Essex Named Gay-Cruising Capital Of The UK

It's the weekend and you might be wondering about possible day trip destinations.  You might be an overseas reader thinking about a potential holiday to the UK and wondering which delightful parts of this green and pleasant land that you should stop by.  Essex may apparently feature prominently if cruising is your thing.

Queerty report that www.thegayuk.com (in what I suspect is a bid to drum up Internet traffic) have stated that the cruising pages for Essex are their most popular pages, and thus they conclude it is the randiest place in the UK.  I'm not sure about that but it does reveal the continued popualarity of cruising listings, and interest in public sex.  The Queerty report also features a quote from Galop - a charity I admire and respect greatly - but their advice is a little misleading, as it doesn't take account of the specific statutory offence of sex in a public toilet.  The presence of the Police in public sex locations (where men may find themselves stopped) may also be in response to pro-active policing in relation to other offences - anti-social behaviour more broadly, car thefts, drug dealing etc.  I'm afraid I am therefore much less reassuring to would-be practitioners of public sex!

Being Inappropriate: Teasing Out Some Issues

My post last week regarding online identities, specifically in relation to social media and Twitter seemed to resonate far more than I was expecting.  I thought aloud last week via Twitter that a conference of some sort might be an idea, but that was about it.  I tweeted earlier this evening - in response to a point by my excellent colleague, Chris Newman - that a 'conference' was a way of taking this forward but I had already planned on setting out some thoughts as a starting point for discussion.  So...here goes...

I've decided to knock together a small research bid to get some funding for some refreshments/pay for key speakers to travel etc.  Here's as far as my thoughts have taken me thus far with regard to the actual event:

• It should be a one day event, and should allow people sufficient time to travel the venue - and we can use my own Uni (make a change to have an event 'up North').
• The emphasis should be on discussion/exploring ideas rather than 'sit and listen'
• Nonetheless, there needs to be some sort of primer to discussion - how best is this achieved?  Some key speakers - HE leaders, academics, students?  Starting points for discussion?
• We should try and include students and those outside 'the Academy'
• Follow up discussion slot - possible at ALT and/or SLSA Annual Conferences in April next year?
• Tweeting would be encouraged?

What do you think?

Would you like to be involved in some way?

When's the best time to hold this?

Please add comments/tweet/email your thoughts!  

Treasure Island Media Gets Slammed

You could be forgiven for being surprised that Treasure Island Media's new release, Slammed, isn't receiving more media attention.  I suspect, knowing that's what TIM are looking for, media outlets are refusing to play their 'outrage' game.  That certainly seems to be the case over at The Sword (NSFW).

The latest film from San-Francisco based bareback studio Treasure Island Media (TIM) is directed by their British Director Liam Cole, and shot in London.  According to The Sword (NSFW, trailer also available), it depicts men shooting-up Crystal Meth before then engaging in bareback sex.

Crystal Meth is not the same issue in the UK as it is in the States (thankfully) and so whilst the documentary argument of Cole (i.e he's just recording the sex that is taking place around him in London), doesn't make sense for a US-based studio like TIM.  If it's so important to document this, why haven't they done it before in the States?  Why not record the same group of men shooting meth and having bareback sex over three or five years?  Show the impact of the drug on their sex, bodies and mind.  I suspect the films at the end of that series wouldn't sell as the men's bodies increasingly show the ravaging effects of Crystal, but if it's all about documentary, that would have been a logical argument.

You might think it's just a predictable behaviour tactic from TIM.  I don't agree.  I recall (I hope, rightly) studio honcho Paul Morris financially backing a US documentary on Meth, designed to highlight the negative consequences of Meth.  I recall him being concerned about the impact of Meth on communities of men.  Is that position incompatible with releasing Slammed?  It's perhaps a moot point but it does raise questions.  Not least, where is TIM going?

It certainly seems to be a studio that feels a bit lost at the moment.  A website and social-media overhaul has made the online presence slicker and more professional looking, but it has also stripped the studio of a lot of soul.  Nothing more so than the painful use of social media.  Fake Twitter accounts which seem more an attempt at satire than arousal are an awkward miss-step.  The Sword (NSFW) also reported on these fake accounts, singling out the account of Ethan Wolfe.  It's embarrassing and hasn't improved since the story, continuing the dull, almost humorous updates.  I've never been aroused by the tweets, but I've laughed quite a lot.  I'm not sure that's usually the intention of a porn studio.  Contrast this with the genuine account of Jackson Taylor (depicted as a TIM exclusive on their site NSFW), in which his account manages to appear erotic, sincere, and interactive.  That's how you do it boys.

