<div dir="ltr"><div>Sonja,</div><div><br></div>For some people masturbation can sometimes be better than sex with another person for a variety of reasons.<div><br></div><div>I think it's also important to point out that massage can also be "better" than sex for a lot of people, or eating a really good meal, or rock climbing, or programming. But, none of these activities is intrinsically better than any other activity and sex is definitely not intrinsically better than any of them.  </div>
<div><br></div><div>I know plenty of people (of lots of genders) who masturbate for reasons other than substituting sex. I am one of these people. I don't masturbate because I'm not having enough sex. I masturbate because it's a personal space where I can engage with my mind and my body in ways I don't think I can reach with another person. Of course not all masturbation is covered in heavy meaning, as not all sex is.</div>

<div><br></div><div>In addition it's important to realize that for a long time people where taught (using a lot of the same arguments you are making) that masturbation was a shameful thing. Personally I think that it's important to respect people's sexually how ever they experience it. sex with zero, one, two, or more.</div>

<div><br></div><div>PS. It was nice meeting you yesterday, I like your "local dicks" idea.</div><div><br></div><div style>--Andrew</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 2:45 AM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
  
    
  
  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
    <br>
    Sonja & Yo's-<br>
    <br>
    Uh - you're still stuck on superiority/inferiority, which is the
    nexus of the problem, and generalizes far beyond one's choice of
    partners and hands.<br>
    <br>
    The latest example is the word "subpar," which means "less than
    equal."  <br>
    <br>
    It may be that _for you_, a hand is "less than equal" compared to
    your partner.  But the way you've been wielding the language is
    ontological with an imperative tone, rather than personal, starting
    right here: <br><div class="im">
    <br>
    "No, masturbation is not sex. In the same way that vitamin pills are
    not food. Masturbation is a thing too thoroughly inferior to sex to
    be classed with it."<br>
    <br></div>
    That statement is radically different to the following:  "For me,
    masturbation is hardly as satisfying as sex with my partner."<br>
    <br>
    The two statements are as different as "X isn't music, it's animal
    noise!" vs. "X doesn't appeal to me, I like music that's more Y and
    Z."<br>
    <br>
    Sex and sexuality, along with religion, politics, and a few other
    things, are intimately connected to peoples' identities.   Saying
    "My form of sex/sexuality is superior, and yours is inferior," has
    the same effect as saying "My form of religion is superior, and
    yours is inferior," and the immediate association, thus implication,
    is "I am superior, and you are inferior."  Whether that association
    and implication is strictly logically justified is beside the point:
    it's the natural human response.  <br>
    <br>
    Atheists in particular can relate to that example: often being
    subjected to "if you don't believe in God, you don't have morality,"
    from religious fundamentalists.  For that matter, Jewish children
    have (and still are) often subjected to "if you don't believe in
    Jesus, you're going to Hell!" from their nominally Christian
    classmates in school.<br>
    <br>
    Admittedly, bringing the statement down from the level of ontology
    to the level of personal preference, carries risks.  Saying "I
    prefer my partner to my hand," might get others speculating and
    gossiping, "does this mean that so-and-so's partner is a super-duper
    sexual athlete?, or does it mean that so-and-so's autoerotic
    technique is barely at 'beginner' level...?"  <br>
    <br>
    As with religion, saying "My moral code is based on my belief in
    God," might get others wondering, "does this mean that so-and-so's
    religiously inspired morality is consistent and uncompromising?, or
    does this mean that so-and-so only refrains from robbing &
    murdering because s/he's afraid of going to hell?"  <br>
    <br>
    But if anything, those kinds of speculations are more likely when
    someone proclaims the superiority of their own preferences by using
    language that makes ontological statements of "what is," rather than
    personal statements of "my preference."  <br>
    <br>
    A statement of personal preference is the more convincing mode of
    expression: a report of an empirical fact of one's own experience, a
    small nugget of one's own reality that nobody else can judge or
    deny.  But sweeping generalizations about others' experiences are at
    high risk of easy refutation, and once skepticism takes hold, the
    rest of what went along with those generalizations also becomes
    questionable.  <br>
    <br>
    -G.<br>
    <br>
    <br>
    =====<div><div class="h5"><br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <div>On 13-05-06-Mon 1:28 AM, Sonja Trauss
      wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite">
      <p>Uh - you're confusing an inferior experience to with an
        inferior person. You should judge yourself however you like, but
        it wouldn't have occurred to me to judge myself poorly for
