From the category archives:

Tristan Taormino

Posted online at http://www.puckerup.com/media_kit/osu_update

February 7, 2011

Contact: Tristan Taormino (asktristan@gmail.com)

Three weeks ago, Tristan Taormino’s keynote for Oregon State University’s Modern Sex Conference was cancelled by administrators, who cited her involvement in pornography as the reason (complete background at http://www.puckerup.com/media_kit/osu_press_release). Response from local and national media, bloggers and sex educators, and on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook was extensive, and the University received hundreds of emails and calls criticizing its decision to un-invite Taormino.

In response, OSU students organized to raise funds from student activity dollars, and they have succeeded: Taormino will give her original talk, “Claiming Your Sexual Power,” on Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00 pm in LaSells Stewart Center at Oregon State University. Her talk is presented by The OSU Memorial Union and open to all students, staff, faculty, and community members. The presentation will be held the night before the Modern Sex Conference. “I am thrilled at the outpouring of support and honored that the students worked so hard to bring me to campus. I want to thank Memorial Union President Craig Bidiman, his advisors, and the ASOSU for all their help,” says Taormino.

After Taormino was first uninvited from the OSU Modern Sex Conference, she was contacted by a professor at the University of Oregon who was interested in having her appear on campus. On Wednesday, February 16, she will give her talk “My Life As a Feminist Pornographer,” at the University of Oregon. She will talk about her definition of feminist porn, what she hopes to accomplish with her films, and the challenges she faces in her career in the adult industry and in her professional career as a sex educator. She will address the recent controversy at OSU and why she believes a feminist is the most “dangerous” kind of pornographer. Her talk is sponsored by The Center for the Study of Women in Society; Robert D. Clark Honors College; Departments of Women’s and Gender Studies, Sociology, Comparative Literature, and Cinema Studies; Oregon Humanities Center; The Women’s Center; LBGTQ Alliance; and The Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team. Professor Jennifer Burns Levin, who organized the event, says, “Tristan’s involvement with pornography made OSU administrators uncomfortable, but I think they missed the point. Tristan’s sex-positive, woman- and queer-friendly work in an industry known for its exploitation of women addresses exactly the kind of labor issues we should be discussing on college campuses. And preemptively withdrawing funds from a provocative speaker in a time of legislative budget cuts sets a bad precedent, in my view, for others speaking on controversial topics. So we’re very happy to have her at University of Oregon. It should be an energized and popular lecture!”

For more information about these events as well as her two appearances at She Bop sexuality boutique on February 13 and 14 in Portland, see http://www.puckerup.com/tristan_on_tour/.

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January 19, 2011

Contact:
Tristan Taormino
tristan@puckerup.com

Award-winning author, columnist, sex educator, and filmmaker Tristan Taormino was set to be the keynote speaker at Oregon State University’s Modern Sex conference, scheduled for February 15-16, 2011. Yesterday, she was uninvited by a university representative, who cited her resume and website as the reason.

On October 28, 2010, organizers of the OSU Modern Sex conference booked Taormino to give the keynote talk; they confirmed the date and agreed to fees, and Tristan’s management received a first draft of the contract on November 1. That contract was incomplete and sent back to OSU for revisions. As with many negotiations, the contract was pending as all the paperwork got done, but in late December, OSU again confirmed Tristan’s appearance and conference organizers told her manager to purchase airline tickets, for which OSU would reimburse her.

On Tuesday, January 18, 2011, Steven Leider, Director of the Office of LGBT Outreach and Services contacted Colten Tognazzini, Tristan Taormino’s manager, to say that the conference had come up short on funding. Tognazzini told him that since the travel was booked and the time reserved, they could work with whatever budget they did have. Leider said that would not be possible: “We have to cancel Ms. Taormino’s appearance due to a lack of funding. It has been decided that OSU cannot pay Ms. Taormino with general fee dollars, because of the content of her resume and website.” At OSU, ‘general fee dollars’ include taxpayer dollars given to the University by the Oregon State Legislature to defray various costs. They differ from ‘student activity dollars,’ which are part of every student’s tuition and help fund student groups and activities.

Taormino’s resume includes her seven books on sex and relationships, the 18 anthologies she has edited, numerous television appearances from CNN to The Discovery Channel, and her award-winning adult films. She was a columnist for The Village Voice for nearly ten years and has given more than 75 lectures at top colleges and universities including Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Brown, NYU and Columbia. Her website, puckerup.com , includes sex education information, advice, and information about the films she directs for Vivid Entertainment, one of the largest adult companies in the country.

