Thank you, Edeltraud and Charles.

Translated into more than twenty languages and remaining on the New York Times best-seller list for more than ten years, Dr. Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex set a new standard for sexual awareness when it was first published in 1972.

But as the BBC recently reported in an interview with artist Chris Foss, finding models for the now-famous illustrations was quite the task to accomplish.

"We were a bit nervous when we took this on," Foss tells the BBC. "The publisher had to write a contract which confirmed that they would pay our defence if some old fart decided to make an issue out of it."

Add to that the fact that prospective models were challenging to work with, eventually leaving Comfort and the publishing team in frustration... until the edition's colour illustrator, Charles Raymond, and his German wife volunteered to help out. Hurriedly posing for a series of photographs as they lovingly boinked, Foss would later select choice images to redraw for the coming book. Illustrations, rather than photographs, wouldn't break the then-current English obscenity laws. And the end result was a series of erotic art pieces that, arguably, have been among the first, most informative, and iconic sexual works of its time.

"They are obviously having a relationship. You can just tell by the way her body lies. I think the fact that they were in love had something to do with it," Ross says.

But current and future editions of the seminal work (nyuk nyuk) are likely to feature other couples in its illustrations, or even colour photographs, which are more commonplace in contemporary sexual instruction texts. Charles, with his beard and long hair, and Edeltraud, with her oh-so-European underarms are, apparently, too... what, exactly?... for current book buyers.

Harumph, says I.

"The bearded man was an icon, but he was a '70s icon," opines relationship psychologist Susan Quilliam, who added more of a female perspective on sexuality in in the 2008 edition. She has since "reinvented" the classic book with her own New Joy of Sex.

So it seems to me that a moment of appreciation is due for the loving couple who showed us so much back in the day. Thank you, Edeltraud and Charles. You guys were, and remain, gorgeous.

Sweet.

Last year, I teased you-all with some naughty foreshadowing about some erotica I had submitted for print publication. I'm really pleased to share now that the resulting book, Sweet Confessions, edited by none other than Violet Blue through Cleis Press, is now available through Amazon, Cleis, and very probably your local erotica shoppe.





My piece, a short story entitled "Bad Influences," shares space with the work of other exquisite eroticists like Heidi Champa, Andrea Dale, K.D. Grace, the extraordinary Rachel Kramer Bussel and more.

I'd seriously enjoy receiving feedback from blog readers who have read this exquisite anthology, which is ideally suited for loving couples looking to enjoy some hot reads together.

Hot Reads: The Leather Daddy And The Femme by Carol Queen

When Dr. Carol Queen's first publisher released The Leather Daddy and the Femme in the early 90s, her editors restricted her to produce "just a fuckbook." But, in its kinky, genderbending, proto-polyamorous style, what a fuckbook it was. After its re-release through Down There Press, Queen was able to offer her devout readers "the author's cut," including previously-purged chapters that clarify the headspace behind the hot sexplay that readers are escorted through.

This is important because Leather Daddy and the Femme is a sociosexually groundbreaking work, especially for sex-positive people to whom genderfuckery, kink, or alternative relationships might be new. Those already familiar with queer theory and gender politics may celebrate the work for its raw hotness and literary value, but the average reader of Hustler, say, might (happily) get more than he bargained for. With an open mind, that could be a liberating thing. What the Hustler reader might mistake for what could appear to be straight sex is really Queen's multi-layered demonstration in sex-consciousness, context, nuance, and paradigm shifting. For the uninitiated, this book offers insight into how the most powerful sexual organ is the brain.

Miranda is a San Francisco lesbian whose secret kink is to dress in boy drag and have sex with gay men. For fear of being discovered as a woman, she usually contents herself to cruising for anonymous blowjobs, getting soaked in her tight pants over the mindfuck that she's a 'boy' sucking thick, manly cock in the park. Her world becomes completely shaken (and for the better) when "Randy" encounters Jack, a hog-riding leather Daddy of the first calibre. The opening scenes of her tryst with Jack, and his response to the discovery that Randy lacks his favourite anatomy is itself worth the modest cover price.

