Academic porn (and sex) studies

[RonTheLogician]

Hey Danny,

Today I ran across a coincidence which I think will much interest you!

You've basically said that you're giving up the long, hard, debt-heavy road to a professional medical career as a pathologist and looking to stay in the porn industry - in whatever role - for the indefinite future. That being so, I wanted to bring your attention to relevant academic material germane to such a career.

Scholars started studying porn seriously at the start of the 1990s, with quite a bit of momentum in place by the dawn of the present century. In looking to document that for you, I discovered that one of the pioneers was no one less than ASU's own Professor Peter Lehman, since 2005 the Director of ASU's Center for Film and Media Research! Find his ASU Web page here.

His first experience in teaching about porn films at ASU were tumultuous, as you can explore by reading the first page of an article from 2006 here, in which he and fellow porn cinema scholar Prof. Linda Williams were interviewed.

It seems that Prof. Lehman attracted the ire of Phoenix-area rabble-rousers after he was mentioned in a 2001 Boston Globe article about the academic study of porn. A copy syndicated by a San Franscisco paper appears here.

Additional supposed reaction to Lehman's work in teaching about this film genre also appears here, on the website of a screwy advocacy group of supernatural believers, who no doubt are appalled that porn even exists - let alone is now seriously studied by academics.

Lehman is the author of many scholarly works in several areas of film studies, including as the editor of Pornography: Film and Culture, issued by Rutgers University Press (2006). Preview this work here. (Aside: Apropos of my earlier remarks about porn and comedy, one chapter in this book is titled Never Laugh at a Man With His Pants Down: The Affective Dynamics of Comedy and Porn, text starting here.) Rutgers profiles the book at length here, and Amazon sells it, with used copies going for $3.50+. Sorry, no e-book version.

I wonder if FTV Rob knows Lehman, don't you?

Lehman and the media school at ASU he created a year earlier is also the subject of an entire 2006 New York Times article here. In it, he explains that We're in a period of massive change and uncertainty. We need a new kind of person in this industry who understands that entertainment and technology are converging, and who is fluent in the concepts and the language of both, which is why ASU is now granting an "EnterTech certificate" under his auspices. Maybe this is something which interests you - or FTV Rob!

In this brave new world of EnterTech, perhaps very long before advances in biology let you have sex with a partner equipped two penises, cost reductions in digital FX will get you do that on screen anyway at an affordable price! Or how about this - imagine digitally cloning your body and having sex with yourself! (If the idea of "twincest" grosses you out, we'll have the script tell a story in which an obsessive lesbian lover gets plastic surgery so that she looks exactly like you - not so very far off the theme of 1992's Single White Female?)

[danielle_ftv]

I'm not sure if Rob knows him or not...but I do find it very interesting that he went to ASU.

Twincest suprisingly enough doesn't "freak" me out. I guess I'm a little too kinky because I do wonder (if I was able to clone myself) if I would also have sex with myself.

[Randolph Carter]

Originally Posted by danielle_ftv

I'm not sure if Rob knows him or not...but I do find it very interesting that he went to ASU.

Twincest suprisingly enough doesn't "freak" me out. I guess I'm a little too kinky because I do wonder (if I was able to clone myself) if I would also have sex with myself.

Well, Danielle - if you're going to clone yourself in order to have sex with yourself, why stop at one clone? How about several, then have an orgy? Just think, all of your "selves" would know exactly what turns on each of your other "selves"! If one was tired, then another could step in and take over! The only problem I could see would be in the domme/sub issue - which Danielle would be the top and which would be the bottom?

[danielle_ftv]

Originally Posted by Randolph Carter

Well, Danielle - if you're going to clone yourself in order to have sex with yourself, why stop at one clone? How about several, then have an orgy? Just think, all of your "selves" would know exactly what turns on each of your other "selves"! If one was tired, then another could step in and take over! The only problem I could see would be in the domme/sub issue - which Danielle would be the top and which would be the bottom?

Each clone would have to take turns as domme/sub. That would be great experience lol.

[RonTheLogician]

Originally Posted by danielle_ftv

Each clone would have to take turns as domme/sub. That would be great experience lol.

Dom? Sub? WTF?
Repeat after me:
DAISY CHAIN!

[Randolph Carter]

Originally Posted by RonTheLogician

Dom? Sub? WTF?
Repeat after me:
DAISY CHAIN!

So if it takes a month to grow a sexually mature Danielle (given new cloning technology and all) and each Danielle clones herself, and so forth...in 31 months there would be 2,147,483,648 Danielle's(s) - that would be one awesome Christmas party! The problem is, which is the original? And would we have to clear off the Asian continent and broadcast the orgy via satellite? And to which Danielle would Isis and Love Bug go to? And why am I wasting my time with stupid speculation like this when Danielle has so many delicious naughty movies on her site?

God, I'm such a nerd sometimes....

I'm gonna go watch some sexy movies instead...

[RonTheLogician]

Originally Posted by danielle_ftv

...Twincest suprisingly enough doesn't "freak" me out. I guess I'm a little too kinky because I do wonder (if I was able to clone myself) if I would also have sex with myself.

Okay, then! When the day comes that we can turn you into a synthespian lesbian, so that you could get it on with yourself, we need a theme song for the feature film. How about the awesome music and visuals of the music video here for Twincest by Le Sexoflex?

[Randolph Carter]

Hi Danielle,

I saw in one of your updates (not sure which one) that you were trying to give up swearing (if I had to go through the day without profanity, I'd last about five minutes - less without coffee...)

Anyway, there was a study done (no link, I'll look it up if you're curious) where students had to plunge one hand into a bucket of *extremely* cold water. The researchers timed them (they could take their hands out anytime) and noted the average time and all that statistical stuff.

Then, they repeated the experiment and told the students they could swear their heads off - no limits, say anything you like. There was a very definite increase in how long they could hold their hands in the freezing water.

The conclusion was that swearing produces a very real response in humans and that it enables us to cope with adverse conditions. Consider any of the cultures on Earth - every one has some sort of cursing!

So...next time you're having a bad day, let loose. Use every bad word you know, plus lots of the really bad ones! It may save your life from a heart attack (bottled-up stress) and put you in a better state of mind, plus it will give you strength to survive the trials of life. Swearing is good for you; science has proven it!

[Anoree]

Now, where's the "I like" button here? Oh, sh...! ...

[Randolph Carter]

Short sex is pretty normal, it turns out

It's not exactly the most romantic statistic: Almost half of all men finish sex within two minutes, reports the New Republic.

Do we get credit for dinner and a movie...? Danielle, this should cut your film budget a LOT, but you'll have to put up ten videos for each one you have now

[RonTheLogician]

Hey Dani,

I've been told that to combat the image of ASU as a "party school," the administration is providing a new, no-charge benefit to all women who enroll in the Barrett Honors College. No longer will these serious, studious coeds have to waste all sorts of valuable time chasing after hot dick, because they'll be able to get all they want from their very own ASU sex robot! Who needs a fuckin' "rabbit" when you can have a whole man? Check out the promotional video here!