FLY BOYS

It is said that swinging began among American military communities in the 1950s, primarily out in the California desert among the elite test pilots. Out in the joushua tree wastelands, on remote air force bases, recently returned combat pilots from WWII flew the latest jet planes. It was here Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1 named after his wife, "Glamorous Glennis," and here where these pilots pushed the envelop of aeronautics and set the path for the first generation of astronauts.

Perhaps these hardened combat vets had seen too many of their buddies never make it home. Perhaps they promised them they’d live life to its fullest. Perhaps the heat and the isolation of the Mojave made them bored and eager for some fun. Perhaps the machismo fueled them. Perhaps in the pack of pilots, women were few. And married to their buddies.

“Hey Chip, your wife sure has some body.”

“Hell yeah she does. I bet you want to take a test flight on that model, wouldn’t you, fly boy?”

“Yes Sir I would!”

“Oh, cut it out fellas, no need to fight over little ‘ol me. You're both cleared for take off.”

The hyper testosterone, frat-boy fighter pilot objectification of woman as an interchangeable tool like one of their jets is clearly sexist, and offensive, and if we admit it only to ourselves, a little bit sexy.

By the time the Korean War ended, the practice had spread from the military to the suburbs. The media dubbed the phenomenon “wife-swapping.”

Read more »

TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE

"Badges? ....We don't need no stinkin badges."

Read more »

WORD OF THE DAY: NACKTREITEN

Nacktreiten is a German term for riding nude in the countryside. It originally applied to horseback riding, but can also refer to naked cycle riding.

Why America do we not have such a word, or such a cool tradition?

Read more »

THE NEW JOY OF SEX -- A classic revised, for better or worse?

When I grew up in the 1970s, I found my parents’ copy of The Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking. My best friend also found it on his parents’ bookshelf. In fact, all my friends, at some point, had either found a copy at home or had spent hours at another friend’s house, flipping page by thrilling page through, what seemed to be, the most popular book alongside the Bible and the Yellow Pages.

The Joy of Sex spent 11 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list and more than 70 weeks in the top five (1972–1974).

First published in 1972, The Joy of Sex was a landmark in what Boomers like to claim as “the sexual revolution.” When published, there was nothing else like it. The famous Kinsey Report had rocked American’s understanding of their sexuality. But the state of sex manuals stuck with the science and sanitized the pleasure.

The original Joy of Sex contained numerous illustrations by Charles Raymond and Christopher Foss based on original photographs of the book's art director, Kenn Ford and his wife Anna. In contrast to the clinical style of earlier books about sex, the illustrations were titillating as well as illustrative. Unlike the glossy, airbrushed Playboy Bunny’s I found in my Dad’s magazine stack, the pencil-sketch images in The Joy of Sex showed a couple engaging in the actual act. I saw oral sex, both given and received, dynamic sexual positions with exotic sounding names (“croupade” for anything today we’d call “rear entry” and “feuille de rose” for rimming) and images that made me touch myself to orgasm. Most importantly, I saw images of a couple obviously in love. I saw them smile, flirt, and play. One image showed the woman playfully tied to the bedposts, legs parted and ready. (How I touched myself to that one!) And, as one good turn deserves another, an image of the man on his back, his ankles bound, and the woman on top. (How I dreamed one day a woman would do that to me.)

The center of the book also contained color images of sex from ancient Japanese and Hindi texts. These were exotic to me, not quite as erotic for my onerous purposes. However, they added to the central message of the book: sex is nothing new; it has been enjoyed in generations past—people today should enjoy it as well.

Throughout the book, I saw a couple, beautiful in their natural state, loving each other, embracing, kissing, and holding hands. It teaches that good sex is really, at heart, about good communication: “feeback means the right mixture of stop and go, tough and tender, exertion and affection. This comes by empathy and long mutual knowledge.”