It's a sexual debauch from there, with readers introduced to a sex-positive, queer-friendly, scandalously-imaginative, fearlessly-expressive San Francisco underworld tableau of bathhouses, dungeons, and upscale condominium palaces housing an exclusive bdsm elite. The visionary behind the Center For Sex And Culture, Queen straps one on and effortlessly fucks us into bliss with scenes featuring Daddy play, pegging, orgies, servitude, protocol, crossdressing, interracial fun, and places where distinctions and labels become a blur of human passion and ecstacy. Every character we encounter offers us a new element of powerful sexplay, opening the critical reader to possibilities within her- or himself that far surpass staid missionary positions after the Thursday sitcoms. Sculpted, BBC-wielding Demetrius... courageous, crossdressing Ariel... effiminate, obedient Peaches... orderly, commanding Sir Sebastian... and the imperious, high society dominatrix Georgia Strong are among the sexual avatars we meet who reveal to us the underlying consciousness that made them the sexually powerful people they are. Like lubricated fingers in a blackroom, The Leather Daddy and The Femme opens us up.

My lover Shayne introduced me to this book. Between sessions of her jilling herself to its searing pages, she would tell me how "transformative" it was for her. It's easy to understand why: in a straightforward "fuckbook" way, Queen breaks cultural barriers to show us nuances of sexual play and awareness, and in doing so, opens many of us toward broad new vistas of hot.

Hot Reads: Dungeon Emergencies and Supplies by Jay Wiseman

I've lowered her cotton pyjama pants and pleated panties around her knees, and have been thoroughly enjoying Sweethart's tender derriere across my lap. What a fantastic ass. She yelps so nicely as I spank her, but she catches me unprepared when she suddenly whimpers, "Please, no marks, sir," between her sniffles. It's a little late to be informing me of a boundary like that (virtually guaranteeing a future punishment session), but the damage is done. Is there a topical ointment to help reduce those embarassing welts and bruises for when she's in the girls' lockerroom Friday morning?

She's been moaning for more all night and the motel bed is a mess of rustled sheets. I sit on the floor behind Swingerwife, probing her beautiful anus with a thin purple vibrator as she's bent over the bed. Suddenly, in a hungry moment for even more, she thrusts her gorgeous bottom backward just as I'm sliding the vibe a little deeper and sschllp it vanishes! Oopsie!

I have her just where I want her. Wearing my non-latex gloves, I'm liberally soaking my hands in lube as Ms. Inconspicuous hangs languidly from the full suspension harness, blindfolded, her labia glistening and eager. Before my chest, she sways slowly in the rigging as I prepare to probe her and ready her magnificent pussy for a long, slow session of gentle fisting. I nudge her warm thighs apart with my elbows and step closer when kkraaak the main eyebolt breaks free of the beams and she crashes to the floor! Ruh ro.

Part of Greenery Press' "Toybag Guide" series, BDSM educator Jay Wiseman responds to these and many more potential safety and awareness issues in Dungeon Emergencies and Supplies. Wiseman, an EMT and firefighter, brings both his professional and bondage expertise to cogently explain to experienced practitioners how to handle unpleasant (and sometimes dangerous) situations. Does a bite from a partner pose any health risks, and what are some effective ways to reduce risk? Why would a prepared Top want to keep a bottle of chewable kiddie aspirin in his or her toybag? Is coldness of the fingertips an effective gauge for healthy blood circulation during bondage play?

But in addition to potential medical emergencies, Wiseman also presents level-headed guidelines for handling crises of emotional and social natures, making his work applicable to everyone engaging in sex-positive relationships of any kind, and not to BDSM kinksters alone. What can you do when a partner has overstepped your personal boundaries? How might you handle an emotional confrontation when in a sensitive space? What ways, in addition to using safewords, can an adventurous person preserve personal safety, especially with partners one may have just met? How might you best handle matters when your loud playparty becomes of interest to the passing police cruiser?

For BDSMers, playparty enthusiasts, and sexually adventurous people in general, Wiseman has prepared a practical and useful resource to have on our bedroom bookshelves. Read it, keep it handy, create a playspace first-aid kit of your own, and refer to this book often. Because unless you have some hardcore doctor fantasies, no one really wants to go to the emergency room with a purple vibrator in their ass.


images Greenery Press, Doctor Tushy