Let's Talk About Porn

What is it that attracts us to pornography and how does one tell porn from artistic depictions of hot monkey love? These are the thoughts running through my head this morning after a delish brunch in the North End at the Pompey Cafe.

I subscripe to a fun little magazine called "Unzipped" ---- a sort of "17" or "Tiger Beat" for gay men in honor of the hot porn idols of the moment. I enjoy it for the fun of finding out how folks like Jeff Stryker and Ryan Idol like to spend a rainy day and other fun tidbits of interest regarding gay porn stars. It is their chance to be treated like movie stars. And, I think it only right that porn stars get to be treated like pop idols as our pop idols seem to want to be treated as porn stars of a sort. However, thus far it is still Madonna who deserves a tip-o-the hat for her porn-turn in that nasty big book she did a decade or so ago. Christina, Janet and Brittney are just sad little wanna-be's when it comes to really gettin' down and dirty when one looks at Madonna's sex book. However, no one has pushed the erotic sound barrier more than little Ms. Peaches.

The movie we saw last night def. tried to push a few limits in the sex scene department. I kept asking myself as I watched that movie, if I were a trained actor in a big budget movie --- would I really be willing to lay my head on someone's pubic area to deliver my lines. Obviously, these actors did not mind. And we've all heard about Chloe Sevigney actually giving head to Vincent Gallo in his yet to be released movie. I am really not sure how I feel about all of this.

What with the Super Bowl Boob Incident, Hip Hop videos in general and Showtime movies --- when are we to know when we are seeing pornography or just plain old entertainment? And what of all the violence on the TV as of late. Just the other night while I was munching on chicken salad CBS showed a severed limb on an ad for some detective show. ...Personally, I would have rather seen a boob. But that is just me.

I guess it all boils down to that old sentiment ---- one man's porn is another man's art. Just like one man's shoe is another man's fetish or one man's rubber chicken is another man's sex toy. We humans are a complex bunch. I guess that keeps it interesting.