Midnight Sex Talk

SUNDAY 3rd JULY - SEX & DISABILITY

This week on Midnight Sex Talk we're going where too many people still fear to tread. The general public still avoids the idea of a disabled person having any kind of sexuality whatsoever, or any kind of human needs beyond food, shelter and healthcare.

We'll be hearing from three people about their very different experiences, and Tuppy Owens will be in the studio (straight from Scotland, so please cross all body parts for her plane landing on time!) to talk about her 25 years working with Outsiders, the only organisation in the world that finds friends and partners for those who feel marginalised from the rest of society.

Remember, able-bodied folks and policy wonks, there are literally millions of people who are known as 'disabled', but they are as different from each other as anyone else is. It's a bit like referring to two people as 'Asian', when they may come from places that are thousands of miles apart. In the heyday of Political Correctness, it was suggested (quite forcefully by some) that 'differently abled', or even just 'challenged', should be the preferred terms of choice. It may have made somebody feel better, but it didn't make any of the issues go away.

I hesitated to use the word 'issues' back there, in case you think we're just going to be giving you a worthy sermon on Sunday. Nah - you know us well enough by now. ;-)

If you've got any questions for Tuppy, or thoughts you'd like to share, you can email us anytime, (click on 'Email me' on the left), or text us during the show on 07957 362 182. As always, send us your number and we'll call you back.

Where & When: Sunday 3rd July, 11.30pm-12.30am GMT, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the world.

Thanks to Tuppy for letting us use these images from the Outsiders website. Above, from a picnic in Russell Square; below, the Outsiders 25th Anniversary celebration and fashion show.

BISEXUALITY ROUNDUP

Phew, what a scorcher. I just had to put those rare words in writing, as London's been having one of those sudden hot periods that so many other nations take for granted at this time of year. Upside: you get off the bus to find seventeen thousand women marching in bras. It was the Playtex Moonwalk for breast cancer. Go girls!

Downside: you sleep with the window open, and you hear even more of your neighbour's screeching. If you're really lucky, you get to witness a raging rant when her boyfriend starts to throw up during a blowjob. There were six coppers round there the other night. Judging by the sniggering going on outside the door, maybe they were taking turns.

We had a packed Midnight Sex Talk on Sunday, so packed that I didn't get a chance to go off on one about some of my past experiences. Probably just as well, really. 'Ollie' talked us through life of a bisexual man, and Marc from Bicon told us about this year's bisexual shindig in Worcester, 25-29th August. Any excuse for a party - it's not all about activism. Mind you, as we know, anyone who doesn't have a strict gay-or-straight identity gets their share of attitude, from both sides. We all need a safe space now and again.

Emily Dubberley, very busy author of the recently published Brief Encounters - The Women's Guide To Casual Sex, gave us the lowdown on bi-curiosity.

No show about bisexuality could avoid mentioning David Bowie, and the alleged caught-in-bed-with-Mick-Jagger story, despite the fact that his public declaration in the early seventies can be seen as a bit of a publicity stunt. Whatever whatever, he inspired a lot of people. As did Tom Robinson, who had the balls to sing about being gay long before anyone else did, and then had the even bigger balls to change direction and take the flak for it.

And Dr Who now has a bisexual character, inter-galactic time-traveller Captain Jack Harkness. In a way, how could a time-traveller be anything other than bi? See also: Virginia Woolf's Orlando. SpongeBob Squarepants put in an appearance, as did Top Cat.

Incidentally, if you ever wondered about that difficult line in the Top Cat theme tune, wonder no more.

SUNDAY 19th JUNE - BISEXUALITY

This Sunday, Midnight Sex Talk invites you to swing both ways. Bisexuality, fantasised about by many, despised by certain hard-liners, has inspired PhD writers and philosophers alike. (See the Journal of Bisexuality if you need a hit of academe.)

But is it a state of mind, a choice, or an ongoing attempt to have your cake and eat it? Straight-identified women who play with other women sometimes get a rough time from lesbians. And similar men (strays) who dip into the gay scene tend to cause a bit of despair as well. Bisexuality is often associated with power: furtle in the bi-ographies [arf] of the famous, going back millennia, and you'll find that Empress X or playwright Y usually got it on with both sexes at some point.

And does any of this really matter? A warm available body is a warm available body, surely, no matter what the genital arrangement. And I wonder, in the post-rave/puppy pile years, whether what was previously seen as sexual is now just part of fun-packed human bonding; see, for example, cuddle parties. On the other hand, who am I kidding? Any excuse to cop a feel.

What do you think? How do you identify? You can email us anytime, (click on 'Email me' on the left), or text us during the show on 07957 362 182. As always, send us your number and we'll call you back.

Where & When: Sunday 19th June, 11.30pm-12.30am GMT, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the world.

The Erotic Awards Showcase last week was a great success. I'll be posting a writeup soon.

Here's Kim's portrait of Matthew Glamorre, hosting a party the other night. Francis Bacon eat your heart out!

FRIENDS ROUNDUP

The Midnight Sex Talk studio got well intimate on Sunday night. There was nobody there but us chickens, and Al in virtual form. I was so wired on what appeared to be a triple takeaway macchiato, (I only asked for a single), that my memory is a little hazy.

We noted the usefulness of friends as conduits for teen-years virginity loss, (though it's preferable not to have Zoltan, Hound of Dracula playing in the background), but reckoned that you shouldn't do it with your mates, since if you aren't friends after that you never will be again. Sex comes and goes, but friends are, hopefully, a bit longer lasting. Although 'for life' is often an exaggeration.

Personally, I mourn the loss of those really vulgar, detailed and frequent conversations about sex that I used to have with my girlfriends, once upon a time. They still happen, but a lot less. I wonder if we're falling foul of the culture of secrecy that seems to take over as you get a bit older; pride and shame are very powerful, and it all somehow becomes linked with careers. Plus, throwing your lot in with a long-term relationship can mean that sex takes a back seat. No-one wants to admit that, nor provide details about what measures they may be taking to remedy the situation. [Discuss.]

Al described doing oral sex on a pool table pocket, and advised women to get in with their boyfriend's mates by demonstrating his 'come face'. Heh. And here he is again, fully clothed this time.

The next show's on Sunday 19th June. The theme is Bisexuality. More soon...

THIS IS US

Presenters Tania Glyde and Kim Morgan at Coffee Cake & Kink in Covent Garden. Photo by Roger Merriman.

SUNDAY 5th JUNE - FRIENDS

This Sunday on Midnight Sex Talk, we're going to tackle the environment - your environment, the one you spend more time in than any other. Yep, your friends have more influence over your sex life than you realise.

On the good side, they can weed out the munters and beasts (at least when things get really bad), provide a body part to cry on when you get dumped, and keep the relationship gene pool open by inviting you to their parties.

On the less good side, they either sleep with your intended or ostracise them, gossip about you, or turn on you in unexpected ways when your sexual behaviour violates the unspoken law of The Group.

We'll be hearing from Al Needham, who's in fine form; just like last time, he's got plenty to say! Other guests TBC...

Have you ever slept with a friend and regretted it? Has a friend done the dirty with your lover, in secret? Have you started hiding your new partners from your friends, because you just know they'll disapprove?

Tell us your stories. You can email us anytime, (click on 'Email me' on the left), or text us during the show on 07957 362 182. As always, send us your number and we'll call you back.

Where & When: Sunday 5th June, 11.30pm-12.30am GMT, on Resonance 104.4 FM in London, and on the internet at Resonancefm.com everywhere else in the world.