Oct 30 2008

Dacia’s Review of Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Category: Audacia Ray, Reviews, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 10:05 am

Premiere always has great interviews and sharp reviews of the latest films - and a few weeks ago, they asked me to review Zack and Miri Make a Porno from my pornographer’s perspective. Here are the first two paragraphs - for the whole piece, click here.

As someone who has undertaken the daunting and somewhat ridiculous task of making porno in New York City, a city that was once this country’s smut capital but now trails behind the well-oiled porno production companies of Chatsworth, CA, I have a soft spot in my heart for a film about people off the porno grid attempting to make smut. Pittsburgh in the winter, the setting for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, is about as unsexy and hostile as you can get if you’re thinking about getting naked for money. Though I’d like to pretend that I’m somehow above this conceit, the truth is that if you don’t think too hard about it, getting involved with porno can seem like a pretty good idea — money for sex? Yes, please! And if, like Seth Rogen’s and Elizabeth Banks’ characters, you self-identify as desperate and dignity-free, porno starts to look pretty damn appealing. Mix that up with the notion that porno is the lowest form of art, and therefore the easiest to make piles of cash on — and blammo, a good idea in the making.

But pornos are like sausages — if you want to keep enjoying them, you don’t really want to see them put together. If you’re a scrappy and somewhat clueless outsider, the harsh realities of the jizz biz will fwap you in the face pretty quickly — and we’re not just talking about the romantic confusion of screwing your best friend for money on camera. So in the spirit of porno, sausages, and ruining your lunch, I couldn’t resist the urge to dissect some pieces of Zack and Miri’s Fantasy Porno World.


Oct 19 2008

Mark Your Calendars Now: The NYC Sex Blogger Limited Edition 2009 Calendar Launch Party

See You At The Party!

See You At The Party!

Meet Me In New York City!!

Join us for the launch party and buy a copy of the NYC Sex Blogger 2009 Limited Edition Calendar on Friday, November 14, 2008 from 6:30 pm - 9:30pm at The White Rabbit (http://www.whiterabbitnyc.com).

Meet the bloggers who made it happen, and ask really nicely and you might even get your calendar signed. While admission to our party is FREE and open to the public, there will be a cash bar (with Happy Hour prices till 9PM), raffle tickets and calendars to purchase so please come prepared with some green to show your support and join in the fun.

Twelve of New York City’s most dynamic literary and sex positive women, along with photographer Stacie Joy, and the sex blogging CommUNITY have collaborated to create the New York City SexBlogger 2009 Limited Edition calendar in order to support Sex Work Awareness (http://www.sexwork101.com). Sex Work Awareness is an organization that trains sex workers in media skills and educates the public about issues that affect people who work in the sex industry. 12 of NYC’s finest writers, sex educators, film makers, and ordinary women are determined to see the stigma associated with sex work and workers removed.

Included in the calendar are Audacia Ray, Desiree, Diva, Elizabeth Wood, Jamye Waxman, Luz Alptraum, Mariella Ella, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Riese, Sinclair Sexsmith, Tess Danesi, and Twanna A. Hines. A full biography of each calendar model is available at http://sexbloggercalendar.wordpress.com/about.

The first 100 guests to arrive will receive a FREE gift bag from Babeland! Aside from amazing burlesque performers and organic orgasm-worthy cookies from FreeFoodsNYC, you can purchase your very own copy of the calendar. In addition, to supplement our fundraising efforts we will have a raffle, and we encourage you to buy a raffle tickets. $2 for 1, $5 for 3 and $10 for 10 will give you a chance to win prizes that include an Njoy Eleven, a Liberator Ramp, a Liberator Throe, a Rolling Toy Trunk from ForYourNymphomation, and a Museum Signed Print “Ally Bound” by Lochai. The list grows daily. A complete list will be posted on the calendar blog (http://www.sexbloggercalendar.wordpress.com).

If you are unable to attend the launch party, you can still buy your limited edition copy of the calendar directly through the Sex Blogger Calendar website or here on BestSexBloggers.com (look to the right).

About the NYC Sex Blogger 2009 Limited Edition Calendar:
For the latest news, a complete list of bios of each sex blogger featured in the calendar, our sponsors, and our CommUNITY of friends, please visit the Sex Blog Calendar Website.

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Oct 04 2008

The End of the Sex Writer?

Category: Audacia Ray, Sex Blog, Sex Bloggers, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 12:22 pm

The last seven days have seen a major shake up in the conjoined worlds of sex writing and sex blogging. There’s been so much of a shake up that it warrants a bullet pointed list.