“In my ten years of booking Tristan at colleges and universities, of course there has been some controversy. But I have never had a university cancel like this last minute,” says Colten Tognazzini, Taormino’s manager. “It’s not unusual for contract negotiations to drag on. Once they confirmed we should book her travel, I felt comfortable the event was a done deal. I continued to work with them in good faith that a signed contract would be forthcoming. I believe that the conference organizers’ hands are tied, and this decision came from much higher up. They have cancelled with less than a month’s notice during Tristan’s busiest season. She gave up other opportunities to go to Oregon. Without a signed contract, we may have no recourse, and were told we will not be reimbursed for her travel.”

Tognazzini spoke to a source at OSU who speculated that the University feared that when it went before the legislature in regards to future funding, legislators would use OSU’s funding of a “pornographer” on campus as ammunition to further cut budgets. This source, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Tognazzini, “I think they’re uninviting Tristan because they don’t want to have to defend her appearance to conservative legislators.”

“I’m extremely disappointed that OSU has decided to cancel my appearance. I’ve been protested before, but never uninvited. I have never misrepresented who I am or what I do. I am proud of all the work I do, including the sex education films and feminist pornography I make,” says Taormino. “The talk I planned to give at this conference, titled “Claiming Your Sexual Power” has nothing to do with porn, but the porn is such an easy target for anti-sex conservatives and censors. I find it ironic that one of the missions of the conference is to understand diverse perspectives of sexuality. Apparently, my perspective—one of educating and empowering people around their sexuality—isn’t welcome at OSU.”

If OSU students and others still want to hear Taormino speak, she will be teaching two workshops at She Bop in Portland on February 13 and 14. “She Bop supports a healthy perspective on sex and sexuality and we are proud to have Tristan Taormino present two years in a row at our shop in Portland. Tristan is a leading educator paving the way for others to help break down the stigma around sex in this country. It is part of our mission as a female friendly adult shop to support sexual empowerment and growth,” say co-owners Jeneen Doumitt and Evy Cowan.

***

Note from Tristan:

Don’t Let the Anti-Sex Conservatives Win!

If you support free speech and my mission of sexual empowerment, please voice your opinion about OSU’s decision to cancel my appearance at the last minute (and not reimburse me for travel expenses) to the following people. I would really appreciate your support —Tristan

Larry Roper
Vice Provost for Student Affairs
632 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis, OR 97331-2154
541-737-3626 (phone)
541-737-3033 (fax)
email: larry.roper@oregonstate.edu

Dr. Mamta Motwani Accapadi
Dean of Student Life
A200 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis, OR 97331-2133
541-737-8748 (phone)
541-737-9160 (fax)
email: deanofstudents@oregonstate.edu
twitter: @deanmamta

Dr. Edward J. Ray
President
600 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis, OR 97331-2128
541-737-4133 (phone)
541-737-3033 (fax)
email: pres.office@oregonstate.edu

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rough sex 2b 213x300 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex 2

Directed by Tristan Taormino

Starring Claire Adams, Chayse Evans, April Flores, Sinnamon Love, Adrianna Nicole, Dylan Ryan, Bobbi Starr, Madison Young, Mark Davis, James Deen, Shane Diesel, Richard Mann, Nathan Menace, and Orpheus Black.

The second installment of the AVN Award nominated series from award winning author and filmmaker Tristan Taormino. The scenes are based entirely on the real fantasies of female performers, which run the gamut from dominance to submission. Through deeply personal interviews, you’ll discover their definitions of rough sex, why they love it, how they establish trust with their partners, and what they need to feel safe to play on the edge. With scenes that are part documentary and part erotic vignette, Rough Sex dares to challenge conventional wisdom about the fantasy lives of women.

They create the scenes. They choose their partners. They control what happens. Mistress Claire takes her pet April on an unforgettable ride. Bobbi tastes total submission at the back of her throat. Ponygirl Madison gets trained. Chayse and Mark double team slave Adrianna. Madison bakes a cake for her Mistress with interesting results. Sinnamon serves her Master (and his friends) at a poker game. Each woman shares her most intimate desires, tests her own boundaries, and rides the seductive line between pleasure and pain. Witness female sexuality at its most extreme: raw, rough, and real.

