Come and celebrate the awarding of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards! The awards will be MCed by Lolita Wolf.

The first 100 attendees will get a gift bag of goodies from the Sexies sponsors. There will also be a silent auction and raffle to support the awards, which will include fabulous prizes including original art by Julio Aguilera, Sophy Naess, and David Steinberg; signed copies of books by winners, judges, and supporters; sex toys; gift certificates for sexy pleasures; and more!

Meet the judges and the winners. Judith Levine will talk about her experiences with media coverage of sexual topics when Harmful to Minors was released. Carol Queen will be there. See a full list of winners, judges and more.

The party will be Saturday October. 4, 6:30-9:30pm, in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, NYC. $5 cover.

Would you like to volunteer and get in free and be guaranteed a goodie bag? Volunteer shifts are only one hour. Contact Susan Wright at wrightnyc at aol dot com

Swingtown – Molly Parker as Susan Miller, Jack Davenport as Bruce Miller, Lana Parrilla as Trina Decker, Grant Show as Tom Decker (CBS Photo by Cliff Lipson)

Show Title: Swingtown
Episode Title: “Pilot”
Original airdate: June 5, 2008
Series continues: Thursday, 10 pm
Network: CBS
Produced by: CBS Paramount Television
Executive Producers: Michael Kelley, Allen Poul and Carol Barbee

Description
From the program’s website – “SWINGTOWN, from the director of ‘Big Love’ and ‘Rome,’ traces two generations of friends and neighbors as they forge intimate connections and explore new freedoms during the culturally transformative decade of the 1970s. It portrays the ever-shifting “swing” of the pendulum that reflected the change in America’s collective value system — morally, politically and socially. After moving to an upscale lakeside Chicago suburb in July of 1976, Susan and Bruce Miller must confront temptation in the form of their provocative new neighbors, Tom and Trina Decker, while not abandoning their old friends Janet and Roger Thompson. As the adult couples evaluate whether to embrace or avoid newfound personal freedoms, the curious Miller and Thompson children begin to discover and assert their own morality and sexual identities as they come of age in a world on the precipice of change. In a shifting social climate — defined by its music, fashion and style — everyone in SWINGTOWN is confronted with personal choices, experimentation and varying attitudes.”

More info, including clips and the most recent episode of the show,
can be found at:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/

NCSF Reviewer’s Note
Originally intended for a cable network outlet, “Swingtown” has obviously been retooled to meet broadcast standards and withstand certain scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nonetheless, while it shies away from nudity and direct depictions, the show still manages to take a refreshingly
positive approach to sexual exploration and freedom. The most adventurous couple of the three featured, the Deckers, is presented as sharing a mutual enjoyment of their open marriage and seem to have a healthy, affectionate relationship. Similarly the Millers, introduced to the swing lifestyle in the first episode, are shown to be in love, but just seeking a little something to rev up their sex life.

It’s a little difficult to predict where the series will go over the course of its initial 13-episode run, but given how quickly the Millers jump into the action – counter to what most swingers themselves would counsel – there are sure to be complications ahead. While there are likely some consequences to be faced down the line, hopefully the show will maintain the sex-positive tone it exhibited in its premiere episode.

In light of complaints already being registered from media watch groups and religious political extremists, the CBS network and its local affiliates deserve commendation for airing “Swingtown” and should be encouraged to continue its broadcast.

(Reviewed by Lisa Vandever, NCSF Media Committee)

CRITICAL ACTION – GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO YOUR LOCAL CBS AFFILIATE:

Find your station here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/utility/main517034.shtml

(Hard copy letters are generally more effective, but sending an email is better than nothing.)

ADDITIONAL ACTION – GIVE FEEDBACK ON SWINGTOWN TO THE CBS NETWORK:

CBS Television Network
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

(While hard copy letters are generally more effective, you can also send a direct email to the network via a form on their website -
http://www.cbs.com/info/user_services/fb_global_form.shtml.)

YOU CAN ALSO LEAVE INPUT VIA THE “SWINGTOWN” COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/swingtown/community/
(requires email registration)

HOW TO WRITE VIEWER FEEDBACK

Viewer letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging or polyamory. Your feedback can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices, and may influence the future decisions of programmers and producers about the entertainment they provide.

These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.