    *A week ago today, Tristan Taormino was fired from her Village Voice column Pucker Up, which she’s been writing for the past nine years.
    *Always Aroused Girl announced on Monday that she was parting ways with sex toy retailer Eden Fantasys, where she was helping to develop their social media and blogging initiatives.
    *Today Gawker chopped 19 people from their payroll, perhaps most notably Jonno, who has edited Fleshbot for just shy of five years. The site won’t go dark though - nor will it be left in unfamiliar hands, as my pal Lux Alptraum will be stepping up to bat as editor.
    *On the left coast, Melissa Gira’s insightful Sex Trade column and other writing for Valleywag has been axed.
    *And though the shutdown of the print edition of Playgirl (where Jamye Waxman was a columnist for many years) isn’t recent news, today editor-in-chief Nicole Caldwell sent around her final farewell - it’s her last day with the magazine.

Am I missing someone? So much change it’s almost hard to keep track of.

This means that my new history column at Eden Fantasys is done, as is my Fashion Police column at Fleshbot. And let’s not forget the losses of the past month and change: the termination of my Village Voice sexuality blog Naked City in mid-August and the demise of Regina Lynn’s Wired Sex Drive column the same month, plus the end of her stint doing sex news for Playboy Radio.

Wow. Though there’s been debate lately about the extent to which sex industry jobs are recession proof - there was a short piece in New York magazine last week saying that strippers and escorts have been staying afloat - it’s pretty clear that while maybe money can be made doing sex in a recession (though I also hear that sex workers are feeling the pinch), cash can’t be made writing about it.

There’s been a flurry of talk on Twitter about “let’s start a site together!” for those of us who’ve been cast off by our various employers. It’s unfortunate that these voices won’t be present in the places we’re accustomed to reading them, but I really don’t think banding together to write on a new site (presumably for free while we wait for magical non-existent funding to sprinkle down on us) will do any of us any good.

If the sex-writing bubble is bursting, that isn’t entirely a bad thing - and I say this even as a victim of what’s been going on. I like reading and hearing lots of perspectives on sexuality, and delivering real information about sexuality is real work. But writing about sex also has a really low bar for entry - you just have to have sex, or think about it, and be unashamed of putting it out there.

Certainly, the glut of sex blogs that people write for free is affecting the market for those of us who want to be paid for our sex writing. Certainly a lot of what my career is today is the direct result of maintaining a blog (though, ahem, I’m not so good at keeping it consistent these days), and I don’t make money from this blog at all.

I would be sad if the above people’s voices disappeared from the internet - but I also don’t think professionals should work for nothing, and I don’t really see a clear path to piles of money for this smart bunch of writers. Compulsively producing more and more content isn’t the answer, and that’s what’s been going on with blogs for the past few years - Gawker publishes posts every fifteen minutes during weekday work hours. There is no reason for there to be that much content - its compulsive, its stressful, it reduces the quality and the impact of the work.

Susannah Breslin has been sounding death knells for the sex blog for a while, and this is something I’ve been pushed to mull over an awful lot since losing my Naked City blogging gig last month and embarking on the wild ride of seeking out gainful employment with a broader vision to the future and serving my communities. I think that ultimately writing, especially on the internet, can’t just be about writing.

Sometimes, when I am described by others as a “writer,” I find it odd. Yes, I write and it’s my primary mode of communicating to the world, but I don’t think of myself as a writer. That’s not the sum total of what I do. Writing and other forms of media are tools for expression - I am an activist, an advocate, some might say I’m a force of nature. Writer doesn’t even begin to sum it up. I don’t think writing and blogging about sex are over - but I think writing is a piece of the puzzle, a necessary and important skill, but not a singular identity.

I want to see these folks I so admire, many of whom I’ve worked with and who are my peers and my inspiration, rise from the ashes. But I don’t want to just see another round of blogs founded, columns assigned. I think there has to be more than that - it has to be about culture, not just words and pageviews and links.


Oct 03 2008

The Week In Kink #12

Image of Amber Rayne Courtesy of BackdoorBondageBlog.com

Catalina’s Favorite Sex Blog Posts Of The Week!

CatalinaLoves.com:

CatalinaSays.com:

MarkyDSade.com:

BackdoorBondageBlog.com:

Nawalochai.com:

IntoTheAttic Blog:

Waking Vixen:

The Accidental Blowjob:

Radical Vixen:

Mz Berlin’s Blog:

Satine Phoenix’s Blog:

Sugarbutch Chronicles:

Ms. Nikki Nefarious:

TruFetish.com:

Ellie Lumpesse: Pretentious Pervert:

Debauched Domestic Diva:

Sweltering Celt:

BestSexBloggers.com:

::psst… for more hot sex blog links go to Sugasm.com::

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Sep 25 2008

The Last Sex Toy Contest of September - Open To Everyone

Our last contest of the month is open to anyone and everyone.  It’s very simple - several of our contributors are involved in a non-profit project that benefits Sex Worker Awareness - the New York City 2009 Sex Bloggers Calendar.  We’re talking a traditional hang it on the wall (but collectible) calendar with 12 of NYC’s hottest sex writers in a burlesque/pin-up theme.  Hot!

