Oh yes, and that beginning screech that goes right into that booty-droppin’ bass/drum/triangle thing at the beginning of “Gett Off”—lordy. That’s the STUFF right there! Glad to hear you’ve used it! lol

Someone needs to do some kind of dance, erotic or otherwise, to “The Beautiful Ones”. But I bet people would complain and say it was too much of a downer.

Oh, and “Get Off” made for a lap dance! Yes? No? Indifferent?

Uh oh. Going off on a tangent.

Have a good day.

“Race
In the space I mark human (Face the music)
Race
Face the music
We’re all bones when we’re dead

Race
In the space I mark human (Face the music)
Cut me, cut U
4 Both the blood is red”

artist: prince
song: “race”
album: come
year: 1994

i better not claim that bit of art as my own. i don’t mind letting my sources of inspiration be known. LOL

“regardless of race, gender, sexuality, class, or any other external grouping we make for ourselves, people are herd animals usually. that means there’s a pecking order. ”

Yes, the term “herd mentality” actually went through my mind as I was writing. Of course you are right.

“one of the primary reasons i keep this online journal is to point directly at the hypocrisy in our culture that relegates adult entertainers and sex workers to a subhuman place on the totem pole. our services exist only because there’s a demand.”

For some reason I thought of Ted Haggart when I read this part. There’s the ultimate dichotomy right there, isn’t it?

“honestly, i fear that when the day comes that the lgbtq community is as fully integrated as the black community in amercian culture that we will be doing this just as much as anyone else (and from an early age). actually, the agism (and in my exerience, reverse agism) in the gay community already speaks to us doing it.”

But the hope that can be gleaned from that example is that people continue to evolve. Just in my own lifetime, I’ve seen more of the assertion of the individual in the black community, instead of the peer pressure to conform to some kind of monolithic idea of what it means to be black. I’ve seen the trends go from worshipping light-bright-damn-near-white beauty to the darkest brotha being the most sought-after (though that’s with men, not women), and back again.

I’ve seen more and more black people begin to realize that for our own health and well-being, and despite the legacy of slavery, fumbled Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, at some point we have to take responsibility for the negative aspects of our communities, without looking outside of it for people to blame or reasons to give up. And the world around us has changed. And will continue to change.

We all will always continue to be in the process of becoming fully human, I like to think. People will continue to get free, and people will continue to get well, and people will continue to evolve.

“on top of all the other challenges we still face as a community, i honestly think that many men of a certain age are completely traumatized. most lgbtq people are walking wounded at some point in their lives, but i think the older ones haven’t been given enough of an opportunity to heal. many gay men practice unbridled lust, but the ones who came of age in a time when there was NOTHING for them can also be the most vicious (despite being the ones who often forged the tools that comfort their younger counterparts).”

Generational PTSD, semi-diagnosed. Yes. This paragraph struck me deeply.

“don’t we have enough to contend with without consciously, purposefully, and specifically undermining each other? it seems to me that our puritanical culture is still doing a great job of separating desire away from the whole human and villifying it. healthy body? good. healthy mind? good. healthy heart? good. healthy job? good. healthy realtionships? good. healthy spirit? good. healthy sex drive? WARNING WARNING, DANGER WILL ROBERTSON!”

Sometimes I just quote stuff because it deserves repeating.

“at any rate, the short, familiar replies are just as welcome as the cerebral ones. this space is for discussing the phenomenon of adult entertainment and the way the people who do it are treated. there’s not any way that a thorough response isn’t only welcome but encouraged.”

Noted. Thank you.

“i also feel that there’s not a reason why a black straight woman can’t speak truth to a white gay man. you don’t strike me as the type of person to make cheap shots about these situations, so i’d invite you to feel less obliged to include all the “i’m not gay, so i don’t know…” introductions to your ideas. your observations are real, accurate, and valid, even if white gay men don’t want to hear them. i trust you to be the smart, sensitive woman you are.”

Wow. You kick ass.

Anyway, noted. No more self-concious fumbling.

“one aspect of being an adult entertainer that i specifically value: i’ve learned that everyone desires and rejects. it’s all part of a cycle, and everyone craves connection on some level. i don’t regret being sensitive to people’s feelings, i just wish they’d return the favor more often. we’re all bones when we’re dead.”

This is what I meant by art, sweetheart. G_ddamn.

Thanks,

Jen