Gloria's Oversexed Mind

Funny French Bread!

OMG! Did I just see the face of the Virgin Mary in the balls???

December 24, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

What were you expecting, you perverts?

Hanging out : A Blue Tit hangs from a branch awaiting its turn on a bird feeder

Check out those tiny little tail-feathers!

December 24, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

from Boing-Boing:

Tim Vandecasteele has create a web application for the iPhone designed to teach men how to digitally pleasure a woman's nethers—if only female reproductive organs were as sensitive as a perfectly smooth sheet of hardened glass. I'll never be in an uncomfortable, unfulfilling relationship with a patio door again!

It's called "RubMyClit." I feel dirty just typing that, but I have a duty to you, the reader.

LINK:
Rub My... Uh, I'm Not, Uh... You Know

(Thanks to Mike for sending this)

December 24, 2007 in Sex and Technology | Permalink | Comments (0)

Santa does Adonis Cabaret's Girls Night Out

(Thanks to T. for the holiday spirit!)

December 24, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

You were warned!

The origin of angel tree-toppers

One Christmas a long time ago Santa Claus had
problems. Four of his elves were sick so
Santa got behind schedule. Then Mrs Claus
told Santa that her Mum was coming to visit;
this stressed Santa even more. He went to see
his reindeer and found that three of them
were about to give birth. More stress. Then
when he began to load the sleigh he dropped
the toy bag and scattered the toys.

Santa went into the house for a shot of whisky
but the elves had drunk him dry.

Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed
on his way to the door. There was a little
angel with a big Christmas tree. "Merry Christmas
Santa”, said the angel, “Isn't it a lovely
day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where
would you like me to stick it?”

Thus began the tradition of the angel on
top of the Christmas tree.

December 23, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

I blogged about this sensational high society murder when they first found Mr. Stern in SM gear and arrested his Mistress. Now the case is finally in court and the emerging details are ghoulishly fascinating. If you like SM, and you like true crime (and I like both), this is a must read.

Crime of passion? Or fit of uncontrollable rage? Is there a difference?

I'll excerpt some of the most salacious bits.

Fiery love of tycoon and sex game killer

MORE than two years after Edouard Stern, the wealthy banker, was found shot dead at his home in Geneva wearing a latex suit during an apparent sadomasochistic sex session, the tranquil world of Swiss finance was rocked by fresh scandal last week as lawyers in his murder trial swapped claims of prostitution and intimidation.

The first public hearing on the case, in which Stern’s blonde mistress Cécile Brossard, a 38-year-old Frenchwoman, has confessed to killing him, was supposed to decide what evidence was admissible, including recordings of telephone calls. It turned into an angry courtroom clash, with her lawyers revealing new details from the investigation.

Lawyers for the Stern family argue that the murder was premeditated, while Brossard claims it was a “crime passion-nel” -- that she killed him in a fit of passion.

In February 2005, colleagues worried at having heard nothing from the 50-year-old Stern found his body, dressed in a latex suit and wearing a harness, a hood over his head, at his penthouse apartment in a chic Geneva neighbourhood. Stern, ranked the 38th most wealthy Frenchman and nicknamed “the little prince of finance”, had been shot four times.

He had promised to marry Brossard, his mistress of four years, before giving her a gift of $1m £504,000 . On February 14, 2005, he blocked the payment and broke off relations with her.

----

At the hearing in Geneva last week Brossard appeared in public for the first time since her arrest. Dressed all in white, including her boots, she sat silently and wiped away tears with a handkerchief while lawyers for the Stern family delved into her past as a call girl.

Marc Bonnant, one of the lawyers, described Brossard as “cunning and money-seeking” and as “a tart having fuelled the fantasies of a 50-year-old man” who had become dependent on her. She went by the name of Sophie when seeing clients at the plush Hotel Scribe in Paris but was known as Alice “when she played the dominatrix in Geneva”. Before meeting Stern, she would charge €6,000 £4,350 for a weekend with a client, the lawyer said.

----

She asked for the $1m when Stern asked for her hand in marriage.... Stern decided to get the money back, a decision that was to prove fatal, he added: “She went into a terrible rage. She left, taking her combat gear-- tights, a dog-collar, a latex suit and other accessories -- with her.”

According to Bonnant, Brossard told the prosecutor: “I killed him because during a sex game he told me, ‘A million dollars-- that’s expensive for a whore’.”

Brossard allegedly shot Stern first in the head, then twice in the chest and one last time in the forehead. Brossard entrusted her response to Pascal Maurer, her lawyer, who pledged to reveal “the true face” of the banker who had morally “harassed a fragile woman to the limit”. Her liaison with Stern had led her “to anorexia, to her own moral and physical degradation”. She had been “ready to make any sacrifice to satisfy the fantasies of her lover”.

Stern was “a skilled hunter who had spotted his quarry” and his aim was to humiliate his mistress. “He is a manipulator who uses his kindness and his false romanticism. But when she wanted to leave him, he threatened her and stuck a knife in the wall two fingers away from her ears,” Maurer said.

Recorded phone conversations revealed their tormented relationship. Stern told her: “How I love you! My heart is exploding. I didn’t know one could love so much.” He added: “I’m sad that I can’t teleport myself and hold you in my arms.”

In a less romantic message, Stern said: “I don’t trust you . . . I vomit on you. And I’m going to harm you.” He did not take her to parties. “You don’t really think I’m going to spend my life with . . . you,” he said. In another recording he said: “You’d have been one of the bitches in a concentration camp.”

December 23, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 23, 2007 in Sex and Sadomasochism, Sexual Beauty | Permalink | Comments (1)

Interesting thought piece by a therapist, speculating about the drive to form adult Daddy/boy relationships.

Hungering for Daddy

Father hunger is particularly relevant for gay men. After all, the first important relationship that serves as a template for future love and intimacy with men is between a boy and his father. Many gay men experience a particularly painful distance from their fathers -- resulting in men who have some of their most basic father needs unmet. Gay men are also more likely not to have masculine role models or to participate in the cultural processes that help them mature into adult masculinity. It's easy, without the intervention of the mature masculine, for a young gay man to become a "lost boy." He finds it nearly impossible to fulfill his promise in the world, and his true gifts often lie dormant. It is not until the internal immature masculine unites with the mature masculine that a man's potential can be realized.

