No subject

Tue Sep 18 10:10:38 UTC 2007

This has a kind of a "out of site out of mind" type reaction within the
political and law enforcement world. (Although in reality it is currently
thriving online.) Safety wise this provides multiple levels of protection
for all involved: a rating system allows clients to know what to expect wit=
h
a provider and providers can be tainted if they have a history of
participating in unethical practices within this community. Activities such
as not expressing their rates properly, upselling their services, or even a
reputation of stealing from their clients can follow them in this virtual
world. For providers they are able to get recommendations from other
providers about specific clients, which helps protect them against law
enforcement stings as well as protecting themselves against potentially
dangerous clients. While there is obviously still a risk on many levels for
both clients and providers ranging from STDs, robbery, or even worse, this
screening process created by these sites has considerably lowered risks on =
a
lot of fronts. When compared head to head against street prostitution the
risks are considerably lower.

Beyond the social networking type of website, there are a few other sites
that people use that are current web 2.0 technologies. Craigslist.com
<http://craigslist.com/>has been in the news recently for their erotic
services section on their website. It has drawn the ire of law enforcement
personal as well as religious advocates. The erotic services section is
filled with multiple ads for adult services that include phone sex
operators, web cam girls, massage parlors, and escorts. An interesting angl=
e
to the use of cragslist.com is that Craigslist is actually looked down upon
by many of the people that are involved in these community websites. It is
widely proclaimed by message boards such as aspd.net that Craigslist is a
haven for scam artists.

People that are active on message boards centered around prostitution have
created a hierarchy of the adult industry. This community has created a
social ladder, just like you would see in any other community. "There is a
perceived hierarchy in the industry," Jennifer said. "Topless dancers think
they're better than nude dancers. Nude dancers think they're better than th=
e
prostitutes. The people on Craigslist tend to be women on the lower end of
the spectrum."
Forums such as aspd.net offer up a source for providers as well as clients.
There are established users that have created a handbook of how to get
involved in- as they refer to it- "the hobby". The forum is also a place
that ties multiple websites together, where people can post reviews from
multiple different providers websites, as well as interacting with other
users via private message and instant messenger, all while keeping their
true identity hidden. Here they evaluate the information that is posted on
these sites, as well as tell each other about potential scam warnings and
law enforcement lookout. Another topic that the users actually approach is
the idea of safe sex and protecting oneself from potential STDS.

In examining multiple dating and sex forums the topic of STDs are never
brought up. On this website there were multiple threads dedicated to this
topic including multiple links to websites with extremely valuable
information regarding safe sex. When compared to other forums that have
frank talk about sex, like different dating forums, the topic of STDs and
save sex is barely every broached. Here they have formed a community that
looks out for each other, from a law enforcement all the way to health
perspective. While the activities they are doing are illegal in most areas
of the United States and arguably immoral, the amount of participation and
care displayed for their fellow "hobbyist" was remarkable.

Detailed information flows pretty freely on these sites. All of this
information is available for people that want to take part in the "hobby".
There is a free transfer of information ranging from who to acquire service=
s
from and how to get them, to how to protect yourself, avoid scams, and
participate within this community. Most providers are perceived to be very
open and honest, and while most clients hide themselves behind online
identities they were still open with details about a very intimate part of
their life creating a sort of comfort level amongst the users.

This openness and transparency of all this comes with a problem from a
pragmatic sense, in that law enforcement now has access to information abou=
t
the business that these people are in. According to a recent article in the
New York Times, law enforcement agencies are supported by the digital
footprints that sites like Craigslist provide.
[image: escort arrests] Despite police complaints that Craigslist
facilitates prostitution, some experts say the Web site also aids
enforcement. 'Craigslist is a very open site, and it leaves digital
footprints,' said Leslie A. Harris, president of the nonprofit Center for
Democracy and Technology. 'It makes it easier for the police.' While the
idea of enforcement is nice, the actual implementation of enforcement
policies has been rare. Over the last year there have been large arrests,
but they are only highlighted by three cities versus the hundreds of cities
that have specific sites on Craigslist. "Cook County, Ill., rounded up 43
women working on the streets =97 and 60 who advertised on Craigslist. In
Seattle, a covert police ad on Craigslist in November resulted in the
arrests of 71 men, including a bank officer, a construction worker and a
surgeon." These arrests aside, most law enforcement agencies explain that
they simply don't have the manpower to respond to this or they don't
consider it a priority. The impact of technology is apparent here. While it
leaves the risk of a digital footprint, it is still more cumbersome and
challenging to track providers and clients down than it is to arrest someon=
e
on the street or raid a massage parlor.

