1. Hidden Heteros
2. International plea for state of Cuffs
3. Selling Sex And Very Sorry
4. Discount Join Rate: NCSF
5. Dirty Pornos: S! M!
1. Hidden Heteros
2. International plea for state of Cuffs
3. Selling Sex And Very Sorry
4. Discount Join Rate: NCSF
5. Dirty Pornos: S! M!
– Published Letter to the Editor –
Hidden Heteros
response by Jane Davis
Santa Fe New Mexican
February 3, 2004
I was startled by Denise Kusel's column calling for state support for elderly gays and lesbians — the invisible population. As a cultural anthropologist who studied the sexual practices of many, a clinical social worker with a specialty in sexual practices, and an overall seeker of diverse truths, I have discovered that there is more of an invisible population among the hetero community than anything I have ever encountered among the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered.
What about heteros whose lifestyle embraces S&M? Bondage? Spanking? Dominance and submission? A recent Time magazine article (Jan. 19) adeptly brought these hidden practitioners "out." The issue of isolation because of sexual preference is not exclusive to the gay community. The "GLBT" advocates have contributed greatly to social awareness and education about "other." Maybe through their efforts, heteros can start coming out of the closet, too.
To read this letter, go to:
http://www.sfnewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=26&SubSectionID=143&ArticleID=39776
International plea for state of Cuffs
response by George Buck (Lancashire, England) Iowa State Daily February 2, 2004
As a British BDSM practitioner, I would like to comment on the "investigation" being used to hound the student group Cuffs. Even though I do not know all the facts, I do know that no one is being forced to be a member of this group.
It is well known that what practitioners of BDSM do is based on the credo "Safe, Sane, and Consensual."
From my perspective, this "investigation" appears to be a witch hunt – to humiliate, hound and force a minority group from practicing their freedom of choice.
[cont.]
To read this letter, go to:
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/02/401dae195ffd5?in_archive=1
– End of Published Letters –
Selling Sex And Very Sorry
by Dan Ackman
Forbes
February 2, 2004
Yesterday's Super Bowl was somewhat unusual in that the game overshadowed the ads. It also would have overshadowed the halftime show, had it not been for the moment where Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson's top.
CBS, a unit of Viacom, apologized for the incident and insisted it was unplanned. But Jackson's gladiatorial outfit itself along with the sex-slave S&M get-ups of her backup dancers, to say nothing of rap star Nelly grabbing his crotch–that was all part of the show, which was produced by MTV, another Viacom unit.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.forbes.com/services/2004/02/02/cx_da_0202topnews.html
To respond, go to:
http://www.expressresponse.com/cgi-bin/forbes/displayArticleWebForm.cgi
or click link at bottom of article
Discount Join Rate: NCSF
by Charles Farrar
AVN.com
February 2, 2004
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is offering a discounted individual membership fee of $10 through March 30 for members of any of their "Coalition Partner" groups.
NCSF says its mission includes helping parents whose child custody rights are challenged because of their involvement in such activities as S/M, leather and fetish sexuality, swinging, or "polyamory" activities. The group claims 34 member groups totaling about 10,000 members.
The group featured in the Jan. 19 issue of Time, which wrote that no one with preferences for such fetishes or "in the fledgling BDSM movement argues in favor of actual slavery or rape (though eroticized stimulations of such crimes are common). Among the BDSM clubs and support groups, all the reputable ones preach the BDSM mantra: safe, sane, and consensual."
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.avn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Articles&Action=View_Article&Content_ID=72564
To respond, write to: scottross@avn.com
Dirty Pornos:
S! M!
by Johnny Maldoro
The Village Voice
January 30, 2004
Fuck the handbasket, Hell's coming to us. Just the other day I'm in the dentist's office waiting to have new platinum fronts fitted, and I come across the most scandalous thing I've read in Time magazine since that investigation into drinking on college campuses (rampant!): A highly sympathetic story on SM. (Meaning sadomasochism – Greek for "immoral eve by our standards" – in case you're not up on your world-dominant media.) The phrase "Pyrex dildo" appears in first paragraph – in a list ending, paradoxically, with "other unmentionables." Thank Jesus and Mary my mother has a subscription to Newsweek. Her Catholic-school class of first-graders already give her angina.
As an alt-weekly scumbag – sorry, alt-weekly website scumbag – I eagerly lapped up the sterling rag's nut-gush over the newly mapped BDSM demographic. But my bile rose when I encountered the story of a mid-aged married couple from North Carolina, "Surri" (the slave) and "Doc" (three guesses). "Doc is a Schwarzenegger Republican and a big fan of the Left Behind novels, the evangelical Christian thrillers that graphically depict the damnation of the sinful." Surri, who once sustained life-threatening injuries after a boyfriend locked her in a cage and left her alone in a building which – whoops! – caught fire, has to stand in the corner if she doesn't perform her housewifely duties to Doc's satisfaction and must ask permission to smoke a cig. You've come a long way, baby!
Hey, do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. I love a little "role-play" during s-e-x as much as the next porn columnist scarred by Catholicism ('specially when I get to be a fireman!). Heck, I don't even mind bossing bedmates around. ("Now suck the other elbow, you dirty coke slut," that sort of thing.) Still, the day I take orders from somebody named Doc who hasn't graduated from med school is . . . another day, long from now. The bedroom is psychodrama's greatest stage, but that couple has a 14-year-old daughter. Imagine what kind of prize she'll wind up marrying.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0405/maldoro.php
To respond, go to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/aboutus/letters.php
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Feedback letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging, or polyamory. You can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.
Generally, for a letter to be published, it's important to include your name (or first initial, last name), city and daytime phone (for verification only). For more information, see:
https://ncsfreedom.org/media/writelettertoeditor.htm
Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org