For more information and suggestions of points to include in your letter, see:
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/index.php?option=com_keyword&id=182

Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org

***

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media AT ncsfreedom DOT org
www.ncsfreedom.org

An Action Alert from NCSF

October 12, 2007 – The Catholic League, Concerned Women for America and Americans for Truth have called for a boycott of Miller Brewing Company because they are one of the sponsors of Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. “Miller is sponsoring an incredibly outrageous and palpably anti-Christian event,” said Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League.

Miller is feeling the heat, and we need you to email Miller Brewing Company and thank them for their continued support of the Folsom Street Fair. Please congratulate them for not caving in to pressure to cancel their sponsorship of the Fair. And please tell them you’re glad to buy their products in appreciation for their support of the largest SM-Leather-Fetish event in America!

NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF strongly encourage you to support Miller Brewing and Folsom Street Fair by emailing:

Julian Green
Miller Spokesman

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. Green,

I wanted to write and commend you for your continued support of the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I understand you’ve been the target of religious extremists who have attacked you, and I wanted to tell you that I will proudly continue to purchase Miller Brewing products because of your support for diversity and freedom of expression.

signed,
your name

###

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
917-848-6544
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom

August 27, 2007 – NCSF proud to be the only group in the country with a national mission committed to changing the political, legal and social environment for those involved with the BDSM, swinging and polyamory communities. NCSF’s six programs have directly helped thousands of practitioners, businesses and groups. Four of NCSF’s programs began with the founding of NCSF in 1997: the Media Outreach Project, Media Updates, Incident Response, and the Legal Advocacy program.

NCSF’s Incident Response team is directed by Leigha Fleming. Over 700 individuals, groups, attorneys, prosecutors, and businesses contact NCSF for help every year because of persecution ordiscrimination. NCSF assisted both International Mr. Leather and Kink.com this year, continuing its decade-long practice of fighting religious political extremists and performing outreach to local communities and authorities.

NCSF’s Media Outreach Program provides sound bites and tactics for anyone dealing with the media. Spokesperson Susan Wright regularly gives media trainings and conducts over 60 interviews every year, influencing the coverage of alternative sexuality issues. The NCSF Media Updates, created by Keith Richie, feature articles about BDSM, swinging and polyamory, and provides contact information to write letters to the editor in order to influence how editorial decisions are made in the future.

NCSF’s Legal Advocacy team is led by John Wirenius, with pro bono lawyers researching current laws and creating Amicus Briefs to submit to courts in cases involving obscenity prosecutions, “consent is not a defense to assault”, and right to freedom of assembly. NCSF’s Communications Decency Act lawsuit with Barbara Nitke made history by challenging the Miller standard of obscenity as it applies to the Internet.

NCSF took custody of their newest program, the Kink Aware Professionals (KAP) free referral list, from Race Bannon in 2006. Steve Bower is currently the director for the KAP program. NCSF created a new KAP brochure and is actively recruiting additional psychotherapeutic, medical, and legal professionals who are knowledgeable about and sensitive to diverse expressions of
sexuality.

The Education Outreach Program (EOP) is run under the Institute for 21st Century Relationships b The Foundation of NCSF. ITCR supports the freedom of consenting adults to discover and to practice the intimate relationship structure that best meets their emotional and human needs. The EOP is designed to educate law enforcement officials, and to educate constituents about the risks of selective enforcement and how to minimize the risk of becoming a target. NCSF has published a number of pieces of literature for this program and has trained a team of individuals from across the country to deliver 10 educational presentations from “Traveling With Toys” to “How to Protect Your Event.”

Over the past decade, NCSF has formed valuable alliances with other advocacy organizations to work on projects that defend sexual freedom rights: Free Speech Coalition, the ACLU, American Association of Sex Educators Councilors and Therapists, the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance, among others.

Currently NCSF has 54 Coalition Partners who elect the board and establish the yearly goals at the annual Coalition Partner meeting. Coalition Partners are groups and businesses that serve BDSM, swing and polyamory practitioners. NCSF also has over 100 Supporting Members b groups and businesses who actively support NCSF – totaling tens of thousands of members. Aside from Office Manager Levi Halberstadt, the staff of NCSF consists of dozens of volunteers around the country.

