A link blog about sex and sex culture
Organized by Art Positive.
A version of “Fire in My Belly” may be viewed on Youtube (you must be signed in).
For more info about other protests, visit Hideseek.org (Chronicling responses to the “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” exhibition and the removal of David Wojnarowicz’s film “A Fire in My Belly.”)
This month, the National Coalition Against Censorship is holding a series of programs called “How Obscene is This! The Decency Clause Turns 20,” to highlight the effects 1990s attacks on culture continue to have on art and society and to reassess the state of art funding.
This Monday, there will be a free screening of Destricted, a collection of short films by visual artists, all exploring the boundaries between pornography and art. This will be the exclusive national pre-release screening of the film. Destricted has screened at the Tate Modern in London in 2006, Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Sundance and Edinburgh Film Festivals.
The films are as follows:
Watch the trailer for DESTRICTED.
7:30 Discussion with Amy Adler, the Emily Kempin Professor of Law at NYU, documentary film director Tony Comstock, Andrew Hale, Destricted‘s Founder, filmmaker Marilyn Minter, and Neville Wakefield,one of Destricted‘s Producers.
8:30 Larry Clark’s Ken Park (2002), a film about the abusive home life of several skateboarders in California. Ken Park’s controversial sexual content has led to the film being banned in Australia and to its very limited distribution in other countries.
See also Comstock’s post, “Me and Destricted go back aways...”
Location: SVA Theatre, 333 West 23 Street, NYC
The event is free and you can RSVP here: http://decencyclausefilm.eventbrite.com/
*Image: Marilyn Minter, still from “Green Pink Caviar,” in Destricted.
I’ve long been an admirer of the photography of Barbara Nitke, both for its artistry and for its message of emphasizing the humanity of people in alternative sex communities. I was also struck by her bravery in defending free speech in challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Decency Act of nineteen ninety-six, which regulates indecency and obscenity online. This was a fight closely watched by those in the arts and by those of us who publish online.
Barbara is an inspiration to those who care about freedom of expression, no matter the artist’s chosen media. She is kind enough to offer her support to my current battle.
Jefferson
To whom it may concern,
I am a professional photographer on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York. My work has been the subject of one-woman exhibitions in New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, Provincetown and Philadelphia. My subjects include fashion, editorial and portraiture. Since nineteen eighty-two, I have also documented human sexuality.
I have known the man behind Jefferson for nearly a decade, first in a professional capacity and now as a friend. I’ve always been impressed by his intellectual curiosity and the respect and care he brings to sensitive subject matter.
These qualities continue to impress me as I’ve come to know his work as “Jefferson.†I’ve read his blog, attended his classes and observed his interactions with others. He brings great intelligence, humor and warmth to all of these. His blog is regarded as essential reading by those in the sex-positive community. Whereas other texts seek to teach by instruction, One Life, Take Two does so by example. Readers learn as “Jefferson†learns. We follow him through his passions, his upsets and his joy in the everyday, particularly in his stories about parenting. As a fellow artist, I fully respect the power of his documentary approach.
If anyone has exemplified responsibility in writing on sex and sexuality, it is Jefferson. I strongly support his right to continue writing freely.
I know the struggles Jefferson now faces. I was co-plaintiff in Nitke v Gonzalez, 413 F. Supp.2d 262 SDNY (2005), as we brought a pre-enforcement challenge to the Federal Communications Decency Act (CDA) on the ground that it was unconstitutionally overbroad. While I succeeded in proving that I had standing to bring that pre-enforcement challenge, unfortunately, the court held us to an impossible burden of providing “sufficient” evidence regarding “the total amount of speech that is implicated by the CDA and the amount of protected speech lacking in serious value, but potentially not patently offensive or appealing to the prurient interest in all communities.”
While we did not completely succeed in that case, the struggle to protect free speech and freedom of expression continues. I am heartened that many of the organizations and activists allied with me in that case are now rallying around Jefferson to support him in his current battle to preserve both his joint child custody and his freedom of speech and expression protections. Any silencing of Jefferson is a loss for art, free speech and the personal freedoms we cherish so much here in the United States of America.
Sincerely,
Barbara Nitke
Make an ANONYMOUS, TAX-DEDUCTIBLE contribution to Jefferson’s legal defense by visiting the Sexual Freedom Defense and Education Fund at:
Sexual Freedom Legal Defense and Education Fund
Please remember to specify that your donation is earmarked for the Jefferson Legal Defense Fund. The Sexual Freedom Legal Defense and Education Fund affirms that these earmarked donations are tax deductible.
Support the Holiday Inn Worthington, the Host Hotel for Winter Wickedness
Please make a phone call now to support the Holiday Inn Worthington, the host hotel for Adventures In Sexuality’s (AIS) Winter Wickedness Event taking place February 6-8th . The religious extremist group, Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, along with a local religious radio station in the Columbus, Ohio, area are running a smear campaign against this pansexual BDSM event.
Peter LaBarbara of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality calls the event “a freakish sadomasochistic perversion-fest” and urges people to call the hotel’s corporate headquarters to pressure them into canceling “for the sake of decency and public health.”
Bob Burney, a religious extremist Talk Radio DJ, devoted an entire segment of his show slamming Winter Wickedness and attempting to link the event with non-consensual and criminal activities. He urged his listeners to call and mount a campaign against the hotel. (Tuesday, Part 3 starting at 10 min 42sec)
It will only take a minute for you to help! It doesn’t matter where you live or if you’re not going to attend this event. Please call the Intercontinental Hotels Group Corporate Customer service line at 800-621-0555, then press option 1, then option 5, and thank them for not discriminating against groups, and for being willing to face minor adversity for the sake of our freedom.
You can also call the Holiday Inn Columbus-Worthington today at 614-436-0700 they’ll be very glad tohear a friendly voice to counter the hatred of the religious extremists.
Suggested points to make:
1. Thank you for upholding the Fair Accommodations Act and choosing not to discriminate against legal events.
2. Please don’t let a small number of religious extremists manipulate you by drumming up fear with their misinformation campaigns.
3. There are over 200 weekend-long BDSM events that take place every year in America – we bring in a lot of revenue in these hard times. We like to stay at hotel chains where we have been welcomed when we’re traveling on personal or business travel.
4. Organizers of BDSM events such as Winter Wickedness at The Holiday Inn comply with state and local laws prohibiting public sexual intercourse and other forms of sexualintimacy. Demonstrations, lectures and discussion groups as well as dinners and evening parties compose the variety of offerings to guests, nothing different from any of the other hundreds of conventions hosted by your franchisees on a weekly basis.
5. Thank you for standing strong against hate and ignorance.
Please pass this on to your friends to call now!
February 4, 2009
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The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities,who often face discrimination becauseof their sexual expression.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
917-848-6544
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org
Look, kiddie porn and terrorism are bad. Obvious. But what better way for a government to push through controversial legislation quickly than to harness their emotive properties? After all, what self-respecting member of the US House of Representatives would vote against legislation called Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online, or SAFE? Only two, it turns out (Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia and Rep. presidential candidate, Ron Paul), with 409 members voting yesterday in favor. The new bill requires everyone (that includes you and Starbucks) offering an open WiFi connection to the public to be on the lookout for report known “illegal images” and “obscene” cartoons and drawings. The reporting requirement extends to cover social networking sites, ISPs, and email providers. Failing to dutifully report what you’ve seen (or haven’t seen but are unwittingly complicit in) could leave your data seized and in debt from fines of up to $300,000. This isn’t a call to arms, however . . .
(more . . . )