While the spirit of the book is empowering, the text is, admittedly, cumbersome. The text, in parts, is warm and witty, and in others heavy-handed, and even a little pompous and judgmental. Then again, its author, Dr. Alex Comfort, was born in 1920 and studied medicine at Cambridge. So, reading Joy of Sex is at its fundamental level getting bedroom advice from a then 52-year-old White male upper-class English doctor. That, my friends, may not be the ideal image we conjure when imagining an advisor of our most intimate questions. Nonetheless, it’s now widely accepted that Dr. Comfort’s 1972 Joy of Sex set the standard for sex self-help books.

Now, a generation later, a new edition has been released. The new 2008 edition has been rewritten and “reinvented” by relationship psychologist Susan Quilliam, and, apparently, approved by Nicholas Comfort, Dr. Comfort’s son

Hearing this news, I have to admit, my heart sank. All the classic images, the sense of discovery and innocence flooded my memory. And the thought of a classic being “reinvented” felt, I’ll admit, like lossing part of my own coming of age. So of course, I had to learn more. I began to read and watch all the reports, blogs, and reviews of this “New Joy of Sex.”

The online articles point to the areas the new edition revised, focusing almost exclusively on “buttered buns” and “group sex.” “Buttered buns” is basically what some call “sloppy seconds.” Some of the blogs I came across point to the inclusion of “buttered buns” in the original Joy as the author’s endorsement of that act. If you actually read Comfort’s entry, he dismisses the practice as a “carry-over from a fairly general age behavior.” In the entry for “Foursomes and moresomes,” he states from the start that it’s a trend of his time, and that he doesn’t participate. While the idea may seem thrilling, the reality can leave some couples cold. Orgies, he says, “need a hell of a lot of martini-lubrication.” If a couple wants to experiment, he suggests caution and commutation between both partners. In short, he states, it’s not quality sex and even if a couple tires it, they’ll probably tire of it after the first or second session.

Apparently the very minor entries on horse riding and motorcycles have been deleted. In the original, Comfort says that he hasn’t actually tried either. He says that it’s rumored that some women can experience orgasm from riding. And for motorcycle sex, he doesn’t suggest actually fucking while riding, but some form of the female passenger behind on a private, isolated road, doing something as a form of foreplay—perhaps riding topless—not such a bad thing, as any Harley enthusiast knows.

On an ABC News special, Susan Quilliam proudly boasted that one of her additions was updating the original text’s view on “hygiene.” No doubt she was offended by Comfort’s original entry on deodorant. He calls for washing with soap and water, but stated plainly: “A mouthful of aluminum chloride in a girl’s armpit is one of the biggest disappointments bed can afford.” It’s hard to argue with that logic. Phermones, scientists now know, are one of the most powerful forms of sexual attraction. There’s nothing sexier than the slightly salty skin of a lover; few things are unsexier than the chemical taste of deodorant.

Pleading for natural scents to be an important ingredient in sex fits the larger aesthetic of the book. It celebrates a sense of being naked and natural. The couple in the illustrations is not Ken and Barbie, but a fairly average looking couple in their late 20s, early 30s. The woman has average B-cup breasts rather than implants and a triangle of pubic hair rather than a landing strip. Yes, the dude has a beard, and yes, he looks like a guy would have in 1972. But all fashion is cyclical. He also looks like some of the hipsters and idie rockers in the coffee shops I see everyday.


Now, beard dude and his hipster girlfriend are gone. In the 1990s, The Joy of Sex was revised to insert safe sex in the post-AIDS epidemic era. The black and white drawings were replaced by pastel color pencil. Mr. Dude had apparently “gotten a hair cut and a real job.” Gone was the beard. The woman, though, retained her unshaven underarms. In the new edition, gone is any semblance to the hippie and the hipster. Here we find a new dude with close-cropped, semi-spiked hair and his perky gal pal with dyed highlights.

Oh Boomers, can you just leave well enough alone? It’s like George Lucas going back to the original Star Wars and digitally altering Luke Skywalker’s haircut. As if that changes the story, or changes the historic impact of the movie’s 1977 release.

The original Joy of Sex is a classic. Dated, yes. Perfect, no. By today’s standards, it’s text heavy, and somewhat judgmental when pretending to be open-minded. While once breaking middle class barriers, it’s now quaint. Even laughable in places. It is, in a nutshell, reflective of its generation.

