1. Sex clubs, voyeurism remain popular, especially among men
2. Hindering case in Montco to proceed
3. Apply Fist Here
4. High court bars Internet porn law enforcement
5. Pursuing the Libido's Dark Side
6. The busy life of Intl. Mr. Leather
1. Sex clubs, voyeurism remain popular, especially among men
2. Hindering case in Montco to proceed
3. Apply Fist Here
4. High court bars Internet porn law enforcement
5. Pursuing the Libido's Dark Side
6. The busy life of Intl. Mr. Leather
Sex clubs, voyeurism remain popular, especially among men
by Charles LeRoux
The Monterey Herald (California)
July 1, 2004
CHICAGO – (KRT) – "Two huge floors all for you!! Dungeons too!!"
That's an ad for the Power Exchange Mixed Sex Club in San Francisco, one of hundreds of such clubs from Los Angeles to Tokyo to London to Chicago.
Despite their ubiquity – just type "sex clubs" into Google and 3,470,000 hits come up – these clubs exist in a world that's largely obscured unless something such as the allegations in the divorce papers for politician Jack and actress Jeri Ryan provides a peek behind the curtain.
"In this country, it's estimated that between 10 to 25 percent of the population has visited sex clubs," said Jessica Lippman, a clinical psychologist in Chicago. "It's an exhibitionism and voyeurism experience, a kick I suppose, but it falls apart if one of the couple doesn't consent."
"It's called `soft swinging,'" said Sue Gould, who runs Club Adventure, a sex club meeting monthly in hotels across a three-state area including one in Northbrook, Ill. She was speaking of having sex with your partner in front of others, the activity alluded to in the Ryan papers. She said soft swinging is an increasingly popular subset of swinging.
"Nowadays, people are worried about HIV and STDs, so they stick with their partner," she said, noting that soft swinging has been a growing trend since at least the early 1990s. "Probably 70 percent of the people in my club do soft swinging," she said.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/9055587.htm
To respond, write to:
the editor at mheditor@montereyherald.com
Hindering case in Montco to proceed
Oaks woman accused of lying about contact with slain porn star
by Pamela Lehman
The Morning Call (Allentown, PA)
July 01, 2004
A Montgomery County judge issued an order Tuesday directing lawyers to move ahead with the case of a woman charged with lying to police about the death of a porn star.
The order states prosecutors have 30 days to hand over evidence to the attorney representing Jennifer Mitkus, 30, of Oaks.
Mitkus, who has been in Montgomery County Prison since March, is charged with unsworn falsification to authorities and hindering apprehension for allegedly lying to police about her last contact with Canadian porn model Natel King.
Prosecutors said King, 23, was stabbed to death during a bondage photo session in Conshohocken. Anthony Frederick, 41, of Eagleville, was the photographer in that session and has been charged with King's murder. He remains in the county prison with no bail.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_2pornmurderjul01,0,7227597.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed
To respond, write to:
the author at pamela.lehman@mcall.com or the editors at letters@mcall.com
Apply Fist Here
The Education of a Sadomasochist
by Donna Larsen
The New York Press
June 29, 2004
Sometime this summer, in a high-rise condo looking out over the city, I will be given something I've been wanting for a long time: a black eye.
The man who will give it to me is complicated and beautiful, and beautiful in his complexity. He is confident but withdrawn, self-assured but not uncaring. And though he barely knows me, this doesn't stop him from beating me.
There is no logical reason for wanting a black eye. When he asks me why I want it, I want to turn it around on him, and ask him why he wants to give it to me. But I don't, because I don't know why I want it and I don't think he knows why he wants to give it to me.
The craving came to me last summer. Where do you search for such a thing in this day and age? The internet, of course.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.nypress.com/17/26/news&columns/DonnaLarsen.cfm
To respond, write to: editorial@nypress.com
High court bars Internet porn law enforcement
by Bill Mears
CNN
June 30, 2004
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked enforcement of a law intended to protect children from pornography on the Internet, saying the law probably violates free-speech guarantees.
By a 5-4 vote, the high court said 1998 legislation "likely violates the First Amendment."
The court ordered parties from both sides to reconsider the issue in a lower-court trial. The ruling gives the Bush administration a chance to prove the law does not violate free-speech rights.
The case tested the free-speech rights of adults against the power of Congress to control Internet commerce.
The 1998 law, known as the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), never took effect. It would have authorized fines up to $50,000 for the crime of placing material that is "harmful to minors" within the easy reach of children on the Internet, according to The Associated Press.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/06/29/scotus.web.indecency/index.html
To respond, go to:
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?18
Pursuing the Libido's Dark Side
by Daniel Terdiman
Wired
June 28, 2004
Lord Foucault is an admitted rapist. He does it on impulse — for the thrill of it and for the feeling of control he has over his female victims.
But he's not attacking women in real life. Instead, Lord Foucault is a character in Sociolotron, an online virtual world that gives players a platform where they can act out a wide range of fantasies.
"My character … does it for a few reasons," said Lord Foucault. "He does it for power, and it is motivated by opportunity. If he sees a girl that interests him and he can have sex with them, he does."
Sociolotron, currently in beta, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The game offers fare such as battling monsters, questing and other fantasies familiar to players of games like EverQuest and Ultima Online. But Sociolotron differs by providing a way to indulge in sexual taboos like rape and bondage with consequences like sexually transmitted diseases and even pregnancy. And it is quite explicit in informing would-be players about what they may experience in-world.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,63997,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1
To respond, go to:
http://www.wired.com/news/feedback/mail/1,2330,1–63997,00.html
The Busy Life of International Mr. Leather
by Bryan Anderton
The Washington Blade (D.C.)
June 25, 2004
Jason Hendrix has been a busy man recently. Last weekend he was in New York City, helping to celebrate the city's annual Leather Pride Night. This weekend, he will be in San Francisco for that city's annual Pride parade and festival. And in a few weeks, he will be traveling to Omaha, Neb., for the annual International Ms. Leather competition.
Such is the demanding life of International Mr. Leather.
"That's one of the great things about this coming year, is that I get to travel around and meet new people and learn about all of these new things," Hendrix says.
A D.C. resident and the reigning Mr. D.C. Eagle, Hendrix won the title of International Mr. Leather 2004 last month at the 26th annual competition in Chicago. The first D.C. resident to ever win the world's largest leather competition, he defeated nearly 60 other contestants from six countries who were competing for the title.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.washblade.com/2004/6-25/locallife/feature/leather.cfm
To respond, write to:
the author at banderton@washblade.com or the editors at forum@washblade.com
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