Welcome to the Kinky Librarian leg of the “A Year of Sex: Tales from New York City’s Erotic Underground” virtual book tour! When Mia Martina contacted me asking if I’d like to read her first book and cover it on my blog, I was intrigued. Someone had suggested to her that since I have experience in NYC sex parties that I might find her book particularly interesting, and indeed I did. I want to bug her for the scoop on just which parties these were, as she of course doesn’t identify specific parties or people.
Mia’s book starts off with the explanation that she had just split from her first boyfriend (she had been living exclusively lesbian before he came along). To distract herself from heartache and try to hasten the healing process, she decides to spend a year exploring all sorts of sex parties around New York City, where she was living at the time.
Her tales are hot, erotic and also pretty realistic. She doesn’t sugar coat how awkward parties can be sometimes, but she also shares just how debaucherous they can be. This isn’t just a collection of her erotic experiences though, it’s also a tale of growth. I feel like I’ve gotten to know Mia better through reading her book. Swinging, kink, open relationships, love are just some of the topics explored. It’s well written, not simply salacious.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mia a couple of times in New York. She was Miss January in the 2010 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar and attended the party. I think prior to that I met her at one of the In The Flesh readings. My first impression of her is that she’s a pretty blonde in that “girl-next-door” kind of way and also incredibly sweet. She is NOT a woman you would expect to be doing bdsm with a new couple at a sex party. I think that’s part of why her tale is fascinating. It’s also why I’m glad she has shared it. Sluts and kinksters are multifaceted people. They can be very sweet and pleasant but also get down to some dirty things. Being nice and being a perv are not mutually exclusive things, but if you read this blog you’re already familiar with that concept.
“A Year of Sex” is available currently as an ebook. It’s a quick read, but one I will want to read again.
I first heard about queerporn.tv while at one of the last In the Flesh readings here in NYC. Tina Horn was there passing out stickers with the web address and talking up the not-yet-launched site. (Note: I would gladly fuck Tina Horn. She’s a damn cute and sexy dyke. Rowr. But I was there with Blondie and thought flirting would be inappropriate. She didn’t seem particularly interested in me anyway.)
Months later, on formspring I answered a question about “Who would play you in a porn of your life?” I was at a loss to answer since so many mainstream porn actresses look nothing like me other than they’re white. After my non-answer showed up on twitter, sex educator and blogger @ShannaKatz helpfully suggested Jolene Parton (@jolenestarshine), Courtney Trouble (@courtneytrouble) or April Flores (@fatty_d). I was familiar with April, but didn’t feel she looks like me, I was less familiar with Courtney and hadn’t heard of Jolene. After Courtney saw her name tweeted, she replied and soon I got set up with a free month each for two hot queer porn sites she’s appeared on/involved with. (Jolene replied too. Nice ladies. Even though I’m far less chubby than I used to be, I think Courtney could do an excellent job being me in a porn.)
QueerPorn.tv was launched several months ago. I like how “queer porn” is so inclusive – even if they include a M/F porn video, it’s still queer because the performers are queer and don’t necessarily fit society’s ideal for gender expression, body type, or binary sexual/gender orientations, etc.
I first watched a little of Sophia St.James and Quinn Valentine. Where else are you going to see a large, voluptous, sexy, dark skinned lady with a skinny white queer boy. It was hot. I love how gloves and lube featured just like they’d be used in real life – a big deal wasn’t made, they were just used. I like how some porn sites (like the two I’m talking about today, or kink.com’s many sites) put safer sex in the film and are therefore a good role model for the sluts of the world. If you have your safer sex supplies set out before you start fucking, it’s barely a blip to take a moment to don gloves or a condom. Quinn got his ass played with and it reminded me of the reactions you can get from stroking a man’s prostate. Rowr.
I felt like I really hit gold with the video of Courtney Trouble and Scout. I watched the whole thing, hand wandering into my shorts. I like porn that features real sex, not simulated moans and orgasms. The sex between Courtney and Scout was impulsive, loaded with slaps, smiles, laughs, and orgasms. I liked that both of them enjoyed slapping and punching the other. Being in a strictly D/s situation I can forget that partners can BOTH like a little pain or roughness. The video featured everything from fingering Courtney’s juicy cunt to Courtney sucking and choking on Scout’s glitter cock. I got to see Courtney fucked with the substantial Njoy Eleven, and Scout went down on it as it was in Courtney’s cunt. There was lots of spit and mutual slapping. And Scout fucked Courtney but good with their cock a few times. (The site uses gender-neutral words for Scout, I’m trying to keep that up here out of respect for the performer.) I love a good fucking with hair pulling. You can see the trailer below.
