Music to Watch Kinky Girls (and Boys) By: Escaped Pleasure

Skin Two reported this month on a  fascinating music project called Escaped Pleasure.  According to Skin Two: born from a passion for fetish and a passion for music, Escaped Pleasure is a music project with a difference. Although described officially as “chill out electronica”, each track is written and produced by a fetishist, with fetish in mind.


Inspired by the sounds and grooves of people like Massive Attack, Moloko, John Mayer and Prince; Escaped Pleasure's sole aim is to add a little groove and beat into your life. Designed with lifestyle people in mind and can be heard in clubs and lifestyle events around the world.

From the tracks I've listened to, they are just wonderful relaxing tracks with some nice twists.  Perfect background music for me as I write.  I like them a lot and they deserve a wide audience, so please check them out and share.  

You can commission Escaped Pleasure to create a bespoke track or set of tracks just for you. With a commission comes an initial meeting, so that he can determine what elements of music work for the client. Then he will go away and create the tracks. Whether it’s for a play session, a photo session, a private party or even the soundtrack to a your home made film, having a unique set of music to set your scene is a deeply sexual feeling and will make a huge difference.  Brilliant stuff.

Check out some of their tunes here.

Making a Fist of It: The Law and Obscenity

I've had an article published on the Freedom in a  Puritan Age webzine in which I offer my take on the recent Obscenity Trial.  I gathered a few background/analysis pieces together in this previous blog post.

Check my new article out here.

Obscenity Trial Continues

The #ObscenityTrial involving the issue of fisting (among others) goes into day three tomorrow (read my previous post on the trial here).  If you're not already doing so, be sure to follow on twitter the excellent activist and scholar, @lexingtondymock. I'd also suggest following the journalist @NichiHodgson. Both have been providing fascinating coverage through their live tweets from the courtroom.  Many of the exchanges today would be comical, were they not so serious.  I'll blog a comment on the trial once it's over - as I'm sure will many others.

Sex Tourism

The 'sex tourism' has come to hold an immensely negative con nation, typically suggesting some Gary Glitter-esque holiday abusing children.  In reality, many people engage in 'sex tourism', visiting locations for new sexual experiences whether that means an international city such as Berlin or London, a salesman arranging rendezvous with other men in his hotel room, or a trucker having fun in their cab.  The Into the Abyss blog posted a nice little post about their kinky adventures on a recent visit to San Francisco, reminding us of the joy that these venues can offer, and promoting the question, as to why these experiences can't always be replicated back at home?

Something Dark(er)

Mucho excitement at the launch of issue two of Something Dark.  This a fantastically experimental magazine with truly mesmerising photography and imagery.

The team behind the magazine set out their mission as:  SDk02’s range of analytical and critical writing challenges conventional interpretations of the cultural, economic and political norms that rule and ruin our individual lives and our societies. Two feature articles work together to scrutinise not only the civilisation-degrading tabloid culture that blights the contemporary media landscape, but also the more extensive and insidious system that we dub the “tabloid ecosystem”.

This issue contains a number of sexuality and identity related  stories that focus on the 'dark', often hidden and under-discussed identities.  The photography and images reflect this.  It's a must for anyone interested in sexuality, identity and creative ideas, but defies simple labelling and pigeonholing.

The magazine also takes an innovative approach to structure.  Unlike most news, magazine- and journalstyle websites, which depart from their print-published counterparts in format, look and feel because they were developed with by-now conventional website design in mind, SDk has been developed with the format, look and feel of a print magazine. Yet, being fully htmlcoded and pushing the limits of that technology, it also offers the full dynamism of the internet, especially in a complex system of internal linking, that flash sites cannot deliver. The editorial team argue that intensive editorial preparation for SDk02 allowed for extensive refinement of SomethingDark’s technical development and a presentation that now delivers an even more unique web-based magazine experience.  It certainly does that, and I found it a joy to navigate on both my iPad and iMac desktop.

Check it out here.

