Recently I had the pleasure Cameryn Moore’s two plays Phone Whore and Slut (r)evolution. Since I saw them both in one night I’m combining them into one post. I first blogged about Phone Whore here.
Phone Whore
I was particularly excited to see Phone Whore. A play all about what I do-yay! The audience was small and the stage was sparse. I don’t know if this is the case in all of Moore’s performances but she performed so close to us that I felt like I could reach out and grab the phone from her. This gave an immediate intimacy to the performance.
The play starts with the phone ringing and Moore offstage. She speeds in, grabs the phone and talks to the dispatcher. And then bam-the audience is experiencing her side of of phone sex call. After the phone call Moore breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience. This gave the whole play such strength. Since sex work is something that’s “hidden” to many people this dialog made a connection with the viewers.
Phone Whore’s tag line is “a one-act play with frequent interruptions”. And there are lots of interruptions. She’ll talk for a bit, sometimes about herself, the callers, sex work in general, and then the phone will ring and she’ll go on a call. This is an accurate portrayal of the work. My friends are used to me talking to them on the phone and then suddenly saying “I gotta go” when a call comes in.
Moore talks about her callers with compassion. She may poke fun at some of her clients but she also cares about them. She sees herself as an outlet where men can express their hidden desires in a judgement free space. I totally relate to that.
In one instance Moore is working on an art project. Later after the show my friend Kelli remarked, “how many of us do sex work to fund our art”? How true. So many of my sex worker friends, including myself, are artists.
There were a few surprises with how Moore did her calls. She didn’t use a headset. I started off without one but that quickly changed. I find a headset essential to doing calls. While she’s working on an art project her phone rings. She stops working on the project and sits in her work chair to do the call. I wasn’t expecting that. I love working on art while on calls; it helps me relax and focus on the fantasy. Another time she is making a snack and the phone rings. While talking to the client she looks longingly at her quickly getting cold food. Normally I don’t eat on calls but if I’m hungry I utilize my mute button and eat anyway. (I blogged about eating on calls here.)
The play was funny. As a PSO myself I laughed hard at some of her sex work jokes. She refers to the abundance of BBC calls-big black cocks. I often joke if I was back in college I’d write my thesis on the middle-aged, married, heterosexual male’s obsession with big black cocks.
As the phone rang one time Moore turned to the audience and says “you’re going to wish I would have signed off instead” before starting the call. I got excited. We were going to get a sick roller coaster ride of a call.
It turned out to be an incest call. At the time I felt disappointed. Incest? That’s easy. I can do complex lace knitting while doing an incest fantasy. But after the play my friend Kelli put it into perspective by commenting “wow that incest call was really hard to listen to”. As soon as she said that I appreciated that part in the play. For most people that scene is probably hard to sit through. I know a few PSOs that refuse to do that fantasy. I’ve been doing phone sex for nine years now-of course it was easy for me to hear that.
After the play Moore held a Q&A with the audience. This was a great idea. It gave non sex workers to engage with her. I’m sure many people haven’t knowingly talked with a sex worker. Remember we walk amongst you. ; ) The Q&A increased the intimacy of the performance and stirred up an interesting dialog.
Slut (r)evolution
After an intermission Moore performed Slut (r)evolution. I’m not a slut myself but I certainly am supportive of my slut friends. If that’s your kink I say go for it! So I went into this play with curiosity. What would her perspective be like?
The play’s tag line is “no one get there overnight”. Indeed the play shows her evolving into the proud slut that Moore is today. She again breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience. This works well for one person plays I think. Again, it created an intimacy between performer and audience.
Moore switches up the timeline. The first scene is her as a college aged woman. A scene of her as a girl appears in the middle of the play. Like Phone Whore, Slut (r)evolution shows Moore having conversations with unseen companions and then addressing the audience. This didn’t work as well for the play I thought. There is a scene where she is playing with a fellow kinkster at a play party and another where at Burning Man that I felt would have been enhanced with another actor. The scene with the white sheet portrays her as a young girl finding an erotic passage in a book. That scene felt the strongest to me.