With food fetish play, facesitting, strap-on sex, pony play, flogging, training, clothespins, forced orgasms, spreader bars, bondage, wrestling, slapping, spanking, dominance and submission, service, punishment, knife play, hot wax, and faceslapping, Rough Sex 2 is a lot kinkier than Rough Sex 1. It explores some of the most alluring and taboo elements of BDSM.

Purchase: http://www.puckerup.com/?cPath=&products_id=513&tpid=8

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rough sex Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex (2009)
Studio: Vivid
Director: Tristan Taormino
Cast: Adrianna Nicole, Christian XXX, Daniel Wylde, Derrick Pierce, Francesca Le, Julius Ceazher, Marco Banderas, Marie Luv, Mark Davis, Sasha Grey, Satine Phoenix

Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex is brutally sexy!  It has a very cool and simple premise: five hot vixens dream up their best “rough sex” fantasies and get to live them out on camera with their most desired stud porn hunks.  The idea itself is a wet dream come true, and when these sassy (or submissive) sex kittens team up with guys who like to play rough, the sparks begin to fly.

If you are into naughty role playing and hardcore, rough sex, this film is for you. They don’t fool around and there is plenty of face slapping, humiliation, degradation, whacking and general “man”-handling action going down. The sex is pretty rough and the fantasies are fairly common role-play scenarios that many women have. There are three fem-submissive scenes about being forced or taken like Adrianna Nicole’s intruder alert, Marie Luv’s punishment and Satine Phoenix’s stranded damsel meets dominant stranger.  Then, there are the divas that turn the tables on their fuck obsessions such as Francesca Lee’s femdomme supremacy and Sasha Grey’s switch play.  Each scene features a prelude interview of the female cast member as she talks about what’s hot and what’s not, and why “rough sex” makes her wet.

Scene 1- Adrianna and Marco

rs11 200x300 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Adrianna longs for fantasy rape by an intruder who breaks into her apartment. Just as she gets out of the shower, Marco steals up behind her, grabs her, and then clasps a hand over her mouth warning her not to scream.  Adrianna’s eyes go wide with fear and this scene looks like it is going to be really hot.  He slaps her around a bit, chokes her, and then drags her into the bedroom like a dog on a leash.  After that, the scene kind-of looses it raw edge and the intensity in those first few seconds is really never captured again.  Sure, it’s rough, but there is something lacking, like my connection with the performers.  While they both seem genuine, I never really get into it and I find myself critiquing it rather than enjoying the scene for what it is.

Scene 2- Satine and Derrick

rs2 1 300x168 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Whoa!  This scene is perhaps the best in the film.  So fucking hot, it sizzles and the chemistry between Satine and Derrick is tangible. Not to mention that Derrick is to die for (bald, alt and tattooed, with a rock-hard body) and Satine is a sultry little minx. Satine’s fantasy is getting stranded on a lost desert road, where she meets a “kindly stranger” who offers to stay with her until someone comes for her vehicle.  The sun is hot, the sand is dusty, they are sweating and flirting, and then things turn a bit dangerous.  Derrick realizes no-one is coming for a while and he can have his way with her.  There is a lot of foreplay which becomes increasingly rougher as he realizes, hey, she likes it.  He starts pushing her around, groping her roughly, pulling her hair and smacking her face and tits and you can tell that Satine is getting so turned on and juicy before he ever starts fucking her.  I can’t tell you how many times I watched this scene and came.  Definitely jilling off material! Rough sex, lots of unique positions on the vintage jeep, and crowned by a choking messy forced blowjob.  These two rock the screen with a riveting performance.

rs 1 201x300 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Scene 3 – Francesca and Christian

rs3 1 300x168 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Christian is a magnificent brute of a man (again bald and sexy) and Francesca is a hot busty milf.  She’s a bit fed up with her husband ignoring her all the time, being the perfect housewife and all, and thinks it’s time for a little pay-back. And, pay-back’s a BITCH in stilettos and corset, with a nasty attitude and the will to dominate her much larger opponent. I like my brutes dominant and my bitches submissive, so for me this scene didn’t hold a lot of sexual pizzazz.  Although, Christian is adorable and so submissive for such a big boy it was interesting seeing him dominated.  Still, all the while she was crushing her tits and ass in his face, slapping him around, and spitting cum in his mouth (yuk!), I was wishing he’d grab her and give her a few smacks of her own.  I guess for me there was a problem with the believability factor.  I just didn’t believe she could dominate him in real life, and didn’t like the way she shrieked orders at him and brutalized him, when he was being such a good boy.  Not that I don’t think that he can be dominated, as he seemed to like it.  She just came across as a bit shrill and lacked authenticity. Still, I’m sure this is a fantasy that would appeal to many women and men who would find it hot.

