In my various travels on the Interwebs the past few months, a few enticing morsels of the saucy variety have caught my wandering eye... shall we say, a more discerning brand of erotica.... pretty enough to make me want to feature it here. And this post is oh-so-not-safe-for-work, lovelies ~ especially the links.
The ever-flowing fount of alternative cultural goodness that is Coilhouse first lured me to the sumptuous Web site of Coco De Mer. Founded in London by Sam Roddick, daughter of Body Shop proprietress Anita Roddick, Coco De Mer started as an ethically-sourced high-end erotic toy shop. I found an interview with Sam about how this came to be.
While many well-intentioned feminist-owned sex toy shops tend towards the well-lit and clinical in an effort to make their clientele feel safe, Coco De Mer is dolled up like a Victorian boudoir. There's nothing unsavory about the shop - it appears an oasis of luxurious unabashed sensuality and revels in the range of pleasures of the mind and flesh. The shop has since blossomed into a virtual community, complete with startlingly gorgeous photographs...
...arty explicit short films, user-generated dressing-room images, and an online storefront filled with delightful, if expensive, treats. Longing for a $170 sustainable silk organza blindfold? Or handmade Paul Seville custom leather restraint gauntlets? Coco De Mer provides. 
After having my senses thoroughly tickled by my visit to Coco De Mer, I wandered over to Filament, the site of a brand new ladies' magazine out of the UK, on the recommendation of Seattle artist Libby Bulloff. I was intrigued by a line from the editor's note... "We stand at the back of the male strip revue on a hen night, looking past the oiled, muscle-bound hunks, checking out the narrow-hipped lads behind the bar." I ordered the magazine straight away. 
I found the publication to have a refreshingly candid air, with blush-inducing stories and alluring photo spreads alongside articles about atheist parenting and alternative history. Creatrix Suraya Sidhu Singh used a Livejournal community to research the female gaze ~ and so the mantra of "what women think is hot" guided her image choices, and common sense guided her content choices. Her promise: no fashion, no diets, no celebrity gossip. What a relief ~ I'll definitely be looking forward to Filament #2.
A little cheeky diversion is always a good thing, in my humble opinion.
7.06.2009
Literate Smut
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6 comments:
Dirty, dirty girl, but how lavish all this looks.
It's a shame how "porn", and all its awkward lurching of fleshy automatons stilted for scrutiny under horrid utilitarian lighting, is the norm on the Interwebs. It has long been the same in print and video versions too no doubt. There's little worse than a mechanical striptease carrying on to boredom in soulless extreme close ups.
"Erotica", which I'll distinguish by its style, artistry, and cultivation, though by no means necessarily above shocking and primal, is overshadowed by the ease in which standard porn is produced, that is, get a camera and find a room, hire some nude people (chemistry be damned), and inspect the robotic proceedings (more moaning please)... Upload and done!
There is something of a smutty renaissance happening over the last few years that fuels this low-hanging-fruit affair of cheap and ugly online porn. Thankfully, groups of fringe artists are bound to emerge and counter such bland movements of popular culture regardless of the medium.
CoCo de Mer definitely seems to fit this inevitable mold-breaking reaction. Some others of (NSFW) note are:
POLITICAL, SOCIAL, & ALTERNATIVE:
Violet Blue's Tiny Nibbles
STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS:
Tokyo Undressed
INTELLIGENT & ADVENTUROUS:
Reverse Cowgirl
ALL OVER:
Fluffy Lychees
Eros Blog
Sexoteric
Oh, I'm seduced.
*sighs with pleasure*
fun post! made my coffee break more interesting ;D
;o Oh yes....a bit of extasia with my morning marmalade. Thank you ever so much for serving up this tasty morsel.
May have to do a magazine subscribe, too. (Somehow Playgirl just never quite held my interest!)
We've really enjoyed this post over the past week. It's been a fantastic source of discussion for a few different circles. THANK YOU!
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