The Leatherboy

There's an interesting piece on the Positive Lite site about the leatherman/sub identity. It's an in-depth interview with 'Boy Iain', Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2011. He offers some really itneresting insights, commenting that:

Leather is many things to many different people and it’s hard to nail down what exactly Leather is. For some it’s clothing (Leather, rubber, gear, etc…). For others it’s uniform fetishes or kink or BDSM play without the domination and submission or it’s a Dom/sub relationship. Or any combination of the above, and more

When I was first exposed to the Leather scene, all I saw was black leather and the traditional look of a Leatherman – somewhat Tom of Findland-esque. What I understood was that there were certain protocols when interacting with Leathermen and they scared me. I didn’t know what to expect so I never took that step forward back in the days of The Toolbox.

Read it in full here.

The 2011 Visiting Scholar Program at the Leather Archives & Museum

Readers of this blog might be interested in details of the 2011 Visiting Scholar Program at the Leather Archives & Museum. I've was fortunate enough to visit the Chicago museum last year and this strikes me as a fantastic scheme for developing scholarship and resources in this area. Details are below:

Summary:

The Leather Archives & Museum [LA&M] announces the second annual Visiting Scholar Program for the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 academic terms. A stipend of $1,000 to $1,500 will be awarded to one recipient scholar to conduct research using the
collections of the LA&M. The amount of the award will be dependent on the scope of the proposed project. A $500 travel allowance and up to four weeknight accommodations will also be provided to the recipient. The award is available to three types of scholars:

1) Scholars with academic appointments
2) Graduate students pursuing an MA, MFA or PhD
3) Independent scholars with an established research agenda.

The LA&M is seeking projects that may enhance the institution’s mission to disseminate information to the public about the history of the leather / fetish / BDSM community and its culture. Toward that end, we are particularly interested in proposals that may provide materials for display in its galleries, as a traveling exhibit or as an online exhibition.

Timeline:

March 15th, 2011 applications postmarked by this date.

April 30th, 2011 notification of award

Research to be conducted between September 2011 and April 2012.
- 33% of stipend and 100% of travel allowance paid at this time

A 300 to 500 word summary of the research visit and preliminary findings, able to be published by the LA&M, to be received by the LA&M between one and three months following visit.
- 33% of stipend paid at this time

A list of publication and presentation opportunities for which work will be submitted, to be received by the LA&M not less than three months following the visit. Final stipend payment to be made upon acceptance of publication or presentation and receipt of a manuscript to be published or paper to be presented.
- 33% of stipend paid at this time.

Applications:

Note that applications will be reviewed by individuals who may not be in your field of study. Care should be taken to write in a matter that is accessible to others. A complete application package will include:

1) A current vita. Include name, mailing address, phone number, email address and institutional affiliation (if applicable).
2) Project title and one paragraph abstract
3) A 1,500 to 2,000 word double-spaced descriptive narrative of the project
a. What is the subject of the research?
b. What is the scope of the project?
c. What sources do you plan to use?
d. What is the anticipated product of your research?
e. What contribution to current historic or cultural research will this project make?
4) A separate page to address the following questions:
a. How well will the result of your project be suited for publication in peer reviewed scholarly journals, in the LA&M’s publication The Leather Times, or as source material for an exhibition (either at the LA&M or online)?
b. If this is part of a larger project, how much work have you completed to this point? What additional research will follow your visit to the LA&M?
c. How many days of onsite research at the LA&M do you anticipate will be needed for your project? This is for planning purposes only, and will not be used to judge applications.
d. How did you hear about the Visiting Scholar Program at the Leather Archives & Museum?
5) A letter of reference
A paper copy and electronic copy of the application package should be sent to:

Leather Archives & Museum
Visiting Scholar Program
6418 N Greenview Ave
Chicago, IL 60626
rick@leatherarchives.org

About the Leather Archives & Museum:

The Leather Archives & Museum is a library, museum and archives pertaining to leather and alternative sexual communities. The geographic collection scope is worldwide and includes all sexual orientations and genders. The library collection contains books, magazines, scholarly publications, films and electronic resources related to the subject matter. The museum collection contains original erotic art and artifacts from alternative sex organizations and individuals. The archival collection contains unpublished papers and records from notable activists, artists, businesses and organizations related to the subject matter. For more information about the LA&M, please visit http://www.leatherarchives.org.