Every dollar that is donated to NCSF and ITCR goes to directly serving the alt sex communities. All donations to ITCR-NCSF are tax deductible. In the past decade, alternative sexual expression has become much more visible to the general public, bringing about an increasing number of attacks. The success of this fight depends on your support. You can become an individual member of NCSF, volunteer to join the NCSF staff, make a donation to NCSF, initiate or help out at a fund-raiser for NCSF, and encourage your group to become a Coalition Partner of NCSF. Every step you take helps us further the sexual freedom movement!

Check out the new and updated NCSF website at: www.ncsfreedom.org

===

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom — Media Update
May 14, 2007
www.ncsfreedom.org
media@ncsfreedom.org

1. Kinkfest provides a room to romp
2. Ex in a Bind on Bondage Saga
3. Owner plans a campground in full swing
4. Hsu Out on $400K Bond, Into Treatment Program
5. Judge: NYC jury cannot hear that employer was a dominatrix
6. City acts against swingers

Kinkfest provides a room to romp:
If your curiosity, um, is aroused
by Athima Chansanchai
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 11, 2007

Forget bringing sexy back.

Borrowing a line from Prince, “sexy never left” the erotic ambassadors who will help visitors explore sexual boundaries at the third annual Kinky Carnival on Saturday night.

For $20, visitors can go as far as they’re comfortable going without having sex, beginning with kissing demos and progressing to bondage, sex toys and a human petting/groping zoo.

While local sexperts argue Seattle probably is the country’s most sexually liberated and tolerant city (yes, it even trumps San Francisco), something like the Kinky Carnival is still going to shock neophytes whose idea of a wild romp is changing positions with their partner. But organizers encourage them — and their significant others — to come out and play.

“Freaks already know how to get their freak on,” said Teri D. Ciacchi, the event’s organizer, a self-described “poly pagan queer” and head of the TerraFire Academy of Aphrodisiacal Living. “I want normal mainstream men and women to take the risk to come here.”

“You don’t have to commit to anything,” said Allena Gabosch, executive director for The Wet Spot, Seattle’s Sex Positive Community Center. “We give people permission to explore in a safe and welcoming environment, and because it’s geared toward beginners and seekers, it’s not as edgy or scary to the more mainstream public. We give people permission to be the sexual beings they already are.”

Anonymity rules in the Little Red Studio, where the Kinky Carnival will take place. With or without masks, visitors and volunteers can play roles or reveal their true selves without fear of being outed, harassed or ridiculed. After they sign a form consenting that they are 18 or older, visitors are invited to test different “booths” or stations, such as the “Kiss,” where Gabosch and other volunteers will welcome visitors by laying wet, sensual, erotic kisses on them — if visitors are OK with that.

There are self-explanatory stations such as “Hug & Cuddle,” “Rub,” “Rope” and “Submit” (which requires an additional consent form). Voyeurs get their own space, and in the “zoo” visitors enter a room with holes cut out in the wood. The holes are lined with cloth and once participants put their hands through, they’ll find a body on the other side. Rub and fondle at will.

A bit more cryptic: “Whack” (“Enter and negotiate to be spanked, canned, flogged or paddled.”) or “Zap” (“Violet wands and other electric toys are used in a negotiated manner on participants.”). The negotiated part is very important: Nothing is done against the wishes of visitors.

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/315412_kinky12.html
To respond, write to: the author at athimachansanchai@seattlepi.com or
the editors at editpage@seattlepi.com or comment at bottom of article

Ex in a Bind on Bondage Saga
by Laura Italiano
New York Post
May 11, 2007

Peter Braunstein’s editrix ex was back at his kidnap-sex-assault trial yesterday for a final hour of hell – during which a defense lawyer forced her to recount the bulk of her previous day’s testimony about the fiend’s bottle-smashing temper and creepy bondage fantasies.

W magazine beauty director Jane Larkworthy bravely kept her steely composure despite the grotesque grilling.

“I’m not going to ask you questions about your sex role-play,” defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb told the 43-year-old blonde, who had dated and lived with Braunstein for two years before their November 2003 breakup.

But the lawyer then launched into a long line of inquiry into just that – Braunstein’s penchant for sexual role-playing games in which he would pretend to overpower a drugged, helpless woman.

“Now that included being tied up?” Gottlieb began.

