Kink On Tap

Context gets critical as Wikileaks' founder is accused of rape, British taxpayers pay for a virgin's Amsterdam prostitute, mainstream media misreporting muddies a youth sex study, sex-negativity and censorship, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, and the motivation to ask for what you want is more important than being earnest. Credit for this week's stellar show goes to a stellar cast. Joining us for the first time each is author, editor, and activist Stephen Elliott, founder of the online culture site The Rumpus, and Anaiis Flox, self-described politically conservative editor-in-chief at the sex-positive online magazine Sex and the 405. Among Stephen's more notable works are The Adderall Diaries, My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up (a personal favorite), and Sex for America: Politically Inspired Erotica. Anaiis is a regular columnist for BlogHer, Twirlit, and Manolith. Also new this week, as promised, the Kink On Tap tip jar and donation page now offers you a Google Checkout option! As you know, Kink On Tap is funded entirely by listeners like you, and we rely on your generosity to continue to support our efforts. If you like our work, please take a moment and send us a contribution. And if you just can't afford to (we understand a shoestring budget!) then consider giving us a star rating or writing us a review on iTunes, sending a copy of your favorite episode to a friend, or even just tweeting or blogging about an episode or two. :) Whatever you choose to do, thanks for helping us grow!

The US military is shooting itself in the face using DADT, a gay Florida cop gets fired for a 14 year old, 15 minute role in porn, Indonesia's anti-porn zealots accidentally censor online news portals, a Russian dairy goes nutty with religious fervor, oxytocin pseudo-science gets a run for its money, and sex education tips go sensibly cross-generational. Sometimes I just gotta get how I feel off my chest so, yes, I rant. In this episode, I go off on DADT and get a much-needed reminder to breathe from rockstar activist and breath of fresh air herself, Aida Manduley. Also joining us this week was sex journalist Rabbit White, who recounts interesting tales of working at an egg-donation agency and the endemic classism and racism in that environment. As usual, Emma somehow maintained her sunny demeanor in and among my crankiness at the state of the world today. (Cuz, yeah, she's awesome.) Also, we're constantly bouncing ideas about how to improve this show and its associated media, link blog, community feed, and more. But we want to hear from you! How do you think we're doing? What do you like? How do you think we can improve? Leave a comment or email us and let us know. And as usual, if you like what we're up to and can help us produce this show at less of a loss, consider sending us a buck or two. Thanks!

A U.S. federal court rules Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, which Arizona conservatives say "jeopardizes the democratic process," so they're really lucky gay couples will probably still opt to save their lives from burning buildings. Also, a high court in Mexico similarly upholds same-sex marriage, a 17 month old baby boy is punched to death for "acting like a girl," an online survey shows even stereotyped beer-bellied men would take a male birth control pill, a CNN "investigative journalist" shows her panic-stricken bias over continued Craigslist sex trafficking scares, and Lisa Russ suggests sex education tips by taking a page from the National Rifle Association? It was a big, big week for sexuality news, so who better to invite back to the microphone than information-heavyweight Viviane, who read Judge Walker's ruling in full? Also joining us for the first time is long-time listener and friend of the show xMech, who's one of a growing number of fantastic trans bloggers and activists. Among other things, xMech has talked about gender identity and related issues at KinkForAll Washington DC 2, and is a semi-regular contributor to the Kink On Tap community links feed, which he installed on his blog sidebar (and you can, too). Also, while we're getting better and better at figuring out all this netcasting stuff, which means we can keep our costs low, we still very much need donations and highly appreciate any you can offer! Thanks again for supporting Kink On Tap, whether financially, or with a review or rating on iTunes, or with your fantastically supportive emails! Keep 'em coming!

Homophobia (like Jesus) isn't just for Christians, the government can but promises not to prosecute you for sharing your sexy pics, U.K. and U.S. gay men think differently about "having sex," the Chinese government wants to end the "tradition" of public shaming, and an Atlanta lawyer campaigns against male circumcision. What do Anne Rice quitting Christianity, Nichelle Nichols' counsel from Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dr. Seuss' social commentary have in common? They're all references from last Sunday's Kink On Tap conversation with the inimitable political blogger Driftglass! Driftglass, whose own podcast with Bluegal is a validating listen for any liberally-minded politicos, is one of the most passionate speakers and most knowledgeable amateur political pundits we know. And if that weren't awesome enough, he's graciously accepting of sexual diversity even though What It Is That We Do isn't necessarily his cup of tea. (MOAR PLS!) Although this week's show has been available on our Live site all week, it's getting published now due to some serious and emotional overhead this week. Nevertheless, we soldier on and are really looking forward to this Sunday's show—we'll talk about the defeat of Prop 8 and its repercussions, a truly historic moment or LGBT activism. As usual, please keep submitting stories to our community links feed, and if you like what we do and have got the means, consider supporting our work with a donation or two. 'Til next time: NO H8!

An Israeli woman cries rape after consensually sleeping with an Arab, stripper-chic comes to security-theater with Flying Pasties, blowback against Malaysian sex education efforts are a mirror on American paranoia, "no" means "pull down my top and put me in your Girls Gone Wild video," and Indian sex-workers draft a bill of rights that finally acknowledges consent. This week, we get a first peek at the ready-to-launch mixed-media erotica from Syzygy Magazine courtesy of its editors, Brad Hanon and Susan Beaver. Syzygy Magazine wants to take fan art of gay male erotica and present it with a female gaze for anyone who enjoys such things, whether they be men, women, or some different gender. Because the answer to bad porn isn't no porn, it's better porn! On a bit of a meta-note, we're having some odd issues with our audio recording setup but don't have the expertise necessary to trace the problem to its root. If you're a talented audiophile with some spare time, please have a look through our documented production setup and let us know where we can improve our setup. (Thanks!) Also on the wiki are instructions for contributing stories to the community links feed, instructions for helping with show notes, and a whole lot more!