Scene 4 – Marie and Julius

rs12 300x200 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Marie wants to be punished for fucking around and treated like the slut she is.  The fantasy sounded great and I was all for it.  But, then the action starts happening, and there’s not much cussin’ and a fightin’ goin’ on here, and I’m like “Whoa, wait a minute?”  Why isn’t he calling her nasty names and treating her like a little tramp, whore, slut, which she obviously wants and deserves? Man, give me ten minutes with her and I’ll have her crying and begging for more.  Again, like the first scene there was no build-up, no sizzle, and it didn’t seem very rough to me, but maybe my finger pressed the fast forward button by mistake and I missed all the good stuff.  Nope. Don’t think so.  Weak scene, but too bad as it had potential.

Scene 5 – Sasha and Daniel

rs5 1 300x168 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Okay, did I say that scene 2 was the best scene?  Maybe I lied.  To tell the truth, this scene is so hot that it rivals scene 2, and they both win best scene in my book.  Smokin’ Sasha wants to play switch in a power play scenario and who does she pick?—my all-time favorite male porn star, Daniel.  Daniel is known for his rough play style in many alt porn films, as much as for his playfulness.  Sasha picked him because she thought he would let her slap him around, which he does and seems to like it too.  They talk about what they’d like to do and Sasha defines her only limit—No tit slapping.  So, the pair get it on and right from the beginning it’s a power struggle but Daniel takes over and does his nasty choking and slapping number on her.  The scene has a series of peaks as it continually builds momentum, switching back and forth, while they get lost in the passion of each moment.  And, then, Daniel forgets and slaps Sasha’s tits, immediately cringing like dog about to be punished.  Sasha pins him on the pool table and Daniel starts apologizing profusely, and then they are snickering and laughing and back into the hot rough sex play.  This scene was not only hot but so much fun.  You can tell they are both getting off on it and are enjoying the ambiguity of working together for the first time.

rs5 201x300 Tristan Taorminos Rough Sex

Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex is overall a great porn if you like rough sex and some serious role-playing power exchange fantasies.  It is worth it just for scene 2 and 5 alone.  I applaud Tristan for giving the women in the film the chance to design their own scenarios and define what is rough and sexy to them.  The production quality is pretty good in most places although the sound was off a bit sometimes and some of the camera work looked a bit shaky.  The extras includes a Choking and Safety snippet with Penny Flame who teaches the proper way to choke to avoid injury which I thought was a very good idea, as no doubt a bunch of novices will see this film and want to start practicing without a clue.

Check out Tristan Taormino’s Rough Sex at Babeland, where you can find many other films by Tristan and other cool women porn directors.

Viviane also posted the trailer to Rough Sex here.

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openingup Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships

Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships” by Tristan Taormino is an enlightening and thought-provoking book that explores the diverse aspects of nonmonogamous relationships from solo polyamory, to partnered nonmonogamy, to triangles and groups.  The book features a wealth of information from stats to brief histories of polyamory in the U.S., as well as Taormino’s own research on the subject where she interviewed over 100 people living in open relationships over the past ten years.

The Guide begins by relating the history of polyamory, as well as breaking the myths of monogamy and traditional relationships, why you might want to choose a nonmonogamous lifestyle and what makes nonmonogamy work.  Section 2 looks at the many styles or models of nonmonogamous relationships and Section 3 talks about creating and sustaining relationships.  There is also a resource guide at the end which lists books, organizations and websites for further information.

Throughout the book Taormino uses checklists and practical advice for the reader which she says can be used like a roadmap to navigate your own way through the different styles and create your own model based on you and your partner(s) needs, desires, and unique situation(s).  Like any emotional or sexual relationship, polyamorous relationships have unique problems, potential issues and conflicts that arise that are common to open relationships.  Taormino deals with each of these giving practical advice and coping strategies including: jealousy, fear of abandonment, time management, negotiating boundaries, violating agreements, new desire, coping with change, safer sex as well as legal issues.