Where would I go?  Well, I think there's still a lot of scope for TIM to document the patterns and flow of sex lives.  This could be done in a conscious longitudinal way, recording the way that individuals frequenting venues/locations transcends the anonymity we often associate with random hook ups.  These hook ups are rarely random, and I think it would be interesting to document a journey into bareback sex (as 'Ryan Sullivan' did from the production point of view), to document the desire of bareback as well as the act.  Then again, maybe I should stick to the day job.

Text chat can be obscene: R v GS [2012]

I am indebted to Jane Fae for alerting me to this important story earlier in the month.  Myles Jackman, aka @obscenitylawyer reported on his blog the case of R v GS [2012].

You could be forgiven for not having heard of it - few seem to, and yet the case has potentially extraordinary implications for English obscenity law. According to the Court of Appeal, private one to one text chat on the Internet can be subject to the Obscene Publications Act 1959 (OPA). This means that anyone using the Internet to discuss sexual fantasies may be at risk of committing a criminal offence.

Myles' blog includes the full law report which is well worth a read.

The Court was clearly determined to bend the law for the purposes of an individual case - concerning paedophile images.  Unfortunately, in doing so the Court has unwittingly extended the law - shifting the meaning of 'to publish' to be just one person (for example, via instant chat).  It significantly expands the scope of material that the Police might seek to obtain in the course of an investigation and also means that conversations individuals might be having via chat - and thus be speculative fantasy exploration - may well attract the law in a way that those individuals may be shocked at.

It's tempting to think, "well, this doesn't concern me".   After all, this case concerned a conversation relating to paedophilia, and few would seek to defend such conversations - regardless of the significant extension of law.

However, take a look at the CPS guidelines on the Obscene Publications Act and the scope of instant chat conversations that could come into focus expands further.  Here are those areas that the CPS would currently seek to prosecute (you will note the continued inclusion of fisting despite R v Peacock)

• sexual act with an animal 
• realistic portrayals of rape 
• sadomasochistic material which goes beyond trifling and transient infliction of injury 
• torture with instruments 
• bondage (especially where gags are used with no apparent means of withdrawing consent) dismemberment or graphic mutilation 
• activities involving perversion or degradation (such as drinking urine, urination or vomiting on to the body, or excretion or use of excreta) 
• fisting

So, once again, BDSM practices disproportionately fall within the attention of the law, and we also have scat and piss-play 'chats' falling in the scope of potential criminalisation.

It remains to be seen just what impact the case will have, but it is potentially very serious indeed and surely worthy of greater awareness and debate.

UPDATE:  Another great post on this story from Nigel Whitfield can be read here.

Another Olympic Scandal

London Mayor, Boris Johnson, appeared in front of TV cameras yesterday to make it clear that London was ready for the Olympics (which start this Friday).  Media attention has focused on trains into the city, the ability of the Tube to cope, the availability and price of hotel rooms and whether the opening ceremony will be a wash out.

The People adds another factor into the Olympic stew of discontent.  Grindr - the popular smart phone/tablet App, euphemistically described as a 'networking tool' (i.e an easy way for men to meet other men for 'no strings' bonk-a-thons).  The site went down last week leaving its many followers able to log in and see the men available but prevented them from 'chatting' with the men.  So many men effectively told to 'look but not touch' can not be good for business.  Engineers worked 'around the clock' according to Grindr, to fix the problem.  Now we know what caused it - the Olympics.

According to the People, 'Technicians believe the arrival of Olympic teams on Monday sparked a flood of new customers – and loss of the service in East London. One Londoner said: “It happened almost as soon as the teams got here. Either loads of athletes were logging on to meet fellow Olympians or were looking to bag a local.'

So, will we see BoJo having his feet held to the fire on this one?  Come on Boris, we need capacity, all those Olympians and spectators need their comforts!

Are you Clean? Narratives in HIV and Bareback Sex

Someone tweeted a link to this story yesterday (apologies, I can't remember who to credit you) in the Huffington Post, a fascinating piece about the term 'clean' in the context of HIV.  The author - Mark S King - notes how the term is used as part of the HIV conversation, as in: "Are you clean?"  In other words, are you HIV free?

Back in 2011 I posted this video, which brilliantly satirises the DDF narrative which has become common among men seeking to hook up with other men, particularly online.  The question is often asked of men who bareback: "Are you clean?"  as if that amounts to an HIV test.  Say "yes" and you're in, say "I don't know" or "I'm HIV positive but..." and you're typically rejected.  The culture rewards dishonesty and thus embeds an ironic 'don't ask, don't tell' policy into causal sex.

