A few further thoughts on the subject of faking it…

It might surprise some folks to learn just how very fake some of the so-called “amateur” websites actually are.  Actually taking the pictures and making the videos is by far the least time-consuming part of running a pornsite, and in fact a professional photographer with proper studio equipment can shoot enough content for months - or even years - worth of updates in a matter of days.  Which means that if you have a big enough bankroll, you can hire yourself a model and a photographer and badda-bing!  You’ve got the basic material for your “genuine amateur” website in no time at all.  Throw in a graphic designer, a marketing team, and somebody (doesn’t even have to be a chick) to write naughty blog entries and you are in business…big, big business.

Which is how you can get so dang many “I just turned nineteen and look at what I’m getting up to!” sites which have been around for literally years.  I came across one of these recently, and I had to laugh…the model in question is one that I have been seeing for at least five years (Sgt’s collected some of her pics off usenet), but her “intimate” blog speaks as if her twentieth birthday was coming up next month.  And the pics showing now are the exact same pics!  It actually boggles my mind that anybody could be so foolish as to believe that the “she” who is writing is the same girl.

Here’s a little hint for the inquisitive though…if she claims to be nineteen and the site’s whois shows that it has been registered since 2001, she ain’t no amateur.  And whoever’s making money off those pics probably isn’t the girl who’s in them.

So I’m watching “The Colbert Report” and he’s got this chick on who wrote some book about “raunch culture”, meaning the supposedly new (although how one can ignore the fact that history is full of famous, influential courtesans is beyond me) trend of glorifying porn stars, strippers and the like.  The woman is bemoaning the idea that porn actresses and strippers can serve as role models for ordinary women in celebrating, exploring, and owning their sexuality, because porn stars and strippers (according to her anyway) are basically all “faking it”.  She points out the absurdity of women pretending to be like people who are pretending to enjoy sex, and how that’s not a terribly good way to learn how to actually enjoy sex.

Now I’m not at all sure I buy the idea that the huge majority of women who work in the sex industry ARE faking their pleasure…I think that it takes a strong exhibitionistic streak, which implies taking pleasure in putting oneself on display, to get very far in this line of work…but I am willing to suppose that a lot of the plasticized young starlets who are the most visible face of porn (and stripping) are in fact more interested in the money than any other aspect of the job.  Which is why it’s so very, very important that the field of porn be broadened to include women (and, for that matter, men!) who are something other than the underweight, fake breasted, nineteen year olds that mainstream porn studios focus on so obsessively.  And why it’s imperative that the government regulations which are ostensibly there to protect children from predators but which actually serve merely to hinder independent porn production be reconsidered.

It’s not wrong, stupid, or demeaning for ordinary women to wish to emulate women who have higher than average sex drives and the openness of mind to embrace and cultivate those talents, any more than it is wrong for women to choose sports stars, musicians, or any other talented, ambitious person as a role model.  It IS rather silly that the system be set up so that the women who are most rewarded by the industry are those who haven’t even been alive long enough to begin to scratch the surface of the creative, hedonistic potential of sex.

It’s particularly dumb when you consider that most men aren’t really all that interested in screwing mindless, plasticized 19 year olds…and that women are every bit as interested in watching porn as men are.

I fell in love with Sportsheet’s “Derriere de Plume” Peacock Feather Buttplug the minute I saw it.  (Have I mentioned that I have a *thing* for peacocks?)  I harped on my burning lust to own one for weeks, and I was lucky enough to get one for my birthday in April of 2005.  (Thanks C!)  I was so delighted with it that I HAD to procure it’s siblings, the Ostrich Feather and Starburst Feather models too.

These toys are terrific.  First off, they’re made of a better-than-average quality soft plastic with a high silicone content, so no nasty “jelly” stickiness and chemical leaching.  (They claim to be made of silicone, but my fingers tell me it’s probably not the 100% medical grade stuff - gotta watch out for that!)  Second, the size is extremely nice for anal play beginners; small enough for comfort but big enough to give a decidedly pleasureable feeling of fullness.  The rounded shape of the plug makes for easy insertion (with plenty of lube, naturally!) and the flared base ensures they stay put.