Father hunger is the yearning for mature masculine energy, the intimacy of the father-son bond and the need to be initiated and blessed by the ritual elder. With some stretch of the imagination, one can explore how father hunger seems to appear in some of the fantasies, imagery, role-play and sexuality of gay men.

December 23, 2007 in Sex and Relationships | Permalink | Comments (0)

As a blog reader recently predicted, this guy's done.

Doctor in penis photo scandal leaves Mayo Clinic

A doctor at a prestigious Arizona clinic who took a photograph of a patient's tattooed penis during surgery is "no longer practicing medicine" at the center, it was confirmed Friday.

Mayo Clinic spokeswoman Lynn Closway would not reveal whether surgeon Adam Hansen had been fired or resigned following the revelations which rocked the Nobel Prize-winning medical center this week.

December 23, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Mithras Invicti

Good job, Beth:

Bethany Laccone, a 17-year-old senior from Portsmouth, Virginia, takes a hotel management class every morning at I.C. Norcom High School before returning to her regular school for the rest of her classes. An out lesbian for over two years, Laccone sometimes wears a t-shirt which bears an image of two overlapping female gender symbols. On December 10, 2007, Laccone was pulled out of class at Norcom High by a teacher who said she shouldn't be wearing the shirt at school and then sent her to the assistant principal's office. The assistant principal and the teacher then told Laccone that the shirt violated a section of the school dress code that bans "bawdy, salacious or sexually suggestive messages." In a later meeting with Laccone's father, the assistant principal said that he was upholding the censorship, and added that the teacher is "very conservative" and claimed she was so upset by the t-shirt that it "interfered with her ability to teach."

In a demand letter sent [on December 20] to I.C. Norcom High School officials, the ACLU demanded that any mention of the censorship be removed from Laccone's student record, that the school guarantee it would not illegally censor Laccone or other students in the future, and that the school apologize to Laccone for its actions.

The ACLU of Virginia and the national ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project are working together in handling Laccone's complaint.

She looks like she doesn't take a lot of shit from people, doesn't she? 

And the ACLU gets results:

On Friday [December 21], Norcom Principal Lynn Briley said the school would comply.

"Yes, we did make a mistake," Briley told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper of Norfolk.

Briley agreed that Laccone had been censored, but said no note had been placed in her file. She said she would apologize to Laccone and try to meet the group's other demands.

Give to the ACLU.

-Mithras

December 22, 2007 in Mithras Invicti, Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Where do all the images of erotic art that don't make it into my Friday Erotic Art shows go?

Today a whole big batch of 'em are going right here.

These are the rejects/left-overs/didn't-have-room-for's of the pulp and exploitation magazine art shows that I ran a few months ago. Since they are extras, I'm going to throw 'em all together in a big random batch and hope you enjoy the cheesy gems...so without further ado (or any particular order)....

Voila La Sleaze! Bon Appetit!

I'm starting with my favorite story title...

December 21, 2007 in Sex and Arts | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Mithras Invicti

Despite my extreme but well-justified skepticism, it appears that Various, Inc. - which runs Adult Friendfinder - has in fact been sold to Penthouse Media Group for $500 million. This is good news for Various's owner, but it remains to be seen whether it will be a benefit to adult personals customers. Again, I may be too skeptical, but I suspect Penthouse will be more interested in selling adult content than helping people hook up. For another thing, the price paid was very low - less than 1.5 times earnings - which reduces the incentive other investors have in funding competitive sites.

-Mithras

December 21, 2007 in Mithras Invicti, Sex On-Line | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a quick note to let folks that I will be on vacation starting next Tuesday (Christmas Day) until Wednesday, January 2nd.

For blog readers: I'm going to try and force myself to stay off the blog. Still working on my book, and want to see what it's like to spend a whole week focused on only one writing project.

For friends and acquaintances: I'll be reading and answering email but will likely be even SLOWER than usual in replying. Thanks in advance for putting up with me :)

For professional queries/requests/favors/permissions etc. etc. etc.: Email always welcome but I will not be answering business correspondence during this time. Please forgive the day - I'll get back to you in January.

For counseling clients:

Consider yourselves in the "friends/acquaintances" category when it comes to email. I'm here and will read but please don't be disappointed if it takes me a while to get back to you.

However, I will only accept emergency appointments during that time (12/25/07 - 01/02/08). See my therapy FAQ for the details and special fees for emergency and on-demand counseling. If you were hoping to speak again in 2007, please let me know ASAP (and I do mean ASAP). A few openings are still available for Saturday 12/22 and Monday 12/24, but they're going fast.

Otherwise, I'll look forward to catching up with you in 2008.

LOVE TO YOU ALL!!

G.

December 20, 2007 in Autobiographical Urges | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't published links to the recent flurry of stories about how abstinence ed doesn't work 'cause I've covered the subject of abstinence ed many times over the past few years, predicting what studies are now proving: that abstinence ed will be a national disaster, that we'll only see greater rates of STD infections and higher pregnancy rates (which we have), and that it will only make kids even more eager to defy authority and experiment earlier (as they have).

Now all the people who supported abstinence ed (or at least mindlessly went along with the government's whacked out dogma) are surprised by the latest studies proving what a hollow sham abstinence ed was in the first place.

Why did we need studies to prove what common sense dictates? You keep kids ignorant, they're going to act ignorant. How much studying does that concept require?

Anyway, one curious paradox does arise. If all the studies are correct, and sex education delays the age at which kids start to experiment....then what about the other study whose results were published by The Washington Post last week which asserts that teens who start having sex early are less likely to be delinquents and may even have fewer problems with sexual dysfunction in adulthood?

If it's healthier for kids to be sexually active...maybe we should leave them in the dark ages after all and let them fornicate the old fashioned ignorant way.

This could be the first argument against sex education that's had real legs.

p.s. What I really think is that we need less studies and a whole lot more common sense about teenagers and sex. We could start by educating not only the kids but their parents. We're never going to raise a generation of sexually healthy kids if their parents are so screwed up they still think abstinence is the answer.