Yes, that’s a slam on the Boomers. But that’s my generation’s right to slam my parent’s generation, just as they slammed their 1950s “Leave it to Beaver” parents, just as the Roaring 20s slammed the Victorians….and on and on. Each generation becomes dated to the next. It’s inevitable.

So why update a classic of its era rather than just write a new book? Does the Mona Lisa need a facelift because she’s “dated”? Do we need the “revised” Declaration of Independence? Should we rewrite Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech because he uses the word negro?

Ironically, just last night, when I came home with a documentary on James Dean, my girlfriend said, “Oh I don’t like James Dean, his movies are so dated.” She thought his straight-legged Levis and hair combed back in a pompadour was pretty ridiculous. “I don’t get it,” she said. After watching the documentary, she said, “He’s actually really sexy.”


Yes, Jame’s Dean’s movies are dated. Part of the Technicolor look is exactly its charm. So, too, the shaggy 1970s man making love with his naturally unshaven partner. The pathos of Joy is an acceptance of thing natural, especially sex. Its fundamental thesis is that sex is natural, that we are naked animals and the many ways we can make love can be enjoyable and healthy.

Today’s media-rich generation no longer finds their parent’s Joy of Sex on the bookshelf. They can find anything sexual on the internet. It is far more explicit and extreme than anything that even Comfort could have foreseen.


Today, any kid with an internet connection can pull up 1,000s of images of every type of human sexual act, and every form of pornography. In the barrage, there are also detailed, informed, and clearly-written articles on safe sex, and positive pro-sex education.

It seems that the original Joy of Sex is more relevant today than ever. I think we are well past any danger that anyone would ever take the 1972 original as their sole source of information. Even the original encouraged readers to pick and chose—try one thing, and if you don’t like it, don’t do it. It never claimed to be the definitive source, and plainly stated that people’s individual tastes will vary.

Since there are so many quality sex ed sources available today, why not let people discover the original Joy of Sex? In this age of young women battling eating disorders, and crushing self-esteem issues from media projected body images—in a time when natural bodies are criticized and puffed up botox lips and silicone-inflated breasts are celebrated—wouldn’t it be a nice message to say to the young women of this upcoming generation: you are beautiful as you are, the size of your breasts, the way your hair grows and how it smells is natural. Sex is about love and communication with a committed partner. Sex is about having a loving relationship that is based on trust, respect, and genuine tenderness.


So, dear readers, if you’re now a little curious about what’s between the covers of the original Joy of Sex, then I have given you just a small part of my own adolescent experience. Rather than jump on Amazon for the new edition, I recommend searching your neighborhood used bookstore. Support your local business community, and the adventure of the hunt may be a perfect little weekend spice for you and your partner. And hey, if you don’t like the same parts I like, that’s part of Comfort’s original intent. And, if you read it in bed together, and have a good laugh, perfect. Laughter is in bed is also part of the joy.

Read more »

WORD OF THE DAY: RUSTY TROMBONE

Rusty trombone is a euphemism for a sexual act in which a man stands while the other partner kneels behind him and performs analingus while reaching up beneath the testicles or around the body to masturbate him, mimicking the motions of a trombone player. The act is defined primarily by the physical orientation of the partners and the combination of analingus with manual penile stimulation; however, other positions and variations are possible. (And encouraged!)

Read more »

DON'T MESS WITH SPARTAN WOMEN

The women of ancient Sparta (Lacedaemon) were a special breed among ancient Greek women. Unlike other female Greeks, they were athletic and educated.

In pursuit of physical perfection and self-dependence, Spartan women had the advantage over other Greek women. Spartan women had wide legal rights; they could own land and slaves as well as lend money. Spartan girls were given the same food rations as the boys and were allowed to drink undiluted wine.

Ancient Sparta is remembered as society with rigorous codes of training and physical exercise. In Ancient Greece, athletes competed nude. In fact, the Olympic games were conducted nude until 393 A.D. when a Christian emperor banned them because he thought they were Pagan.

