A local anti-BDSM porn activist emailed me tidings of Flash magazine's Guatanamo-themed Coachella party this morning as proof that "Kink.com' s influence is spreading, albeit interrupted by the sex-negative Philistines of Coachella." Leaving aside the well-worth-it debate over the role art and nightlife have in political parody and the fact that torture in fact, existed well before Kink founder Peter Acworth (it wasn't called the "Kinkquisition," darling), I would say this is about 8,000 times more convincing proof that Kink.com is winning hearts and minds, should you need proof of such a thing.

According to Torrentfreak (and helpfully elaborated on by Fleshbot) the local BDSM site is responsible for two of the 13 most-pirated downloads in Vatican City. No, not top porn downloads, the most-pirated files, period.

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Cuddle porn, banned in Oz? The Australian Classification Board took exception with auteur Travis Mathews' tender look at life and love among gay men in San Francisco -- which included explicit sex scenes. Film fanatics at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Sydney's Queer Screen, and the Brisbane Queer Film Festival will be missing out on Mathew's work -- I Want Your Love was scheduled to screen at all three this year.

Look, James Franco is sad too. Read more »

Having sex for money can change the dimensions of the kinds of acts you're willing to explore. That's a fact in a porno landscape that rewards greater physical punishment with greater paychecks (as it should.) But if BDSM porn performers aren't doing it all purely for their own sexual gratification, how do we define consent? Where does pushing boundaries become abuse? The question seems really important, especially for those who would defend the existence of BDSM porn to dissenters of all stripes. 

My article in this week's paper that explored the question of the definition of consent for for-profit BDSM porn (although really, the arguments are the same for all kinds of sex work) was too short. Hey, save trees and all that. But performer Maxine Holloway pushed beyond the limited ink I could give to her comments to expand on her thoughts in an essay posted to her blog last night. Read more »

There are few things that San Franciscans love more than Thin Mints, and local Girl Scouts found out what those were on Sunday when a troop conviniently posted up in front of the deceased Diesel store at Castro and Market. The whippersnappers paid witness not only to another nude-y demonstration against the city's new ban on public nudity, but also to said demonstration's infiltration by dapper members (ahem) of local porn outfit Naked Sword [as Castro Biscuit reported.] They're making a send-up of the nudity ban starring an ambitious politician, surname: Cox. Wink. Read more »

“At this San Francisco sex party, service comes with a smile”

I watched his engorged, throbbing penis emerge at the opening of the glory hole. Staring felt awkward, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away. Men were all over the room, some casually looking on, some men lounging naked on the couch. One guy was doing a nude figure drawing of his next conquest.   Read more »

Perhaps you caught our cover story this week on crossover porn star James Deen. In it, I talk about how Deen has managed to bridge all kinds of genres in adult entertainment: BDSM furry porn to mainstream smut couplings to Brett Easton Ellis movies. Everything for everyone, non? Well not exactly -- until mid-September, when Doc Johnson releases a new line of Deen-themed sex toys, including a nine-inch dildo molded directly from his member. We chatted with the company's chief operating officer about what exactly that entailed.  Read more »

Last month, Kink.com director Princess Donna (perhaps you remember her Guardian advice column?) took a risk and made a gangbang movie featuring bad, bad pandas. Per usual, change was hard. Read more »