December 20, 2007 in Sexual Health | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Catsturbation"
from
Cute Overload

December 20, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

At last. An explanation for why men like to hear women scream in bed.

Female monkeys may shout during sex to help their male partners climax, research now reveals.

Without these yells, male Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) almost never ejaculated, scientists found....

The researchers found that females yelled during 86 percent of all sexual encounters. When females shouted, males ejaculated 59 percent of the time. However, when females did not holler, males ejaculated less than 2 percent of the time.

Link

Meanwhile, here's a career opportunity that I'd never considered. I can see it now. Gloria Brame, Ph.D., MPTC (Monkey Pelvic Thrust Counter). From same article:

To see if yelling resulted from how vigorous the sex was, the scientists counted the number of pelvic thrusts males gave and timed when they happened. They found when shouting occurred, thrusting increased. In other words, hollering led to more vigorous sex.

Counting monkey pelvic thrusts is admittedly "quite weird, but it's science," researcher Dana Pfefferle, a behavioral scientist and primatologist at the German Primate Center, told LiveScience. "You get used to it."

December 20, 2007 in Sexual Science and Medicine | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ah, those fabulous fabulous '50s. When stereotyping women was almost as much fun as degrading them. Found this montage (part comic, part cheesecake) somewhere and saved it for unknown reasons. It's kinda funny.

But it's kinda sad. The stereotype of the gold-digger, pertly sexy on the outside and coldly exploitative within.

What's even sadder - the stereotype persists. It's launched at virtually any woman who marries a man considerably wealthier than herself. But it isn't limited to women: people are contemptuous of men who marry women a lot wealthier than themselves. One example is the way the less successful husbands of famous actresses/celebs are routinely vilified in media as parasites. WTF? Is there a new social etiquette that if you marry someone with a lot more money you are automatically suspect of marrying them ONLY for their money? That even to consider marrying out of your economic class makes you a mercenary, a whore or a gigolo? Damn, American puritanism is pervasive!

OK, sure, some people DO marry for money rather than love. Sort of depressing to put a price on love. But not exactly a new trend either. It's as old as human history, in fact. Why do Americans get so hostile about it? Like it or not, women, the less-solvent sex, are raised to depend on male wealth. And in most cultures, the richer the husband, the more the woman is admired for making such a desirable match. Yet in America, where we are all obsessed with wealth, people act as if marrying primarily for financial security is vulgar and casts doubt on your moral character. Huh? Is it a question of sour grapes? Wouldn't we all like to be as financially secure as we can, if not for our own sakes, then for the sake of those who depend on us?

Just some random thoughts prompted by this disquieting piece of kitsch.

December 20, 2007 in Sex and Culture, Sex and History, Sex and Relationships, Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

At least that's how the mother of Britney Spears was planning to present herself in a book to be published by a Christian publisher...until, of course, the world found out her 16 year old daughter's pregnant.

Spears' parenting book off after teen pregnancy

A Christian publisher said on Wednesday it has called off a parenting book written by Lynne Spears -- the mother of troubled pop star Britney Spears and her pregnant 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn.

"We have postponed the book indefinitely," said Lindsey Nobles, spokeswoman for Tennessee-based Thomas Nelson.

Nobles did not give a reason for the decision, which followed news on Tuesday that Jamie Lynn Spears was three months pregnant....

So, to summarize: Momma Spears having a skanky, drug-addicted, truly ignorant egomaniacal daughter who lost custody of her babies because of her uncontrollable narcissism didn't dissuade the Christian publisher from going ahead with this book. But finding out that the sweet 16 year old sister had sex with her long-time boyfriend made them cancel the deal.

The message that this publisher is sending with this is that it is more Christian to neglect your children and wallow in ignorance than to have underage sex.

OKAY..........

Reminds me of my biggest beef with right-to-lifers. They shed tears over unborn babies, but they don't give a damn about what happens to them once they are born.

December 20, 2007 in Sex and Spirituality | Permalink | Comments (2)

At first glance, this sounds like a funny story, and one might assume that a guy who had a tattoo like that on his dick might have a sense of humor about showing it off.

Tattooed privates prove not so private

A surgeon faces a disciplinary hearing for snapping a photo of a patient's tattooed genitals during an operation and showing it around to other doctors.

Mayo Clinic Hospital administrators said Dr. Adam Hansen, chief resident of general surgery, admitted taking the photo with his cell phone on Dec. 11. The tattoo on strip club owner Sean Dubowik's penis reads: "Hot Rod."

Unfortunately, in this case, the club owner claims he deeply regretted getting the tattoo and is seriously pissed at the doctor who betrayed his confidence. As well he should be.

Which raises the issue of privacy and what expectations the millions of people out there with piercings and tattoos and other modifications should have of doctors, hospitals, and medical workers in general. We are indeed all vulnerable to insensitive medical personnel who may dehumanize us because they are amused by, put off by, or otherwise judgmental about body modifications.

Having medical personnel carry cameras around people who are naked, unconscious, and in states they would never want publicly seen, is not a great idea in the first place. It's such a voyeuristic world these days, it must be tempting to similarly moronic or immature doctors, nurses, medical techs inter alia to snap indiscreet photos of anomalies to show off to friends. (Indeed, I'm sure many already have.) But there's not much you can do to stop the cameras: just about everyone carries a cellphone, and just about every one comes with a built-in camera. So the only solution is for better training of all medical staff or strict administrative policies that make it clear that all patients have a right to privacy - even if they've got a funny quip inked on their dick.

Seems to me that if you have a tat or piercing in a very private place, you should absolutely be able to count on medical professionals to keep your secrets. It is no different from any other anomaly or condition that a patient may have and which all doctors are sworn to treat confidentially.

If Mr.Dubowik sues the doctor, it'll be fascinating to see if the courts believe that tattoos and all other voluntary body modifications should be treated as confidential information.