In order to help fund this project several sponsors have stepped forward and offered financial support and for that, we are very grateful.   However, there is still a big gap between the “money in” and “money out” columns.  One way you can sponsor this monumental project is to “buy a day” for $10.00.  This is perfect for brands with an online presence who want to list their URL or for companies with a product to sell, but it also reminds me of the CommUNITY Calendar our town made every year to raise money - where instead of advertising a site or a project, people left special messages on their anniversaries and birthday wishes to friends.  Either way, for $10 you pay for a day, but your message or advertisement is seen for the entire month.

Now the contest part! Go to http://sexbloggercalendar.wordpress.com and buy a day.  When you do, mention BSB Contest in the comments section to be entered into the contest.  For each day you buy (each $10 you spend) you are entered into the contest, so if you buy an entire week, you will be entered 7 times.  Easy!  Just be sure to mention BSB Contest or it doesn’t get entered.

Now tell them what they win, Bob…

Well, Catalina, the lucky winner of this contest has their choice of the Aneros or the Hitachi Magic Wand, which is provided from EdenFantasys.com, who is not only a corporate sponsor of the calendar project, but has also provided us all month with great sex toys for our contests here on BestSexBloggers.com

Thanks, Bob.  Now, go and buy some days!  It’s a win-possible win situation.  Ultimately you can’t lose!  It’s good on a karma level, it makes good business sense, and if you win you will have a very nice prize!

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Sep 19 2008

The NYC Sex Blogger Calendar Project Officially Launches Today

Big Momma by Altered Aperture (http://alteredaperture.com)

Big Momma by Altered Aperture (http://alteredaperture.com)

Imagine 12 of NYC’s best sex-positive writers, educators, and film makers working on the same project for a good cause - all proceeds benefit Audacia Ray’s Sex Work Awareness Project. The NYC Sex Bloggers 2009 Calendar Project has officially been launched. The theme: NYC style burlesque and pin-up. What began as as a little “what if…” has materialized into a project that is underway and on schedule for release soon!

So who are these dynamic women I’m going on about? They are

Oh, and a contest! I love contests because I love to give things away!!
The first 7 bloggers to write a post on your blog that sends people to the NYC Calendar Project: http://www.sexbloggercalendar.wordpress.com/ and send the link to me (catalinaloves@gmail.com) will each win a day on the calendar. In other words, instead of “buying a day”, you can have your blog url on your day, or any personal message - you can wish them luck or send a greeting to your favorite blogger (me) or celebrate your birthday or anniversary - up to 80 characters will be printed on your day.

Now go and read all about the project!

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Sep 17 2008

Sex-Positive Indie Comedy Film by Audacia Ray Available Online

http://www.daciaslovemachine.com

http://www.daciaslovemachine.com

Audacia Ray’s new short film, “Dacia’s Love Machine” has been released! The 25-minute director’s cut is available online in .mp4 and .flv and is only $2.99 to download. Pathetic, but true fact, downloading this film costs less than the gas it would take to drive to my nearest Starbucks to hang out with a friend over coffee.

I have seen it and it is hilarious. Obviously it’s a movie about a fucking machine, but ultimately it’s a comedy and the fucking machine is really the star.

You see, Dacia originally received the Love Machine to review. As I recall, it was something along the lines of her orgasm being in spite of, not the result of the Love Machine and so she was less than thrilled to have it laying around her house, so she put an ad on Craigslist:

Sex machine for sale (not a person, an actual machine) - w4mw - 27
Date: 2007-12-03, 9:37PM EST

So I’m a sex toy reviewer, and a little over a year ago I acquired a fucking machine to review (Topco brand, it retails at $395). It’s kinda big, and I really want it out of my apartment. It has all but one attachment (the one I used, which I will throw away), and technically it is lightly used.

Yes, it’s true, I’m trying to sell my lightly used sex machine on CL. I’m asking $100 for it, you come pick it and get it out of my life. It’s manageable to get it on the subway (probably easier with two people), but I recommend wrapping the box in brown paper or something, since it has pictures and words that will make your package very obvious.

CL doesn’t allow me to post the link to the review, but go to fleshbot[dot]com and search “Marital Aid Test Kitchen: The Fucking Love Machine,” and scroll down to the bottom of the page - the review was posted on October 20, 2006.

She filters through the responses, some of which are so outlandish that I had to ask her, “Did people really respond that way?” To which she replied, “Yes, all of those responses are genuine!” WOW! A study in strange humanology, but I love to peek through the door of the crazy world in which we live. Human nature only gets more and more curious as people stop by to look at the machine in person.

Click the picture to go to www.daciaslovemachine.com and download the movie. The first twenty five people who buy the download get a free sex toy courtesy of EdenFantasys - you have your choice between a pocket rocket and a masturbation sleeve.

Seriously, I personally guarantee you that this will be the best $3.00 you spent today ($2.99, actually). Marky and I got to preview the film and we both thought it was clever, funny, curious, voyeuristic, entertaining, and did I mention funny? Now go! Enjoy 25 minutes of unique entertainment.

