Do Sex-Workers Deserve a Safer Workplace?

Posted by Japhet
Filed in TnO
June 8, 2008
prostitute sex workers toronto
Terri-Jean Bedford, a woman titling herself Canada's most famous dominatrix, has launched a constitutional challenge with three other sex-workers and Allan Young, a law professor from Osgoode Hall, to repeal three provisions of the Criminal Code dealing with sex work.

The three provisions have to do with the ban on bawdy houses, communication with potential clients and living in the avails of prostitution. At the heart of this protest against these provisions are concerns over the safety of sex-workers and, in a statement by the group known as the Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC), "the provisions challenged in this application operate to deny sex workers safe legal options for the conducting of legal business".

After all, prostitution is legal in Canada, as long as it's of the independent outcall variety, but this places the onus on the individual woman to ensure her own safety while simultaneously acknowledging the current laws.

Q&A with Toronto Sex Forum

Posted by Jenny
Filed in TnO
May 24, 2008
Toronto Sex ForumI have to admit - I'm a sucker for the Rants and Raves section on Craigslist. Recently, I came across a post for the Toronto Sex Forum, a sort of free-for-all message board for horny Torontonians out there created by "Captain Big Willy" and his partner, Tiffany.

A Kink Of One's Own

Posted by Japhet
Filed in TnO
May 17, 2008
A popular theme with sex advice columnists is the heretofore "vanilla" individual who, having experienced some new twist on their regular sexual adventures, has their panties in a knot over how this will affect their relations with their partner of choice.
eating ass
It's easy to make light of the idea of confessing some sexual perversion to one's partner in the abstract but it's an entirely different thing to confess that there's nothing you'd like better than to piss in your loved one's mouth, for example. After all, you have no idea how they'll react and many a newly-uncovered a kink has been the end of a previously-perfect relationship.

Me, I always enjoyed these accounts but I figured I knew myself pretty well. After all, I was 27 years-old and had presumably progressed beyond my college days to embrace the well-oiled sexual practices of the post-grad. I was no longer "figuring things out" (or at least I thought not).

Sleeping With Your Friends

Posted by Japhet
Filed in TnO
May 10, 2008
friends with benefits
I've lived in Toronto for seven years and have moved through a dozen or so social circles in my time here. Things are generally tight and without prodding, most groups tend to avoid long-term co-mingling. People move in and out but a core group tends to remain.

I've also had my share of fun and several relationships but I've noticed a distinct shift in terms of whom I choose to get closer with. Most of my hook-ups are close friends that I've known for awhile. While I've dated some of them briefly, all of them are people I feel comfortable with.

According to the ever-useful NOW Magazine Love and Sex Guide "35 percent of men and 39 percent of woman" identify as single while engaging in sexual relations with a friend.

Allowing for the demographics of those who cared to respond to the survey, that's still a substantial number.

Why the Feminist Porn Awards Are Important

Posted by Japhet
Filed in TnO
April 26, 2008
feminist porn awardsWhat other awards show hands out glass butt plugs? They're just so... functional.

As Josey Vogels, one of the announcers noted, you wouldn't want to use an Emmy in the same way. An Oscar might work but it would require one helluva warm-up.

All kidding aside, of much greater importance than the sexual possibilities presented to the winners are the films that brought them the attention they deserve.

The Feminist Porn Awards are not about supporting either mainstream pornography. We have the AVNs for that. Unlike most awards shows, they want to recognize porn that isn't content with the same, old conventions of the cultural entity we are all wank off to.

Why be boring when you can actually show female pleasure or people of diverse backgrounds, body-types and fantasies getting it on? Whatever your sexual orientation, I would imagine most people are into the idea of getting off to people they like the look of getting it on because they want to.

We live in a world where people are slowly coming around to the idea that there's no right or wrong way to get off and though the mainstream porn industry is usually one of the first adopters when it comes to technology, they are notoriously reticent when it comes to pushing social boundaries. Try finding a bisexual porno...

Dimitri the Lover Models the "Real Man"

Posted by Japhet
Filed in TnO
April 5, 2008
dimitri the loverLike any major urban centre, Toronto has its landmarks and attractions; things the visitors are encouraged to see. From opera to architecture we're used to seeing these objects of civic pride measured against other cities knickknacks in the never-ending competition for tourist bucks.

Then there are the activities you don't usually hear about, the ones you can't necessarily enjoy with the entire family. Some are praiseworthy (gay couples from the States coming up here to get married), others leave a distinctly bad taste in my mouth (swinger couples visiting Club Wicked; is that the best we can do?) and a few are really weird (Reg Hartt screenings; more about him later).

Somewhere in between the last two is Dimitri the Lover and his Toronto Real Men meetings. If you don't already know, he is the latest iteration in a long line of pick-up artists (PUA) offering up the secrets of seduction to hapless guys all over the country.