December 19, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (3)

After finding this a few months ago, I'd planned to create an art show on the "Death and the Maiden" theme that has been a favorite of artists, classical and contemporary. I may still do one when I get back to the Friday Art Shows in January. Meanwhile, here's one classical depiction of slimy death leering at a lively maid. Mr. Death looks kind of jolly, doesn't he? And why are the maids usually shown naked? I was planning on speculating at some length about this curious intertwining of sex and death, and probably will if I do a show on this theme.

December 18, 2007 in Sex and Arts | Permalink | Comments (1)

One thing that annoys me, as a heterosexual woman who likes masculine men, is just how damn hard it is to find hot pix of hairy guys. All over the pornosphere it seems men have shaved themselves down to adolescent cuteness. To which I say YUCK. It's one thing to own a slave and shave his balls as a symbol; it's another to consistently see men shaved clean as pre-pubescents.

I have girlfriends my age who think nothing could be sexier than lithe, smooth-skinned lads whose chins are more fuzz than stubble. Whereas I want men who look ready for rough and raunchy sex. Just call me the anti-twink-o-phile.

On the other hand, a lot of the gay bear sites which specialize in hairy men offer up just a little *too* much reality: big beer guts, flabby tits, and Santa Claus beards don't quite make it for me either.

Here are two images I found (and, trust me, it took some looking) for what was going to be (but never came to be) a long lament about the hairless state of the Internet.

Men! With body hair! I want to see more of them!

December 18, 2007 in Sexual Beauty | Permalink | Comments (11)

I could've sworn I saw them at Thunder....

but I'm guessing this was shot sometime in the 1920s or 1930s.

December 18, 2007 in Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (0)

Can't for the life of me recall where I found him, or what religion he belongs to...but I was so impressed by how, um, happy he looked, I stuck the picture in my files.

December 18, 2007 in Sex and Spirituality | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sez Will: "Clearly they're excited about winning the war on Christmas."

(Thanks to NightHeron for sending the pic.)

December 18, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's time for one of my annual rituals: a dump-out of all the orphan image files I've collected over the past year. Some are things I thought would go into art shows; some are images I planned to blog but never did; most of them were found while I was researching completely different topics and now, months later, I can't remember where I found them or, in some instances, why I kept them.

But now you, yes, lucky you, will get to see all the "almost made-it" images I've been keeping on my hard-drive. If you have any images you've been keeping on file - odd things, hot things, SM things, weird or humorously sexual things - and like me, would enjoy getting them off your hard-drive to make room for a new year of mindless, compulsive collecting, feel free to email them to me and share them with the blogosphere. Just make sure they are in jpg or gif format, since TypePad won't accept other types of image files.

December 18, 2007 in Sex and Arts, Sex and History, Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gee, I almost missed the case of the Republican law-maker caught in a gay scandal. I mean the married homophobic Republican law-maker... the married homophobic Republican law-maker who voted against gay rights... the married homophobic Republican law-maker who voted against gay rights and loudly denied he's gay...

Hang on...almost there...one...more....try: It's the married homophobic Republican law-maker who voted against gay rights and loudly denied he's gay from WASHINGTON.

YEAH. That one. The one claiming he's being blackmailed. Whew. It's getting harder and harder to keep them all straight. So to speak.

Anyway, the day after Conservative, anti-gay Republican law-maker Richard Curtis denied that he was gay or ever had gay sex, he resigned his office and announced he was being blackmailed into silence about his non-gay encounters.

Okay... But... If he wasn't gay in the first place, how were they able to blackmail him? And why did he resign if it's all a big lie? Everyone knows that if you're accused of being gay and you resign, YOU ARE GAY. People only resign office when there's proof of wrong-doing. They don't resign because shady, pathetic thugs are spreading lies about them. The blackmailers were just charged: their defense is that Curtis stiffed them on the money-for-sex deal they made.

Four men charged in Washington State extortion attempt

Police issued arrest warrants Wednesday for four men accused of trying to extort money from a former Washington State legislator who resigned his post after an affair with one of the accused became public.

Spokane County prosecutors contend in court documents that Cody Castagna and three others attempted to blackmail former representative Richard Curtis in October. Castagna turned himself in to authorities Wednesday night.

Curtis, a Republican, told a newspaper in his southwest Washington district shortly after the story broke that sex was not involved in what he said was an extortion attempt. He also declared he was not gay.

But in police reports Curtis said he was being extorted by Castagna, with whom he had sex in a hotel room in Spokane, where Curtis was attending a GOP retreat. Castagna has denied wrongdoing and contended Curtis reneged on a promise to pay $1,000 for sex.

Photo of Curtis and his comely young accuser from Pam's House Blend, where you'll also find salacious details of the encounter that Curtis says never happened in piece she blogged a couple of months ago. It's got anal sex and cross-dressing and stuff that no one SHOULD be ashamed of doing and yet which some folks are conflicted about that they'd rather fuck up their careers, their reputations, and the lives of their families and supporters than admit the truth about themselves. Not to mention that they take out their personal ambivalence about being gay on out-of-the-closet gays. Creeps!

Meanwhile, check out another fun-packed rumor fest, this one alleging that Trent Lott is gay and that his early resignation was partly fueled by fear of a gay scandal erupting. Though a HuffPo piece tried to put the rumors to rest, Larry Flynt says he's got (or is getting) proof of it.

December 17, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes, Sexual Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

From a story about the fate of Guatemalan gang members. The photo caption on Yahoo says that "Today, gang members with tattooed faces, are either dead, in prison or hiding."

Ummm...How exactly do you hide with tattoos all over your face? Do you leave the house wearing a hood? I mean, wouldn't the hood kind of get you noticed? One wonders if these men resign themselves to never leaving their homes again. Pretty harsh price for joining a gang as a kid.

December 17, 2007 in Post-Modern Pop Culture | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wonder if the results of this study of sex-workers conducted in Swaziland by the U.N. would be consistent with behaviors elsewhere. Makes sense, in a sad, sick way.

A study commissioned by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) found that pastors pay the highest fee for sex when hiring prostitutes. It also said prostitutes were offering sex without the use of a condom for E300.

The extra fee is to shut up the prostitute to protect the dignity of the pastor.

The national Programmes Officer for Sexually Reproductive Health at the UNFPA Margaret Thwala-Tembe said the study that was commissioned by the agency had completed its first phase and came with findings such as these.