        experencing something subpar. Like, sometimes I eat mealy
        apples, I say, 'ew I hate this apple, I will throw it away' it
        wouldn't have occurred to me to say, 'i am less of a person for
        having experienced that subpar apple.' </p>
      <div class="gmail_quote">On May 6, 2013 1:19 AM, "GtwoG
        PublicOhOne" <<a href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>>
        wrote:<br type="attribution">
        <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
          <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
            Sonja & Yo's-<br>
            <br>
            Not absurd, it's in the language you used: "thoroughly
            inferior" and "classed with it."  Those are strong words,
            and unequivocal words. <br>
            <br>
            Translate to housing and it sounds like the way home-owners
            often put down apartment-renters.  Speaking of which: <br>
            <br>
            "There are lots of reasons people in single-family homes
            don't have gardens or don't have them much, and ways that
            apartment-renters can have gardens, although having a garden
            is easier if you have a house...."<br>
            <br>
            In context, that sounds like an attempt to back out of a
            dead-end in an arguement, but as long as the "thoroughly
            inferior" statement is not repudiated, the subsequent
            statement also comes across as condescending.  <br>
            <br>
            The problem here is with "superior/inferior" and "class." 
            You can call this a class-struggle.<br>
            <br>
            One thing we ought to do here is break out the subject
            matter: porn and masturbation and relationship status
            ("status" in both senses of the word, heh) are not the same
            things.  It's good that porn is starting to evolve in a
            direction that's more appealing to women, and less engaged
            with sexual power-dynamics.  It would also be a good thing
            if there was a reasonable balance between genders and
            sexualities in terms of percentage of people who play with
            themselves (I don't have the numbers offhand).  And it will
            be a great day when "relationship status" isn't equivalent
            to "status."  <br>
            <br>
            But the fact is that we live in a culture of sexual
            phocomelia.  For those who don't know the word, it refers to
            the (otherwise-rare) congenital disability that was famously
            caused in large numbers by thalidomide, whereby people were
            born with no arms or legs, their hands and feet attached
            directly to their trunks.  Someone with phocomelia has a
            uniquely difficult time eating, because they can't reach to
            pick up their own food and put it in their own mouth.  One
            way to solve this is with a partner, where each person picks
            up the food for the other, and puts it in the other's
            mouth.  <br>
            <br>
            Our sexual culture is like that: it starts from the
            assumption that you require another person to meet a basic
            physical need.  From that assumption, applied to sexuality,
            comes all of the weird power-dynamics around sex.  And while
            it may be true for reproduction (plus or minus cloning),
            it's not true for love (which has avenues of expression
            other than sex), and for the neurochemical benefits (read:
            pleasures) and other health benefits (such as reduction of
            risk for prostate cancer in men) of sexual stimulation and
            orgasm.  <br>
            <br>
            The Abrahamic religious traditions, originating in cultures
            that were harshly oppressed at the hands of the
            powers-that-be of their times, had to conflate reproduction,
            love, and pleasure, and seek to control the latter to ensure
            the former, else they would not have survived.  That
            conflation persists in the mainstream culture to this day,
            where it's the equivalent of a state of civil emergency
            after the hurricane has long since passed.  <br>
            <br>
            -G.<br>
            <br>
            <br>
            =====<br>
            <br>
            <br>
            <br>
            <div>On 13-05-05-Sun 11:43 PM, Sonja Trauss wrote:<br>
            </div>
            <blockquote type="cite">
              <p>No that's absurd. There are lots of reasons ppl in
                relationships don't have sex or don't have it much and
                ways single people can, although it is easier if you
                have a partner.<br>
                Also, comparing options means you must have them - if
                you don't have access to sex then you don't have access
                to it. Comparing it to masturbation, or comparing it to
                camping, or to pie, or to music, it's moot. <br>
                The whole conversation hinges on the notion that you
                have access to both, which I think more people do than
                realize it.</p>
              <div class="gmail_quote">On May 5, 2013 10:00 PM, "GtwoG
                PublicOhOne" <<a href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>>

