Midnight Sex Talk

NEXT SHOW SUNDAY 5TH DECEMBER - SEX, BOOZE AND SPIKING

It's the party season, and what better subject than inebriation, and all the terrible, regrettable, hilarious things you've done when off your face. Had the boss in a cupboard? Woke up in a Swindon B&B with three squaddies and a bin bag? Tell all! Your own pissed-up tales of shame, or somebody else's. We will be! [Subject to legal approval].

There's a darker side too, when someone else has decided the only way to get his way with you is to slip something in your drink. It happens; it seems to be happening more; or maybe it's just being reported more often. Either way, it stinks. If you've got a story to share, drop us a line.

Guests to be confirmed. Watch this space...

WHERE: Resonance 104.4 FM if you're in London, or click here to listen online.

WHEN: This Sunday night, December 5th, 11:30pm to 12:30am GMT.

INTERACTIVE! Email us your stories! And if you want to talk live on air, email us your phone number and we'll call you back. As usual, there's a PRIZE! for the best caller.

You can listen to our last show, and the rest, here!

SHOW ROUNDUP #5 - DOES SIZE MATTER?

Payback time! In a last-minute change to the advertised line-up, Annie Blinkhorn sadly couldn't make it, due to encroaching flu, so it was just me and three geezers. Blimey. Heh.

First of all, we had a pop at Erotica, who for some reason decided we at Midnight Sex Talk were not worthy to attend their classy event which had a FULL NUDITY LICENCE(!!!), but only on the press night, we hear. The first one, in 1997, was fun and silly in a Benny Hill kind of way. I went last year, and it had become a trade fair, and a grim one at that.

Compare and contrast with the Custard Massacre we attended on Saturday night, in a living room in Deptford. Now that was special. It's A Knockout meets the best in live webcam action. No photos, sorry. ;-)

As for the Size Issue, we pulled this one around and back and forth, going from body types to bits and back again. No-one can deny they have a preference, although I must note that Paul and Timon were particularly open in theirs...

Interestingly, when we asked around before the show, everyone instantly assumed we were talking about penis size, and penis size only. So here's a chart, for your private use. And, at the risk of coming over all Eurotrash, have a look at the world's biggest origami penis. Some very dodgy photoshop going on there, I reckon. But, in the name of god, why?

Conclusion: size can be nice at times, but whatever size you are, or however un-average, there's someone out there for you. Aaaah... When it's up, you can download (50 meg) the show here.

And here are three cool events to check out if you're in London:

Rudegirls 2nd birthday party, Friday 26th November, 10-3am. Girls-only night at Protokol, 157 Commercial Street E1, with pole dancing, playroom, live acts, you name it. £12. Dressing up mandatory - 'NO EFFORT NO ENTRY'!

Subterfuge at Charterhouse Bar, 38 Charterhouse St EC1, Sunday 28th November. Free! Lots of acts including the Poet Pokeit + Ms T Witt; a queer cabaret; and a fashion Show from 'Charles of London'. 'Dress code - punk, glam, rubber, leather - make an effort!'

Immodesty Blaize & The Adventures Of Walter at Wiltons Music Hall, Grace's Alley E1, 1st-4th December. 6.30pm for 8.45pm show. £20/£25. I've seen this show - it's great. Glammed-up vaudevillian naughtiness; 'Moulin Rouge meets Chicks on Speed'. IB & Walter are two of the best burlesque acts around, and Wiltons should be the perfect venue for the show. 'Dressing up positively encouraged'.

NB: Please note the DRESS UP! thread running through all this: if I see much more sub-bling 'designer' [ick!] leisurewear goofing around London, I may go postal.

NEXT SHOW SUNDAY 21ST NOVEMBER - DOES SIZE MATTER?

This week, Midnight Sex Talk will be tackling (fearlessly, mind!) the issue of SIZE. Is yours big enough? How big do you like your [insert favourite body part here]? Can personality ever be more important than girth, or cup size? Can you spread butter with a toothpick?

Many experts (cough!) have toed a politically correct line on this one, declaring that that size doesn't matter, be it penis, vagina, breasts or the whole body, and that it's all about personality. Hmmmm. Anecdotally, we're not so sure about this, and we want to know what you think.

To help things along, we've got a sparkling panel: Annie Blinkhorn, ex-Independent columnist, Timon, deputy editor of Erotic Review, and Paul Lawrence of Slit.

WHERE: Resonance 104.4 FM if you're in London, or click here to listen online. If you haven't listened that way before, have a furtle beforehand - there's nothing worse than frantically clicking buttons and wondering why there's no sound coming out.

WHEN: This Sunday night, November 21st, 11:30pm to 12:30am GMT.

INTERACTIVE! We want to hear from you. Email us! If you want to talk live on air, send us your phone number and we'll call you back. As usual, there's a prize for the best caller.

And last week's show is now online!