The highlight of the book is the real life experiences Taormino uses with quotes, stories and advice from a diverse group of people who share their desires, fears, challenges, solutions, successes and failures with the reader to provide meaningful context.  This book is really a thoughtful and comprehensive guide on open relationships of all kinds, leaving no stone unturned.  Enlightening, inspirational, and practical, this book is for anyone interested in or already living in responsible nonmonogamous relationships.

You can purchase “Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships” by Tristan Taormino at Babeland.


 Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships

 Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships

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Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus (2006)
Director: Tristan Taormino
Studio: Vivid/Smart Ass Productions
Cast: Justine Joli, Ariel X, Kelly Kline, Richard Kline, Cindy Crawford, Jack Lawrence, Tristan Taormino (non-sex)

oralsexcover 713x1024 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

Well-known sex writer, educator and anal expert, Tristan Taormino, has been directing adult educational films since her debut with “Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women” (Evil Angel, 1999).  Both her guides and her Chemistry Series (reality TV meets gonzo porn) have been very popular with critics.  In “Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus” she covers the art or oral sex for women, starring Justine Joli who demos a live workshop followed by two hetero couple scenes and a bonus scene with Justine and Ariel X.  This is categorically an instructional video and not porn that is meant to titillate, unlike Nina Hartley’s guides, which are a bit of both.

Scene 1: Workshop with Justine Joli, Ariel X, and workshop attendees

 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

Justine begins by educating her class on female sexual anatomy with the aid of a diagram and then on live model Ariel X.  The instruction is fairly basic, but if you didn’t know much about female genitalia, then you would definitely get something out of this.  I myself learned a new word: “fourchette” which is the skin where the inner lips meet at the bottom of the vulva.

Next, Justine demonstrates cunninglingus techniques and various positions with Ariel.  Justine has a very long and nimble tongue, so you can see clearly what she is doing and tell that she is definitely an expert at female oral sex.

Scene 2: Kelly and Richard Kline

 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

Kelly and Richard have been together since Kelly was sixteen.  Richard knows Kelly’s body well and is very aware of how she responds to different techniques both verbally and through her body language, which both of them say is key to pleasuring your partner.  I found the scene(s) a little bit long (it is cut up to show various positions) and it is shot from mainly the same angle with little variation (except for a few close-ups) which gets a bit tedious after a while.  This leaves the scene feeling a bit static and you don’t really experience much momentum building because of it.  Then again, it is meant to be instructional and not pornographic or artistic.  The good thing is that the menus will let you view various parts of the scene if you wish.  It does demonstrate the various positions very well and Tristan seems to be quite fond of Liberator Shapes.

Scene 3: Cindy Crawford and Jack Lawrence

 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

I enjoyed watching this scene quite a bit more as Cindy and Jack are fairly dynamic characters.  Jack begins by saying why he loves eating pussy and he is quite passionate about it.  His tip for dealing with cunninglingus fatigue: Eat more pussy!

Next, Cindy exits a bathtub and Jack shaves her pussy for her, which Tristan says (voice-over) can be quite erotic.  Tristan also talks about how some women feel uncomfortable about their genital odors, which she says can be cured by frequent bathing, especially just before the act of oral sex.  Although, this sounds like common sense, I’m glad Tristan brought it up, as many women do have that fear, so it is a good point to make.

Jack definitely knows his way around a pussy and takes his good old time getting to the sensitive bit, the clitoris.  This is one of his techniques as he allows for a build-up of tension and arousal, so when he finally does get there, Cindy is going crazy.  He sensually licks Cindy’s inner thighs and all around her mound, and then teases her occasionally by licking quickly over her pussy and clit.  When he finally goes for the kill, Cindy is possessed by passion.  He demonstrates the “ice cream” lick, a long vertical lick from the fourchette to the clitoral hood, and horizontal tongue flickering.  Justine says in the beginning workshop that many women prefer the horizontal flickering (side to side) more than the vertical licking, which is something I didn’t know.  I guess I have never really analyzed what types of licks I like when receiving oral sex as it all felt good, but I will make a point of testing this theory out now.  Another point that Tristan makes is that some women prefer one side of the clitoris over the other, which I have found to be true when I masturbate, and for me it is the 9 o’clock position.  I have also heard this from a girlfriend of mine who is a self-appointed expert at cunninglingus.  This scene is also a bit long, but there is more vibrant action, so doesn’t feel static and there seems to be much more variation in cutting from close-ups to long angles.  Jack ends by rimming Cindy which she says later drives her wild.

