- It’s terrifying how little The House of Lords understands about the internet. The House of Lords has been discussing the impact of pornography in Britain, with the elder statesmen taking turns to weigh in on what should be done to stop the waves of smut [allegedly] corrupting young minds. The debate, led by the Bishop of Chester, has gone on since midday, and many peers offered eye-brow raising verdicts on pornography and things like “this practise called webcamming”.
The House of Lords debated porn, here are the eight best bits (Telegraph)
- “In the four months since my breakup I’ve culled the combined wisdom of my single friends to help me through this twisted maze. (Look for my guide to online dating: “Limp catfish and other cautionary tales” in the near future.) Just about all of my eligible friends have shared their personal war stories from this new era of love as a digitized battlefield. … 1. A simple “hello” is your RSVP to a private viewing of strange dick …”
Let’s talk about sex: This is Computer Love (Engadget)
- Now that we are actually living in 2015 — and with 2016 right around the corner — it’s fun to look at some notable books and films that tried to envision what sex would be like in the future. In other words, right this very minute. A lot of things turned out to be flat out wrong. But what’s even more intriguing—and even more than a bit chilling—is what they actually may have gotten right.
The Sexual Future of 2015: What Sci-Fi Movies and Books Got Wrong… and Right (Future of Sex)
- From 2010 to late 2013, Fabian Thylmann presided over the meteoric rise of a company called MindGeek, a collection of online adult streaming video (or “tube”) sites that became one of the largest and most powerful adult entertainment conglomerates ever assembled — and in turn, irrevocably influenced the course of countless business ventures and careers.
Meet The Guy Who Changed Porn Forever (BuzzFeed)
Lube Company Offers #RondaRousey Lifetime Supply After Maxim Article https://t.co/7V836pilZA pic.twitter.com/uw9Ui2QD7e
— MMAWeekly.com (@MMAWeeklycom) November 6, 2015
- You wouldn’t know that there are plenty of women (and men) of various ages who swear by lube from reading UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey’s [bad sex] advice to Maxim readers. In response to a 36-year-old male reader asking “What should a guy ALWAYS do in bed?” she wrote, in part: “What should a guy always do? Take his time. In general, a girl takes a minute. He needs to get her ready. You should never need lube in your life. If you need lube, then you’re being lazy…and you’re not taking your time.” VB note: lots of people are annoyed by Rousey’s remark…
Ronda Rousey gives terrible sex advice: “If you need lube, then you’re being lazy” shows she has no business telling other people how to get off (Salon)
- Kenya’s Ministry of Devolution has been accused of spending millions of taxpayer money on overpriced goods, including sex toys and a condom dispenser.
Kenya’s Devolution Ministry Bought Sex Toys, Vibrators, Condom Dispenser With Taxpayers’ Money, Parliament Says (IB Times)
- Not only did Ashley Madison enable those who cheat — it also cheated customers out of money. That’s what one man is alleging in a lawsuit against the now-disgraced website, exposed for misrepresenting its services after hackers infiltrated the site and unearthed the clandestine behaviors of Ashley Madison’s users and company leadership. As Josh Katzowitz notes at the Daily Dot, TMZ reported that a man named David Poyet filed suit against Avid Life Media, the parent company of Ashley Madison.
Why Ashley Madison will win in court (Daily Dot)
Someone turning "Netflix and chill" into graffiti outside Netflix's Los Gatos HQ… pic.twitter.com/7nEre4ouvg
— scott budman (@scottbudman) November 4, 2015
- If sex were music, what would it sound like? Our pop stars and musicians have come up with some deft approximations over the years, but nothing quite as literal as Rory Viner. The Japan-based sound artist has been strapping movement sensors across his and his partner’s bodies during intercourse, feeding the signal to software programmed to respond with synthesizer notes, and playing the output back live.
What Real Sex Music Sounds Like (Vice)
- The first five female sexual assistants, specially trained to provide paid services to disabled people, have started to work in the Czech Republic, Lucie Sidova, director of the Rozkos bez rizika organisation (Bliss Without Risk, R+R), which has trained the assistants, said this week. Apart from Switzerland and Czech Republic, sexual assistance exists in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. The applicants for the relevant licence have to complete special courses or studies.
CzechRep has first five sexual assistants for disabled people (ceskenoviny.cz)
- It was the tweet heard round the sex-worker world. At 6:12 p.m. on Oct. 29, Margaret Cho, the 46-year-old comedian, disturbed the Twittersphere with an economical 109 characters: “Sex work is simply work. For me it was honest work. I was a sex worker when I was young. It was hard but well paid. There’s no shame in it.”
Margaret Cho Wants to Talk About Sex Work (NYT)
- California voters could help decide the future of the state’s multibillion-dollar adult film industry next November, weighing in on a newly qualified ballot measure that would require porn actors to wear condoms. The California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act qualified for the November 2016 ballot on Wednesday based on a random sampling of the nearly 557,000 voter signatures that proponents filed in September, avoiding a full signature count.
Condoms-in-porn measure qualifies for next year’s California ballot (Sacramento Bee) See also: FSC: Condom Initiative Would Result in Performers Being Sued, Harassed (XBIZ)
- One of the standout moments on last night’s episode of “Empire” was the reveal that Gabourey Sidibe’s character Becky has a love interest. In a playful, racy scene we find Becky and hip hop artist MC J Poppa (actor Mo McRae) having sex on a rooftop.
‘Empire’ Just Showed Viewers That Fat Women Like Sex, Too (Huffington Post)
- Makeup artist Melissa Murphy was once blacklisted by the porn industry after she revealed what its stars really look like. She uses Instagram to showcase her work, sharing before-and-after photos of the actresses and nude models. When those photos hit Reddit and went viral in the media, members of the adult industry accused Murphy of selling the story to the press.
Makeup artist reveals new before-and-after photos of porn stars (Tech Insider | Above: Nicole Aniston on set for Holly Randall)
- When the issue of sex workers in Thailand is brought up, any discussion is usually characterized with words of ‘exploitation’, ‘coercion’, and ‘human trafficking’. However, not all feel oppressed and that they are undertaking a degrading occupation. Some of the girls interviewed felt that sex work was a means of emancipating themselves economically, and as a consequence felt more optimistic about their futures.
Why some Thai sex workers say they are happy in their jobs (Asian Correspondent)
- Craft artist Lucy Sparrow recently challenged U.K. censorship laws with a sex shop made entirely of 5,000 felt products, some of which featured hardcore fetish and BDSM acts that were outlawed by the U.K. nearly a year ago. Sparrow decided to test the boundaries of the laws with her “Madame Roxy’s Erotic Emporium” art installation, which was open to the public for 10 days in October and featured 5,000 felt-based sex products sewn by hand.
Felt-Filled Sex Shop Challenges U.K. Censorship Laws (XBIZ)
- “Chemsex” is used in the United Kingdom to describe intentional sex under the influence of psychoactive drugs, mostly among men who have sex with men. It refers particularly to the use of mephedrone, γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), γ-butyrolactone (GBL), and crystallised methamphetamine. These drugs are often used in combination to facilitate sexual sessions lasting several hours or days with multiple sexual partners.
What is chemsex and why does it matter? (The BMJ)
