Mother Jones reports that Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee hates sadomasochists (as well as homosexuals, pedophiles and necrophiliacs). And environmentalists, pornographers and atheists.

Huckabee wrote in his 1998 children’s book, Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture of Violence: "It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations — from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia." He also wrote, "Abortion, environmentalism, AIDS, pornography, drug abuse, and homosexual activism have fragmented and polarized our communities." Huckabee also claims that "equality in the workplace has ironically worked against women in innumerable ways."

Since I'm a woman who happens to be a kinky, bi, atheist, environmentalist who helped file a lawsuit challenging obscenity law on the Internet... do you think he's talking about me? If so, where's my institutional support? Where's my public endorsement, god damn it?

Tags: bdsm

I'll be at GMSMA's Leatherfest this weekend at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center from 3-9pm. I'll be giving a workshop on Sensationalized Sex from 4:15-5:30pm - it's a look at the past 10 years of NCSF's media activism, and the strategies we've developed to combat the way the media encourages the stigma about alt sex. I'm bringing copies of the Concerned Women for America's press release about My Viscious Valentine in 2002, when they declared the event hazardous to the health and reporters repeated their lies. I'll also bring the Missouri State Senate resolution that barred BDSM activities in the state - which NCSF got shelved. Plus much more!

I love GMSMA because my earliest activist mentors were members - Barry Douglas, Bruce Marcus and David Weinbaum. GMSMA was the first group I asked to join NCSF when I formed the organization. I knew if GMSMA didn't get involved, I didn't have much of an idea. But they did, and have been staunch supporters ever since.

I'm also one of only three women who are members of Gay Male SM Activists. I was given an honorary membership in the late 90s along with Lolita. Jo Arnone, Leather Pride Night's auctioneer for decades, is the other honorary member.

Speaking of LPN, while you're at GMSMA's Leatherfest, check out the Leather Pride Night Flea Market! This is the first year we're having our infamous Flea Market at Leatherfest instead of LPN in June. But since we moved to Splash! for the big auction, there's no space to produce the Flea Market at the same time. I love the Flea Market - you can't get better deals anywhere.

I hope to see you there!

Tags: bdsm, ncsf

Today's my day on Rachael Kramer Bussel's virtual blog tour. I really enjoyed HE'S ON TOP, the anthology Rachael edited with 16 erotic stories about male dominance and female submission, just published by Cleis Press.

Two of the stories were "Confession" by Gwen Masters and "The Sun is an Ordinary Star" by Shanna Germain. I was touched by both because they're so real - as well as steaming hot! In "Confession," a woman realizes after 20 years of marriage that she doesn't love her husband, yet she has sex with him. The next day she confesses to her priest - "I slept with someone I don't love." As in any relationship, love depends on honesty and vulnerability, and revealing the truth about ourselves that we don't want to face is sometimes the only way to save a marriage.

In "The Sun is an Ordinary Star," a dominant man deeply loves his wife who is ill with cancer, and he hates himself for wanting to play roughly with her the way they used to. He treats her too tenderly, it seems for her. I know exactly how that feels, to be sick and hardly stand to be touched, yet still crave the intensity and connection that only a great scene can give you.

Finally, Rachel's story "Late for a Spanking" seemed at first like a light-hearted punishment romp when a sassy sub is late for a play date. But this story isn't about a couple in love, but a polyamorous play relationship. The dom in the story is in love with his other sub, and he has restrictions on what he can do with the his spankee - he can't touch her genitals or have vanilla sex with her. He can only spank her, and that is something he both appreciates and accepts, yet he also has to fight his own desire for her.

Kel and I have had various agreements over the years - and I've always said that whatever works for you and your partner is what's right. Yet vanilla folks just can't seem to wrap their head about the fact that each poly arrangement is unique and the only limits are the ones everyone agrees to.

Real people having really hot sex. That's my kind of book. Check it out! And check out the other bloggers on Rachel's blog tour. You won't be sorry.

Tags: bdsm, erotica, rachelkramerbussel