But the very, very coolest thing about these naughty confections is that the feathered bits are removeable and interchangeable.  This feature makes cleanup a snap, but it also means that each and every one of them is two toys in one!  You get a sweet little butt plug *and* a sensation toy, which is a definite plus for the shopper on a budget.

In actual use these toys are best for teasing, particularly in gentle, sensual D/s play.  (That’s Dominance/submission for the neophytes out there.)  The small size of the plug makes them ultimately unsatisfying for the true anal slut, but having the feathery bits poking out of your bum is deliciously, delightfully silly - absolutely fabulous for erotic embarassment scenarios.  The wearer can’t really sit without crushing the feathers, nor can they be hid under clothes.  All one can do is prance around looking like a complete sex-doll.  And then if she pleases Mistress can pull out the feathery bit and use it to stroke and tickle, or even change one feathery bit for another to try out different effects.  I am still waiting to find the right subject to attempt the chore of dusting with the Starburst model, which I think will be *quite* a sight to behold, hehehe!

{On a side note, I see that Sportsheets has a “Pony Tail” version too, but I have not verified whether the pony tail fits into the feather plugs.  I encourage anybody reading this to write to Sportsheets and urge them to create more different attachments for these little gems!}

I’ve had my Derriere de Plume Buttplugs for over a year now, and the plastic had held up very well indeed - no stickiness, funny smells or discoloration at all.  Sadly the Ostrich plume bit the dust within a few weeks of my acquiring it, which will teach me to leave my toys where the damn dog can get them.  But the Peacock plumes and Starburst attachments have seen more actual play than the plug itself, and continue to hold up well.  On the basis of quality, versatility, and just plain fun I give all three of these little beauties a hearty thumbs up.

 * I didn’t get my Derriere de Plumes from WetEgg.com, but they have em for the exact same price as mine cost…surf on over and check them out! 

I have been following the stories about Madrid’s recent ban on runway models with a BMI below 18 with great interest.  The ban has set off a furor in the world of fashion, with some folks (mostly, from what I can see, modeling agency bigwigs) crying out in furious protest.  My personal favorite comment came from Cathy Gould, the North American head of Elite (one of the world’s top modeling agencies) who exclaimed (I am paraphrasing here) that the ban was discriminatory to “naturally gazelle-like models”.  Yeah, right.  Like any of those girls would still be so anorectically scrawny if they weren’t forced to be so by folks like you, Cathy.  Here’s an idea - stop YOUR discrimination and let the poor girls eat already!

Now personally, I think this is one of those areas where government regulation is inappropriate.  But then again, if the industry had been acting with any semblance of sanity for the past, oh, thirty or forty years, the government wouldn’t have to step in.  If enacting such laws in one or two cities makes the willfully-deluded people who are trying to force starvation chic on the rest of us cut it out, well then I have to say go for it.

The ban (and Madrid’s fashion week) went into effect weeks ago.  I’m finally posting about it now because of this interesting development.  Jean-Paul Gaultier saw fit (I’m not sure why, as there have been ZERO news articles about it) to include this beauty in the lineup for his Spring 2007 show, held this week in Paris:

Hubba hubba - you go, Jean-Paul!  Makes me wish I could afford genuine couture.  Contrast this lovely lady with a typical model, this one from Guy Laroche’s Spring 2007 show:

 And just for reference, here are a few shots of Nazi death-camp victims:

{notice that the girl on the lower left in the second pic is probably about the same age - and not far from the same weight - as Guy Laroche’s model}

What REALLY gets my gall up is that for my entire life, the starved-looking stick woman has been touted as the ONLY possible type of beauty.  It has reached the point that EVEN THOUGH UNDERWEIGHT PEOPLE FACE JUST AS MANY, IF NOT MORE, HEALTH RISKS AS THE MORBIDLY OBESE, anybody who is larger than about a size six is deemed to be not only un-beautiful but unhealthy as well.  That’s just pure and utter bullshit, and I am relieved beyond words, for once in my life, to be able to look at a runway model without wincing and thinking ”please, please just go and eat a sandwich”.