“Yes,” Larkworthy said, an answer she gave repeatedly – and with increasing impatience – as the lawyer methodically asked about how Braunstein would tie her to the bed or pretend to chloroform her.

Braunstein’s lawyers are crafting a scenario in which Larkworthy’s compliance in these games – along with her ultimate rejection of him – made his already-percolating mental illness boil over into the chloroform-and-bondage Halloween 2005 sex attack he is now on trial for.

Braunstein has admitted that he costumed himself as a firefighter, set off two homemade smoke bombs and tricked his way inside the Chelsea apartment of a Fairchild Publications co-worker of both himself and Larkworthy.

Once inside, Braunstein, by his own admission, held a gun to the victim’s head and then chloroformed her into unconsciousness. Upon waking, she found herself stripped and bound to her bed – with a double-edged knife on her nightstand and Braunstein standing over her in a black ski mask. He proceeded to sexually molest her over the course of 13 hours.

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05112007/news/regionalnews/ex_in_a_bind_on_bondage_saga_regionalnews_laura_italiano.htm
To respond, write to: the author at laura.italiano@nypost.com or the
editors at letters@nypost.com

Owner plans a campground in full swing
by Jim Stingl
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 10, 2007

You might think someone running a campground named for its nudist policy and dedicated to mate-swapping would be discreet about it.

Marv Thomann sent out a news release.

“Grand opening of the first-of-its-kind swingers theme park,” it begins, and then goes on to promise “ultimate stress relief therapy,” “60 acres of erotic adventure,” “an intimate playground for consenting adult couples” and other more specific things that I can’t get in the newspaper.

Suffice it to say it’s a campground with plenty of hookups. If this tent is rockin’, don’t worry about knockin’.

Thomann was eager to talk about his place when I called this week. He swears no one up there is complaining, even the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

“They said we’re OK as long as they don’t see nudity from the highway,” he said.

And is he zoned for, um, multifamily activity? That’s no problem, Thomann said.

I had to run that one by Alma Town Chairman Charles Smith.

“We don’t have an ordinance applying to that at this time,” Smith said.

He’s heard of the camp, but he didn’t seem interested in discussing the direction Thomann is taking over there.

Same with Sheriff Duane Waldera and the head of the area chamber of commerce, who both passed on calling me back. But the woman who answered the sheriff’s phone had this reaction when I called: “A what? Oh, my God.”

Thomann, 58, said he was raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm by religious parents who would not approve of this venture if they were alive to see it. He worked as a trucker for years, and he ran a swingers club in the Madison area before moving to Black River Falls.

He bought the campground in 2002 and began welcoming nudists. He also has put on concerts there, attracting up to 3,000 people. The noise and sometimes-obnoxious behavior of these guests brought far more complaints than the swingers.

“I could never give up the swinging lifestyle,” said Thomann, who partakes with his fiancie, Sunita. He’s marrying her – fully clothed – at the camp in June.

“You meet the greatest people,” he said. “It could be your next-door neighbor and his wife.”

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=604175
To respond, write to: the author at jstingl@journalsentinel.com or the
editors at http://www2.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp

Hsu Out on $400K Bond, Into Treatment Program
by Kristiana Glavin
New Canaan News-Review (Connecticut)
May 10, 2007

New Canaan resident Albert Hsu was released from prison last week after paying a court-approved lower bond, and was turned over to a residential psychiatric treatment program.

Hsu imprisoned for two months on charges of sexual assault and attempted kidnapping made his $400,000 bond May 9. He was to start 30 days of in-patient treatment for bipolar disorder immediately at SLS Health in Brewster, N.Y. Hsu then will live with his parents in New York City, prohibited from entering New Canaan.

The bond was cut from $1 million with several other conditions imparted. Stamford Superior Court judge Robert Devlin also stipulated that Hsu must not contact the victim or her family in any manner.

Hsu allegedly posted an online profile on a bondage Web site for his former mistress after their break-up in 2005. The profile stated that she wanted “a real-life abduction and rape scene,” and included personal details about her and her schedule, according to Hsu’s arrest warrant.

Attorney Robert Bello claimed that Hsu’s need for further treatment drove the request for a lower bond, as well as his inability to pay the $1 million bond.

The state prosecutor objected, arguing that Hsu could not be monitored across state lines, and questioned his returning for trial.

