Saturday 30 October 2010

Public Sex Rampant In Small Town



I found this video by the Young Turks today, and found it hilarious... it started with them mispronouncing 'Puttenham' and went down hill from there.

Being English I can speak with some authority on pronunciation of place names, so for the benefit of Americans and the occasional Canadian, any place name ending with 'ham', the 'h' is silent, and the proceeding vowel is often swallowed. So Tottenham would be pronounced 'Totnam". And 'Shire' is pronounced 'sha' when part of a place name. So Gloucestershire is pronounced 'Glostesha'. See, it's easy.
For the record, I'm sure we fully understand when Americans get this wrong, but fuck, does it make us cringe hearing you struggling with it.

Dogging and the like, I am not such an authority on, but I'll share what local knowledge I have.

I really first became aware of dogging from an employee of mine, he is very young and he and his mates like to drive to dogging spots and wind up the doggers. That's his story and he's sticking to it for the time being. Although I must say, considering they only turn up and flash their headlights and stuff, he seems to have done an amazing amount of research and has an extensive knowledge of the subject!

From what I understand, lots of men turn up at these places hoping to watch people have sex, and possibly join in. Of course, the whole business rather depends on there being a woman on the scene. Essentially this is a voyeur/exhibitionist thing with some swinging thrown in for good measure.

By my understanding, the term 'dogging' dates back to the 1930s and has it's origins in our seaside towns. Voyeurs would take a dog leash and pretend to be walking a dog while actually spying on courting couples making out in the sand dunes.

One can only assume that eventually a voyeur is going to find an exhibitionist... or is it more likely that exhibitionists are going to find voyeurs? After all, I'm pretty sure most men have a fairly wide voyeuristic streak, but either way, I'm pretty sure the dogging thing has been a subculture for a very long time. What has changed is that since the 1930s, more of us have access to motor transport meaning we can more easily get to the local lover's lane, and the internet means people of a like mind can meet each other.

From what I gather though, this is a mainly heterosexual pursuit, the homosexuals engage in 'cruising' which is something different. Although we have been 'fairly' tolerant of homosexuality  for quite a while, it was none-the-less illegal.  And while the police may have turned a blind eye, there were very few gay bars for men to meet each other. So they instead turned to 'cottaging' in public lavatories. As long term relationships were difficult, especially as many homosexual men did what was expected of them and got married and had children, men would just visit for casual sex... and of course, sex with strangers has it's own allure.

I must say at this point that I'm not very PC, I admit it, but I'm not judgemental either. I am just calling it the way I see it,  or repeating what I have heard. So if anybody wants to accuse me of reinforcing false stereotypes of gay men being promiscuous, then go right ahead and make that argument. I'd love to hear it.

So, I can only guess that since public lavatories are generally closed at night, or not provided at all, the poor homosexual community has to do without them sometimes (although at my local park, they used to use these bus-shelter type things that were around the edge of the tennis courts.) Anyway, I'm alluding to the practice of 'cruising', where gay men go to parks and lay-bys for the purpose of meeting people for casual sex.

So, Cenk's comments about the origins of dogging being a result of homosexual persecution are not exactly accurate. It certainly has nothing to do with what is going on now days...

I have two more points to cover, firstly is the part about homosexuals doing it during the day, and heterosexuals doing at night. From what I heard, doggers hate the gay cruisers and it's not unknown for them to chase them off. The reason seems to be that there are two conflicting sets of interests. The doggers are mainly voyeurs with a few exhibitionists, so they have their jollies right there. They just want to be left alone to get on with it, they don't want, and certainly don't need any additional excitement from the risk of being seen, discovered or of the police turning up. They are generally discreet (although it may be a relative term in this context).
Meanwhile, there are homosexual cruisers who like the risk factor, and I suppose, the more you do it, the bigger risks you take. There also seems to be a tradition among some of marking the spot, leaving used condoms and other paraphernalia.

The grievance from the doggers is that the cruisers litter up the place with porn, used condoms and even used needles. And that they are far too blatant, allowing themselves to be seen by passers by and even children. This all leads to the locals making complaints and police making extra patrols.

Yes I know, it's not black and white. I'm sure that not all doggers are otherwise respectable, environmentally aware, middle class Guardian readers. I'm sure there are those that also take drugs, leave litter, flash at passers by and are generally scum bags. Likewise, I'm certain that there are homosexuals that enjoy cruising and yet are completely responsible. Just as there are homosexuals that find the idea of cruising repulsive... I'm not just trying to pigeon-hole anybody, I'm just reporting what I have heard.