Bonus Scene: Justine Joli and Ariel X

 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

I am really glad they added this scene to show oral sex between two women making the film more diverse.  I think many guys become pretty good at giving girl head from lots of practice, but many women at more tentative or too enthusiastic with their techniques, because they don’t get as much practice.  At least I have found that is the case for me and my partner: Gladiator (which roughly translated means” Glad-he-ate-her) a nickname he has had since I met him.  I guess it goes without saying he is a confident pussy licker.

Again, Justine goes down on Ariel and does a fantastic job eating her out with that super-fantastic Gene Simmons’ tongue of hers.  They then reposition themselves for a 69 and the scene has lots of enthusiasm.

Extras: Playing with Toys & Safe Sex

Tristan adds two extras as described above which demos using toys with oral sex, and then safe sex which demos using dental dams, plastic wrap and making a tongue condom.  There are also trailers for Tristan’s other films including her “Expert Guide to Anal Sex”, “Chemistry”, and “Chemistry 2″, which I can’t wait to see.

Things that worked well:  Tristan uses voice over throughout the scenes to give a few tips that are being demoed which are very useful.  The music is mellow and unobtrusive.

Things that didn’t work well:  Tristan uses these “pop-ups”, kind of like pop-up video, which are a bit distracting and many times hard to read.  Although it is a cute and novel idea, I think her voice-overs are more effective.  Also, the audio quality is sometimes lacking in the segments, and some of the shooting is very static as I already expressed.

“Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus” is a superb film and excellent guide, especially for those who feel they lack certain skills.  I think anyone can learn something new watching this film and I know I did.  I definitely recommend this film to couples or anyone who wants to become a cunninglingus artist.  It is always great to watch Justine Joli as well because she rocks, bringing her all into every film she does.


babeland 468x60 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

showban.asp?id=1117&img=babeland 468x60 Tristan Taorminos Expert Guide to Oral Sex #1: Cunnilingus

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Every year at kinky sex camp, we create a multi-room erotic play-space for attendees, and for one night, each room has a theme. We like to keep things fresh, so we change up the themes every couple of years, but one never seems to go out of style: the Brothel. It’s a modest space with eight stations, each with a bed, a little table, and a flimsy curtain separating it from the next bed, plus a back room with a double bed and a little more privacy (which costs more, natch). We have our own currency at the event (kundalini kash), which campers can win, earn, borrow, and eventually spend. There’s a madam who recruits and organizes the whores, collects kash, matches clients with workers, and generally oversees the place. It’s always the busiest room.

People don’t tire of the sex-for-money fantasy. Actually, there is no one fantasy, but multiple scenarios, dynamics, and roles possible within the brothel setting. I talked to a bunch of this year’s whores (who included men, women, transfolk, and cross-dressers) about what they got out of their experiences. Some said they like being a whore because it’s taboo, naughty, and transgressive; the fact that it’s illegal prevents them from pursuing it in real life.

more. . .

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 Tristan Taormino Laid Off At Village Voice (Gawker)

Tristan Taormino

Tristan Taormino, the “Pucker Up” sex columnist who has been with the Village Voice for nine years, was laid off on Friday, she confirmed to Gawker today. Voice editor Tony Ortega told her she was a victim of budget cuts.

Link

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tristan Happy birthday Tristan Taormino!

Happy birthday, Tristan! xxxooo

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invite revised41308 Party with the Sexerati!

Come celebrate the release of two exciting new books: Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino and Tantra for Erotic Empowerment: The Key to Enriching Your Sexual Life by Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson.

Tantra teachers Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson and sex expert/Village Voice columnist Tristan Taormino will party with the Sexerati as they schmooze, dance, and sip on special complimentary cocktails provided by Espiritu del Ecuador. You’ll get an exclusive sneak preview of their latest collaboration: see Mark and Patricia teach Tantra techniques to performers in Tristan’s latest volume of her award-winning porn reality series, Chemistry 4: The Orgy Edition. Every person who purchases a book will get a free tantra, sex ed, or porn DVD. Guests will also be treated to fabulous gift bags full of sexy, sensual, fun goodies hand-picked by the authors. Plus, don’t miss an exciting performance at 9 pm by a very special guest!

Date & Time: May 13th, 7:00-10:00 PM
Location: Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
between Forsythe & Eldridge, 1 blk south of Delancey (*Look for the red awning that says XIE HE HEALTH*)
Subway: B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey
Admission: Free
Info: 212-334-9676
Please rsvp to sarah (at) puckerup.com [rsvp is not necessary, but helpful]

Sponsored by: Babeland, Espiritu del Ecuador, GoodCleanLove LovingSex.com, ParadiseMarketing.com, Pyrexions.com, Sliquid.com, and StashTea.com.