Again there were several moments that were laugh out loud funny. Moore is a funny person. The ending surprised me. It wasn’t the context per se-it’s more that I didn’t realize it was the last bit until it ended. Unfortunately she didn’t do a Q&A after this play. That was a disappointment. I so enjoyed the one for Phone Whore that I was hoping for a repeat for Slut (r)evolution.
If Cameryn Moore is visiting your town I recommend seeing her. You can check out her travel schedule here.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews, Sex Workers at 9:07 PM CST
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As soon as I saw a bacon chocolate bar existed I had to try it. The other day a Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon bar was mine:
The bar looks like a typical chocolate bar. Please excuse the waviness on the square here. I forgot to put it in the fridge and it got a little soft. A few hours in the fridge hardened it back up but the bar has chocolate waves now.
The taste is anything but typical. The bacon taste hit my tongue first with the chocolate coming in right behind. This is one amazing treat. It’s an intense taste and one square satisfies my sweet teeth.
But it’s not overly sweet though. The bacon really is the predominant flavor. I tend to crave a snack that’s sweet and salty. This bacon bar is perfect for those cravings.
It’s not a cheap candy bar. This baby cost me $9 online. Nine bucks for a chocolate bar feels silly since my normal bars cost a third of this one. But then the bacon chocolate bar tastes so decadent that it was totally worth it. Vosges Chocolate makes the bar. Their website has so many drool worthy snacks-like the bacon truffles. Yum!
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:08 PM CDT
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Babeland sent me their Starburst Tickler for review.
From the product description:
“Tease, stroke and tickle their fancy with this lusciously colored plush red plume feather tickler. The long, 20″ pliable handle offers an easy reach and allows you to vary the stimulation. Pair this with some other playful massage toys like lickable dust, edible paints, or fingertip vibrator. Color may vary.”
This is an good introduction toy. It’s not vanilla but it’s not full on heavy kink either. What you see is what you get here-just a nice, simple feather tickler. The wand is a flexible plastic and the feathers are nice and soft. If you want to try new things with your partner this is a good non-threatening toy. If you’re like me and your toy bag is filled with paddles you’ll likely want to pass on the tickler.
Posted by Vixen as Sex Toys, Reviews at 2:09 PM CDT
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Babeland sent me their Velvet Harness to review.
From the product’s description:
“A comfy, affordable vibrating harness will have your kitty purring in no time flat. Slip on the adjustable nylon straps and slide the included sterling bullet vibe into the plush velvet pocket. Strong vibrations will set the harness wearer abuzz (and provide a milder contact buzz for those on the receiving end).”
It’s pretty and soft to the touch. The straps are pretty long. After putting it on they were dangling quite a bit. I cut them to fit and burnt the ends. Since they’re nylon straps the ends melted easily. The specs say this harness fits up to a 60″ waist. It also comes with three rubber o-rings which is nice.
This harness fit my dildos just fine. The bullet vibe is one speed and is a strong buzz. I find the combination of vibrations and strap on play too over stimulating but can see how people into the combo would like this harness.
The downside for me is the velvet material. As a sex worker my knee jerk reaction is-hard to sterilize! Washing velvet after each client would wear it out quickly. But if you’re not using it on a multitude of partners I think it would be ok.
Posted by Vixen as Sex Toys, Reviews at 11:16 PM CDT
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From Seal Press:
Hellions: Pop Culture’s Rebel Women by Maria Raha
“Modern pop culture and the media have distorted the notion of rebellion. Classic male rebels appear sexy, nomadic—naturally rebellious—while unorthodox women are reprimanded, made to fit unrealistic roles and body images, or mocked for their decadence and self-indulgence. In order to appreciate our legacy of female rebels—and create space for future cultural icons—the notion of rebellion needs to be reevaluated.”
I expected to love this book. After all, I love rebellious women and consider myself one. Now that I’ve finished it I find I’m ambivalent about it instead.
The book starts off rightly criticizing pop culture’s love of rebellious men and either disdain or ignorance of rebellious women. I’m totally agree with Raha here. But this went on and on. I felt like “I get it let’s move on to the Hellions” and thought that sentiment only needed a paragraph. I wanted the book to be jammed packed with radical icons. Maybe the average reader wouldn’t agree with sentiment? It just made me impatient but perhaps I’m not the target audience here.