When looking at prostitution and the people that are involved in it online,
you can compare it directly with other communities. The use of various web
2.0 tools and techniques have helped multiple communities grow and have
fostered an atmosphere of upfront information sharing. With information
being shared so openly due to this use of technology it has caused this
illegal activity to expand in the digital age. It has also helped reform a
business that by all accounts has had been unsafe for the people involved
and the society around it. While the online component of this activity
doesn't cure a lot of the social ills associated with prostitution such as
drug use, the exploitation of women, and other problems, it has created a
safer environment for those that are involved by creating a screening
process, an information sharing network, and a system where people can
interact with those around them all by creating and growing a virtual
community around it. It is sad to say that corporate America is lagging
behind the online sex trade for fully using web 2.0 applications to their
fullest.

"AFP: Millband's blog goes live," Google News. 26 September 2007. <
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQcnDsaK3DaEJnf1-UTvd22ruT5g>.
Bruce Lambert. "As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist Law Takes Notice." New
York Times 5 September 2007<
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/nyregion/05craigslist.html>.
Aspd.net <http://aspd.net/>- Unable to access page to cite
Lambert
Lambert
"Prostitution profits from high internet visibility, little police
response." Buffalo News 13 August 2007
<http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/139910.html?imw=3DY>.

On Nov 13, 2007 11:22 AM, Brad Borevitz <brad at onetwothree.net> wrote:

> On 11/12/07 11:59 PM, "kjacobs" <kjacobs at cityu.edu.hk> wrote:
>
> > about the male habit (gay and straight) to represent oneself on sex
> sites by
> > means of a cock image.
>
> lehman's essay is at:
> <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cinema_journal/v046/46.4lehman.html> (but
> you
> will need access through academic affiliation)
>
> and the site he discusses is at: <http://www.voyeurweb.com/>
>
> he also mentions his book "Running Scared: Masculinity and the
> Representation of the Male Body"; an abstract is at
> <http://wsupress.wayne.edu/film/filmtheory/lehmanrs/lehmanb.html>
>
> its a good place to start, since it apparently discusses exactly that
> strategy that i pointed out in the scenes by crandall: "the patriarchal
> culture that keeps the male body=8Band especially male genitals=8Bout of
> sight.
> Lehman documents the pervasive anxiety underlying images of the male body=
,
> arguing that attempts to keep male sexuality hidden in the pursuit of
> 'good
> taste' and an avoidance of perversion maintains the 'male mystique' and
> preserves the power of the phallus."
>
> so we are really discussing two opposing strategies, the one hegemonic an=
d
> the other contestatory. the exposure of the (non-normative) penis on site=
s
> like voyeurweb may in fact be a radical gesture. but if it is, it is
> exactly
> because of the control of the line of sight by by hegemonic procedures of
> display such as those depicted in jordan's piece and referred to in
> lehman's. it seems to me that it is crucial to be able to recognize the
> differences between them.
>
> so i went to voyeurweb in search of revolution. but what i found was a
> determined and normative depiction of heterosexuality. the most prominent
> pictures where of young, conventionally pretty, buxom women. there were
> other women to be found, for sure. but there was no dick. OK, so i didn't
> pay, and i only spent about 15 minutes in my search; but still, if it
> takes
> more than 15 minutes to find some dick, it can't really be that
> significant
> a feature of the site.
>
> i did find one man. he was in a series of images: him stripping -- and it
> stopped at the point where the outline of his cock was barely visible
> through his boxer shorts. is this sounding familiar?
>
> compare <http://www.dudesnude.com/>. now this is a place where one can do
> some serious research on cock (and ass). but i don't imagine that you wil=
l
> find a revolution there either.
>
> the problem is that even the pictures of "growers" (and even the
> terminology) maintain and buttress a phallocentric worldview, a
> masculinity
> that revolves around the penis and its various symbolic ruses. at the
> heart
> of this is exactly the fear of seeming pathetic, that is, powerless (of
> castration, in other words; look, i DO have a cock. this is still
> emphatically the fetishized overinvestment in penile presence and
> potency).
> so it is not a revolution at all, but only a transformation, a slight
> shift.
> lehman admits as much in his essay.
>
> so we get a salve for the ego's of those poor men who where suffering fro=
m
> some kind of inferiority complex. now they can function in society just
> like
> their well endowed compatriots. all of which misses the point that the
> mechanism of the phallus is symbolic and does not rely on the actual peni=
s
> for its functioning anyway.
>
> finally, i don't think that genet's writing works in the same way at all.
> his embrace of the abject as adornment seems to create a very different
> kind
> of sexual world. as i recall, the narrative center of genet's novels tend
> to
> be a character who wants to get fucked. and here, as elsewhere, i'm with
> marx on where to seek for signs of the revolution: look for it at the
> bottom.
>
> where are the depictions of unabashed receptive pleasure? where are
> theory's
> paeans to passivity? maybe Bersani is a place to start: reread "is the
> rectum is a grave"? <
> http://www.jstor.org/view/01622870/sp060002/06x0111g/0>
>
> Brad Borevitz
> <http://onetwothree.net>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> distributedcreativity.org)
> iDC at mailman.thing.net
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>
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While this might not go directly with the porn thread I just wanted to shar=
e this essay about the sex industry and their use of the social web. <b=
r> The social web has rapidly evolved into a powerful marketing tool
whose reach has forced business to adjust their core philosophies and
strategies in order to more effectively reach their target consumers.
The social web, thoughrelatively young, was already considered a
popular media by 2004, though mainstream media and Corporate America
have only recently taken notice. When a Bausch and Lomb Executive was
recently asked about his attendance at a conference on blogging, his
reply indicated that his company lacked a presence in new media.
Businesses and governments are beginning to understand the power of the
social web and have begun to embrace it, including British Foreign
Secretary David Milibland who launched a blog to help people understand
the diplomatic policy of England. One business though has beaten all
these titans to the bunch; the world's oldest profession has been quick
to embrace these new and exciting technologies. People in this
profession have been quick to grasp the strength of creating a
community on the social web.
We have been able to witness the growth of this trend, which mirrors
the growth of the technology and shares traits with any other sub-group
on the web. Web 2.0 concepts such as the creation of social networking
websites are being used by people within this industry as well as other
technologies such as bulletin boards, <a href=3D"http://escorts.com/">Craig=
slist.com</a>,
and instant messenger have benefited both provider and seeker. These
combined technologies have helped create and foster a community. This
has had multiple effects on illegal activity: it has moved a lot of
people off of the streets, emboldened them to work for themselves,
created a screening process for both client and provider, and has
created a path for law enforcement to track it.
 