I definitely suggest checking out QueerPorn.tv’s manifesto. It’s awesome. (As is nofauxxx.com’s mission statement.)
NoFauxxx.com is the older of the two sites, serving up quality queer porn since 2002.
There’s loads of video and photo sets here. (Found one with Audacia Ray when she was a “professional naked lady”, as I think she puts it.) I watched April Flores and Dylan Ryan in Girl Lust. It was a hot femme/femme scene with April calling up a service for a leggy brunette and Dylan showing up. I think I’ve seen Dylan Ryan in mostly non-explicitly femme roles, so seeing Dylan as a femme was different. I watched them take turns making the other come using the Njoy Eleven. This was so. fucking. hot. Dylan squirted at the end and it was cute when April held up a silver tray to catch it.
These sites make me want to do queer porn myself. You can sample NoFauxxx.com for 5 days (for $9.99) or 15 days (for $16.99). There’s a few bulk pricing options so you may want to look at that to see what length of time would suit you best. QueerPorn.tv has fewer options, probably as it’s still fairly new and picking up steam. Looks like you can expect to pay about $29.99 a month for QueerPorn.tv.
Welcome to Pleasurists, a round-up of the adult product and sex toy reviews that came out in the last seven days. If you like what you see and want more of it be sure to follow our RSS Feed and Twitter.
Did you miss Pleasurists #129? Read it all here. Do you have a review for Pleasurists #131? Be sure to read the submission guidelines and then use the submission form to submit before Sunday May 22nd @ 11:59pm Pacific.
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The latest addition to my ever-growing cache of sex toys is the Fun Factory Duke. I’ve been getting various prostate stimulating plugs over the years in the hopes of finding one MasterDoc really likes. This seems to be the one.
Others we’ve tried haven’t been firm enough, or thick enough, or shaped to really press against the prostate. The unusual shape of the Duke fits the male anatomy like no other toy we’ve tried. (Plus it’s fun to pretend it’s a sea monster when it’s not in use. I’m a dork, I know.) It’s made of firm, yet pliable silicone (and thus is sterilizable, always desirable in a butt toy) with a removable, rechargeable vibrator. The vibrator has three intensities and three patterns. The power button is a bit small and hard to press, but not significantly so. It seems the vibe is strong enough to make the vibration a real asset. Battery-powered plugs always seem to come up short on power. MasterDoc likes the vibration on this one. The vibrator is easy to remove, a problem when cleaning other silicone/vibe combination toys, but it doesn’t slip out.
The outer bit is convenient to press against the perineum. It takes some time and gentle work to get the Duke in (we used lube of course) but the shape fills up the rectum and provides pressure on the prostate gland. (Prostate massage is not only stimulating for a man, but also good for his prostate health.)
The charger has a cute, gimicky “click ‘n’ charge” connector. The charging ports are magnetic and the charger clicks on to the toy. It lights up when it’s charging and the light goes off once it’s fully charged.
I’ve seen good sex toys and bad ones, this is one of the best. It has already gone into regular rotation in our play. I feel like our prostate plug search is over!
My first impression is that the Aurora is designed to compete with Lelo products such as the Elise. It is a rechargeable vibrator that comes with a charging cradle. It looks attractive sitting in the cradle, while the leafy cutout design in the vibrator’s base lights up various colors. The shaft of it is silicone, so it’s body-friendly and easy to clean thoroughly.
I wanted to love the Aurora. I certainly don’t hate it but I have a few reservations. The shaft is a nice size – I compared it to the Elise because it’s much longer and thicker than the Lelo Liv or Gigi. The shaft is triangularly shaped – as if the triangle rotates as it goes down the shaft. (i.e., The triangle shape isn’t straight along the shaft.) Some women may like the angular ridges, but I found it uncomfortable. They aren’t sharp edges, but to my sensitive cunt they very well could have been. However, when a flat side is pressed against your pussy externally, MasterDoc pointed out that the vibe is perfectly shaped to hug your labia around it.
