PUBLIC SEX
The Culture of Radical Sex
by Pat Califia
Pat Califia is one of the most intelligent sex writers working in America today.
Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex collects the best
of Califia's essays on pornography, lesbian S/M, sex with youth, unmonogamy,
the modern leather community... and of course, sex in public.
"Being a sex radical means being defiant as well as deviant," writes
Califia in her introduction. "It means being aware that there is something
unsatisfying and dishonest about the way sex is talked about (or hidden)
in daily life. It also means questioning the way our society assigns privilege
based on adherence to its moral codes, and in fact makes every sexual choice
a matter of morality. If you believe that these inequities can be addressed
only through extreme social change, then you qualify as a sex radical."
Pat Califia on porn laws: "...that's the whole point of civil
liberties - to protect unpopular people and ideas. Let's spell this out:
So-called 'feminist' porn laws will not be enforced by feminists. They
will be enforced for the most part by straight white men who think lesbianism
is more degrading and threatening to women than date rape or sexual harassment.
To these minions of Comstockery, cocksuckers are a bigger threat to society
than the Hillside Strangler."
Pat Califia on public sex: "Why is sex supposed to be invisible?
Other pleasurable acts or acts of communication are routinely performed
in public - eating, drinking, talking, watching movies, writing letters,
studying or teaching, telling jokes and laughing, appreciating fine art.
Is sex so deadly, hateful, and horrific that we can't permit it to be seen?
Are naked bodies so ugly or so shameful that we can't survive the sight
of bare tushes or genitals without withering away?
"My own experience with public sex has been instructive and liberating.
I've been going to sex parties for five or six years now, and I've seen
the complete range of naked male and female bodies. I no longer find nudity
frightening or repulsive (nor has my erotic response to partially clothed
or unclothed people disappeared). Instead I have become much more accepting
of my own unadorned, vulnerable, imperfect flesh. I no longer postpone
pleasure until the day when I will be thinner, more muscular, and physically
perfect, nor do I torment my partners with this silly snobbery.
"Seeing other people having sex is reassuring and enlightening. It calmed
the panic I've been carrying around ever since I first heard my parents
fucking and thought they must be murdering each other. I like the way other
people look when they're getting turned on or coming. That means I must
look good, too. That means it's okay for me to relax and let myself enjoy
my body. Watching gay men, heterosexual couples, lesbians, and clusters
of people of various genders getting off together has taught me more about
sexual technique than any sex manual.
"Personally, I wish all the cops hiding in bushes and sneaking around
public rest rooms would get out there and prevent more serious crimes like
littering and dogs pooping on sidewalks. If they have to spend so much
time in the johns, I wish they would go into the ladies' room and make
sure there's plenty of toilet paper and paper towels. They could also repair
the water fountain and the Tampax machines. These public-toilet problems
are the ones I'd like my tax dollars to solve. Public sex is not."
Pat Califia on sex with youth: "Boy-lovers and lesbians who have
young lovers are the only people offering a hand to help young women and
men cross the difficult terrain between straight society and the gay community.
They are not child molesters. The child abusers are teachers, therapists,
cops and parents who force their stale morality onto the young people in
their custody. Instead of condemning pedophiles for their involvement with
lesbian and gay youth, we should be supporting them. They need us badly.
Forty years in prison is a long, long time. Only a very sad society with
some very sick attitudes toward sex could think such a sentence is just.
Forty years for what? For experiencing sexual pleasure? God help
us, it's a wonder any of us manage to feel love or make love with training
like that."
Loompanics Unlimited is very proud to offer Pat Califia's Public
Sex to readers interested in hip, fearless, and intelligent writing
on sex.
1994, 5½ x 8½, 250 pp, indexed,
soft cover.
PUBLIC SEX: $12.95
(ORDER NUMBER 85194)
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