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Sep 12 2008

The Week In Kink (#9)

http://satinesblog.com

http://satinesblog.com

Sex Blog Picks For The Week! I’ve been trying to decide how to do The Week in Kink now that normally the people I would feature are almost all on BestSexBloggers.com. One thing I want to try is a call for submissions. Send your best/favorite post to me at CatalinaLoves@gmail.com and I will take a look at it. If it passes the Catalina loves… test, then I’ll use it in The Week In Kink, which is posted at TheWeekInKink.com and cross-posted all over teh internets.

CatalinaLoves.com:

CatalinaSays.com:

MarkyDSade.com:

BackdoorBondageBlog.com:

Nawalochai.com:

IntoTheAttic.com:

The Accidental Blowjob:

The Femmes Guide:

Dungeonplace.com:

Mz Berlin’s Blog:

Lady Sascha’s Blog:

BestSexBloggers.com:

::psst… for more hot sex blog links go to Sugasm.com::

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Sep 10 2008

Live Girl Review Episode 3: Open vs Opening Up, Fun Factory’s Delight, Benny Profane’s Hospital, Marisa DiMattia on sex & tattoos… plus more!

Category: Audacia Ray, Podcasts, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 11:11 am

Yay, its the third episode! Unfortunately, Live Girl Review had a bit of a set back last week - the show has been deleted from iTunes. I think it’s probably because of “strong prevalence of sexual content,” which is listed in their terms of service as a reason shows may not be included. I haven’t gotten a response back from iTunes Abuse - if anyone has suggestions for me, please let me know. It would be a real bummer if the show wasn’t on iTunes.

In less crappy news: the winner of the goodies from the last episode is Baby Sinead, who is a photographer, model, and hell raiser in NYC. Check out her site - her blog is excellent, as are her boobs.

Here what’s in the show this week!
Reviews
Books: Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships by Tristan Taormino (the book has its own community site: Opening Up) vs Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage by Jenny Block (whose website URL I just have to point out because its hilarious: jennyonthepage.com. Ha!)
Sex Toy: Fun Factory’s Delight - buy through this link and type in the code “livegirl” at checkout and you get a 10% discount
Smut Review: Hospital! directed by Benny Profane and featuring Mandy Morbid, Zak Sabbath, and Caroline Pierce

One Hot Minute
Because I reviewed two books about open relationships, Jamye Waxman decided to share a few tips about how to have a happy threesome.

Bad Press
Here’s why you should think twice about a vaginoplasty - put those muscles to work instead!

Fan Girl Moment
I get fan girly on Marisa DiMattia of tattoo couture blog Needled. She talks all about sex and tattoos and the study she’s been doing on the subject - you can read more about the study in her column Erotic Ink over on Suicide Girls.

Goodies!
This episode’s give aways will go to one lucky commenter who must come on over to the post on Live Girl Review to drop their words of wisdom - not top five or top ten, but anyone who comments before the next episode goes up. The winner will get: a copy of Hospital plus Ellen Forney’s Lust (comics inspired by personal ads).

The next episode goes up on September 24!

Thanks for your support!

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Sep 01 2008

Live Girl Review Episode 2 - John Holmes, Sliquid Organics, Barcelona Sex Project, Rachel Kramer Bussel and more!

This is the second longform episode of my video podcast Live Girl Review - I’ve done 70 short episodes since I launched the project last November.

Here what’s in the show this week!
Reviews
Book: John Holmes, a Life Measured in Inches
Sex Toy: Sliquid Organics line of lubes
Movie: Erika Lust’s Barcelona Sex Project — that link takes you to Hot Movies for Her, where you can pay per view instead of paying international shipping for the DVD.

One Hot Minute
Sex educator Jamye Waxman gives a tip on how to make a blowjob extra nice with a little help from your fingers.

Bad Press
This episode’s bad press is more an encouragement to be critical of how sex toys are sold and less of a total slam. I share my opinions about the rabbits vibrators, in response to a comment left by Gustav

Fan Girl Moment
I am having fan girl moment over Rachel Kramer Bussel and her new anthology Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, so as part of her month-long blog tour, I interviewed her about erotica, plus quizzed her on her personal interest in spanking.

Goodies! - in every episode I offer up free stuff for commenters on Live Girl Review. I pick one of the first TEN commenters as the winner, and that person receives the following:
Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica - the latest erotica anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Kelly Payne’s The Judge’s Chamber - yup, a dvd of spanking smut
A bottle of Sliquid Organics lube

[you've missed the boat on this, the comments fill up quick - if you want to be in the running for future episodes, you can subscribe to the RSS feed or you can subscribe over at iTunes]

Magma Toys is also making several of their Phoenix vibes, which I reviewed in episode one, available for my viewers. If you’re interested in giving one a try, comment on this post or email me at dacia[at]livegirlreview.com and tell me in 50 words or less why you’re interested in this toy and what you intend to do with it. These are still available!