While used externally, the vibration isn’t bad but a side by side comparison of the Aurora and my Lelo Liv shows that they are not the quite same strength. The vibrations of the Aurora are somewhat muffled by the thick silicone body. (Note: I don’t own the Lelo Elise so I can’t try a direct comparison of those two.) But the difference isn’t huge, and this is definitely superior to a battery-operated toy in terms of intensity. The handle is easy to grip – the base is slightly flanged on one side. The three buttons are: increase vibration, on/off/change pattern and decrease vibration. The patterns aren’t bad but as I’ve discovered in speaking to various women, most of us don’t give a flying *ahem* about patterns. Still, the leafy part changes color for each pattern, so unlike most toys it would be easy to remember and set your favorite.
The buttons don’t get accidentally pushed as easily as the older Lelo buttons, which is a plus. I was hoping I’d look up the price and find it a good bit less than a comparable Lelo, but there’s only a difference of about $10. The packaging is attractive and better than cheap sex toys, but it’s nowhere near as luxurious as Lelo’s boxing. (I re-use my Lelo boxes for storing little things. This toy’s light cardboard box, while pretty, is not going to be kept around.) The Aurora is a good toy, but it’s not going to take me away from my favorite Lelo toys. If you think the shape would feel good to you, definitely try the Aurora. But for the most part I’d spend my money on a Lelo. Still, with more companies making rechargeable vibes with silicone bodies, I’d say we sex toy consumers can only benefit. I look forward to X-tassie’s future efforts.
Sex toys were provided free of charge from sextoy.com in return for an honest review. I received no other benefits for doing this review.You can find the Aurora and other vibrators at SexToy.com.
Welcome to Pleasurists, a round-up of the adult product and sex toy reviews that came out in the last seven days. For updates and information follow our RSS Feed and Twitter.
Did you miss Pleasurists #110? Read it all here. Do you have a review for Pleasurists #112? Be sure to read the submission guidelines and then use the submission form and submit it before Sunday January 1st @ 11:59pm Pacific.
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I never wanted to try a rabbit-style vibrator before. Truthfully, I was a bit scared of the idea of so much commotion.Vibrating rabbit ears? Wobbly head? Revolving pearls? For someone that prefers simple, one-speed clitoral stimulation to get off, this doesn’t exactly sound pleasant. I’d never even thought to try one, since the price point to jump in is usually pretty high. What if I didn’t like it? What if the shaft is too thick, or hurts when inside? Nope, nope–not the risk.
Or so I thought.
Ed. note: While the review itself is definitely well-written and engaging what really won me over were the pictures. Take a look!
When I saw the wand controller on offer from Babeland I jumped at the chance to review it. Who wouldn’t want to have variable speed for their Hitachi Magic Wand at the tips of their fingers? The Magic Wand is awesome, but you have only two speed settings. I know from using the sybian that having the speed of vibration varied can really add to the experience. The wand controller also adds a little to the length of your cord.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped. The wand controller is basically a rheostat. It does, indeed, vary the speed but the huge disappointment is that the highest setting on the wand controller is much weaker than the highest setting the Magic Wand is capable of. Control over the settings is good, having a weaker vibe because of it is not. MasterDoc and I were both perplexed as to why it would sap so much power from the wand as a rheostat should just provide variability. He played around with the settings on the controller, but never did it reach the intensity of the Magic Wand by itself. This experiment was so disappointing that we haven’t used it again. It is still plugged in next to the bed, but not being used.
Babeland is a quality store, so I was bemused to find them selling such a clunker of a toy. But considering how many wonderful things they offer, an occasional dud is sure to happen. It is possible that ours is defective, but I don’t want to go to the trouble of trying a replacement, until someone else tells me their experience with it was different. The reviews I’ve found elsewhere don’t lead me to believe mine is defective. Some people would like the wand controller though, and it’s those who find the Magic Wand too intense. But if you’re a connoisseur of “weapons-grade” sex toys, you will not like this.
I rarely say this about something Babeland carries, but save your money. Don’t get the wand controller.
Welcome to Pleasurists, a round-up of the adult product and sex toy reviews that came out in the last seven days. For updates and information follow our RSS Feed and Twitter.
Did you miss Pleasurists #105? Read it all here. Do you have a review for Pleasurists #107? Be sure to read the submission guidelines and then use the submission form and submit it before Sunday December 5th at 11:59pm PST.
