Sex In The Public Square - Audacia Ray - Comments

I was totally unaware of

Diva — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:31:43 -0700

I was totally unaware of these types of issues until I set up the Paypal account for the NYC Sex Bloggers Calendar recently. Within a few days of doing that I received a phone call from Paypal questioning what exactly it was we were selling all because of the word "Sex" that was both in the title and our email address.

I then found myself defending what was in our calendar to Paypal thinking how our poses would be less revealing than the annual Sports Illustrated calendar has. All of this only because I had put the word sex in there. To me that seems a little over the top when just using that word triggers that type of reaction from Paypal.

You're welcome, and thank you Harper Jean

Elizabeth — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:15:09 -0700

The reminder of Google's opposition to Prop 8 is also important. It's rarely so clear as to say a company is "sex positive" or not. Google is a good example of a company that supports some degree of sexual freedom and yet is clearly uncomfortable with certain expressions of that freedom. It's a bit like saying "we support expanding sexual civil rights so that everybody can conform to mainstream institutions."

Thank you

Harper Jean — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:05:32 -0700

...for blogging this - I posted it to my Polymorphous Perversity blog as well. This is very disappointing behavior from Google, in a week when they have come out against Prop 8 in California.

Privatizing of public discourse

Elizabeth — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:03:04 -0700

Chris wrote:

The irony is that such policies don't hinder the people who make the majority of the stuff that really pisses off the anti-porn crowd. Do you really think that Vivid's income is hindered one bit by not being able to use a Google account? Does Larry Flynt lose sleep over the fact over Apple's policies about listing adult podcasts? Not one bit. Their size and financial resources allow them to either take a small detour to distribute their goods and collect payments through other means, or just roll right over them like a big rig facing down a turtle standing in the middle of the highway. The people they inconvenience are those for whom sexual expression is personal and artistic, who are trying to create things that reflect their own lives and desires, not a corporate product.

This is so important. One of the things that the public square is supposed to provide is a place for exchange of ideas. The problem with the Internet is that it has no true public space. The only way to gain access is through corporations which have policies that effectively limit that exchange of ideas by shutting out the diverse range of independent voices and allowing only the large monoliths to get their message out.

Anti-pornography activists who object to porn that seems to present a uniformly degrading portrayal of sexually active women ought to be celebrating when somebody like Gracie or Audacia gets her work out there. Since that is obviously not the reaction then the objection must be to something else. I'm guessing the objection is actually to portrayals of any sex that goes beyond the soft-focus romantic image of acceptable mainstream sex. And if corporate policies cater to those biases then the number of spaces where we can truly talk openly about all kinds of sex gets smaller and smaller. This presents a danger not only to producers of erotic material but also to sex educators, LGBT rights advocates and anyone else who finds it necessary to talk openly about sex. It's another good reason that all of us in the business of taking sex seriously need to support one another. We need to be working together to change overly restrictive corporate policies so that they allow at least as much freedom of speech as the law does. The Internet is quickly becoming the place for public discourse. If we fail to protect it as a place for free speech then we risk more than our sexual freedom!

By the way, Chris refers to the examination we made of TOS and AUP documents when setting up this site. You can see my post on that process here.

I wish I could say something

Gracie — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:10:20 -0700

I wish I could say something more helpful or enlightening, but honestly, this has been the case for years. I've battled with banks & PayPal, eBay & other sites about non-fiction books which a person/kid could buy at B&N, publications which won't sell ad space for vibes even though they heavily promoted Sex In The City (including rabbit vibe episode) or have sex columns ~ even free speech issues. Apparently free speech and "let the market speak" doesn't exist for issues of human sexuality.

I'm supportive of the fabulous Audacia Ray ~ of course I am. But this is one battle I've long been fighting & sadly, I no longer am shocked to hear these things. Saddened, yes; but not surprised.

This Was A Good Workshop

WilliamC — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:47:25 -0700

Greetings:

This is the first time I've posted on Sex In the Public Square. I learned about this site when I attended the session at Left Forum mentioned above. This was one of three sessions that had something to do with sexuality and emotional labor in the household. I'm excited to see that there is a greater willingness on the left to discuss these matters. I'm hoping to meet people online and offline who want to continue these many important threads

What kind of party?

Elizabeth — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 08:20:39 -0700

JanieBelle, it wasn't that kind of party ;)

Though it isn't out of the realm of possibility that someday we might be ready to plan some play parties I don't think we're quite there yet!

Still, should you ever become manifest in a body I'd bet Chris would be more than willing to look into your eyes ...

The Pictures...

JanieBelle — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:23:21 -0700

...are all awesome, looks like it was a great time.

The first picture really intrigues me though. I'm thinking about the looks on the faces, and this is what I see:

Rachel looks like she is saying, "Oh, I am so about to do something to you that will blow your mind. Come hither."

You look like you have just experienced whatever Rachel has in mind.

Chris looks like he is saying, "Look into my eyes, I am going to make you my love slave, just like I did to Rachel and Elizabeth..."

I am so bummed I couldn't make the party. I want Chris to look into my eyes...

Great party!

Rachel Kramer Bussel — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:47:56 -0700

Thank you for inviting me to read! I had a great time and it was wonderful to hear everyone and get to talk to so many interesting people in the crowd. Congratulations on a wonderful launch party.

You were missed...

Elizabeth — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 14:38:02 -0700

...but you were mentioned. I thanked you as one of our early and active members. RC, Lou (and JanieBelle) and Kayla you got thanks too! As did Jade and Andale who hosted us while we were still geting our collective act together. So much of our support has come from outside of NYC that I wish we could put our launch party on the road. Imagine the tour!

cheers from across the pond!

tracya — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:06:04 -0700

i'm sure it was a great evening, i wish i could have been there!! tracy

Thanks Lolita!

Elizabeth — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:28:21 -0700

I'm so glad you had a good time. It was such an exciting crowd of people to have all in one place!

Indeed .... post-launch

Elizabeth — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:27:06 -0700

Indeed .... post-launch premarital bliss ... and all before happy hour!

Yay!

Lolita — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:17:55 -0700

It was a great launch party! Thanks!

Wavelength

JanieBelle — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 07:48:48 -0700

Looks like it was a really great time, Elizabeth! I so wish I could have been there.

(I think we're on some kind of blog post title wavelength...)

Kisses