King addresses this issue, the growing involvement of law and also the cultural implication of referring to someone who is HIV+ as being in some way 'unclean'.  It's a brilliant piece well worth a read.

Ben Dover and the Future of Porn

The Annual Erotic Awards and their utterly brilliant golden penis trophies have become a fixture of the sexuality calendar.  They are however, utterly useless at updating their website.  Although the finals took place on the 26th May, I still have no idea who the winners were.  Anyway, one of the finalists (perhaps a winner) was the pornographer Ben Dover (Carry on humour lives) who was nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Today, Dover also has an online store, his own clothing and events packages.

The straight porn producer regularly makes an appearance in his films, or at least his dick usually does, with scenes often ending with him getting in on the action.  He's also been the subject of a BBC Four documentary back in 2009 on trying to make it as an actor.  In the same year, he also appeared on the BBC news channel complaining that it was increasing difficult to make money in the porn industry and suggested that the government set up a task force to tackle porn piracy.

It was therefore not all that surprising to see that Dover and his company, Golden Eye International turned to the courts for action in tackling piracy. Golden Eye International Ltd took action on behalf of 13 adult entertainment companies, stating that it had a list of 9,124 IP addresses which had illegally downloaded some of their films. It also had a draft warning letter demanding £700 for copyright infringement ready to go. If all 9,124 customers paid £700 it would amount to £6.3 million.

The High Court determined that any potential settlement sum should be negotiated with each individual recipient. In total Mr Justice Arnold rejected claims from 12 of the 13 porn production companies. O2 - the company at the centre of the claims - had to hand over the details of people using IP addresses which Golden Eye said illegally downloaded films from Ben Dover Productions.

Read more here, and here.

It's an interesting approach, especially given that I suspect most of his fans will at some point have watched his material via illegal downloads.  It's a serious headache for the porn industry as they seek to respond to the fast-evolving contemporary media landscape.

For IP law watchers, it was pleasing to see the court limit a tactic which previously ACS: Law got into a spot of bother over (and ultimately went out of business), as this blog eagerly points out.

Jessy Lives!

I have a terrible terrible weakness for Jessy Karson (my Seth Gamble desire was ruined by him going all straight plus he was far too nice).

The retired porn performer is my idea of objectified perfection.  I was therefore particularly interested (interested as in as excited as an overly excited puppy on the puppy equivalent of a truck load of smarties soaked in extra sugar) to learn that he returned to his blog after an absence of a  couple of years and mooted on Facebook and his blog that he is considering a return to porn.

It seems from his Facebook account a bit of a half-hearted desire, and he is quick to bemoan in both forms 'the industry'.  The Canadian performer argues in a post which features him in a Treasure Island Media 'Built to Fuck' t-shirt that:

'After some bad experience with some porn company I've worked with and that I prefer not to mention.... I've came to wonder if I was really enjoying it as much I used too.... Too many porn companies are using models like they were piece I of meet and no consideration ....'

Given he was working at TIM when he had this 'revelation' we can assume that he means them.  His reluctance to name them is just as interesting.  Just what happened for him to go from a TIM exclusive (I think I'm right in stating that he was) to a retired performer?  Back in July 2011 I blogged how he had suddenly become a safer sex/condom advocate after working for the bareback company, Treasure Island Media.  In that context, these latest thoughts from Jessy (perhaps seeing if a company contacts him) are a continuation of a rather bizarre story.

It's also a reminder that whilst most 'gay' porn performers are reduced to being merely a cock, a nondescript sexual appendage, there are those - and Jackson Taylor at TIM is a good contemporary example - who achieve something beyond that.

They achieve the status of fantasy icons.  Symbols of commercial desire.   These are the men who continue to occupy our thoughts.  Their bodies inscribed in the electrical thoughts of other men's brains.  Their moans, groans and ejaculatory moments will be among those images that flash before our eyes as life ultimately leaves us.

Jessy is also a fascinating example of how this fantasy doesn't end with the porn.  We are involved in their lives during and after their porn existence.  The growing propensity of social media encourages us to interact and follow performers during their pornographic career but it also makes it ever easier to continue  following them once they cease to shoot porn movies.

This in turn leads me to wonder if anyone is ever 'done' with porn.  If they were any 'good', their lives will continue to be of interest to fans, bloggers and journalists.  Despite adopting a porn name we will know who they re in reality - as with Jessy/Jeff.  This is perhaps worth keeping in mind for anyone thinking of a career in the porn industry.  If you're good, we'll remember.  If you're bad, you won't be around long enough for anyone to recall you're brief orgasmic presence.