The next long episode goes up on September 10th, but I’ll also be doing a few quickies throughout September.

Again, thanks for all your comments, emails, and iTunes reviews - keep ‘em coming!

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Aug 20 2008

Imagining My Dream Job (Naked City No More)

Category: Audacia Ray, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 10:43 pm

I’m not going to post my round up of Naked City links this evening, because as of a few hours ago, I am no longer writing the blog. At the moment, it’s still live, but my login has been disabled, it’s not branded Village Voice anymore, and the RSS feed has been deleted from villagevoice.com/sex. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen to the site, but I was told that in a recent budget meeting they decided that it wasn’t getting enough traffic to justify the expense, so they had to drop me.

I’m (obviously) pretty bummed about losing the job and the abrupt and slightly passive aggressive manner in which it happened. I was really enjoying doing the blog and its video show. So now that I’ve gotten and lost two sweet sex + internet dream jobs (The Peeq and Naked City) in less than a year, I’m feeling a bit discouraged, and I’m trying to figure out a better and more stable future for myself.

I have been thinking a lot recently about my dream job and what that might look like - and while editing Naked City has been nothing short of awesome and amazing, I also know that I can’t picture blog writing being my main livelihood in five to ten years. However, thinking long term when you’re working freelance at the frenetic pace of the internet is pretty tough stuff.

As much as I have been burned by working for start ups and making stuff with slightly amorphous web projects, I do really love that entrepreneurial thrill of organizing something from scratch - I can’t help it. But at the same time, I have started to think that maybe it might do me well to work with a more established organization (not just because I want something safe - please, safe is for baby boomers). Though freelance stuff has been my bread and butter for many years, I think I could learn a lot from working within a larger organization, and that the right organization could learn a lot from me.

So here’s the thing, dear reader - I’m open to suggestions about what you see me being capable of and any ideas you might have about possible folks to work with, both in terms of freelance work and bigger-picture full time jobs. I’m very interested in doing non-profit work around the sex industry, reproductive & sexual health, media activism, and feminist issues. I’m also open to working with adult businesses, and either way I’m looking for something intellectually engaging, with problem-solving fun, integration of media and human interaction, with occasional bouts of trying new and interesting things.

Over the last seven years I’ve been curator, blogger, writer, magazine editor, adjunct professor, public speaker, video producer and video editor. I’m comfortable on a lot of different content management and blogging systems; I’m a videographer with my own equipment and can edit with Final Cut Pro and iMovie; I’m becoming ever more adept at audio recording and editing with Digidesign Pro Tools; I have basic understanding of HTML; I’ve got basic competence with the Adobe Creative Suite; and I know a whole damn lot about the web and social media. Also, my brain is a steel trap. So, I’ve got skills, I just need to figure out how to use them all to my advantage.

I am also, as I’ve mentioned to some folks in person and hinted at/whined about on Twitter, very much looking to leave New York for the right opportunity. I’ve lived in this city for nine years and grew up in upstate New York, and though I very much consider it my home, I do really want to give something else a try. Because, why not - I’m nothing if not a risk taker, and why not do that with my living arrangements? I’m not limiting this to the US either - have laptop, will spontaneously uproot life for interesting adventures.

In addition to Waking Vixen, I have a slightly more portfolio-like and to-the-point website at AudaciaRay.com with a clickable resume and all that good stuff. So, that’s my sales pitch. If you have any interesting ideas for me, drop me a line at dacia[at]wakingvixen[dot]com.

I know I’ll land on my feet, I just feel like I need to get more proactive about where I land, what that looks like, and what it spells for my future.


Aug 19 2008

I Meet the Business End of Citibank’s Anti-Adult Business Policy

Category: Audacia Ray, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 9:45 pm

When I moved to New York in 1999, I was here to attend college at the New School. There was a Citibank branch right across the street at 5th Avenue and 13th Street, so that’s where I set up my checking and savings accounts. Over the past nine years, I’ve gotten a credit card there, opened CDs, all that banking stuff. When I created Waking Vixen Productions as a DBA (doing business as) in 2006, I opened my business account at Commerce Bank. A few weeks ago I decided to get all the accounts at one bank, so I went to Citibank and tried to open a checking and savings accounts for Waking Vixen Productions. And then I got this voicemail:

Click here to listen to the voicemail.

To paraphrase, the voicemail informs me that they cannot open the account for me because of “the line of business [I am] in.” Because I work in the adult industry, Citibank will not take my money.

When I did the account set up stuff with the guy at Citibank, he asked a lot of questions about my business, and I was straightforward about it. When asked what my business does at the beginning of our conversation, I told him that I do adult new media production and consulting (then of course I had to explain what new media is). I explained that I don’t have an office, work at home, its mostly web based, gave him my web address (this one, wakingvixen.com) and told him that Village Voice Media/New Times is my major client. All true stuff that didn’t seem to raise any red flags for him as we talked.

