Love the Hitachi Magic Wand but hate the fact that it needs to be plugged in? Yeah, me too. Worry not, my dear MSP readers- the solution is here. The Vibratex Mystic Wand solves that problem, and has some fun extra features to boot. This adorable toy, available at Good Vibes, is a great Hitachi alternative. Continue Reading →
Sexual Assault And Burning Man Culture
Those of you who know what Burning man is (here’s a link for those who don’t) probably have positive mental images of the festival – after all, it’s an intentional community based on art, freedom of expression, and radical inclusion and participation. However, sexual assault does happen at burns, and so it’s good to be aware that the possibility exists. I highly recommend this essay on rape at Burning Man by Clarisse Thorn. She discusses an assault, the community response, and some of the legal and cultural issue affecting consent and vulnerability. Not all of us will go to Burning Man, but we all should have conversations about how to create safe environments and spot abusers. Continue Reading →
Tangerine Consent
On a lighter note, my partner and I were recently driving somewhere, and I was feeding him a tangerine (as he was the one driving). We generally have good communication in our relationship, especially when it comes to consent, which we took to a silly level with the act of eating a tangerine. Me: *tries to put a tangerine slice in his mouth*
Him: “I don’t consent to this. My silence is not consent.” Me: “But your body language made it look like you were asking for it!” Continue Reading →
The Politics Of Regulating Guns And Regulating Sexuality
Buckle up, folks, I’m going to draw a number of parallels and ask you to put on your metaphorical thinking-caps while reading this post. Maybe you don’t automatically think “vaginas!” when you’re tuning into the gun debate in America, but I do, and I think you should consider doing the same. Here’s why. Continue Reading →
Bloomington, Indiana Mayor Marrying Local Same Sex Couples Tonight
Tonight, the heartland grows a little more heart. Here in Bloomington, Indiana – where I live and work – our mayor, Mark Kruzan, will conduct a wedding ceremony for more than a dozen same-sex couples at the 10th anniversary of the PRIDE LGBTQ Film Festival. Two of these couples are pictured here. (Express your support/thanks by sending an email to Mayor Mark Kruzan at: mayor (at) bloomington.in.gov)
The event’s press release describes tonight’s marriage ceremony (which is not legally binding as same-sex couples still cannot legally get married in Indiana!) as being “in protest against the proposed constitutional amendment HJR-6 (ban of same sex marriage)”. The proposal for the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage has already passed Indiana’s House and Senate (back in 2011) but it has to go up again – and likely will soon – before going before Indiana voters. Continue Reading →
Sex Toy Review: We-Vibe Tango
Searching for a petite, portable toy that offers multiple modes of vibration? You might fancy the We-Vibe Tango—a lipstick shaped mini vibrator that’s a lot more powerful than it lets on. What you need to know right off the bat: The Tango is waterproof, eco-friendly, and rechargeable. Equipped with eight different vibration modes, the toy lasts up to 2 hours of play on a single charge and will only take 90 minutes to get back to full power. Its charging adapter is interchangeable with other We-Vibe products; so that means you can use the same power accessory for the Tango, the Salsa, the Touch, the We-Vibe 3, etc. Continue Reading →
Further Explanation Of Why “Creepy” Can Be A Useful Term
Here at MSP, we’ve touched on the continuing debate on whether the word “creepy” is useful or reductive, including its place in the geek community, its relationship to respecting boundaries, and how not to be creepy in public. Feminist blogger Xenologer wrote a comprehensive post explaining why women “need a word to refer to guys who freak us out and make us feel unsafe, and that word for ‘failed my risk assessment’ doesn’t need to meet the approval of men.” Basically, while the word “creepy” is about men, it is not for men. This is a useful way of thinking about the word and its functions; it refers to the insider/outsider distinction we use in the study of folklore (often termed esoteric/exoteric). Sometimes the insiders of a group use special terminology related to their social needs, which outsiders can misunderstand, and this may well be one of those cases. Continue Reading →
Buttplug Of The Month Club!
It seems like in the past few years, monthly subscription clubs have increased in popularity. While I’d heard of wine, beer, cheese, bacon, and cosmetic monthly boxes, I thought a friend was making it up when she emailed me a link to the Buttplug of the Month club. It turns out that it is real. Also, I was actually pretty intrigued by the concept. I’d read about one other sex toy of the month club, and my only hesitation is that sex toys seem to be so personal. Continue Reading →
Ray Bradbury on the Science Fiction of Birth Control
Ray Bradbury, in an interview for The Paris Review (emphasis mine):
Science fiction is the fiction of ideas. Ideas excite me, and as soon as I get excited, the adrenaline gets going and the next thing I know I’m borrowing energy from the ideas themselves. Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible. Continue Reading →
Why Legislating Sex Work Is Problematic
In light of California’s mandatory condom laws for adult performers, I’ve been thinking about why governments feel the need to step in and legislate sex work (I say legislate when often it is criminalized, but here I’ll be focusing on laws that regulate rather than prohibit). First, let’s think of people we categorically make laws about. Children: they have to go to school, they have to be under a legal guardian until they reach a certain age, and so on. Prisoners: they do not have full legal rights, but they retain many other rights, such as access to basic minimum living standards. The poor: there’s a whole body of laws, historically dating back to the Elizabethan era in England, governing employment and aid opportunities for the underprivileged. Continue Reading →