The second point I'd like to cover is the idea that the older generation are more tolerant than those that are younger. I can't say I'm in the least surprised! As one old lady once told me, "Your generation think you invented sex, but we were at it like rabbits when we were teenagers".
I like talking to old people, and every once in a while one of them will like to shock you wit a saucy story. Which takes us back to those courting couples in the sand dunes. When I was a teenager, we had house parties, or I could get a room for £20. With my fathers generation, it was the back seat of a MkI Ford Cortina. But back in the 1950s and before that, they'd take a rug and a picnic and have a fumble in the bushes. Heavy petting I believe they used to call it.

So yes, it has been going on a long time. And it is everywhere. When I first heard about it I looked up a dogging site and discovered there were three dogging sites that I drove past on my way home. There was another 400 yrds from where I live, and the car park of the woods where I take my family for a walk every Sunday morning is well known for it in the early hours of the morning. But I have to say, as interesting as all this is, I'm not in the least tempted.

Sunday 3 October 2010

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?

Yes, the cheesy title of this post is a reference to a song, which in a generally cheesy period of time, turned the cheese dial up to eleven. If the title makes you cringe, it did it's job because I'm going to be writing about a subject that makes me cringe.

I tell ya, I swear I'm allergic to country music anyway, it gives me a head ache and severe back pain (no kidding), but the song in question was a truly dreadful example, and it ensured that forever after, no man could ever tell a woman that she had a beautiful body without sounding like a complete twat.

Although you may try and avoid dRama on deviantArt, it cannot have escaped anybody's attention that for every camwhore, there is an army of... sad gits* who follow them, and whose idea of a comment is just as cheesy as 'You have a beautiful body', or 'you have great tits'.

So it kind of makes it very difficult to give compliments to a nude model with out feeling that you are sounding like a prick, and worrying that they will mistake you for a weirdo!

"Does my bum look big in this?"
But what woman doesn't like compliments? Many of the models (including the cam whores) are, I am sure, are itching to get some assurance that they aren't complete munters... or just that their arse isn't huge.

Society is telling women that they should be a size 8 (that's UK size) and that anything else is fat. worse still in my view, is that we are now telling them that their tits should be huge and look fake**. Who is actually deciding this is what a woman looks like?***

Chubby Chaser or boringly normal?
Personally, what I find attractive is a fuller, more rounded figure. I like boobs that are natural preferably large, and I like arses to be in proportion. But Who am I to say what women SHOULD look like? Women come in all shapes and sizes, and men like them in all shapes and sizes -- there shouldn't be a problem. But there is and I don't need to go any further into it, because the women that I'm talking about are saying, "I don't conform to the stereotype, this what I am, here I am naked, I can be beautiful too -- I AM BEAUTIFUL!".

This is a sodding important issue as far as I'm concerned. It is a social problem which is leading to eating disorders and self harming etc. But it's also an Art issue. Art should challenge social conventions, and good art should transform the viewer, or even the subject. When I'm taking photos, what I am trying to achieve is showing that beauty. I also want to mention that I damn well consider the model to be the senior partner in a collaboration too, especially when they have done all the hair, make-up (dieting, exercise), I can hardly take all the credit just because I pressed the button on a camera.

So why this long winded rant? Well, I saw a nice model, an new model. I commented that I hoped we'd see more of her. The photographer hinted that it was a possibility if the photos got some positive reviews.

I'm never wrong
Well, I may be wrong, but this could be one of those times that a model would like some positive compliments to know what she is attractive, beautiful, sexy even? (preferably from someone who doesn't appear to be a pervert)
If not, then I could point to half a dozen models off-the-top-of-my-head that who have straight-out said that by stripping off they are challenging the society's conventions -- basically saying a big woman can be beautiful too.

So here's where I stand.
I'm on dA for the nudes, for the erotic art. I love looking at beautiful women, and I like to see them naked -- when they are naked you see some of the most beautiful bits! If you think that makes me a pervert... then you need to see somebody about your hang-ups. I have nothing against porn, I like porn, I look at porn... I'm not on dA for soft porn, if I want soft porn, I need look no further than my bookmarks.
I AM NOT particularly interested in Fine Art Nudes, as I said I like erotic works, and Fine Art Nudes are usually anything but. (Aside from that, it's a genre that has been around since the invention of the camera and I feel it's a little stale).
And as I prefer erotica to fine art, I'm in no great hurry to convince anyone to strip down to their birthday suit, It's far easier to be sexy, saucy, a tease when you have some clothes on.