But later when the bank manager reviewed my application and they, as the voicemail says, had a look at my website they decided that “it’s obvious” that my work is adult and not a business they want to work with. As soon as I heard the message, I decided to close all my accounts with Citibank, and that’s what I did yesterday afternoon. When I marched in and told them my intentions, I explained, “Since you’ve told me in no uncertain terms that you don’t want money from the adult industry, I don’t want you to have any of my money. I would like to close my accounts.” They didn’t really argue much at first, though as we worked our way through the paperwork they explained that it wasn’t my personal accounts that were the problem, just the business. As you know, there isn’t a lot of separation in my mind between who I am as a business and who I am as a person, so this argument just isn’t going to fly with me. Also, my business is a DBA, which means it isn’t a separate legal entity (like a LLC or other corporation would be), it’s intimately tied to my personal finances in the legal sense. Who’s to say that at some point in the future, they wouldn’t get a hair across their asses and decide to close down all my accounts with them? That notion aside, no one who objects to how I make my money is going to get their hands on it. That is fundamental.

In a situation like this, I essentially have no legal recourse - the Citibank policy doesn’t go against any protected rights. Businesses are totally within their rights to discriminate against people who work in any sector of the adult industry, regardless of the legality of that work. But I can (and did) take my money elsewhere, and I told them exactly why.

This is something that people who work in all adult-related businesses should think about, and if you feel comfortable, ask companies that you do big business with if they have a policy on adult entertainment. Some will look at you like you’re crazy - money is money, who cares where it comes from? - and others will say that of course they don’t do business with people in adult. I’ve had this experience at post production houses too, when trying to get screening copies made of The Bi Apple.

I took my business to Washington Mutual immediately after receiving my official checks from Citibank, and before I even sat down, I asked if they have a policy against opening accounts for adult businesses. They didn’t think so, but reviewed their policies anyway and there was nothing against my work. Upon explaining what I do, I was also told that it didn’t seem all that adult, because I don’t own or operate a strip club and my primary business isn’t porn production. It’s so fascinating to see what different people’s takes on “adult” are.

So the moral of the story is: if you work in the adult industry or are an ally of people who do, don’t do business with Citibank, even if you can conceal where your money comes from. Money is power. Bestow that power on companies that don’t judge you (and this goes for hairdressers, CPAs, etc as well).

I’ve posted my Twitter stream and replies from my Tweeple below so you can see some reactions to what was happening as it was going on, with the most recent entries at the top.

daciatweetscitibank.jpg

responses1.jpg

responses2.jpg

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Aug 13 2008

Audacia Ray’s Live Girl Review: Bigger! Longer! Cut!

Category: Audacia Ray, Podcasts, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 8:42 pm

After seventy episodes, I’m mixing things up a bit. My video podcast Live Girl Review has transitioned into a longer format. The show was launched in November 2007 as a short format show; one product was featured in each two to three minute episode. Each episode of the new version of the show features a book, movie, and sex toy review, as well as features like sex tips, products to avoid, and a fan girl moment, as well as giveaways for commenters.

I’ve also got some new contributors: sex educator Jamye Waxman is now a video correspondent on the show, and she’ll be providing sex tips in a segment of the show called One Hot Minute. In addition to being available on LiveGirlReview.com and via RSS, the twice monthly video show is also available on iTunes - and I’ve got an audio version coming once I can sort some things out. The show’s website will also feature written reviews by prominent some ladies you already know and love: Ellie Lumpesse, Essin’ Em, and Madeline Glass.

Here’s what you’ll find in this episode!
Reviews
Book: Dagmar Herzog’s Sex in Crisis: The New Sexual Revolution and the Future of American Politics
Sex Toy: Magma Toys’ Phoenix
Movie: Madison Young’s Writers and Rockstars — you can also see my review of her film Undone here on Live Girl Review

One Hot Minute - new feature!
My good pal sex educator Jamye Waxman is now the sex tip correspondent for Live Girl Review! In this episode, she dishes on deep dicking - or rather, shallow dicking.

Jamye is the author of Getting Off: A Woman’s Guide to Masturbation and host of the Personal Touch video series from Adam and Eve. My review of the first video, Toying With Pleasure was one of the very first videos I did for this site.

Bad Press - new feature!
Highlighting bad things you should avoid! This week’s shame-light (you know, like a bad spotlight?) goes to Vigorect, an “oral gel shooter” to improve erections. Ugh.

Fan Girl Moment - new feature!
I am having fan girl moment over The Wet Spots, and as a special treat, here’s a video of their live performance of the song “Kinky Neighbors.” I also did an episode of Naked City TV about them - you can see it here.

Goodies! - One of the first five commenters at http://livegirlreview.com wins the following:
Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica - the latest erotica anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
The ultimate couples kit - vibes with multiple attachments


Aug 07 2008

In the throes…

Category: Audacia Ray, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 10:28 am

A bit of background: this piece was originally posted on Waking Vixen on October 3, 2005. I *think* - though I’m not totally sure - that this was the last post I wrote about my personal sex life in sexy descriptive detail. It was written a few days before I came out about my whole life to my parents. The guy featured is my present-day partner and he really hates the pseudonym (Seth) I used to use for him.