The word gymnos, meaning nude, is where we get the terms gymnasium and, of course gym class. Adolescent girls were subject to strict training regime that made them every bit as fit as the guys. Classical sources list as part of a girl’s education racing, wrestling, throwing the discus and javelin and trials of strength. Both genders competed and trained in sight of the opposite gender; boys were naked, girls practiced sports either naked, too, or in light tunics which didn't cover too much. (Talk about making gym class more fun.)













The 1862 painting by Degas, “Spartan Girls Challenging Boys” depicts a group of four Spartan girls confronting five boys. One girl thrusts forward her arm, while a boy lifts his arms forming a circular opening, as if the suggesting a reversal of penetration and power. Another boy is one his knees, certainly suggestive of a submissive posture.

Spartan women wore briefer clothing than other Greek women, and word has it that they sometimes dispensed with these garments and went nude in the town if they wished, treated with the same respect as clothed people.

The most known Spartan of ancient times is legendary Helen, who was allegedly abducted by Paris and taken to Troy. Helen was such a beauty, it is said, that her husband king Menelaus of Sparta could not let her go without a fight. Thus were launched “a 1,000 ships” and the 10-year Trojan War.

Read more »

OSEN

The Japanese word for hot springs is osen. The islands of Japan are active volcanoes, with thousands of onsen scattered across its countryside. The Japanese often talk of the virtues of "naked communion," hadaka no tsukiai for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed, natural atmosphere. Traditionally, men and women bathed nude together at the onsen, but single-sex and swimsuit bathing has become the norm since the opening of Japan to the West during the Meiji period.

Once again, thanks to America for imposing its views of sexuality on other cultures and making nudity socially awkward for everyone.

Read more »

TO BOB OR TO PEG?

In 2001, in his popular Savage Love column, Dan Savage noted that there was no common name for the practice of females penetrating heterosexual men with a dildo. The practice was nothing new. In the earliest photographic depictions of Victorians doing the deed, we see examples. Although we’ve inherited these images, the proper term, apparently, has been lost.

Apparently the Showtime series “Weeds” made reference to the practice (Season 2, episode 6). There is a depiction of pegging in the William S. Burroughs novel Naked Lunch. The dildo used in the scene is called a “Steely Dan III.” Apparently, it was the inspiration for the band name Steely Dan. Though no one, to my knowledge, uses the term “Steely Dan” to reference the sexual act of a gal ding her fella with a strap-on.

A popular porn series, “Bend Over Boyfriend” has become the standby name. Sort of like “Kleenex” becoming synonymous with tissue paper and Q-tip with that cotton swab thing you stick in your ear. But “Bend Over Boyfriend” is a mouthful. Some folks shorten it to an acronym, “BOB.”

But what to do with “BOB”? Could it become a verb? As in, “Last night my girlfriend and I were bobbing.” Last night we went bobbing? Last nigh my girlfriend “bobbed” me?

You can see the confusion. So, June 2001, in his column Savage Love, Dan Savage announced the winner of a new name for “Bend Over Boyfriend.”

And the winner….. (drumroll)…..pegging. As in, “Last night my girlfriend pegged me.” Humm…sounds more direct. And sort of dirty, like a pirate. Arrrrr.

Will the name stick? Almost 8 year later, it seems to be gaining some, ummm, traction…
Someone has posted a Pegging Resource page. And perhaps most hilarious of all: a site called Christian Nympho that discusses, in detail, whether pegging is a sin.

Pegging, as a sexual practice, has been given an entry on wikipedia, though, it has not yet gotten into the dictionary.

All in due time.

Read more »

LADY GODIVA

According to legend, Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering grievously under her husband's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls.

At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town.

Lady Godiva took him at his word.

After issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows, she rode through the town. The town tailor disobeyed her order and peeked thorugh his shutters as Lady Godiva rode pass his window. According to legend, he was struck blind. He was forever afterwards known as “Peeping Tom,” perhaps one of histories most famous voyeurs.

In the end, Godiva's husband keeps his word and abolishes the onerous taxes. And that, dear reader, is how naked protesting began.