After all, I knew most of the women covered in this book. That was ok though-I love reading about Jane Fonda’s anti-war activism and was pleasantly surprised to see Cindy Sheehan included in the politics chapter.
The book seems to have two themes. On one hand it’s celebrating rebellious women. But at the same time it critiques all the ones covered. I don’t think the combination of celebration and critique work here; it’s a buzzkill for the book. It’s as if Raha gets the reader all excited over someone only to take a literary swipe at the end of the description.
Another disappointment was the lack of photos. The cover made me think there would be plenty. A book like this would benefit from pictures of the women described in it. Each chapter starts with a photo but I would have appreciated a snapshot of the particular woman I was reading about. This could have been due to the book’s budget though.
Would I recommend this book? Perhaps. If you don’t know about many rebellious women this book showcases many of them. If you’re already familiar I’d say skip it. This would make an excellent gift book. I’m saving my copy to give to a friend for her birthday.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:02 PM CST
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Last week I watched My Own Private Idaho. When I was a girl I loved River Phoenix. I bought tons of teeny-bopper magazines and plastered my bedroom walls with his photos. I even taped pictures of him to my ceiling so I could look up at him while lying in bed. Eventually my infatuation faded and I took the posters down.
While I had obsessively watched most of his movies over and over I had never seen My Own Private Idaho. It came out in 1991 so most likely my girlhood crush had faded by then. If you haven’t heard of the movie IMBd describes it this way-”Two best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.”
I vaguely knew the movie was about hustling but my teenage self never really thought about it. Watching it now I was struck by how different my adult reaction was to how my teenage reaction would have been. I watched it from a sex worker perspective. My teenage self would have watched it from the perspective of a swooning fangirl.
The campfire confession scene was the most powerful moment of the movie. But I was particularly struck by two other moments. First, there was the scene was Phoenix’s characters is picked up a woman. He goes into the living and finds two other male sex workers already there. That was a realistic moment-the quick conversation about the client and the ease that the characters had together. The second scene was one in a diner where it showed several sex workers talking about work. The characters all talked about bad experiences but I still felt it was realistic. I’ve certainly hung out with fellow sex workers in a diner and bitched about work.
What would my teenage self had noticed? Probably how cute Phoenix was in every scene-he certainly was.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews, Sex Workers at 10:42 PM CST
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I meant to blog some news links about the Giffords shooting last night. But the movie Network had come in from Netflix and I decided to watch it instead. Ironically, Network really gave me a perspective on the shootings. How can a movie made in 1976 give any reflection about 2011 news? I know, I know but indulge me.
If you’re not familiar with the movie IMDb sums it up nicely-”A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor’s ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.”
I have read many references to it and finally decided to watch this classic. Wow this movie is amazing. It shows the corruption of the news, of television, of politics, of society-and there’s some comedy too. The film predicts the arrival of infotainment and reality television. The performances are strong and since it was made in the 70’s all the clothing and decor is now vintage. I love 60’s and 70’s styles so this was a treat for me.
At the beginning of the film the news staff is sitting at a table discussing how much time to devote to each news story. The attempted assassination of President Ford by Squeaky Fromme is mentioned with several other stories. That was a surprise since shortly before I was reading about the Giffords shooting.
If you haven’t seen this movie I highly recommend it. It’s become one of my all time favorites.
The movie repeatedly showed the lengths television will go to for good ratings and profit. While reading about Giffords I kept thinking about that. Who’s profiting from this?
The religious groups who cast this as yet another sign of how Godless this nation has become? The WBC crazies are the most extreme example of this one. The politicians who use this tragedy to advance their own agendas? Examples of this here here and here. The media who sensationalizes this story to reap in the ratings? The so called Left and Right movements who try to put Loughner in the other’s camp as a smear tactic? Even the bloggers, myself included, who use this story to shout from their soapboxes? Although this post from Natural News is pretty good.
Network took that profit idea to an absurd level but really made it believable. The main character reminded me a lot of Glenn Beck. He was a nutter but was popular enough that the network kept him on air. They milked that cash cow for ratings just like Fox milks Beck.