The study, she said details that pastors pay E1000 for a sex session that would normally cost E50 to any other sex starved man.

Any pros - or pastors - reading care to comment?

December 17, 2007 in Sex and Culture, Sex and Spirituality, Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Apparently, this crime occurred almost 14 years ago but the justice system has finally caught him.

Rapist jailed for attacking dominatrix

When I first saw the headline, I wondered if it was some thug who had posed as a submissive. That would be pretty weird and scary. Maintaining the physical safety of the prodomme, who naturally sees a lot of unknown entities, and who will be eliciting sometimes powerful and irrational responses from said entities, is of no small concern to all of us in the kink communities. They may have all the whips and toys, but professional dominatrices are vulnerable to male violence, if only because they are alone in a private setting with a sexually aroused stranger who is likely to be taller, heavier and stronger. Indeed, what's amazing is how few such crimes we ever hear about. May it stay that way always.

This fellow was NO client. Just a robber and thug who broke into her flat and then raped her. Still a horror, of course, but perhaps not quite as worrisome as the idea of criminals pretending to be consensual SM partners and targeting prodommes. (Which would make for a good SM mystery/thriller plot but a nightmare reality for sex-workers.)

And, naturally, media coverage had to highlight that she was a dominatrix and make mention of her PVC and playspace though clearly none of the above had anything to do with this crime. The details of what she does for a living and what she was wearing only clouds the issue in the vanilla public's perception. It suggests that this was "another SM crime" when it really had zero to do with SM. We don't go around reporting "rape victim was in Victoria's Secret nighty" or "rape victim had really large breasts," because that would subtly suggest that the victim was somehow asking for it. So why is the SM angle important enough to report? Because...it turns vanillas on while re-enforcing the stereotype of SM as sordid and violent?

December 17, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today will have an international flair, as I've culled several items of interest from around the world - beginning with this fascinating new research which Israeli scientists believe shows that a rare type of wild mushroom long used in Chinese medicine may successfully treat prostate cancer.

Researchers at the university in northern Israel said they found molecules in the Ganoderma lucidum mushroom, commonly known as the reishi, which help suppress some mechanisms involved in the progression of prostate cancer.

"We already knew the mushroom could impede the development of cancer by affecting the immune system. The in-vitro trials we have done show that it attacks the cancer cells directly," chief researcher Ben Zion Zaidman told AFP.

LINK

December 17, 2007 in Sexual Health | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wrapping optional.

December 14, 2007 in Sex and Sadomasochism | Permalink | Comments (3)

Wow, if I could feel sure that it's safe for their health, I would give anything to have glow-in-the-dark cats.

Imagine them slinking around a dungeon with black lights. Or walking through the bars on cages, all lit up like that. That would scare the pants off a newbie, alright. I don't think that novelty would ever wear off.

This handout photo released in Seoul by the Ministry of Science and Technology shows a combo of cloned cats that have a fluorescence protein gene and glowing under ultraviolet beams. The technology could help develop treatments for human genetic diseases, the developers said.

link.

December 14, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

For ALL Americans, including those who work for government contractors in Iraq.

The former Halliburton/KBR employee accusing the company of attempting to cover up her gang-rape in Iraq is now speaking out about her ordeal -- saying she felt "imprisoned" after reporting the incident, and was told by her superiors to keep quiet or lose her job.....

No investigation is currently underway in the case. The Crime Victims Office at the Department of Justice indicates it has closed it's probe of the rape, citing a lack of jurisdiction over the private contractors in Iraq.

Has our government genuinely surrendered the ability to legally control what contractors do in foreign countries? Or are they taking this position because Iraq is now Halliburton's cash cow and politicians don't want to jeopardize their future campaign contributions?

At least a few politicians are refusing to roll over on this one.
Congressman Ted Poe of Texas is trying to do something about it

Congressman Ted Poe (TX-02) announces today that the House Judiciary Committee will hold Congressional Hearings into the sexual assault allegations of former KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones against several of her coworkers in Iraq. The Hearing on "Enforcement of Federal Criminal Law to Protect Americans Working for U.S. Contractors in Iraq" is set for Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 10:15am EST in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Congressman Poe sent numerous letters this week to State and Justice Department officials and joined Judiciary Chairman, Congressman John Conyers, in a letter to the Attorney General demanding immediate answers in the status of this investigation.

You can do something too.

Sign the Move-On Petition

December 14, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes, Sexual Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

I see the humor here....but would we find it quite so funny if the butt of the joke was a woman?

Well...maybe we would.

via Gizmodo:

Humor: Man Gets Naked, Girl Gets Arrested, Rest of the World Laughs

A 17-year-old girl from New Zealand misled a man into stripping naked and walking into an unsuspecting individual s house simply by sending a goofy SMS offering a threesome. The end result was arrests and hilarity all around. The 31-year-old Kiwi was sent an SMS from the conniving girl detailing he was to receive an early "Christmas present" from the sender and her friend. The seductress further suggested our man remove his clothes before entering the house all in the name of saving time. It was a stupid move—Dr Pepper adverts should have been ringing through the Kiwi s head; unfortunately he wasn t thinking with that head. He embraced the advice and shot into a completely unsuspecting household. God only knows what er state he was in but the homeowner was not amused. The police were called and the man was arrested for unlawful behavior. The siren was later tracked down and charged with the misuse of a telephone; they both evaded prosecution but were cautioned for the nuisance caused. There is a valuable lesson here for all of us don t believe random offers of a threesome—your life is not a porno. Sorry.

December 13, 2007 in Sex and Culture | Permalink | Comments (2)

Paul just sent an update on the Texas swingers' group that was being harrassed out of existence. Seems City officials went so far as to pass an ordnance to ban all sex clubs in their suburbs.

The gentleman who owns the club is not taking their legal manoevers lying down: He's announced he's suing them for banning suburban sex clubs.

This could be an incredibly messy legal case. Question to any lawyers reading: wouldn't the courts have to determine what a sex club is before they can decided whether or not to ban it? Wouldn't banning one kind of club (on charges of traffic/noise) have repercussions for all clubs/home businesses with similar issues (including TupperWare parties, I'd think) - unless the court defined how and why a sex club is different from another other private clubs/groups that draws crowds to private homes?