Now that I have covered that, I think I can finally say...
"You have a beautiful body, nice tits, a great arse and I enjoyed seeing you naked!"
And now... you can put your clothes back on if you feel you made your point and would rather do something else, thats fine by me. If you want to do more nude stuff, I certainly won't complain, let me know so I can add you to my watch list****.
But on balance, I'd like to hear that the experience gave you a more positive image. I hope it does.

That's all folks -- apart from the footnotes.

* I'm going to have to think of an abusive nickname for them. Suggestions welcomed.

** I was told by the owner of a large fashion chain that they stock size 8 and 10 because that's what the fashion world says should be the norm, even though they don't fit anybody. He said they then make their money selling accessories because a bag is a bag and will fit any ol' slapper. But he also told me that even the size 8s and 10s can't get into the clothes now because they are having boob jobs.

*** He gladly talked about menswear which was his thing, but when I asked him about women's wear he told me that he 'fucking hates women' even though, he assures me, he isn't queer. It did occur to me that this isn't the ideal kind of person to to have an influence.

**** This reminded me of a joke:-
An attractive woman goes to the doctor because her very large breasts are aching. The doctor asks her to strip to the waist but she is very embarrassed because her breasts are so large. The doctor says, "I am a doctor, a trained professional". She tells him again that she is really self concious. He says that she hasn't got anything she hasn't seen before, so she makes him promise not laugh or be surprised or to stare and he agrees. So she undresses and her huge full breasts flop out and the doctor yells, "Whey-Hey!".(Boys will be boys!)

Friday 1 October 2010

GetWatchers.com

I have gone viral, but not in a way I would have liked. I seem to have some kind of nasty throat virus, I have a fever and I'm more sodding grumpy than normal, but I make no appologies, firstly because if I wasn't a grumpys sod I probably wouldn't have much interesting to say, and secondly because I'm going to have a go at cat lovers, who deserve everything they get.

So anyways, I signed up to GetWatchers.com. I'm loving it, it adds a whole new dimention to deviantArt. Yeah, it works, I'm getting lots of page views, comments, favourites, and a few watchers at a time when I'm not submitting new work and expect to be very quiet. But I'm not a pageview whore, and I wouldn't be doing it just for that... although I admit I am enjoying testing strategies and tick-tacks which I will keep to myself for the time being.

What I'm really enjoying is being exposed to a BETTER selection of works. You only see stuff by other people signed up for it, and obviously if they are taking the time to put their best 10 works forward, you are filtering out a lot of the blah. So as a general rule the quality is much higher than you'd get. And there is so much stuff on dA that normally I just browse the catagories I'm particuarly interested in, and there ain't enough hours in the day for that. But with GetWatchers, you get a nice selection of stuff although you can filter out a few topics so you can avoid all of the awful fan-art, Manga and vampire shite.

So yeah, I have seen some great stuff. The skyscapes are amazing, what's not to like -- I bet they are popular. And I love flowers and blossoms as you can tell by my blog (I am hetrosexual by the way). And some of the macro shots are simply mind blowing.

But what is with the fucking cats?
Okay, so we shouldn't be totally surprised, I remember as far back as about 1994 saying that half the pictures on the interwebs were of porn, and the other half were of sad weirdos and their cats. And you can expect 'sensitive' people to be both into cats and have delusions of being arty, so a disproportianate number of cats isn't a mind blowing revelation. But some of these pictures are by talented people!

As an example, a couple of times I have found myself looking at people's galleries and they have some really great work, often a wonderful variety of portaits, landscapes, skyscapes, night shots, macros, character studies... all of which I'd give and eight or nine (on a day I'm feeling less grumpy), and then there are a load of cat pictures! Don't get me wrong, they are well taken pictures, in focus and all that, but nothing special... it's as if having a cat in them is enough! It's like they love their cat, we should fall in love on sight also, and that is the point of the picture. Well, I frigging hate cats, as did my father and his father before him, evil bloody things that creep up on you and leave mice in your bed.

Frankly, you see one cat and you've seen them all. It's not even like you are showing us any funny LOL cats.

And then it struck me, isn't this what the APEs say about nudes? "Seen one, seen them all", "It's a pair of boobs, get over it" and "I don't want to see your body, how is it artistic?". I may be onto something, but I'd rather be highly sexed and into nude women than be a fridged cat lover, so I'm not going to waste any energy analysing it.

Anyway, GetWatchers.com is highly recommended, don't be put off by the cats.