhaps inevitably, gone for.

Yet, the article reminds me of just how prevalent real and imagined incest is in gay porn. Gay guys have for years been open about being turned on by two brothers having sex. Typically (as in this film) those feelings developed in childhood (usually done as chatting back story in porn), teen fumblings and now the consensual scene the film-maker can show. It's an acceptance of incest (and often implicitly childhood incest encounters) that will seem bizarre, and perhaps even scandalous within wider straight society.

In a previous version of this post (I was having an off day I admit) I wrote that 'English criminal law is only concerned where one sibling is over 18 and the other isn't' in a criminal law context. This is wrong, as it does criminalise 'penetration' in S.64 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. It goes beyond Scots law (or is at least clearer) (S1 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995) to clearly include oral sex as well as vaginal and anal sex. However, acts such as mutual masturbation do not seem to be covered. English civil law prevents siblings getting married or entering into a civil partnership so the law perhaps reflects some confused attitudes on this issue.

If you think I'm over-stating things, can we see GT featuring a "Man's Best Friend" double page spread of Frank and his long-time companion, a chocolate Labrador called Jack"? I don't think so. So, sure they like 'controversy', but only stuff that's actually pretty well accepted within the magazine's gay readership. So, are gay men freakishly weird in enjoying incest? Is it a reflection of desire over reality? Is it perhaps, a revelation of true desire shunned and denied by straight society? All questions worth reflecting upon. In the meantime, here's the trailer for From Beginning to End (Do Começo ao Fim)...

Operation Rescue and the Boy Lover Bust

Thanks to @LawFag for making me aware of this story a few moments ago. The BBC are reporting that Police from around the world say they have broken up the largest Internet paedophile ring yet discovered. According to the report, detectives say 170 people have so far been arrested - and 121 of them were in the UK. Clearly, more arrests are to follow. Some 60 children have been 'protected' in the UK. Interestingly, the report indicates that the whole operation has been based on infiltrating one online site/network. The members of the network apparently went into a private channel, boylover.net, and then used its secret systems to share films and images. The Police were present within these networks and posed as paedophiles to gather intelligence.

The vast spread of ages amongst paedophiles is once again demonstrated with the revelation that in the UK, the 240 suspects are aged between 17 and 82 years old. They include police officers, youth leaders and teachers. No indication is given of gender, but it would be reasonable to assume the majority will be men.

I remarked on Twitter that I know a number of academics who want to question the current policy and policing approach but daren't for fear of being labelled as themselves possessing some 'abnormal' tendencies. I've always steered clear of this area of research but I do find it worthy of comment to observe that the police were active in the network. It will be interesting to see the extent to which the police actively encouraged the sharing of information and photography over this network. Did the Police themselves engage in acts of image distribution and reproduction in order to entice the suspects into exchanging information and images? This is a real sticky wicket for law but such nuances are lost on the public and the media. Consequently, such arguments are unlikely to get very far in a court-room.

Censored transcripts have been published in the US of some investigations. It would be interesting to see similar transcripts of this investigation. Similarly, I'm struck by the high-number of children that seem to have been, in the language of the police 'rescued'. This suggests a far closer linkage between image sharing and 'real-world' criminal activity than is ordinarily assumed. A final aspect that shines out, is the use of 'boylover'. In America thanks to the long-established North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), the term 'boy lover' is much more established in the public consciousness and associated with paedophilia. This is (I think) the first time the term has been used in such a high profile way within the British media. it will be interesting to see the long-standing effect that has.

Clearly, more detail has yet to come out, but I think there's going to be a lot more discussion in the media as we move from investigation into prosecution. The Police will be hoping that the mere news of these arrests and the way the operation has been conducted will scare the hell out of many paedophiles, and those interested (in whatever way) with inter-generational sex. I suspect many boylover sites will see a short-term drop in access but it's foolish to think that people who have a sexual orientation towards children will be 'scared' out of that orientation in a long-term way. This remains a difficult and complex area that lawmakers and the police are barely scratching the surface of.

A Cunning Plan and an Invitation

Today is International Blackadder Status Day on Facebook and so it seems fitting to declare that I have a cunning plan. I need to take some time out this summer in order to a) crack on with writing things and b) take some time out and have a break before my head explodes. I guess this is the downside of having a blog that isn't run by a team. However, rather than leave the blog to the great virtual tumbleweeds, I wonder if some of you would like to write 'guest' posts for the blog?

My aim would be to have them all submitted in advance (so they shouldn't be too anchored in time) and I'd then set them to release over say a month. What do you think? Send me an email if you're interested with some of your ideas: chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk

BSA REGIONAL POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR- SEXUALISATION: A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

The following event may be of interest to readers:

BSA REGIONAL POSTGRADUATE SEMINAR- SEXUALISATION: A CAUSE FOR CONCERN?

July 5th 2011
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield

The increasing sexualisation of Western Society and the increase in media technologies is cited as a major concern, particularly in relation to public health, with rates of STIs
and abortion on the increase, and teenage conceptions the highest in Europe. Yet, as noted by Peter and Lupton (1995), this deterministic, governmental approach to risk should not be taken for granted. Research into this field is in its infancy, and presents significant ethical and practical challenges.