SHOW ROUNDUP #4 - THE FUTURE OF PROSTITUTION

And what a fine crew we had in the studio. The final lineup (see the post below for links) was Tuppy Owens, campaigner; UkRudeGirl, good old fashioned sexual adventurer; and Jahnet Delight, tantric sex teacher specialising in delayed ejaculation. Poor Kim - four feisty women in such a small space.

We started by celebrating Tuppy's forthcoming 60th (!) birthday. This, by my reckoning, gives her up to forty years as a campaigner. Go girl, we say. And Eros London calls her a 'living saint'. Blimey!

We all agreed that public (read 'media') attitudes to sex work have changed a lot in the past decade, not least influenced by the Julia Roberts movie Pretty Woman (yuck) in 1990, and in the UK, to a lesser extent perhaps, by Kay Mellor's rather more worthwhile Band of Gold in 1995. Both these examples portray extremes, and not the middle-ground, down to earth choices that many women are making. The late twenties in particular seems to be a time when some women decide that working for someone in an office, having their hours, their earnings and their futures controlled by others, is not for them. I'm well aware that there are ironies to that last statement, but it is a decision pondered by many, even if all of them don't finally take the plunge.

Check out the Sexual Freedom Coalition's Proposal to the Home Office about changes in the law regarding sex work. Of course, some, such as the artist Sebastian Horsley, say that if you take away the hypocrisy and the stigma, you'll have nothing left and the thrill will be gone. His piece is well argued, but that's fine if you're the one with the money. And anyway, the proposals are about decriminalisation, support and healthcare - not expensive brothel registration and heavy state control.

All in all, an excellent show. Oh, and we performed, let's say, a gesture of solidarity. Currently no webcam, sorry! I said currently.

ANOTHER NOTE ON DOWNLOADING THE SHOW

We've had a few reports of downloads stalling part way through, and sometimes not starting at all. Please bear with us. Someone is doing some tech fiddling, and things should be OK soon.

If you're still seeing problems in a couple of days, please email us at the address down on the left.

Thanks!

NEXT SHOW THIS SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER - THE FUTURE OF PROSTITUTION

Call it sex work, call it what you like, there are thousands of people selling sex for a living in this country, but the lawmakers still can't decide what to do with them. What comes over as supposed 'protection' often ends up as a waste of valuable government funds. But the real bottom line is - no-one's going to stop paying for sex anytime soon, are they? Are you?

In the studio this week we're privileged to have pioneer and campaigner Dr Tuppy Owens who, among many other things, is the driving force behind the Sexual Freedom Coalition, the Erotic Awards, the Night Of The Senses and Outsiders, the charity that helps disabled people find love and friendship. She's bringing a crew with her which, at the time of writing, may consist of Kay of Goodgrrls, the famous Ukrudegirl, and possibly someone else too!

This lot know what they're talking about, so it should be an interesting night.

WHERE: Resonance 104.4 FM on your radio if you're in London, or click here to listen online.

WHEN: This Sunday night, November 7th, 11:30pm to 12:30am GMT.

INTERACTIVE! We want to hear from you. Do you pay for sex? How do you feel about people selling sex in general? Maybe you work in the sex industry yourself - do you think the law is adequate? Email us! There's a link in the left hand column. If you want to talk live on air, email us your phone number and we'll call you back.

NB: There's a PRIZE for the best caller - every week!

ErotICA AT THE ICA - THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE?

Just thought I'd round this one up. This two-dayer of talks and performance on the state of sex in Britain - or at least the media side of it - had the press going a bit. Apparently it 'split the art world in two'. or something. (eh?)

I sat on the panel for part one, How To Set Up A Sex Zine (see below), which got lots of interest for Slit. We all agreed on how difficult it is to do good porn for straight women, and how generally below par a lot of the efforts have been.

The following morning I was delighted to be asked, at the last minute, to come back and chair the second half of part two, the main debate on the lamentable state of British pornography. What struck me about it all was that not that many years ago we would have been sitting there debating whether British pornography should exist in the first place.

As it turned out, there were quite a few drop-outs, including Ovidie and Rod Liddle, the former having boosted ticket sales no end, no doubt. In their place were Pete Ayrton of Serpent's Tail and Annie Blinkhorn, who is sure to be appearing on Midnight Sex Talk sometime soon. Roy Stuart showed a one of his films, and Toure Munthe, by day a Middle East specialist (!), gave us the French angle on it all.

We agreed that UK porn is a bit rubbish, partly because we do not policitise or intellectualise sex the way the French do, and partly due to the critical savaging meted out to anyone attempting to portray sex in a serious way. Too much ironic distance, that's us. The intelligent gentleman in the front row (ie Kim) asked some good questions, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Must say though that ninety minutes is tough on the bladder, and anyone needing a top-up of alcohol or a fag.

So, as it was Great Britain what gave the world Benny Hill and Finbarr Saunders, it was really 'the thin end of the wedgie'. Fnarr! Jesus, sorry. QED.