Scatology by Mark Cecula

SCATOLOGY SERIES; SET I, 1993 porcelain, stainless steel


SCATOLOGY SERIES; SET V, 1993 porcelain, stainless steel



Series of sculptures by polish artist/designer Mark Cecula.
via http://new-art.blogspot.com

Monkey Rocker

(custom version)


I have a keen interest in the non-electrical, homegrown, finely crafted side of the "interactive body toy" design field.
Here is one particular piece of furniture, called the Monkey Rocker, which has piqued my curiosity.


Initially created as a one-off home project by Dan Siechart for his wife, this completely mechanical contraption hit the market and seems to be a favorite with porn models, gynecologists, and regular joes (see reviews).

It's safe for either vaginal or anal play. Here is how it functions:


thanks to the Museum of Sex and the Sex Machines book.

Structure for Birds

Photography series, Structure for Birds, by artist Axel Antas, exhibited at the LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijon, Spain.

from we-make-money-not-art:

Axel Antas' Structure for Birds were photographed in the Catalan Pyrenees. In this interventions within the landscape, the artist built delicate structures for birds on top of cliffs reaching into the sky. They look poetically absurd and fragile, lost in a landscape that seem endless and about to swallow them.

Feminism and BDSM article

I am curious about the intersection of feminist thought and female submission in BDSM. A couple years ago I had an illuminating email correspondence with an L.A. couple (via alt.com, they went by this pseudonym "trisexuality" and disappeared after a little while, I'm still trying to track them down) regarding the presence of a parasitical dominant-leaning mentality pervasive within capitalist culture which scorns the pleasure of the submissive as something of a lowly/invalid nature.

Here's part of what they wrote:

'[Within a capitalist framework], every person is driven to compete, to earn wealth, and to climb up the leadership hierarchy as far as they are able. In our American society, this is even more directly manifest in the system of corporatized capitalism - where the hierarchy is explicit in the form of the corporate management pyramid...

'One of the intrinsic assumptions of the capitalistic framework is that everyone is a dominant - or rather, that everyone wants to be a dominant, and that submissives result from those who attempt to be doms, but fail...

'The modern American system has at its heart the idea that competition is eternal. Until recently (approximately the 1980's), the model was one of individual families competing against one another. Daddy works at the office... Mommy runs the household and attempts to augment Daddy's role as the primary competitor by making sure his shirts were better starched than those of his competitors, and that he arrived at work energized by a better breakfast and better behaved happier children being taken off to a better school. This system put women in an eternally subordinate role, and men dominant relative to them because of the external capital framework - which is to say, that because the women did not control capital, they were marginalized. In effect, Daddy was the lowest level of the management hierarchy, and Mommy was the working class.
In our modern world even this has disappeared, and Mommy and Daddy compete even with each other as independent elements of the capital system.'

This post argues that our propensity to compete and dominate others is strongly influenced by ingrained cultural capitalist ideals. I think there is a lot of truth in this. Many people feel shame associated with the discovery of their own basic human desire to relinquish power.

Lately I've become interested in this concept of bliss-in-complete-surrender as something which transcends gender. But it would be good to spell out, entirely- with historical context and psychological baggage issues explained- why certain feminists feel that the practice of BDSM runs counter to the ideals of woman's equality.

Below I have begun to post any relevant snippets that I find on the subject. If anyone can find related articles (sans hyperbole or appeal to pathos) with tight writing and maybe some good citation, please send them my way:

from: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sister/BDSM.html
The final attack leveled at me by other feminists has been, "All hierarchical relationships are in opposition to the principles of feminism. Dominance and submission are necessarily hierarchical."

This argument reeks of the kind of bureaucratic, simplistic intolerance which is born from an unconscious fear of having an ill-intended lover or parent siphon your power. I'll elaborate on this later...

Orca

Zeta Creations markets a number of beautiful penetration toys which bring up complex issues relating to the morality of indulging in bestiality imagery, and promoting sexual scenes with hyper-real animal-genital substitutions.




from zetacreations (at http://www.zoofur.com):

"It is as the title suguests, a toy modeled after that of an Orca whale, it is over 15" without the base. It tapers from 1" near the tip to almost 4" near the base with a gradual increase as you go down the shaft. It has a nice tapered shape and could be used to some extent by practically everyone, it also has veins added in from those we observed and studied from an Orca penis, to give it much more realstic feel and texture. We hope you will enjoy this 1. Just dont blame us if you get carried away and dont walk right for a week ;) "

Vacuum Screamer

from ananova.com:

A US mother-of-three has invented a sex toy that connects to a vacuum cleaner to give an orgasm in just ten seconds.
The gadget, called Vortex Vibrations, works by concentrating the air flow to create a rapid and gentle vibration, reports the Sun.
Inventor Joanne Drysdale claims it can give multiple, back-to-back orgasms lasting up to a minute a time - and it does not even touch the skin.
The 49-year-old former toolmaker was cleaning her carpets when she came up with the idea for Vortex.
She saw how a piece of rubber that had got caught in the nozzle was gently resonating in the air flow. She also felt a soft stimulation to her fingertips as she tried to remove the rubber.

'At the time Joanne, from Utah, had not had sex for 15 years following her divorce.

'She said: "In my attempts to alleviate frustration, I began to think what I could do. I noticed how the rubber moved in the top of the vacuum. After several hours, I came up with the prototype. The first time I tried it I reached an orgasm within 10 seconds. That was when I knew I was on to something that could potentially bring pleasure to all women." '

Watch information video at vortexvibrations.com

Studio Gum Helmets

Products by Studio Gum, a German rubber company.




Urolagnia Helmet




Sensory deprivation mask, how-to flash image

Facial Flex Video

"The Cone" How-To Diagrams

The Cone, a vibrating multi-purpose sex toy, has a clever well-designed ad campaign (nodding to iPod ads) with crisp, silhouetted images of different humans interacting with the product in a multitude of positions during different types of activities. A real treat that the creator figured out how to communicate the strength of the product (its versatility) with such succinct clever imagery. Print diagrams come included with the packaged product, and can also be viewed as flash imagery here.

8ème Ciel by Matali Crasset

One of the most innovative and unique toys on the market. Non-penetration-based stimulation toy by French designer Matali Crasset for Exquise design.
Watch the exquise information video for more information on the function and concept.

Unisex by Ben Durrell

Concept male-female sex toy created by Boston-based designer Ben Durrell as part of release 1.

Auger–Loizeau Isophone