I spent my day yesterday cooking vegan fineries, watching porn and drinking whiskey: a nice domestic Sunday. In the evening, Seth joined me to partake in said activities and add some deep dicking to the mix. He’d been dreaming of a particular pair of sparkly blue panties I have, so he bid me put them on, and I added a pair of heels I knew he’d like to the mix, and added enough opportunities to walk away from him so that he could get a good look at my ass. Soon we were in my bed, my tits heaved so the nipples poked out of my bra, panties on the floor, high heels intact, me crouched between his legs, letting my hair tickle his belly as my tongue tickled his cock. I looked up at him through the curtain of my hair; he snatched his cock away from me, and told me he wanted to fuck me. “But I’m not done sucking you,” I said, mouth engulfing him for one suck, two. “Okay, now I’m done, but I want you to play with my pussy first. Make me squirm.” He obliged and I relaxed, trusting, into his touch as he whipped my innards into a frenzy. I came hard, clapping my thighs around his hand.

Kissing him, I said into his mouth, “I’m soooo not done with you.”

“Hey, that’s my line.”

“Whatever, dude,” as I sheathed his cock in a condom and climbed aboard. “You made me so wet,” I commented as I slipped him all the way into me.

I rocked on top of him for a minute, and he could feel my muscles begin to tighten, my breathing grow erratic. “Come for me baby,” he commanded softly. In all other circumstances with all other partners, this command rubs me the wrong way (goddammit, I’m trying, don’t pressure me), but with Seth it’s a trigger: I came hard for him, eyes ablaze at his, his hands gripping the curve of my waist and pressing me firmly down onto his cock. My body stopped moving, frozen with taut-orgasm muscles, but he didn’t stop for a second as he pumped me from below, fucking me almost immediately into another orgasm, then grabbing a fistful of hair and flipping me onto my back.

“I’m a sweaty kid,” he said, as he rubbed his dripping face all over my tits, leaving beads of sweat indistinguishable from my own.

“You’re a nasty kid, is what you are.”

“But you like it when I’m nasty,” he said, spitting on my left nipple for emphasis. “And - for my first orgasm I’m going to come all over your tits and rub it in with my sweat.” Done and done.

We took a break and went out for refreshments, and when we got back he kind of smirked at me and said, “You have dried come on your neck.”

“You let me walk around in public with jizz on my neck?” I was slightly incredulous, highly amused.

“Well, I didn’t see it before we left, but then it was there and- it’s kinda hot,” he laughed into my neck as he licked me clean. Breaking away, he commented, “You know, as much time as each of us spend watching porn, we haven’t watched porn together.” I pawed through my pile of recent acquisitions and popped in a Belladonna dvd, shot while she was nice and pregnant.

“Heh. Is this what they call a couples video?” he laughed as we watched Belladonna push a baseball bat up Melissa Lauren’s ass. I reached over and fondled his cock, and told him that there was more than one box underneath my bed - the condom box, which he’d seen, and the toy box, which he had not. I pulled open the toy box and his eyes went a little wide; he was impressed at the quantity and variety of butt plugs. “I predict that there will be ass fucking tonight,” he said. “Now pick out a butt plug while I go to the bathroom.”

I pulled out my glass butt plug, pointed my bottom towards the bedroom door and started to work it into my ass. “Everyone loves a glass butt plug,” I told him as he came back in the room.

“Fuck yeah, they should,” he said as he clapped his hands down on my ass cheeks and spread them apart so he could get a look into my ass. “Goddamn, that’s a great view,” he said as he moved my hands to replace where his were. I held my ass cheeks apart as I heard him start to touch himself. “I’m gonna fuck you so good,” he told me as he ripped open a condom wrapper. He wasted no time in plunging himself into my pussy. I wiggled the butt plug in my ass so he could really feel it; he groaned his approval. He fucked me fast and hard, wrenching one hand into my hair and twisting hard as I bucked against him. I came hard against him, orifices throbbing. He growled that he was going to come, pulled out, shed the condom and decorated my back with a sizable wad. We toweled off, eased the butt plug out of my ass, had some more vegan vittles and kicked back to watch porn. I yawned and snuggled into him, scratching my itchy nose on his chin stubble. “Bedtime?” he queried.

“Well, I’m not really tired, so I guess we should fuck some more.”

“Alright, let’s do it,” he agreed.

“Are we fucking yet?” I hadn’t moved at all.

“Almost. Come lie on top of me - it’ll be fun.” I made a big show of the effort it took for me to get on top of him. “For round five,” he declared (yes, I’ve left out some of the intermediary rounds), “I’m going to fuck your ass.” We talked about ass fucking a bit more, and I revealed to him that I’d never been DP’d [ed note - two years later, I wrote about doing a DP with this very same guy in Time Out NY's 2007 sex issue], and I honestly can’t remember the last time I was fucked in the ass by a flesh and blood cock, it’s been that long. He was surprised. I reminded him that though “I fuck my own ass a lot, I don’t trust the deed to just anyone. He promised he’d make nice with my ass, and he delivered.