December 13, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (1)

Has Wal-Mart lost its mind? They're selling these in their juniors department.

via Pandagon:
Pandagon :: I want ones that say, “Who needs panties?”

Thanks to Will for finding this one!

December 13, 2007 in Sex and Culture | Permalink | Comments (4)

I may never eat yogurt again.

via Milk and Cookies:

Sexy Yogurt Noid

December 12, 2007 in Sexual Strangeness | Permalink | Comments (0)

I can't believe I'm recommending a reality show...but...well, holy shit.

My only question is why they aren't filming this at Other World Kingdom. The damn sissies.

from Salon (and thanks to Stanly for sending the link):

"When Women Rule the World"

....I want to call formal attention to a new show coming your way on Fox in March 2008: "When Women Rule the World." We've mentioned it briefly before, but a reader just realerted us to Fox's press release, and since its premiere is getting closer and I'm getting increasingly worried that there will be nothing else on television, I can't help bringing it up.

For those of you who don't already know the basic premise, it's quite simple. A group of men and women get taken to a "remote, primitive location" where the women "will have the opportunity to 'rule' as they build a newly formed society -- one in which there is no glass ceiling and no dressing up to impress," says the press release. "In order to win, the men must accede to the women's every demand, 24/7. Here, women command and men obey."

It's going to be on FOX, and what do you want to bet there will be a bunch of dumb-asses trying to run things? On the other hand, if the women are brains, I'll HAVE to watch.

December 12, 2007 in Sex and Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)

The latest and greatest in tit technology, for connoisseurs (and female athletes, of course)....

The intelligent bra that takes the jiggling out of jogging

From the sensors, the team was able to glean that all the strain and stress from the breast movement was being borne by the straps.

This was causing the shoulder pain and tingling in the arms that many women suffer - and could cause long-term nerve damage.

Reporting their findings in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomechanics, they say: "A consequence of current brassiere design is that the brassiere straps bear much of the load generated by breast momentum during physical activity.

Now when will they bring the same scientific scrutiny to bear on bobbly balls?

December 12, 2007 in Sexual Health | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thinking of voting for a pro-life Republican next year? Better start scheduling your vasectomies and tubal ligations now.

If we had a president who opposed all forms of birth control there's no telling how this could play out on the local level for you and your partner(s). The same people who are now refusing to stock and sell birth control pills will feel entitled to stop selling condoms and sponges too.

The One Question the "Pro-life" Presidential Candidates Don't Want You to Ask

98 percent of American women have done it.

37 million Americans are currently doing it.

Most of the GOP candidates oppose it.

What is it?

If you said "sex," you were close. The answer is "use contraception."

December 11, 2007 in Sexual Health, Sexual Politics | Permalink | Comments (0)

from Autoblog:

Lexus goes after another porn-star...seriously

Back in June, we brought you news that Toyota was in the process of suing a pornography firm for copyright infringement. Apparently the Japanese automaker didn't appreciate that adult film star Lexus Cash was using its luxury division's handle as her stage name and for her website. Evidently unwilling to stop its litigation campaign, Toyota is now turning its lawyers loose on a gay porn actor who also uses the name Lexus.

According to latest reports, the Japanese automaker's lawyers in DC sent a cease-and-desist letter to EBoys Studios in Switzerland. The EBoys honcho insists that his performer chose the name because of its association with Greek mythology, and not with the automotive brand, and that the company will not cave to the carmaker's demands to recall the two flicks it has produced with the actor using that name.

If you read up on the history of the car, though, you discover this interesting bit of hypocrisy:

In 1986, Toyota’s longtime advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi formed a specialized unit, Team One, to handle marketing for the new luxury brand.[5] Image consulting firm Lippincott & Margulies was hired to develop a list of 219 prospective names; Vectre, Verone, Chaparel, Calibre and Alexis were chosen as top candidates. While Alexis quickly became the front runner (possibly due to the association with the Alexis Carrington character on the popular 1980s primetime drama Dynasty) and later morphed to Lexus, the name has been attributed to the combination of the words "luxury" and "elegance."[6] According to Toyota, the name has no specific meaning and is just meant to be pleasing and easy to remember, although Lexus in Australia claim the original name is short for Luxury Export to United States. (LExUS).

Just prior to the release of the first vehicles, database service LexisNexis obtained a temporary injunction forbidding the name Lexus from being used as they stated it might cause confusion. Upon reflection, the court lifted the injunction, deciding that there was a low likelihood of confusion between the two products.

--from Wikipedia

In other words, Toyota considered hitching their car to the fame of a TV character, than fought Lexis' claim that there would be confusion between their product and Toyota's product. But now Toyota's filing claims against people who have done more or less the same thing they did.

May I say....hrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

December 11, 2007 in Sex and Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)

via Boing-Boing, a link to Google Books, where you can find

a flowchart of medieval sexual decision-making

from The Wages of Sin: Sex and Disease

Whether or not you agree with it, this amazing chart is a must-see for everyone interested in the history and sociology of sex.

December 10, 2007 in Sex and History | Permalink | Comments (1)

Dan Savage reports on a totally mind-bending news story about some "games" played at a Christian youth group.

A skit at a local Christian youth group meeting had teenage boys taking off some of their clothes, wearing adult diapers, bibs and bonnets and being spoon-fed by girls as they sat in their laps....

O They Will Know We Are Christians By…

Savage comments:

Putting horny 14 year-old boys in diapers and then plopping them on the laps of teenage girls for a little spoon- and bottle-feeding… thus are life-long fetishes born. Not that I have anything against fetishes or the kind of formative life experiences that create ‘em. Far from it. I live in the house that fetishes bought.

But still. Could you imagine the uproar from Christian groups if, say, a gay youth group did something similar? Or a gay-straight student alliance?

A spokesman for the Christian youth group says they’ve done this for years—they also do a “skit” where girls eat chocolate pudding out of adult diapers—and that Ms. Metz’ son “had fun” in that diaper. I’ll bet he did—and odds are good that he’ll be having fun in diapers for the rest of his life.