                wrote:<br type="attribution">
                <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
                    Sonja, Andrew, Et. Al.-<br>
                    <br>
                    So now the implicit assumption goes explicit:<br>
                    <br>
                    "Masturbation is a thing too thoroughly inferior to
                    sex to be classed with it."<br>
                    <br>
                    The necessary and inevitable corollary to that is,
                    "Single people are thoroughly inferior to coupled
                    people."  Care to argue that point?<br>
                    <br>
                    It wasn't long ago that us queerz were also
                    subjected to "Homosexual sex is a thing thoroughly
                    inferior to heterosexual sex."  <br>
                    <br>
                    Inferior by way of "immoral," and for the longest
                    time (and still, in many places), illegal.  In a
                    wide swath of the world, I can go to prison for who
                    I love, and in a slightly less wide swath of the
                    world, I can get beheaded in the public square or
                    hanged by the neck at the end of a crane borrowed
                    from the Public Works Department (as is the custom
                    in Iran, 16-year-old queer guys included, go search
                    BBC.com for that story).<br>
                    <br>
                    Comparisons based on assertions of one's own
                    superiority and others' inferiority, are the last
                    refuge of the will-to-power mentality that is
                    exploitative, oppressive, and ultimately insecure of
                    its own niche in the human social ecosystem.  <br>
                    <br>
                    In any ontological sense, arguements about the
                    superiority and inferiority of personal matters of
                    taste among consenting adults, are groundless,
                    pointless, and ultimately meaningless.  <br>
                    <br>
                    Would anyone care to argue whether rock is better
                    than rap or vice-versa, or whether jazz is better
                    than country & western or vice-versa, or whether
                    playing a piano, harmonica, guitar, saxophone, or
                    banjo is better?  Any such assertion of "better"
                    (and its necessary corollary, "worse"), is nothing
                    more than a linguistic confound of the phrase "I
                    prefer."  <br>
                    <br>
                    I prefer music X, sexuality Y, and pizza with Z on
                    it.  <br>
                    <br>
                    I have no need to prove to anyone, that any of those
                    things are "better than" music Q, sexuality R, and
                    pizza with S on it.  And I will fight for the right
                    to full equality among people who prefer music X or
                    Q, sexuality Y or R, and pizza with Z or S on it.  <br>
                    <br>
                    It will be a great day when people stop seeking to
                    dominate each other over matters of personal choice
                    and personal taste.  It will be an even better day
                    when people stop seeking to dominate each other
                    altogether, aside from consenting adult dom/sub
                    play;-)<br>
                    <br>
                    -G. <br>
                    <br>
                    <br>
                    =====<br>
                    <br>
                    <br>
                    <div>On 13-05-05-Sun 12:29 PM, Sonja Trauss wrote:<br>
                    </div>
                    <blockquote type="cite">
                      <div dir="ltr">
                        <div>
                          <div>mmm according to conservative readings of
                            the bible, all non-reproductive sex is
                            sinful. masturbating and pulling out are
                            both sins, and in that way equivalent. So if
                            you want to throw around the 'puritanical'
                            label, it would have to stick to the idea
                            that masturbation and sex are
                            interchangeable, and not the idea they they
                            are two pretty different types of
                            activities. <br>
                            <br>
                          </div>
                          Other women should pipe up here, but the only
                          people who have ever tried to tell me that
                          "masturbation is a type of sex" have been men.
                          No, masturbation is not sex. In the same way
                          that vitamin pills are not food. Masturbation
                          is a thing too thoroughly inferior to sex to
                          be classed with it. I guess, from a male
                          pleasure point of view, they are equivalent,
                          if you cum from sex or you cum from jerking
                          off, you cum, who cares, but they are not
                          equivalent from your gf's pov. I would 1000%
                          prefer my partner to cum from fucking me than
                          from jerking off. I get nothing out of him
                          jerking off, if he fucks me I will almost
                          surely cum. <br>
                          <br>
                        </div>
                        The idea that we should make more porn (for
                        women!) has always struck me as an example of
                        men thinking women should be more like men.
                        Maybe women aren't that into porn, not because
                        there's not that much porn that women like, but
                        because porn is lame and boring. Maybe instead
                        of women going against their natures and
                        learning to enjoy passively watching other
                        people have sex, men should go against their
                        natures and learn to enjoy closing the laptop,
                        picking up the phone, waiting 15 minutes for
                        your girl to come over, and then fucking her. <br>
                      </div>
                      <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
                        <br>
