Averages

People (mostly virgins and idiots) say there is no such thing as bad sex or bad pizza. More accurate is to say that average sex and average pizza are both satisfying, especially when you're in Italy. 

Perhaps inspired by this…

Read more

Johannes Kahrs and the erotics of framing

In most still-photo erotica, as exemplified by the Playboy centerfold, the composition is well-balanced. The sexual object is perfectly framed. The face, the torso, the crotch are centered. The object of desire is laid bare - there is no obscurity…

Read more

Man Ray's Mr and Mrs. Woodman

It is always enlightening to analyze human sexual behavior through another form (e.g., Fritz the Cat and other R. Crumb comix), so I'm grateful to my friend Margaux for telling me about these strange wooden sculptures by the great ManRead more
placeholder

The male gaze

Putting a woman on a pedestal is never the best strategy for winning her long-lasting devotion, but gazing at her often as if she belongs on a pedestal is rarely a wasted act.

For guidance, check the gaze of this…Read more

Do the drapes match the carpet?

The art of eroticism lies in deciding how much not to show. Swedish photographer Eva Stenram plays with this concept in her wonderful recent series Drape, in which she Photoshops the drapes used in vintage erotic photos to cover most…Read more
placeholder

Are you R Rated or Unrated?

Dressed to Kill is a typically hysterical film by Brian De Palma with one of the great opening scenes in movies. To survive unpleasant, unsatisfying sex with her husband, Angie Dickinson fantasizes about touching herself in the shower while gazing…Read more

The lady and the tramp

1958 Burt Glinn photo "A stripper disrobes in front of a silent film of Charlie Chaplin at the Kino Club" (Berlin)

 


Sex is Rhythm

Susan Sontag journal entry 8-23-61



I like this idea of sex as rhythm resulting in a kind of hypnosis. But Sontag reveals perhaps an early dislike of penetrative sex when she describes sexual rhythm as inherently monotonous. Why not…Read more