Sex In The Public Square - internet - 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.

Update

Michael — Fri, 02 May 2008 07:14:31 -0700

We are hopeful that new initiatives by the University of New Mexico will move this unfortunate conflict further towards, if not full resolution, at least an agreement by everyone to work together collaboratively.

In a letter to faculty (April 24) the Provost stated of the Deputy Provost's determination was not successful, and that this did include an Ethics consultation. However a further appeal to the President has been initiated, and as we have commented before, some people have attempted to export the conflict off the campus.

We believe that a real attempt has been made to unpack the issues, and indicate the appropriate channels for individuals to express their specific concerns. Central to this is the consideration of the working and learning environment which needs addressing promptly, and separating this from making it an issue around the role of individuals and their actions. We applaud the efforts to involve an external facilitator to nurture a sense of professionalism in all concerned and to ensure that all viewpoints are heard and respected, and their particular issues addressed.

It will clearly be important that the facilitator address wider dynamic and structural issues within the department that may have contributed to an environemt in which conflict could thrive and escalate. It is to be hoped that goodwill and the pursuit of common goals will prevail over individual differences of opinion.

Why it matters

Elizabeth — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:58:37 -0700

When we give up our rights to due process because something has to do with sex we are saying that sex is not a legitimate part of human life and that it is somehow intrinsically connected to illegal behavior. It isn't. Lolita, thanks so much for postingthis. I hope that lots of people click to send that letter!