Just like the Arizona shootings are now being milked. That’s what I keep coming back to-how easily and often tragedy is milked for profits, ratings and power. But what of Loughner? Was he like the main character of Network and mad as hell and not going to take it any more? He seems more bat shit crazy than politically motivated. That could be because of his mug shot though. There’s some serious crazy staring back at the camera.
Posted by Vixen as News, Reviews at 9:23 PM CST
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Babeland sent me a Pin-Up Panty to review.
They’re packaged similar to the Foxy Bombshell Panty.
These panties are super cute! The panties come in small and large. I went with size small and they fit just fine.
I think these panties have more bang for your buck with all the ruffles.
These have quickly become one of my favorite pair of panties. Some of my sissy clients would love them.
One downside is they don’t come in more colors. Maybe someday.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 10:47 PM CST
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Babeland sent me a Foxy Bombshell Panty to review.
The box is super cute and looks like a pre-packaged gift. When you open the box it feels like a present. That’s fun.
The panty comes in size small and large. I wear size 6 panties so I picked the small. They fit me fine.
The fabric is soft but I find the bow in back is distracting under a pair of jeans. These are more lingerie panties than everyday wear panties.
My pictures turned out blurry so here’s an official Babeland pic.
These are cute panties. Would I go to Babeland just to buy them? Not likely. I can see someone buying them as part of a package gift. You know-a dildo, a harness and these panties could make a fun present.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 8:48 PM CST
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Babeland sent me the Tenga Egg to review. There’s several different styles. I got the silky version. When it came in the mail I told Mr. Radical-”I have to give you a handjob with a Japanese sex toy in the name of science.” He agreed. ; )
To open the egg you peel off the wrapper and pop open the plastic egg.
The egg itself is made of a silicone material.
It’s super stretchy!
There’s a lube packet and plastic funnel inside. Mr. Radical has chemical sensitives so we didn’t use the Tenga lube. The little funnel works well though.
Click here to see a video ad for the egg.
The Tenga Egg works really well. You slip it over the cock head and just hold your hand over it and do typical handjob motions. Mr. Radical said the texture felt great. But he didn’t like the “squeaky” noise that it made. As the egg expanded and contracted it made a sort of squeak. MR said that the noise wasn’t too bad with two people but if it was just him and the egg he would find it distracting.
The egg is a built in cum receptacle. Clean up is super easy. As I pulled the egg off of MR I said-”Hey look it’s an egg cup of cum. Perfect for drinking it up afterward.” That’s not MR’s kink but the look he gave me made me laugh.
This gave me an idea. For those that cum drinking is a kink the Tenga Egg would be perfect for them. An edible lubricant would have to be used though. I think it would be great to use with clients.
But the big big downside to the Tenga Egg is that it’s disposable. I’m a granola hippie chick and that just irks me. A one time only use toy? Bleh. I don’t like that at all. Babeland sells them for $8.50 which isn’t bad for a unique experience but for every time you jerk off? That’s not cool either.
I would recommend the Tenga Egg for a once in a while toy. Want to try something different? Or want to get a sexy gift for your partner? Then buy one. But for your normal masturbation habit I’d go with something else.
Posted by Vixen as Sex Toys, Reviews at 11:38 PM CST
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Seal Press sent me a copy of Affection to review. From the book’s page:
“Krissy Kneen loves sex…and she’s not afraid to talk about it. In this sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant, and sometimes terrifying memoir, she traces the arc of her sexual life—from her childhood in a sexless household to the myriad sexual encounters of her young and adult life to the present, in which she is a married (and monogamous) 40-year-old woman.
Raised by a group of protective and eccentric women who expressly forbade any and every sign of sexuality, Krissy—an unusually sensual young girl—discovered early on that illicit pleasures are the best kind. Affection follows the path of Kneen’s life journey, from the compulsive sexual self-exploration of her childhood to her experiences as a young woman for whom the world is a sexual playground. Underlying the jaw-dropping details of her many sexual escapades is Kneen’s examination of how her sense of self shapes and is shaped by those experiences, and of her struggle to satisfy her own needs in the face of a limiting, and often judgmental, society.