Read more »

NUDE BEACH NAMES

Before the Victorian Era and the invention of the bathing suit, all beaches were nude beaches. As the swimsuit became more common, beaches became segregated between the nude beaches and the non-nude areas. In the nude beaches, people would be nude, in the non-nude, they'd be in swim attire. Then the pressure not to be nude began to infiltrate the clothes-free beaches with the more politically correct "clothing optional."

In Europe, it has been a long tradition for women to be topless on beaches. The idea is a basic equal rights between sexes: if men can take off their shirts, so can women. If men cover their groin, so do women. So "topless beaches" in Europe are nothing new.

This woman takes a funny stand on the nude beach distinctions. Is she at a "bottomless" beach--that sounds funny. A "bottomfree" beach? Also a funny term. A "bare buns" beach?

Or has she just taken the suggestion of "clothing optional" to just just opt for her bikini top and bare the rest?


Whatever you call it, I call it sexy.

Read more »

RIDE NAKED!

The very first two-wheel, “petal-pushed” bicycle made its world debut in 1817, but the basic bicycle as we know it hit its stride in the 1890s “Golden Age of Bicycles.” The first chain-driven bicycle was developed around 1885 and a few years later air-filled tires and coaster brakes were added. Bicycling became both a popular pastime, as well as a practical form of commuting. Just as skinny dipping was a common form of swimming in rural lakes and streams at the turn of the century, no doubt some adventurous folks hopped on their bikes in the buff. Surprisingly, there is no real record of organized naked biking until a century later.

Organized naked bike rides seem to have taken off in 2001. In Spain, a naked bike ride was celebrated in Zaragoza, and naked riders joined the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade in Seattle. Naked riders have joined up with Critical Mass across the US, and other annual rides in Europe.

Although there’s an “official” World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) website, the overall trend of naked bike rides seems to be a grassroots movement. Commonalities between naked bikers are colorful body paint, creative costumes, and sometimes decorated bikes. Underlying the public nudity is not so much a united protest against gasoline vehicles, or against the often hypocritical and sexist indecency laws; in the color and show, seems to be a statement against as a celebration pro-bike traffic, pro-green energy, pro-healthy living, and the simple right to be in the buff. Otherwise, it seems to truly be a free-for-all, with only one guiding motto: "Bare As You Dare.”




For the past several years, my hometown has held an annual naked bike ride. I have never gone, because it seemed naked bikers were, actually, rather unsexy. Now, looking at images around the world and learning more about public nudity laws and just how conservative we’ve become as a culture, I am pro nude bikers. They make our streets a little more colorful, a little more fun, and—most importantly of all—a little more free. What a true democracy that we live in when protest can be non-violent, and naked.

Here’s to a second “Golden Age of Bicycles.”

Read more »

A CENTURY OF GOOD VIBRATIONS

In 1902, the American company Hamilton Beach patented the first electric vibrator available for retail sale. The vibrator became the fifth domestic appliance to be electrified, after the sewing machine, fan, tea kettle, and toaster, and about a decade before the vacuum cleaner and electric iron.

The home versions soon became extremely popular, with advertisements in periodicals such as Needlecraft, Woman's Home Companion, and the Sears & Roebuck catalog. A 1910 advertisement claimed that: "Vibration promotes life and vigour, strength and beauty."

Today, drug stores like Walgreens stock “personal massagers” for the relief of sore muscles, aches, and general relaxation. Yeah…relaxation. Exactly.

Here’s to a century of health benefits provided by the vibrator.

Read more »

WORD OF THE DAY

Anasyrma (plural: anasyrmata), also called anasyrmos: lifting up of one's skirt with no underwear underneath

Read more »

SWIM SUITS AND BIRTHDAY SUITS

In the Victorian era, bathing suits covered as much of the body as possible--included stockings, hats and sleeves, and were made from wool that became heavy when wet. In 1907, Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer and water ballerina, wore a suit that exposed her arms, legs and neck to the United States. She was arrested for indecent exposure but helped pave the way for the swimsuit in the 20th Century.

