Erotica - 8/29/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Today's show is all about erotica, peeps. We talk a bit about the definition of erotica and what makes it different from pornography, but our main emphasis is on the written form of erotica, like romance novels.

Erotica (from the Greek ἔρως, eros "desire"): works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions

A lot of people say that erotica is porn for women, and in a lot of ways that's true, but it also has a literary quality to it when it is done well, and done beautifully, which is something we all agreed on. A good example of this is "Delta of Venus" by Anaïs Nin, which I read a bit of on the July 4th episode. That said, I think that a lot of people separate things that are sexual, and things that are literary, which doesn't necessarily have to be true. In visual art, erotic things are often considered high art, but in the written form, it's called smut. This seems unfair to me, and is something Elissa has experienced firsthand with her erotica, which I read aloud in this episode as well. Hope I've piqued your interest. See you on the other side.

Music you heard:

1. "Up From The South" by The Budos Band

Useful links:

1. Umich Library search of "best erotica"
2. Ann Arbor District Library search for "erotica"
3. Tiny Nibbles
4. Juxtapoz Erotica

Thanks for listening! Let us know what you thought!

Roundtable: Real Men™ - 8/22/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Lucky for you, I was a bit lazy and didn't want to prerecord anything, so you got a LIVE show out of the deal. To be honest, I love doing live shows, especially when I have cool people like Steph and Elissa with me in the studio.

Today the topic we landed on was about a Jezebel article by Lindy West that I recently came upon and posted on my Facebook. This was a great read, and I got a lot of interesting responses from my friends, which I talked a little bit on the show (no names, don't worry guys). The main ideas of the article are that our society has ingrained us with an idea that there is an ideal kind of woman, and an ideal kind of man, and that we need to get as close as possible to that, as unrealistic, and unreasonable as it might be. Men have unrealistic expectations of how women should dress or act, and women can do the same thing. It's a two way street.

We also touch on a few mildly related topics, such as weddings, communication, and very small dogs. Enjoy the show!

Useful links:

1. Jezebel article by Lindy West "Everything Real Men Think Is Wrong With You"

See you next week! As always, if you have any comments/suggestions/hate mail, please feel free to comment or e-mail!

Older LGBT Adults - 8/15/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Today's show I interviewed Kathleen LaTosch, the special projects consultant for Affirmations, about a very interesting topic, and probably not one that's on your radar: LGBT older adults. The elderly community itself is something that younger generations sometimes don't think much about (until they are part of it), but everyone needs to do their part to make their issues known.

Older LGBT adults have a lot of problems not only with housing, but with typical aging services, such as retirement homes, assisted living, hospice, etc. These are major issues for heterosexual adults, but for LGBT individuals, it can create a whole host of problems. Maybe they're severely closeted, and don't trust others to come into their home for fear of being outed. Maybe they are living with a partner, but cannot live in the same retirement community because of discrimination (which is allowed in Michigan by the way).

Please realize that this could be an older person that you know. Maybe someone at your church or temple. Maybe it's your next door neighbor. An important point that I want to make is that simply talking about the issues can solve the problem, and can make people more aware. If you know an older person, have them take this survey. I also have it linked below. This can help change the discrimination we face in Michigan, and discrimination specifically faced by older LGBT individuals.

Useful Links:

1. LGBT Older Adult Coalition
2. LGBT Needs Survey
3. Affirmations of Ferndale, MI
4. Relevant article from the New York Times

Music you heard:

1. "Easy Living" by Billie Holiday
2. "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" by Louis Armstrong
3. "To the Gateway" from Super Mario Galaxy OST

Tune in next week! And don't be shy about leaving a comment or shooting us an e-mail! We love e-mails!

BDSM/Kink Culture - 8/8/12

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sex Olympians - 8/1/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Today was a very special episode of the Sex and Tell Show for multiple reasons:

1. There were about 5 other people in the studio besides me
2. It was a live show
3. We got our first caller
4. Our topic was the best thing ever

The gist of today's show was that Olympic games participants are having copious amounts of sex right now. Yes, right now. While you're watching the Olympics on your TV, there is so much behind-the-scene action that it will blow your mind. Not only do Olympians have lots and lots of sex with each other, but the people running the Olympics actually buy custom condoms in bulk for the occasion! In the episode we'll talk about that, plus why it may or may not be good for the athletes to have sex before their events.

As always, if you have any comments, anecdotes, etc. about the topic, PLEASE e-mail us. We want to know. We need to know. 

Useful links:

1. Will you still medal in the morning?
2. Olympics: Sex not a spoiler
3. 21 Openly Gay Olympians
4. Olympics or Gay Porn?

Music you heard:

1. "We Are The Champions" by Queen

Hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording!

Sexxit! - 7/25/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Check it out, so Sonya and I were like, "We have no idea what to do this week," so we decided to take my obsession with Reddit and make a show out of it.

I've been a Redditor for about year now, and the community never fails to astound me in ways that I didn't think the internet could anymore. So many Redditors on /r/sex are willing to give you meaningful comments if you have questions, stories, or need serious help with a problem, and I don't think I've ever seen someone made fun of or trolled for a serious question. Topics are all over the maps, including but not limited to: trouble with orgasms, how to bring up BDSM with a partner, tips for oral sex, etc.

Besides talking about some important questions that we found on /r/sex and might be helpful to you, I hope that if you take away anything from this, it's to hopefully facilitate better communication with partners, and conversations with friends and family. Yes, sometimes it can be awkward. It's usually awkward in fact, but that shouldn't stop you from being able to talk about questions you have, or things you think are relevant, because they matter, and you're not alone.

Useful Links:

1. /r/sex (Sexxit)
2. /r/sexpertslounge (The Sexpert's Lounge)
3. The Sexpert's Lounge Blog

Music you heard:

1. "I Don't Know Enough About You" by Peggy Lee
2. "Toboggan" by Podington Bear
3. "Mayhem" by Terrorizer

Now go use the internet more! And as always, if you have questions/comments/rants, please hit the little contact button on top of the page!

Roundtable: Rape Jokes - 7/18/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

So as a change of pace, today's show had special guests Rachael Crowe and Ben Yee, and we were LIVE on the air! The main thing we wanted to talk about is what makes a rape joke unacceptable, and really dissecting the reasons someone makes a rape joke. All over the internet you will see comedians fighting for free speech, and feminists fighting for compassion for rape survivors, but in my opinion, what we really need to do is put out the torches, sit down, and have a real conversation.

Even in today's show, we talked about how many people will make jokes to get around an awkward topic. Rape is a serious topic, and can be awkward to talk about, which is why people make rape jokes. It makes sense, right? The thing is, is that rape should be treated like any other serious topic. For example, let's take the Holocaust. Would you joke about the Holocaust to a group of Jewish internment camp survivors? "NO OF COURSE NOT" you might say. Well tell me this: how is joking about rape to a rape survivor any different? The answer: it's not. You need to be sensitive to your audience, and to context. That's just being a smart comedian. 

We realize this can be a very touchy topic, and we tried to be careful, but we also wanted to get to the heart of the cultural/society associations with rape, and why rape jokes are becoming a thing.

Useful links:

1. How to Make a Rape Joke
2. Louis CK Wasn't Defending Tosh, Restores Faith in Humanity
3. What 'Rape Jokes' Could Learn From Jewish Humor
4. Sexual Assault Prevention & Awareness Center (SAPAC)
5. RAINN Rape Statistics

Clips heard in this show: 

1. Louis CK - Rape
2. Ever Mainard - Here's Your Rape!

If you have any comments about this show, disagree with us, have something to add, please please please comment on this post! We love to hear what you have to say.