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openingup Tristan Taormino: OpeningUp.net

Author and Village Voice columnist Tristan Taormino has launched a brand new website in anticipation of the release of her new book May 1.

OpeningUp.net is a website for people interested in open relationships of all kinds, including monogamy with benefits, nonmonogamy, partnered nonmonogamy, swinging, polyamory, polyfidelity, solo polyamory, mixed orientation
marriages, and other relationships styles beyond monogamy. It features a blog, an extensive resource guide, message boards, and the Open List, a list of professionals (therapists, social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, consultants, relationship and life coaches, doctors, lawyers, etc.) who are experienced and knowledgeable about alternative sexuality, lifestyles, and elationships. Check it out!

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…But we’re still far from living in a sex-positive culture. There hasn’t been any more research on female ejaculation than there was when I wrote my first column about it in 1999. Abstinence-only sex education continues to get more funding and support than other programs. Right-wing hypocrites continue to get caught with their pants down, sending inappropriate IMs or making moves in bathroom stalls. Lame celebrity-sex tapes have become more popular than big-budget porn features. People who practice BDSM, polyamory, and other alternative sexualities are still demonized and misrepresented. Meatholes.com still gets more traffic than planned parenthood.org. There are folks still writing to me every day that are struggling with confusion, disempowerment, shame, guilt, and a lack of knowledge about their sexual desires, fantasies, and identities.

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Congrats Tristan!

New York, NY — On January 16, 2008, Village Voice Media (VVM) will publish the 200th installment of Tristan Taormino’s popular sex column “Pucker Up.” To celebrate this milestone, VVM has recently expanded Taormino’s reach and is now syndicating “Pucker Up” to LA Weekly, SF Weekly, and Seattle Weekly. “Pucker Up” debuted in The Village Voice.

Said Taormino, “It’s a dream job: I get to eat, sleep, think, and write about my favorite topic: sex. It never gets boring!”

In her eight and a half years with The Village Voice, Taormino has written about diverse trends in sexuality from pubic hair grooming and anal bleaching to water sports and human pony play. She has traveled the world to give first-hand reports from fascinating and unique events like the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, an annual swinger convention in New Orleans, the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, a porn star vacation in Jamaica, an SM conference in Berlin, and the Feminist Porn Awards in Toronto. She has covered the adult film industry extensively with intimate profiles of performers, producers, and directors as well as honest discussions about the 2004 HIV outbreak, safer sex practices, and STD rates among performers. Through her column, Taormino has also given readers an honest, uncensored window into her own life, including tales of teaching anal sex workshops, hosting sex parties and kinky summer camps, making porn, and being protested on college campuses.

Taormino has covered such newsworthy stories as the sex toy ban in Texas, the first union for exotic dancers, the release of the HPV vaccine, and the state of genital surgery options for transgendered men. She was the first to break the story about a new plastic surgery craze—The G-Shot, a collagen shot given to help women “find” their G-spots—in 2004, years before other writers covered it and sex experts decried it. After the publication of her two-part column “Dangerous Dildos,” about the potential dangers of phthalates in sex toys, several major sex toy companies announced they would stop selling toys that contain those chemicals. Her annual Sexy Gift Guide and The Best and Worst of Sex yearly round-up are must-reads for readers and sex industry movers and shakers.

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I just got back from sex camp and I am worn out. “Sex camp” is the nickname of an annual six-day retreat I co-produce that brings together people interested in gender, sexuality, BDSM, relationships, and spirituality. Running the camp is not as fun or as sexy as it sounds. Sure, I was surrounded by fun and sex, but I didn’t get to have any of it.

[...]

Creating a sex-positive space and community is one of the most challenging things I have ever tried to accomplish. There is the minutia of an open-admission policy (How does one filter out the creepy guys from the mix?) and balancing the population (Why is it so hard to recruit gay guys to come?). More significant are the meta questions the process raises. Could such a diverse group of people agree on basic, fundamental tenets, and more importantly, honor and practice them? Is there a way for one place to both welcome newcomers and challenge veterans? What can leatherfolk, swingers, and Pagans learn from one another? Can a mixed-gender, mixed-orientation space be truly safe and positive for everyone?

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