In 1913, Carl Jantzen invented a two-piece women's woolen swimsuit. The close-fit design allowed women to swim more easily and competitively. About 1925, an elastic, two-way stretch textile made from Latex was introduced, called "Lastex." By the 1930s, the one-piece swimsuit gave way to the belted suit with or without top for men, (although many still wore the two-piece suits). For women, the lastex invention offered a more form fitted suit and the leg lines started to rise. The first completely synthetic fabric was invented by DuPont in 1938, called "nylon." In 1946, Louis Réard and Jacques Heim reinvented the "bikini," named after Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. and the exposure of the midriff. Ursula Andress increased the bikini's fame in 1962, when she wore a white one in the James Bond film "Dr. No."

By the 1960s, the DuPont company had invented spandex, often sold under the brand name "Lycra." It remains a popular material for bathing suits. The 70's introduced the "thong" and the 80's brought along the "french cut" (leg openings high cut on the hips).

As the decades have evolved, swimwear has seemed to have gotten smaller along with the ability and desire to show more skin. Perhaps in time, we'll realize the the most flexible, the fastest drying, and the most affordable swim suit is your birthday suit.

Read more »

BEYOND THIS POINT

As far as I can tell, swim suits were invented in the late 1900s. That means before the swim suit, all beaches were nude beaches. When Captain Cook first anchored off of Hawaii, he was greeted by naked natives. Eventually, though, the missionaries who followed were able to enforce a ban on nudity. How sad that the original nude beaches, like pristine wilderness, have been in rapid decline since the 19th Century.

Today, it is no longer natural to strip off one's clothes in the sun and leap in the surf. Now, it is illegal--considered "indecent." How has the mere sight of another human's body has become so taboo that teh very last of the nude beaches are strictly segregated, with signs to caution visitors. They are not even called "nude" beaches anymore, but rather "clothing optional," as if the option of wearing clothes should never be forgotten.

Here's to the last of the endangered nude beaches, and the right to feel sun on skin, sand and water. Here's to the beauty of being natural in nature. Here's to those who "dare to bare." You are brave, and you make me proud.


I, myself, am not a nudist. I do not frequent nude beaches. But I am glad there are still a few in America. If our natural and wild areas are the legacy we inherited and will pass down to the next generation, then it is a great shame to see a sign that says: Public Nudity Prohibited. That is an embarrassing sign of our narrow mindedness and fear toward the body. To me, such signs are "indecent" and "obscene."

To anyone who has stood up to these silly regulations and restrictions, I thank you. You set a good example for others to follow with the simple message that it's ok to be comfortable and not ashamed in our own skin.

Read more »

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH, COLORADO

It's funny to look back at yearbooks. Say, for example, you saw just the close up of this young woman. She looks like she's in college. The cateye glasses and haircut put her about mid-1960s. She was in high school, no doubt, when Kennedy was shot.

There's a certain assumed innocence of that time--before the assignations of both Kennedy brothers, and MLK, before the riots and before Vietnam became nightly news. Perhaps it was a small bubble of American history, bound to burst. But for a short time, Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best set the tone of the times. Dad went to work, mom cooked dinner, and the family said grace before eating.

Looking at old yearbooks, the women with shoulder-length, flipped hair, and the men in crew cuts, it's easy to imagine they were barely a few years past Boy Scouts and Home Ec class. If these faces were the onces we saw on TV, they said, "Aw sucks," and "golly" a lot. They asked Veronica if she'd "go steady."

Take the photo in a wider lens, in color, see that Veronica goes camping with friends in the Colorado Rockies. She's set out coco and coffee, as the kettle heats over the campfire. Above the the kitchen counter she's set up, she looks like the All-American girl. And below, is another story.

What a wonderful image. It reminds us that we were all young once, and never that innocent.

Read more »

GO ORGANIC!

In the past couple years, there is a growing concern for the safety of plastic sex toys. Known as phthalates, potentially dangerous compounds are found in cheaper sex toys, such as plastic vibrators, anal beads, and jelly dildos. Controversy over the health impact of phthalates, which are compounds or esters of phthalic acid, has raged for years in Europe and the US.