We are pleased to announce this one day seminar, sponsored by the British Sociological Association which will open and explore the sexualisation and sexual health from a
sociological lens. It provides summative, thought provoking key note presentations, and emerging research from post graduate researchers in the field. The event will be of interest to postgraduate researchers, academics and practitioners working in the broad field of sexualities, health and illness.

Provisional Programme

09.00- 10.00: Registration & Coffee

10.00-10.10: Introduction

10.10-10.25: Policy Overview & Context, Steve Slack, Director, Centre for
Sexual Health & HIV

10.25-11.25 ‘Mainstreaming Sex’, Professor Feona Attwood, Sheffield Hallam University, Keynote Speaker

11.25-11.35 Grab a Coffee

11.30-12.30 ‘Normal’ Sex in psychosexual therapy, Dr Meg Barker, Open University

12.30-13.00 Lunch

13.00-13.30 “Sexualised Culture: A Cause for concern? Clare Bale, PhD Candidate, University of Sheffield.

13.30-14.00, "Young People's Use of Sexual Online Content: Nature and
emerging discourses" Despina Chronaki, PHD Candidate, Institute of Education

14.00-14.30 ‘What is 'Good sex'?: Young peoples' understandings and experiences of pleasure in sex and relationships, Ester McGeeney, Research Student, The Open University

14.30 -15.15 ‘A Discourse for All Seasons’ Dr Clarissa Smith, University of Sunderland

15.15 -15.30 Break

16.00- 17.00 ‘What else can a sexy body do? Professor Nick Fox, Sheffield University, Keynote Speaker

17.00 -17.30, Plenary Discussion

For further information or to book online visit:
http://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/postgrad.htm

Costs: BSA members - FREE, Non members - £25.

Summer School: Queer Temporalities

Some readers may be interested in the University of Manchester's sexuality summer school. Registration and more details can be found at this link.

The Sexuality Summer School 2011 draws upon the success of its previous years, embracing an interactive learning model that combines intensive workshops, discussion panels, lectures and student-lead seminars in order to construct a supportive research community over the course of four days. This year the conference turns towards the idea of Queer Temporalities, bringing together researchers from diverse fields including English Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Media Studies, Performance Studies and many others to discuss and critique representations and understandings of gender, sexuality and queerness as they relate to concepts and constructions of the temporal.

For more information, please e-mail SexualitySummerSchool@gmail.com

Trans Media Watch, a Memorandum of Understanding and Cultural Change

Later today, Channel 4 will be hosting a shin-dig with Trans Media Watch to celebrate their Memorandum of Understanding. The document is available in full here. The group is relatively new and describes itself as an organisation that aims to combat prejudiced, sensationalist and inaccurate depictions of transgendered people in the media. It is apparently run by volunteers and aims to reflect the concerns of those people and of the community as a whole.

The document sets out that signatories to the document agree to work toward the following aims:-

• Eliminating transphobia in the media.
• Ending the provision of misinformation about transgender issues in the media.
• Increasing positive, well-informed representations of transgender people in the media.
• Ensuring that transgender people working in or with the media are treated with the same respect as non-transgender people in equivalent positions.

The document adds that signatories further agree to undertake an annual process of review resulting in an annual report on their progress in respect of these aims.

The document expands on each of the above bullet points and is, I think, to be welcomed. Transphobia remains acceptable in a way that racism, and to a lesser extent homophobia, are no longer regarded as acceptable. Too often, we can still snicker at the 'bloke in a frock with a funny wig', and it seem acceptable. Yet, the more we see and understand the reality of modern trans lives, we will, I believe, change in a way that has thus far eluded our society beyond pockets of progressiveness. Whilst the Gender Recognition Act was a radically reforming piece of legislation in many respects, it maintained the old binary gender divide and problems remain. The media has a vital role in achieving this wider cultural shift and it is surely to be hoped that many media organisations will sign up to this document.

From the Archive:Fancy That!

This is the last in my series of archive trawls. The theme this time is a little more eclectic; I've called it 'Fancy That!' as these are blog posts that look at stories that might seem odd, amusing or just caught my attention and don't fit into the themes previously outlined. Whether serious or less story, these are the blog posts that I thought worth a second (or if you missed them the first time, a first) look.

“Mullahs of chaste nudity”

“My that is a big sausage!”

The Industrial Vagina

‘Normal’ Behaviour and Press Freedom

LGBTQQI

Sex Therapy, Antimonogomy and errrrr Aliens?

Politics – Russia

A little miracle?

F***ing Ben Affleck – watch the video!

Intergenerational Sex: Brooke Shields and Roman Polanski

John Alan Lee

David Cameron Inspired Porn

Cooking with Semen

Revealing Nudists

Fancy Seeing You Here! Oh and You’re Uncut Versatile?