The prosecutor also doubted Hsu’s promise not to contact the victim. He cited prior police records showing that Hsu continued to write to and stalk the victim after police formally ordered him to stop.

Judge Devlin later emphasized the no-contact condition.

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.newcanaannews-review.com/ci_5864468
To respond, go to:
http://www.newcanaannews-review.com/feedback

Judge: NYC jury cannot hear that employer was a dominatrix
by Larry Neumeister
AM New York
May 9, 2007

A jury that will decide the back wages claim of a Brazilian nanny will not be allowed to hear that her boss was a dominatrix, a judge has ruled.

The pay dispute arose after Scarlet C. LeMay hired Luzenilde Campos in December 2000 as a full-time, live-in domestic worker and caregiver for her then 2-year-old son.

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said in a written ruling signed Monday and made public Wednesday that she would not let LeMay’s status as a dominatrix be introduced at trial.

The judge said both sides in the dispute had agreed the status would only be relevant at trial if LeMay were permitted to pursue her claims that she was defamed and had been subjected to emotional distress and fraud. The judge tossed out those countercharges as part of her ruling.

In asking that the dominatrix references be kept out of the trial, lawyers for LeMay said the introduction of the status at trial had the potential to “shock … or otherwise distract the jury.”

The judge did not comment on the argument but included it in her written opinion.

LeMay worked as a dominatrix for many years and was identified as the contact for Ultimate Encounters, a business listed in telephone books in the section for escort services, the judge said.

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–dominatrixlawsuit0509may09,0,4406086.story
To respond, write to: am-letters@am-ny.com or comment at bottom of
article

City acts against swingers:
Schenectady presses inn’s owner to move parties to industrial zone
by Mike Goodwin
Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
May 9, 2007

The party might soon be over at a Union Street inn that hosts sex bashes for swingers.

The city plans to file a citation against Union Street Bed & Breakfast owner Bob Alexson as soon as today, accusing him of violating a recently amended adult entertainment ordinance that city officials say requires him to move the parties to an industrial zone.

Alexson will have to end the parties at the 1362 Union St. inn by Oct. 23 unless he can convince the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals to grant him a temporary waiver to stay put.

“The law is the law. It has nothing to do with swingers. It has everything to do with Bob Alexson not complying with the law,” Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said in a phone interview, following a City Council meeting on Monday.

Alexson, who has waged a high-profile war of words with city officials over their plans to end the parties, said he welcomes the prospect of a legal fight.

“Bring it on, baby. I can’t wait,” said Alexson, who has vowed to challenge the constitutionality of the city’s adult law. “Let’s end this thing once and for all.”

Under pressure from some of Alexson’s neighbors, the council last fall amended its adult entertainment ordinance to end the gatherings at the inn.

The new legislation dramatically expanded the ordinance to require that nearly all sex-themed businesses move to industrial zones.

Alexson, who lives at the inn, has continued to host the parties, arguing that they are simply part of his private social life rather than a component of his business. He said he has yet to receive a letter or any other correspondence from the city alleging he’s in violation of the
zoning law.

Phoenix Avenue resident Dana Swalla blew the whistle on the parties in January 2006 and convinced the City Council to beef up its adult entertainment ordinance to force Alexson to move to an industrial zone. The inn was back in the news last week after Alexson and one of the people
who attends his parties alleged that the city was secretly running the license plates of patrons.

City officials don’t deny they checked the license plate numbers through the state Department of Motor Vehicle database, and hint that they did it to find witnesses needed to prove that Alexson was charging people to attend his parties, which could prove he violated the adult ordinance.

[continued]

To read this entire article, go to:
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=587488&category=SCHENECTADY&BCCode=&newsdate=5/9/2007
To respond, write to: the author at mgoodwin@timesunion.com or the
editors at tuletters@timesunion.com

HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Feedback letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging, or polyamory. You can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.

Generally, for a letter to be published, it’s important to include your name (or first initial, last name), city and daytime phone (for verification only). For more information, see:
http://www.ncsfreedom.org/media/writelettertoeditor.htm

Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org. Comments to the editor of this Update may be sent to keith@ncsfreedom.org.

###

A project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) is a national organization committed to altering the political, legal, and social environment in the U.S. in order to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org