                        <div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, May 5, 2013 at
                          1:58 AM, GtwoG PublicOhOne <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>></span>
                          wrote:<br>
                          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                            <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>
                              Sonja, Andrew, and Yo's-<br>
                              <br>
                              Whoa there!  All this about "masturbation
                              replacing sex" reinforces an artificial
                              duality that's ultimately founded in
                              puritanism, in which masturbation may not
                              be "sinful" but it's "not real sex."<br>
                              <br>
                              To paraphrase an old Campbell's Soup ad,
                              "It's Sex for One and that one is you!"<br>
                              <br>
                              What I personally find bizarre as hell, is
                              the degree to which our culture is so
                              couple-normative, and the degree to which
                              sexual coupling is normalized and expected
                              as the primary axis on which lifetime
                              relationships are based.  This when
                              there's a near-infinite range of potential
                              upon which humans could base their
                              relationships.<br>
                              <br>
                              Have you ever seen a couple that appeared
                              to you to be either overtly dysfunctional
                              or just plain weird in the manner of "what
                              the hell could s/he possibly see in
                              him/her?!"  The answer usually turns out
                              to be "in bed," as in: they may be totally
                              incompatible in all other ways, but they
                              have some unique kink in common, or just
                              screw like mad weasels, and apparently
                              that's enough to keep them together.  <br>
                              <br>
                              Under all of this is the genetic
                              competition algorithm, that dates back to
                              bacteria but seems remarkably incapable of
                              producing humans with the intelligence
                              needed to overcome war, climate change,
                              and all the other forces of our own making
                              that threaten our near-extinction.  In an
                              era where "the cybernetically-enhanced
                              human" is a common cultural meme, surely
                              we can do better! <br>
                              <br>
                              Anyone who thinks that their precious
                              genes are something special (or that there
                              is any such thing as a superior race), is
                              in for a rude awakening: we share well
                              over 99% of our genome with chimpanzees
                              and bonobos.  Selfish genes helped us get
                              from our birth as a species to the point
                              where our survival was assured.  Since
                              that time we have overpopulated and
                              overconsumed the planet, threatening our
                              own continued existence within our
                              lifetimes.  <br>
                              <br>
                              It's time to move beyond obedience to
                              algorithms that no longer serve us.  <br>
                              <br>
                              -G.<br>
                              <br>
                              <br>
                              ======
                              <div>
                                <div><br>
                                  <br>
                                  <br>
                                  <div>On 13-05-05-Sun 1:22 AM, Sonja
                                    Trauss wrote:<br>
                                  </div>
                                  <blockquote type="cite">
                                    <p>That study says nothing about
                                      whether masturbation does or
                                      doesn't replace sex. It says that
                                      teens who masturbate more have
                                      more sex, which makes perfect
                                      sense. These are things that you
                                      expect to see together, like
                                      umbrellas and rubber boots, but
                                      you would never say that the
                                      umbrella caused the boots, or vice
                                      versa. And this study says nothing
                                      about whether sex causes
                                      masturbation or the other way
                                      around.<br>
                                      It also doesn't say anything about
                                      masturbation with or without porn
                                      (although I wish it did). <br>
                                      Masturbation is all well and good,
                                      of course, but that's not
                                      sufficient to explain why porn is
                                      well and good. <br>
                                      I'm super curious. I can't
                                      experimentally not watch porn and
                                      see what happens because I already
                                      don't, but if any of you do, then
                                      you will be able to tell me what
                                      you would be missing. </p>
                                    <div class="gmail_quote">On May 5,
                                      2013 12:43 AM, "Andrew" <<a href="mailto:andrew@roshambomedia.com" target="_blank">andrew@roshambomedia.com</a>>


