Feb 172020
- Kinkstarter discusses the 1997 kinky-romance-comedy film Preaching to the Perverted.
- The Columbia Chronicle profiles Chicago’s Leather Archive & Museum.
- The BBC covers the diary of a Yorkshire farmer in 1810, who discussed a famous case of a naval surgeon who engaged in homosexual affairs. The diarist, Matthew Tomlinson, argued that homosexuality could be an inborn character trait, and should not be punished. “…it must then be considered as natural, otherwise as a defect in nature – and if natural, or a defect in nature; it seems cruel to punish that defect with death”. This throws off the usual view that homosexuality wasn’t conceived of as a fixed psychological trait (i.e. “born this way”) until later in the 19th century, with the writings of Krafft-Ebing.
- Future of Sex reviews Hard Times in Hornstown, “a free text-based sandbox fetish porn game”, which puts the player into a variety of sexual encounters, included fetishes and kinks.
- In the UK, the activist group We Can’t Consent to This has documented an alarming increase in the “rough sex” defense in homicide cases. “We Can’t Consent to This has documented 59 cases of the “rough sex” defense. Among those instances, there are many cases of horrific bodily injury that rationally preclude the possibility of consensual sex: a fractured spine, skull, or ribs. Notably absent in these cases: panicked calls to 911 in hopes of resuscitation.” The article goes on to consider the rise of choking and “rough sex” in mainstream sex, while still being considered edgeplay in the BDSM community.
- Pride Source discusses how anti-kink prejudice in wider society may keep kinky people from seeking help from legal and medical institutions.
- Hypebeast explores how leather chest harnesses, once only seen in gay male leather clubs, have spread to streetwear. (I’ve seen them worn by straight men in BDSM/fetish venues too.) Acceptance or commodification?
- In The Washington Examiner, Brad Polumbo wrote an editorial describing how “normal” his life and the lives of other LGBTQ people were, then complained about how “D.C.’s degenerate gay community was busy celebrating “leather weekend” — giving us all a bad name and annihilating what progress we’ve made.” The writer was at pains to separate his idea of homosexuality from any deviance. “The bigger problem, though, is the way these people conflate their sexual deviancy with homosexuality. There is, in reality, nothing about “leather,” “kink,” or “fetishes” that is at all related to homosexuality. I would argue that these people are no different from heterosexuals with similar perversions, so why the exhibitionism?” This editorial sparked opposition on Twitter, and an editorial in The Advocate said “…my husband and I didn’t slam those who opted against wearing latex suits with detachable butt plugs as being any less a part of the LGBTQ community.”