It was the mother of one of the kids who blew the whistle on these antics, saying that they are "perverse." She is absolutely right. Leave this kind of play to consenting adults is what I say!

Thanks to Will for finding this one.

December 10, 2007 in Sexual Strangeness | Permalink | Comments (3)

Why? Why do cops bust consenting adults for consensual sex in private homes? Why? Who are they harming? Swingers cause less harm than litterbugs and jay-walkers. What an inane waste of police resources and tax dollars.

One might think such "justice" is a complete perversion of the Constitution. One might think that because it is. And yet it doesn't stop local law-makers from trying to countermand the principles upon which this nation was founded.

Suburban Sex Parties Draw Complaints

December 9, 2007 in Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (3)

This study out of Scotland yields depressing results, showing just how deeply sexual prudery and sexism shape people's perception of rape. I would wager my poodle that if the same people were asked whether they thought murder victims were to blame for getting murdered, the numbers would be completely different.

As long as people view rape as an act of sex, and believe that women are complicit (by virtue of trusting men or dressing in sexy attire), as opposed to the act of violence that it really is, courts in Scotland - and throughout the world - will continue to punish the victims instead of the victimizers.

Researchers who interviewed more than 700 potential rape trial jurors between 18 and 65 years old for the charity Rape Crisis Scotland found that 40% felt women contribute to an attack if they put themselves in "risky" situations, such as willingly going home with a man.

Although 39% of people thought the victim is not to blame for being raped, 61% were "unsure" or disagreed in various degrees. Rape Crisis Scotland said the results are "startling" and highlighted the urgent need for a major advertising campaign to challenge male preconceptions about how women consent to sex.
advertisement

The study is the first to target the notion frequently brought up in trials that women "invite" rape. Despite recent widespread changes in the conduct of court officials and the way evidence about an alleged victim's background is led, only 3%-4% of cases are successfully prosecuted in Scotland....

LINK

December 9, 2007 in Sex and Culture, Sex Laws and Crimes | Permalink | Comments (3)

Apparently they get horny enough to mate with statues.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Moose Mounts Bison Statue

Hmm. What could explain such horniness? Perhaps his Mistress just let him out of his CB-3000?

December 9, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Mike for sending me this picture, which just about reduced me to a molten puddle of oozing, drooling "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww."

Seems hedgehogs are having a hard time of it this year - mild weather's messing with them so much they aren't hibernating on schedule and the resultant stresses are causing many of them broken bones. Oh too sad.

Link: Abandoned baby hedgehogs are too weak to hibernate

On the happy side, though, this lucky fellow and many other of his traumatized compatriots are being rescued by the kind-hearted people at Tiggywinkles. I wish them all a speedy recovery and hope they can get their winter nap soon!

December 8, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

I hope you like scary animals as much as I do :)

World's largest spitting cobra species found in Kenya: study

A new giant species of spitting cobra -- about 2.6 metres long and with enough venom to kill up to 20 people in one bite -- has been discovered in Kenya, a study said Friday.

The large brown spitting cobra...grows to a maximum two metres, with an average of 1.5 metres, scientists said, making the new species the largest in the world.

The new Naja Ashei species, named after James Ashe who founded the Bio-Ken snake farm in Watamu on the Kenyan coast, produces 6.2 millilitres of liquid venom, which is the among the largest amounts of venom ever extracted from a snake at a single milking....

Stand back! According to another piece, spitting cobras can spurt their venom a distance of several meters.

December 8, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

That arm belonged to the poor Taiwanese vet who was treating this croc.

From Reuters pictures of the year.

December 8, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hilarious little photojournal of 11 Toilets from Hell from the MishMash.

This must be in a hospital, a prison...or a delightfully depraved person's dungeon. I think you know which option I favor :)

December 8, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (3)

from Green Daily:

In a column for BBC News, Matt Prescott asserts that the male need to impress the opposite sex is behind the material excess that's clogging up our earth, air and water with toxic crap, and that we crave eco-nasty bling like Hummers and gold cell phones because we still have the instincts of our Stone Age forebears. Back in those days, of course, a man's possessions (say, a stack of bearskins or a particularly nice rock) demonstrated power and strength and were a sure ticket to sexual success.

Link: Is our sex drive killing the planet?

December 7, 2007 in Sex and Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)

The "glover" -- Glovers are for lovers -- is my pick for silliest gift idea this season -- which may well make it as popular as pet rocks and other fatuous follies of the past. You know, as in "what do you get the person who has everything? I bet they don't have a glover!"

The idea is that you can hold your sweetheart's hand without the woolly (or leathery) barrier of your gloves.

So what happens if you get tired of holding your lover's clammy hand or get a cramp from walking around clamped together like that all day? Or need to switch hands? Or have to pull something out of your pocket or your purse? Can't do it in the glover - you'll have to pull your hand out and freeze.

On the other, um, hand...I'm thinking there has to be some BDSM application here. The glover may not be practical but it looks eminently pervertible. Perhaps...hmmm...two dicks (and balls) in a glover for a forced bisexual scene? Cover your lover's jewels in a glover before tying on rope? Your ideas?

December 7, 2007 in Post-Modern Pop Culture | Permalink | Comments (3)

One solution to global warming is in a kangaroo's ass...or at least in its intestinal bacteria.

Eco-friendly kangaroo farts could help global warming: scientists

Has anyone ever studied human farts to see how they affect global warming?

December 7, 2007 in Pets and Animal Love | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Mike for sending me this blasphemy :)

December 6, 2007 in Post-Modern Pop Culture | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before you get too excited, no, I'm not going to detail my fantastically complex and perverse personal life. It's long been my belief that if I ever stopped long enough to describe everything I'm up to at any given moment there'd be no time left to do it all.

