- Glen Weldon On LGBT Characters In Graphic Novels : NPR – But it doesn’t change the fact that today’s mainstream superhero comics contain more LGBT characters than ever. Surely this is a good (if, let’s agree, weirdly specific) thing. After all, superheroes remain the comics medium’s dominant genre, and having the characters who populate that genre more closely resemble those of us who populate the world at large must count as progress.
- Why do gay porn stars kill themselves? « Conner Habib – All of this is to say that not even death can trump many people’s confused and hostile attitudes towards porn and porn performers. That is how deeply injured we are as a society when it comes to sex, sexuality, and love.
- Transforming Pornography: Black Porn for Black Women by Sinnamon Love – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics – For me it is about agency. My black feminism is about helping women like me to be able to claim their sexuality in the face of decades of mis-education of African American women who were made to believe that they must choose between education, marriage, and family, or sexual freedom. I have come to realize in this phase of my life and career, that I have unknowingly dedicated my experience in social media to showing men and women of color that these are false choices, and that they can be sexual beings, wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers.
- Why does he need porn if he has ME? | Amy Jo Goddard – If you are threatened because your partner or lover watches porn, you need to ask yourself why. When women profess that their partners shouldn’t watch porn because they should just be enough, or because it makes them feel insecure, or because they are now questioning their partner’s integrity or even their attraction, big red flags go up for me because I know that the issue isn’t the porn. The issue is insecurity, an unstable relationship, or unrealistic expectations.
relationships
EVERY HO I KNOW SAYS SO is a response to the total lack of accessible online resources for people looking for advice on how to be a good date or lover or partner to a sex worker. We want to support our lovers to continue unlearning the internalized stigma against sex workers, especially in intimate relationships. We think that sex workers themselves have valuable advice and direction to give to people who get into intimate relationships with us. This is the direct message we want to give to our lovers: “We hope that this video is useful to you in your journey to becoming a sex worker-positive and supportive lover and person in the community!!! By continuing to work on your attitudes about our work and educating yourself, you are showing us that you care. We love you!”
A sneak preview of the seventh in Tony Comstock’s ongoing Real People, Real Live, Real Sex documentary series, Brett and Melanie: Boi Meets Girl is an exploration of sexual pleasure in committed relationships and the problematic place of explicit sexuality in cinema. ”Brett and Melanie” depicts a butch/femme couple, and opens up questions about strength and vulnerability in the context of how we portray and interpret gender. Throughout Brett and Melanie’s interview, there is a constant dance of who is strong for whom, of who is vulnerable and who nurtures; and this dance continues when Brett and Melanie make love.
By including frank footage of Brett and Melanie’s lovemaking along with their candid testimony, the film also opens up questions about the meaning of reality in the context of documentary filmmaking, and explodes preconceptions about the place of sexuality and eroticism in cinema.
Curated by Colin Weatherby, and followed with a panel discussion exploring cinema, sexuality, gender, and love with Velvet Park Managing Editor Diana Cage, Cinekink Film Festival Director Lisa Vandever, and Tony Comstock.
Location: Union Docs, 322 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 (Plan your route using Hopstop)
Cost: $9 suggested donation
Union Docs listing
About Brett and Melanie: Boi Meets Girl
2010
Length: 54 mins.
Acquisition Format: Super16mm film and 24p video
Presentation format: 24p DVD
“Brett and Melanie: Boi Meets Girl” is the seventh in Tony Comstock’s ongoing Real People, Real Life, Real Sex documentary series, an exploration of sexual pleasure in committed relationships and the problematic place of explicit sexuality in cinema.
“Brett and Melanie” depicts a butch/femme couple, and opens up questions about strength and vulnerability in the context of how we portray and interpret gender. Throughout Brett and Melanie’s interview, there is a constant dance of who is strong for whom, of who is vulnerable and who nurtures; and this dance continues when Brett and Melanie make love.
By including frank footage of Brett and Melanie’s lovemaking along with their candid testimony, the film also opens up questions about the meaning of reality in the context of documentary filmmaking, and explodes preconceptions about the place of sexuality and eroticism in cinema.
About Tony Comstock
In a world awash in sexualized imagery, why does so little of it speak to the common pleasurable reality of sex? A filmmaker and photographer for more than 20 years Tony Comstock has explored this and other aspects of the human condition. Subjects of Comstock’s films have included love, sex, 9/11, indigenous fisheries, hurricanes, refugees, HIV/AIDS orphans, and the visualization of God. His current focus is the Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series. Reaction to these films has ranged from film festival laurels and critical and popular acclaim, to police raids on screenings and intimidation of DVD retailers.