We started with me on my back, with Seth easing his fingers into me to open me up even further than the butt plug had. The timber of our voices changed, as he switched into a dominant but caretaking mode and my muscles felt like they were made of jelly. He generously lubed my ass and then his cock and pushed the head into me. I exhaled deeply and felt my ass wanting more. He asked if I was okay, and I told him to push in all the way; another deep exhalation and I felt his balls against me. I continued to take deep breaths and I realized that he was in me, I could trust him, and he was going to treat my ass right. He started fucking me slowly, carefully, talking softly all the while, telling me what a good girl I was to take his cock all the way up my ass, the ass that belongs to him. I started to grunt and groan and slid my hands down my body to open my ass up for him. I pressed my feet against his chest, toes curling into him; he rubbed one foot and took my toes into his mouth. After a few minutes, he pulled out and I gave him a “no, don’t leave,” look. He commanded me to roll over, slapped my ass as I obeyed.

“Now I’m going to give you a serious fucking,” he announced, as he spread more lube on his cock. He pressed into me and grabbed my wrists to hold my arms behind my back, pressing my face into the mattress. He fucked me slow deep and hard, gradually increasing the intensity until he was really laying into me. My pussy started to feel a bit lonely, so I plunged four fingers inside myself, rubbing my g-spot while pressing my knuckles against his cock as it thrust in and out of my ass. I began to go cross-eyed and felt goose bumps creeping all over my flesh, tingly ice cream headache sensation up the back of my head until I was coming so hard my ears were ringing and I just couldn’t take an ounce more. Seth knew I’d reached my cock threshold, pulled out, shed the condom and asked me to flip back over onto my back.

I was really flushed and a bit flustered, but unable to keep away from his cock as usual. I gripped his cock at the base between my left big and pointer toes, while I pressed down on his balls with the pad of my right foot. His eyes told me he was intense about this. He reached for the lube and slathered it onto my arches. I put my feet together sole to sole and he slipped his cock in the space in between. He pumped his cock in between my feet and I masturbated appreciatively to the sight. “I’m gonna come all over your feet, so point your toes,” he said, and I did as he asked. His aim perfect, his load immense for orgasm five in as many hours, he spread his come evenly over my ten toes.

“I was awesome,” he laughed.

“Bring your awesome over here,” I said as I pulled his lips to mine.

My room today is a disaster area: used condoms, high heels, butt plugs, interesting underthings and porn films everywhere. That’s what I call a good night.


Aug 05 2008

Private Things, Public Things

Category: Audacia Ray, Sex Blog, Waking VixenAudacia Ray @ 3:24 pm

I can’t believe I’m a contributor on yet another blog.

Catalina promised me that it would be relatively painless, so here I am.

Well, that’s a little simplistic actually.

I’m here mostly because I realized recently that one of the things the got me so obsessed with sex blogging four years ago when I started doing it at Waking Vixen was personal stories and personal connection.

In the course of those four years, I’ve become a professional blogger and maker of sex media, and that semi-anonymous blog has become the cornerstone of my little sex media empire. So I’ve gained a lot along the way, but I know I’ve also lost some things too.

My biggest loss has been my ability to just be purely social on the internet - the closest I get these days is Twitter. I don’t just have conversations for the sake of conversation anymore, I don’t really read that many personal sex blogs - and I don’t at all write about my personal sex life. As a result, I’m out of the loop of the fun parts of the internet and sex blogging - and very much all work all the time, which is no good.

Ok, this sounds a little more whiny than I want it to. My point is, I signed up to participate here because I want to get back in the groove of actually socializing online, and I want to read and talk to interesting sex bloggers instead of just focusing on news items and hunting for blog-worthy stuff (though I’m also open to suggestions on that front). So I’m going to make an effort to comment and hang out and all that stuff. If you want to get in touch, Twitter is best for quicky convos, email [dacia@wakingvixen.com] is next best. I don’t generally IM because it sucks the life out of me.


Aug 05 2008

A Big BestSexBloggers.com Welcome To Audacia Ray!

Category: Audacia Ray, Best Sex Bloggers, Waking VixenCatalina Loves @ 10:28 am

Wow!  We are so lucky because Audacia Ray just joined us.  Here’s her bio, though I’m sure you already know who she is:

Audacia Ray edits the Village Voice sexuality blog Naked City and produces the weekly video show Naked City TV. She is the author of Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads, and Cashing In on Internet Sexploration and is the award-winning director and producer of the porn feature The Bi Apple. Audacia is a former sex worker who was an executive editor at $pread magazine for three years and is now on the board of advocacy organization Sex Work Awareness, for which she edits the public education blog