                                      wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                      <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                        <div dir="ltr">
                                          <div>
                                            <div>Sonja,<br>
                                              <br>
                                            </div>
                                            I disagree with your views
                                            on masturbation. For one, I
                                            don't think that
                                            masturbation causes people
                                            to have less sex. Here's a
                                            study a found by googling
                                            I'm sure there is more data
                                            to back up the fact that
                                            masturbation does not reduce
                                            the amount of sex someone is
                                            having.<br>
                                            <br>
                                            <a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2011/08/01/study-tracks-masturbation-trends-among-us-teens" target="_blank">http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2011/08/01/study-tracks-masturbation-trends-among-us-teens</a><br>

                                            <br>
                                            It is also just, in general
                                            a healthy practice.<br>
                                            <br>
                                          </div>
                                          <div>second, I can masturbate
                                            without porn, and with porn
                                            (as can most people).<br>
                                            <br>
                                          </div>
                                          <div>I really believe that
                                            part of being sex positive
                                            is also being accepting of
                                            masturbation as natural and
                                            healthy.<br>
                                            <br>
                                          </div>
                                          <div>--Andrew<br>
                                          </div>
                                          <br>
                                          <br>
                                          <br>
                                        </div>
                                        <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
                                          <br>
                                          <div class="gmail_quote">On
                                            Sun, May 5, 2013 at 12:25
                                            AM, Sonja Trauss <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sonja.trauss@gmail.com" target="_blank">sonja.trauss@gmail.com</a>></span>
                                            wrote:<br>
                                            <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                              <p>Yeah .... so what if
                                                you didn't have
                                                anything, and you
                                                couldn't concentrate.
                                                Would you give up? Maybe
                                                the first day. Maybe
                                                even the 2nd day, but
                                                eventually you would be
                                                able to masterbate on
                                                your own I bet.</p>
                                              <p>I'm a girl and never
                                                encountered very much
                                                porn I liked at all. I
                                                *guess* a solution could
                                                be to make porn a girl
                                                would like, but my
                                                solution was to have sex
                                                instead, which has been
                                                overall great. It's
                                                forced me to get in
                                                contact, and stay in
                                                contact, with people I
                                                otherwise wouldn't have.
                                                Making porn that girls
                                                like, so they can join
                                                men in having an
                                                activity that allows
                                                them to have less sex,
                                                seems antisocial and a
                                                step backwards. <br>
                                                Yeah the more I think
                                                about this the more
                                                absurd it seems that a
                                                crowd that is interested
                                                in expanding the
                                                audience for porn would
                                                overlap with a
                                                'do-acracy' hackerspace
                                                crowd. Watching porn is
                                                watching, not doing.</p>
                                              <div class="gmail_quote">
                                                <div>On May 4, 2013 7:53
                                                  PM, "Andrew" <<a href="mailto:andrew@roshambomedia.com" target="_blank">andrew@roshambomedia.com</a>>



                                                  wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                                </div>
                                                <div>
                                                  <div>
                                                    <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                                      <p>People want
                                                        porn for
                                                        somthing easy to
                                                        focus on while
                                                        masturbating.
                                                        Masturbating
                                                        being a natural
                                                        part of life. I
                                                        also dont think
                                                        that all people
                                                        who can have sex
                                                        with others, but
                                                        don't , are
                                                        doing so because
                                                        they don't have
                                                        the "skills"</p>
                                                      <div class="gmail_quote">On

                                                        May 4, 2013 7:20
                                                        PM, "Sonja
                                                        Trauss" <<a href="mailto:sonja.trauss@gmail.com" target="_blank">sonja.trauss@gmail.com</a>>



                                                        wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                                        <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                                          <p>Or less
                                                          representation
                                                          of sex
                                                          altogether.
                                                          What does
                                                          anyone need
                                                          porn for?</p>
                                                          <div class="gmail_quote">On


                                                          May 4, 2013
                                                          7:10 PM,
                                                          "Andrew" <<a href="mailto:andrew@vagabondballroom.com" target="_blank">andrew@vagabondballroom.com</a>>