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With the holiday season just around the corner, there are some products that were fantastic when I first got them and reviewed them, but unfortunately they haven’t lasted the test of time. I’d like to update you, my readers, on these products now that I’ve had them a while.
Oh how I loved this! It was like a low setting Hitachi without a cord. We’d bring it with us to parties and clubs all the time. I was totally in love with it until…. it stopped holding a charge. Within several months of getting it it was totally useless. It’s been in a dresser drawer since. I’m totally disappointed.
- For Your Nymphomation Adult Toy Chest / and FYN Cane Case (Both of these were purchased, not review items)
The shoulder strap came off one end of the cane case (and doesn’t seem to be fixable) and the handle is pulling away from the toy chest. FYN’s cases are fantastic in general concept, but unfortunately don’t seem to hold up to regular use. We’ve had to stop using the side handle on the toy box and use only the top one, however even that is starting to pull away too – this is just a few months after getting the toy chest. (Here’s reviews of the Adult Toy Box and Big Foot, which I don’t use often and haven’t yet had problems with.) It’s a shame because just a year ago I was suggesting FYN cases for holiday gifts. I’ve been told that newer ones are reinforced at the handle, plus there’s now a backstrap for the adult toy chest – but these don’t help if you get an earlier run of the product.
This was fantastic for a long time, but recently it broke. (This is about a year and a half after we got it.) I wouldn’t say not to buy it as it’s inexpensive, and we did get over a year of heavy use with it.
Some products weren’t given rave reviews to begin with, but since these started out so well and ended up nearly or completely useless I wanted to give an update. As with anything, buyer beware.
I’ve never been a fan of rabbit vibrators. The one I tried years ago barely gave any clitoral stimulation, and as much as I love penetration I mostly come from clit stimulation during masturbation. When I saw Lelo come out with the Ina I wondered, would this maker of fine sex toys make a rabbit-style vibe I’d like? I recently had the chance when they asked bloggers to review products from their new Insignia line. Lelo sent me the Soraya – an aesthetically pleasing version of the rabbit (no cutesy animals, just an insertable vibrator with a nub to rest against your clit).
The Soraya is the one in the middle.
The new Insignia toys have an open loop that you can grip more easily. Slippery, short handles were a problem with their first vibes. (But they felt so good I’d just grin and bear the flaws!) Another issue was that the buttons were ridiculously easy to push – by accident. Nothing like being in mid masturbation, approaching orgasm, only to have the vibration pattern suddenly change. While the buttons are still simple with the Insignia line, there’s more space to hold onto without pressing the buttons. But it’s still possible to hit them accidentally.
Like many Lelo toys, the Soraya is made of body-friendly silicone. It’s velvety smooth and really easy to clean. The core is ABS plastic. The nub vibrates on its own – there’s actually a motor in there. You can select to have both vibrators working – the one at the tip of the insertable part and the one in the nub – or you can have one or the other going at any time, OR you can have the toy alternate between the two.
The Soraya is the first rabbit-type vibe I’ve liked. While clitoral stimulation will always rule the day for my masturbation sessions, the Soraya feels damn good. Blondie used it on me and got me off with no problem. It’s waterproof, which caused some confusion when they were first sent out – the charger port was a mystery. But there is a small divot in the base of the toy where you can permeate the silicone skin and plug in your charger. The silicone, for the most part, seals itself up when you take the charger out. (I can see a tiny opening in mine, but Lelo says it’s not enough to render the toy non-waterproof. I haven’t tried the toy in the shower.)
The Soraya comes in Lelo’s signature packaging – a sturdy box with insert to hold the toy, charger plug (for your country of origin), satin storage bag and the warranty. The Insignia line apparently comes with a pin of the logo (like an infinity sign with an extra loop) but I haven’t found the point to that. Overall, I like this toy just like I’ve liked every other Lelo toy I’ve tried (and I’ve tried several!).
The only problem I’ve ever had with a Lelo toy (besides aforementioned slippery handle and easily pressed buttons) is that my Gigi, only several months old, recently started to vibrate loudly and sound like something’s rattling inside. I’m going to send it in for a repair or replacement. The Gigi was my favorite Lelo toy until I got the Siri last week for my birthday. I just keep finding a new favorite Lelo toy!
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