Affection is a frank, often erotic look at one woman’s sexuality as she grows and changes in a world that continues to see only the young and the beautiful amongst us as sexual beings—and a chronicle of her refusal to conform to that misconception.”
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:29 AM CDT
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I’ve finished reading Good Porn, from Seal Press. It was ok. Not great but not bad either. I think the problem is I’m not the target audience for this book. A lot of it felt like preaching to the choir but that’s because I already approve of porn.
From the back cover:
“Porn. Do you think of it as a dirty word, a taboo topic, something you associate with cheesy films with bad plots? Filmmaker and author Erika Lust is here to change all that. With the goal of making porn more accessible to women, Good Porn examines the films, the industry, and the phenomenon. It breaks away from any assumptions you may have about porn, opening the door for a wholly new conversation about a medium that has too long been considered the domain. of men. So come on in, ladies, the water’s just fine.
The author Erika Lust does make porn more accessible to women. She starts off by admitting several “ugly” truths about porn-some porn sucks, some porn is sexist and some porn is better at turning women off rather than turning them on. With that out of the way she then shows other truths about porn-there’s more and more female porn directors and female centered porn festivals now. It’s a great time for women to start watching porn.
Good Porn would be a great book for someone that wants to watch porn but doesn’t know where to begin. It would also be a wonderful book to give your girlfriend if she’s shy about porn. Lust makes the reader feel comfortable and empowered about watching it. She makes a call to arms to the “wise wankers” of today.
“There’s a new girl in town-the wise wanker. She doesn’t need anyone to cater to her sexual whims. She pursues pleasure without guilt, and she knows and respects her own body. She knows how to enjoy sex with herself, she has sexual smarts and emotional intelligence, and she knows where to look for sex toys. She knows what she wants, and she knows how to get it.”
Her chapter on the History Of Porn was especially interesting. By chronicling sexually arousing images and words through history Lust shows that the desire for porn is nothing new. The technology may have changed but humans interest in it has been around for ages.
One unexpected delight was the amount of illustrations and photos in this book. Throughout there are cute cartoons of female stick figures and an X in a shopping cart makes an appearance. Lust shows lots of images from porn but they’re all softcore. This fits the mood of the book-titillating but in a fun, non-threatening way. Her tone is one of going out shopping with a girlfriend. Again, this would be an excellent book to give to a woman that’s interested in porn but is shy about it.
Another highlight is the A Smorgasbord Of Adult Films chapter. Lust details a ton of great porn films, many I’d never heard of before. For the beginner porn connoisseur this chapter is a great place to start your education.
However, if you already love porn and watch it regularly I’d say to skip this book. It’s not like it’s a bad read. But to someone already on the porn can be fun bandwagon it can get dull at times
Lust says, “Information is what matters here, just the way it does in other areas of your life. The more you know about sex, the more opportunities you have to make choices, and the more you can explore and enjoy your sexuality.” I wholeheartedly agree!
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:56 PM CDT
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This summer Mr. Radical found me the Phonesex book in an art bookstore. I originally blogged about it here. You can buy it on Amazon here.
From the foreword: “Phone sex is theatre. An artificial passion-play in real-time, directed by a skilled verbal fantasist, with only one possible conclusion.” I like that take on it. Often on calls I think of myself as acting. And I love the term “verbal fantasist”. If I’m ever interviewed for being a PSO I hope I’m referred to as a verbal fantasist.
The book has photos of phone sex workers, both women and men, taken in their homes. Next to the pictures are little blurbs the PSOs wrote about their work. A few bits stood out for me:
“I think it’s easier to release repressed desires to a non-judgmental, fictional person, because there are no consequences in the outside world.”
“I am the manufacturer who creates her from the blueprint that the caller provides me.”
“I see a reflection of myself in all of my callers. I help bring out their inner light. I try to heal the wounds that our closed-minded society inflicts.”
There’s also a nice selection of photos. Some of the PSOs are smiling, some look serious, a few look sad. I picked the two PSOs for this post because they’re laughing.
This makes for a great coffee table book. I recommend it. I want to be in a book like this someday! I totally would have posed for the author.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews, Sex Workers at 11:48 PM CDT
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Washed Up by bubs84
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