                                                          wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                                          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                                          <p>When i ran
                                                          an erotic
                                                          event in
                                                          oakland our
                                                          crew made it a
                                                          point to
                                                          balence
                                                          genders as
                                                          much as
                                                          possible. We
                                                          had male and
                                                          female
                                                          co-hosts and
                                                          male and
                                                          female
                                                          strippers.</p>
                                                          <p>Also.
                                                          Somthing to
                                                          keep in mind
                                                          is that there
                                                          are more than
                                                          two genders.
                                                          In my mind
                                                          objectification
                                                          is not the
                                                          issue.
                                                          Representation
                                                          is. Porn is
                                                          mostly filmed
                                                          from a
                                                          hetero-cis-male
                                                          perspective
                                                          and because of
                                                          that, taken as
                                                          a whole, is
                                                          exploitive.
                                                          There is porn
                                                          that fights
                                                          this
                                                          perspective
                                                          and
                                                          representation
                                                          of sex and
                                                          there needs to
                                                          be more.</p>
                                                          <div class="gmail_quote">On


                                                          May 4, 2013
                                                          6:55 PM,
                                                          "Sonja Trauss"
                                                          <<a href="mailto:sonja.trauss@gmail.com" target="_blank">sonja.trauss@gmail.com</a>>



                                                          wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                                          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                                          <p>Can I get a
                                                          link for this
                                                          gonorreah
                                                          story?</p>
                                                          <div class="gmail_quote">On


                                                          May 4, 2013
                                                          6:42 PM,
                                                          "GtwoG
                                                          PublicOhOne"
                                                          <<a href="mailto:g2g-public01@att.net" target="_blank">g2g-public01@att.net</a>>