But seems like I might as well explain a little better why my blogging habits have been so spotty lately (and will continue to be through January, I suspect). For a long time (maybe 5-6 years) I've been working very sporadically, or at least thinking about, a novel I want to write. A novel I have to write. With all the other stuff I do, that dream was getting further and further away. Life keeps getting busier, not calmer. Meanwhile, there's a non-fiction book (or more precisely proposal) I was trying to sell last year: totally focused on that project and, now, a year later, still have not found an editor/publisher who will take it. (I believe my ideas about sex are too subversive....at least that's one of my more consoling theories.) I was crushingly depressed about it all summer. Almost as depressed as the year before, when a script I wrote got optioned (yay!) and then got dropped (sob!). So depressed I was seriously contemplating giving up book writing altogether and just focusing on the blog and my practice, both of which I do so love and which offer a lot more immediate satisfactions and rewards than the business of writing and publishing books.

But I can't. I'm a writer, always was a writer, will die a writer, whether or not I publish another book. Been here before too, with poetry and literary writing, where frequent rejection is the name of the game. Before I became known as a kinky writer, I was building a teeny tiny but very sweet reputation as a serious poet. But I didn't have the commitment to push to get my book of poetry published. Maybe I will down the road. But right now...I have this novel I need to write. And, of course, the only antidote to an artist's depression over failure and rejection is to get going on another project and find new reasons to feel inspired, if not temporary blissed out by the process itself. I'm committed to this novel, more committed than to anything else I've worked on over the years. (Though I tend to feel that way every time I write a book, so take it with a pillar of salt, please.)

Anyway, that's what's keeping me offline these days. Using all available free time/creative energy to concentrate on the novel. As of last night, I'm 140 pages into it and on a mission to finish it. It isn't about SM; it probably isn't anything that anyone who knows me would expect me to be writing; but there it is. It's become a mission for me and I intend to carry it through, whether or not the book ever sees the light of day. Though...this time around, I'm not even expecting anyone to publish it. A serious, off-beat subversive Orwellian little literary novel set in the year 2088? It's no chicken soup for the Da Vinci coded soul, that's for sure. I may have to publish it myself. I will if I must.

I haven't shown anyone a word of it yet (well, a minor fib, as I've read the occasional paragraph aloud to Will during some of our late-night marathon talk-a-thons - we're both crazy addicted to sitting up to the wee hours talking about history and writing and politics and etc. etc. etc.). I've decided pretty much to wait until the first full draft is done. Then I'll send it to a handful of trusted readers, and see what they say. I hope it won't be "Holy shit, this reeks, what were you thinking?" That would be a bit of a let-down :) :) Ah, the vicissitudes of writing: you just can't know if your baby's beautiful or ugly till others opine because it will always look like an angel to you.

I might even run the novel here some day. Or excerpts. But I don't have to make that decision for at least a couple more months. Right now, all I have to do is keep on writing.

So when you don't see me blogging, don't worry: I am probably just off doing something in the year 2088. Be back soon.

December 6, 2007 in Autobiographical Urges | Permalink | Comments (1)

Izzie: Izzat today's question, Harry?

Harry: I dunno. Just keep watching. Maybe she'll post something eventually.

December 6, 2007 in Autobiographical Urges | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some fresh spam in yesterday's email contained a lucky seven lines - inspiring me to turn them into couplets - and thus a sonnet. The first line of each couplet was the exact wording from the email.

Do not be ashamed of your penis size.
Your appetite is bigger than your eyes.

Are you wanting big dick in 2008?
Is it not big enough to masturbate?

Let's change your sexual life now!
Come to our farm and sleep with our cow!

We're happy to offer you most popular penis enlargement.
Please to ignore putrescent dischargement.

It's time to improve your cock size.
Or to stop telling women outrageous lies.

Don't miss such unique chance.
Make monster trout flop in your pants.

Girls will be happy with you
When your pork-sword runs them through.

Couldn't have done this without Will, who provided most of the come-backs.

December 5, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (2)

Are they trying to frighten children or to turn them on?

Catholic coloring book warns US kids of pedophile priests

New York's Roman Catholic Church is trying a novel approach to alert children to the danger of being sexually assaulted by a priest, with an abuse-themed coloring book, officials said Tuesday.

"Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic," was distributed earlier this year to several hundred schools in the New York area as part of the church's Safe Environment Program, a spokeswoman from the city's Archdiocese said.

One image in the book features a guardian angel hovering over an altar boy with a priest lurking in the background.

December 5, 2007 in Sex and Spirituality, Sexual Politics, Sexual Strangeness | Permalink | Comments (3)

from the inimitable, Overheard in New York

Now Help Me Apply Direct Pressure before I Bleed Out

Wife, playing Uno: Skip, skip, skip, skip, wild card, draw four, blue, draw two, uno, I win.

Husband: Wow. I'm bleeding.

Wife: I hope it's from the ass, because that's where I just raped you.

Husband: God, I love you.

--Central Park

December 5, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks to Alain for this!

December 5, 2007 in Sexual Humor | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, all you kids and even you grown-ups who think feminism is a bad thing. Take a little journey back in time with me to the world before the women's lib movement...

The outrageously politically incorrect adverts from the time equality forgot

Click the link above to see more (and more horrifying) ads that our mothers and grandmothers were raised on.

December 5, 2007 in Sex and History | Permalink | Comments (2)

Thanks to Gary for pointing me to this great story about the fascinating relationship between Cornelius Vanderbilt and two of American history's most colorful women, Victoria Woodhull and her sister, Tennie Claflin. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of sex in the U.S.

During September of 1868, barely a month after the death of his wife Sophia, 74-year-old mogul Cornelius Vanderbilt made the acquaintance of two sisters with whom he was to have a complex and absurd relationship for several years going forward.

Victoria Woodhull was a 30-old clairvoyant and spiritualist. She was also a onetime prostitute. Victoria's nubile, 22-year-old sister, Tennessee Claflin, known as Tennie, shared a similar professional history. Tennie claimed expertise as a practitioner of medicinal magnetism and manual manipulation of the limbs....

from
Strange Bedfellows: Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Woodhull/Claflins

Awfully cool to catch these fascinating bio bits about Ms. Woodhull, whose name and legacy are so well-represented by the WOODHULL FOUNDATION, which devotes itself to the cause of sexual freedom. In fact, they're running a membership drive right now, and if you're in the mood to give, I can't think of a better sex-positive organization to support this holiday season.

political cartoon about Ms. Woodhull from