Avoiding the risk altogether, some woman are turning to Mother Nature for a more traditional helping hand. So instead of driving to the cheap sex store by the truck stop--you can turn to your backyard garden, for an all-natural, home-grown solution. What an easy (and fun way) to "go green."

Read more »

WHY COKE TASTES BETTER IN A BOTTLE

Anyone who had Coke in the old fashioned glass bottles knows that it tastes different than in the can. It's not the container's material, as some claim. Rather, the Coke in glass bottles (made in Mexico and shipped to the US) are sweetened the old fashioned way--real sugar cane. Soda pop manufactured in the US are sweetened by high fructose corn syrup. The difference is clear.

Read more »

ANON WIFE, OLD TIME

When photography was invented, it was both praised and criticized for its ability to precisely render its subject in clear detail. Painting and literature could be blurred. An individual could be composited with to create a factious character, or a generalized, or idealized image. But the camera captured every detail. A photograph of a woman was not any woman in general, but the specific person. So photographers of the 19th Century turned to prostitutes for their models--women whose reputations had already been "soiled."

In this image, the woman in the center as her eyes blotched out. Perhaps an unexpected blemish of the old paper and chemicals. Very possible. Yet look closely, there are no other blemishes. The faces of the other two women are clear. Enough, even, to identify them on the street. No other part of the women's bodies are blotched. A nipple on the left is clearly visible. Even a darker spot, perhaps a dab of the photographer's touch-up brush has accentuated the anus of center woman. It's as if the photographer wants to conceal the woman's identity, while drawing attention to her buttocks, parted by the two harlots beside her.

In ancient Rome, the prostitutes were exhibited naked on rooftops above public highways. It is said that when the legions of Roman's citizen-soldiers marched back to Rome, some of the Patrician wives would stand on rooftops, wearing only masks. The danger and excitement that discovery could bring. Now, thousands of wives post themselves online, sometimes fully exposed, and sometimes holding back just enough details to maintain their anonymity. Being looked upon with the thinnest mask of anonymity is a thrill indeed.

I'd like to think that this image shows a woman of means and status, who wanted the thrill of posing in a "French postcard." For this one sitting, she could expose herself, conceal her face, and draw attention to her lewdest, most forbidden part. Sodomy, after all, is a Biblical sin.

That fact doesn't stop us now, and no doubt, more than a 125 years ago it didn't either.

Read more »

WHEN GRANDMA GOT IT ON

Growing up, there was a version of history that went like this: The Victorians were prudes, and no one had sex and if they did, they didn't like it. The Roaring 20s had flappers and shorter skirts, but they were still prudes. Maybe a couple of them had sex, but they didn't really know what they were doing. In the Great Depression, people were too depressed to have sex. In WWII, too busy winning the War to have sex. And the 50s--no way was Apple Pie America having sex. And then in the Summer of Love, a sexual "revolution" occurred, and since then, we have all been liberated from the old fashioned, outdated, and embarrassed subject of sex.

The Baby Boomers like to think they invented sex, drugs, rock and roll. Of course, being the biggest generation in American history, who do they think was making all that whoopee that spawned them?

Growing up in this era of media, I see the grainy black and white images of steam trains and WII bombers. Because they are so small on my screen, somehow it seems like the machinery of yesteryear must be smaller, like models. Yet, an old WWII bomber is the size of the modern passenger jets. An old Ford Model A is actually not a wind-up toy car but about the same size as a Prius. An old steam train's wheel is taller than my head. Some how the past gets reduced like a diorama.


So too, it would seem that the tin-type faces of now long-dead generations in their bloomers and top hats would only have sex in the missionary position, and only for the act of pro-creation. In today's world we know we can find explicit images if we google words like "cock sucking." We think, girls gagging on stiff dicks, spreading wide, bending over, and gang bangs are somehow a reflection of our "Post Sexual Revolution," a product of this internet era. But why do assume that those somber faces in the dusty family archives weren't getting it on with just as must lust and gusto? They sucked cock, played with dildos, and had three-ways.

Here's a special tribute to those who "came" before us--

Read more »