Victory for Same-Sex Marriage Campaigners

Cruising and Porn as Documentary (NSFW)

Porn CEO on the Gay Rights Movement and Family Values

The Legal Shadow of Buggery

Filth and Sushi: Bindel Takes Aim

The Census

I thought about posting some thoughts on the Census earlier in the week but I've not had the time, and happily the ever-brilliant Neil Cobb at Durham has posted his thoughts on the Durham GLAD blog, Inherently Human. He explores the exercise from the view-point of a gay male. Worth checking out here.

Public Sex and the Law

Just to share, here's the planned cover for my forthcoming, hopelessly delayed book. I think the designers have done a wonderful job.

Public Toilet as Art Space

I think this story is so wonderful. A former public loo in Bristol is now an art space. It is only temporary and I doubt I can get down for it as it is only open weekends and closes on 20th March (currently looking into cost and logistics of a flight down and staying with a friend overnight - that's how excited I am). Anyway, they've posted some pics on their blog which you can check out here. I am fascinated by this beautiful Victorian spaces. Given my research into public sex, I can't help but wonder how many people have had sex there. Warped mind.

Trans Identities and the Law

I think most academic researchers aim to be a 'name', or in the language of ego, to have a 'legacy'; in the language of REF bureaucracy, an 'impact'. It is always a buzz when someone thinks that you have written or said something that advances your field, but few figures reach the dizzy heights of being a name, a leader in their field. Dean Spade is one such figure. A wonderful engaging speaker and writer, Spade was the first 'openly trans' US law professor. His writing has been influential, and he is a big figure on the academic stage. I've had the good fortune to hear him speak on several occasions, and always found his interventions thoughtful and thought-provoking. Guernica has an interview with him in which he talks about the law and trans issues. You can check it out here. The references to texts, sources, commentary on literature embedded in responses is (in my experience), very much the style of Spade and so this gives you not only an interesting insight into the substance of these issues, but also an insight into the guy.

A Cultural Hypocrisy?

This piece on The Sword blog (NSFW) caught my attention. It's discussing the forthcoming Palm Springs US 'White Party', a big annual LGBT circuit party. There's a wonderful section in which the blogger writes:

Also, bring some Visine and however much outrage at your lack of civil rights you can muster while coming down off ecstasy because Adam Bouska will be doing one of his NOH8 photo shoots in a hotel, which is perfect for those faggots who like to honor marriage equality and have promiscuous, demoralizing sex all in one weekend. Which photo will be your Facebook profile pic come the Monday after? The one of you with the masking tape over your mouth in a hotel room or the one of you at the NOH8 photo shoot?'

It's partly written in jest but it's also wonderful accurate (although I'd dispute that promiscuous sex is always 'demoralizing'). The blogger's position is essentially the very argument I'm putting forward in some forthcoming work, that gay men increasingly project one life to the heterosexual world - a new (homo)normative conformity - yet it is de-sexed from their lived (homo)sexuality. Put simply, we're happy to talk to co-workers on a Monday about our weekend out in gay clubs, and with our same-sex partner, but less likely to disclose a weekend of slutty anonymous sex. As an idea, this isn't new but I argue that legal reform increasingly focuses upon establishing the new (homo)normative as 'respectable', and in doing so, de-sexing the homosexual. For many non theorists, it simply amounts to mass hypocrisy.

Choosing Law and Sexuality

One of the downsides of being a smaller academic Law School (it has huge advantages), is that the annual module choices selection by students is rather nerve racking. There's no guarantee that modules such as law and sexuality will run, although to date, it has ever year since I first offered it back in 2007. So, in addition to turning up yesterday and trying to persuade students at our options talk, I've also produced a short (very basic!) video, which you can watch below. It might give non-student readers a bit more of an idea of what I cover on the module/class (taught in 12, 3 hour workshops, fortnightly).

Trans Insights

The ever inspirational, journalist and passionate trans/sexual freedom campaigner, Jane Fae has posted some particularly moving and insightful stuff on her personal blog in the last few days. Take a look here. She also tackles, on her other blog, the new trans prisoner guidance, and you can read that here. Does anyone have a link to the actual guidance? I can't find it on the MofJ website.

International Women's Day

As a gay man, I feel like 'Dad' at his daughter's house-party; an unwanted and unnecessary presence. So all I'll say is, check out the fantastic pages on the Guardian website. They feature their 100 'top women' (which is also in the printed G2 today). The website also has a stack of other items relating to IWD, check it out here.

Same-Sex Marriage Animations

Inspired by the brilliant students and staff at Columbia Law School, I set my undergraduate students the task of creating animations around the subject of same sex marriage this week. Here are the really quite wonderful videos they came up with:

Robbie v Nana Betty

Richard's Rant

Apologies

I've not been very good at posts over the last weeks despite some interesting DOMA developments over in the US, new stats on support for same-sex marriage in the US, a significant (US) Supreme Court decision on homophobic hatred vs free speech, backlash in Australia over same-sex marriage, and a really great moment when English professional cricketer, Steven Davies came out. In truth, I am stupidly busy at the moment, desperately fighting a number of deadlines. Consequently, this blog is going to have to take a back seat for a little while. I'll still be posting the odd thing, but apologies in advance for the less frequent posting!