                                                          wrote:<br type="attribution">
                                                          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
                                                          <br>
                                                          Romy &
                                                          Yo's-<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          Re. "womens'
                                                          bodies with
                                                          their faces
                                                          cut off."<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          Wow.  Thanks
                                                          for pointing
                                                          that out.  I
                                                          never noticed
                                                          that before
                                                          (OTOH<br>
                                                          attempts to do
                                                          "sexy" in
                                                          advertising
                                                          generally
                                                          don't get my
                                                          attention),<br>
                                                          but I vaguely
                                                          recall seeing
                                                          ads like that
                                                          somewhere.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          I agree, a
                                                          torso minus a
                                                          face is
                                                          depersonalizing
                                                          and
                                                          objectifying
                                                          as<br>
                                                          hell, unless
                                                          there's a very
                                                          good reason
                                                          for taking a
                                                          photo that way<br>
                                                          (e.g. medical
                                                          contexts).
                                                           Being looked
                                                          at "that way"
                                                          produces the
                                                          creepy<br>
                                                          feeling that
                                                          the looker's
                                                          intentions are
non-consensual.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          The only
                                                          borderline-legit
                                                          reason I could
                                                          see for doing
                                                          it in clothing<br>
                                                          ads is, "we
                                                          want you to
                                                          imagine
                                                          yourself
                                                          wearing this,
                                                          and we don't
                                                          want<br>
                                                          to risk
                                                          putting you
                                                          off by showing
                                                          a face that's
                                                          substantially
                                                          different<br>
                                                          to yours, so
                                                          imagine your
                                                          face on this
                                                          person's
                                                          body."  But it
                                                          would be<br>
                                                          foolish to
                                                          think that's
                                                          what's
                                                          intended every
                                                          time that
                                                          photographic<br>
                                                          method is
                                                          used.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          This brings up
                                                          the question
                                                          of what people
                                                          find sexy in
                                                          photography.<br>
                                                          For me (gay
                                                          male), a photo
                                                          minus a face
                                                          is a
                                                          non-starter:
                                                          there's no cue<br>
                                                          for
                                                          communication
                                                          with the
                                                          person.  Nudes
                                                          in general
                                                          don't do it
                                                          either:<br>
                                                          all the usual
                                                          contextual
                                                          cues as to
                                                          someone's
                                                          personality
                                                          are missing,<br>
                                                          so why would I
                                                          even begin to
                                                          imagine being
                                                          in an intimate
                                                          context with<br>
                                                          someone I
                                                          don't really
                                                          know?  I've
                                                          always felt
                                                          that way but
                                                          now we have<br>
                                                          the HIV
                                                          pandemic to
                                                          reinforce it:
                                                          in general
                                                          it's not a
                                                          good idea to
                                                          get<br>
                                                          intimate with
                                                          someone you
                                                          don't know
                                                          very well,
                                                          because the
                                                          outcome<br>
                                                          could be a
                                                          life-threatening
                                                          illness.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          For that
                                                          matter, now
                                                          that
                                                          massively-drug-resistant
                                                          gonorrhea is
                                                          loose in<br>
                                                          the USA, which
                                                          is hella'
                                                          easier to
                                                          catch than HIV
                                                          and can kill
                                                          you in a<br>
                                                          matter of days
                                                          through a
                                                          raging
                                                          bacterial
                                                          infection,
                                                          it's probably
                                                          a<br>
                                                          darn good idea
                                                          for everyone
                                                          to "get smart
                                                          & play
                                                          safe" ALL the
                                                          time,<br>
                                                          zero
                                                          exceptions,
                                                          even more so
                                                          than with HIV.
                                                           In which case
                                                          photography<br>
                                                          that portrays
                                                          an objectified
                                                          sexuality
                                                          without
                                                          communications
                                                          isn't just<br>
                                                          gross and
                                                          exploitative,
                                                          it's a public
                                                          health hazard
                                                          that
                                                          reinforces<br>
                                                          attitudes that
                                                          put people at
                                                          risk for their
                                                          lives.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          -G.<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          =====<br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          On
                                                          13-05-04-Sat
                                                          10:34 AM, Romy
                                                          Snowyla wrote:<br>
                                                          > It's
                                                          interesting to
                                                          me how porn a<br>
                                                          > Nd
                                                          erotica always
                                                          advertise with
                                                          women's bodies
                                                          with their
                                                          faces cut off<br>
                                                          > American
                                                          apparel digs
                                                          this etc<br>
                                                          > Lots of
                                                          art theory
                                                          discusses this<br>
                                                          ><br>
                                                          > I would
                                                          love for any
                                                          Sudo room
                                                          event to break
                                                          the mold and
                                                          show men's
                                                          bodies in any
                                                          erotic theme
                                                          as well ...
                                                          Also would
                                                          love to see
                                                          the male body
                                                          as the focus
                                                          of any erotic
                                                          film or dance
                                                          to balance out
                                                          the Imbalance
                                                          and unnatural
                                                          obsession with
                                                          t and a we see
                                                          on the porn
                                                          industry<br>
                                                          ><br>
                                                          > Sent from
                                                          my iPad<br>
                                                          >
                                                          _______________________________________________<br>
                                                          >
                                                          sudo-discuss
                                                          mailing list<br>
                                                          > <a href="mailto:sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org" target="_blank">sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org</a><br>
                                                          > <a href="http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss" target="_blank">http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss</a><br>
                                                          ><br>
                                                          <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          sudo-discuss
                                                          mailing list<br>
                                                          <a href="mailto:sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org" target="_blank">sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org</a><br>
                                                          <a href="http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss" target="_blank">http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss</a><br>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          </div>
                                                          <br>
_______________________________________________<br>
                                                          sudo-discuss
                                                          mailing list<br>
                                                          <a href="mailto:sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org" target="_blank">sudo-discuss@lists.sudoroom.org</a><br>
                                                          <a href="http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss" target="_blank">http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss</a><br>
                                                          <br>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          </div>
                                                          </blockquote>
                                                          </div>
                                                        </blockquote>
                                                      </div>
                                                    </blockquote>
                                                  </div>
                                                </div>
                                              </div>
                                            </blockquote>
                                          </div>
                                          <br>
                                          <br clear="all">
                                          <br>
                                          -- <br>
                                          -------
                                          <div>Andrew Lowe</div>
                                          <div>Cell: <a href="tel:831-332-2507" value="+18313322507" target="_blank">831-332-2507</a></div>
                                          <div><a href="http://roshambomedia.com" target="_blank">http://roshambomedia.com</a></div>
                                          <div><br>
                                          </div>
                                        </div>
                                      </blockquote>
                                    </div>
                                  </blockquote>
                                  <br>
                                </div>
                              </div>
                            </div>
                          </blockquote>
                        </div>
                        <br>
                      </div>
                    </blockquote>
                    <br>
                  </div>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>-------<div>Andrew Lowe</div><div>Cell: 831-332-2507</div><div><a href="http://roshambomedia.com" target="_blank">http://roshambomedia.com</a></div><div><br></div>

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