In examining the growth of prostitution online, it mirrors the type of
growth and activity of a typical subgroup. We can take fans of the
Super Bowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts for example. They have
their own social networking site designed by the team <a href=3D"http://myc=
olts.net/" target=3D"_blank">http://www.mycolts.net/</a>.
On that site users can create their own profile and participate on
message boards created to specifically discuss the Colts. Beyond the
message board, featured users can share their thoughts via chatrooms,
messaging services, and blogs. They are also able to follow the news
about the team as well as being able to read blogs created by members
of the team and coaching staff. By using social networking the Colts
have found a way to unite their fan base and create a community. With
these connections, you see a history emerge of the interaction between
the users. The users refer to other conversations or make references to
information about other users, which is a display of familiarity. This
is something that you see in a community; not only is there
interaction, but you have people with established relationships
referencing those relationships within their interactions with each
other.
 When you examine prostitution online you can see the exact same
type of sites, albeit with different subject area and interests. Users
still have the creation of relationships and an ongoing discussion
between clients, just as the fans in the previous example. On top of
their ongoing professional conversations, providers also participate
and interact with their client base in a more casual context, beyond
their immediate professional concerns. This one on one interaction was
a surprising component of this sub-group. Unlike the Colts, where there
is a wall between fans and players, in this context there was no formal
distinction or distance. This isn't the case as providers are part of
the conversations on these sites in a way that demonstrates that they
are members of the community, not just the providers of a service.
Unlike the Colts site where the blogs are a one sided interaction (fans
can comment on the posts but there isn't going to be an ongoing
dialogue created like on most blogs), on these message boards there is
an involvement with the desired subject. These communities are built
just like any other web communities, in a collaboration of multiple
sites or sites with multiple features that cover multiple types of
technology such as in house messaging, profiles, message boards,
photography, and other hallmarks of social networking sites.
 For example <a href=3D"http://escorts.com/">escorts.com</a>- a site =
which is a way for users to find providers in their area- has a lot of the =
same aspects you would find on<img src=3D"http://www.buzznetworker.com/wp-c=
ontent/uploads/2007/10/browse-photo-gallery1.gif" title=3D"escorts" alt=3D"=
escorts" align=3D"right">

most social networking websites, but with a niche community like on
<a href=3D"http://mycolts.net">mycolts.net</a>. Users can set up their own =
profile with their date of
birth, gender, sexual orientation, race, height, weight, smoking
preference, drinking preference, and other typical background profile
information that social networking websites ask for. Users can also
modify their profile by adding pictures (with a full photo gallery
feature), configuring a headline or greeting, and designing their
profile layout in a manner reminiscent of most social networking sites.
The communication features of this site also mirror large social
networking sites in that you can instant message, send long form
messages, chat, and interact on message boards.</p>
<p> Besides the traditional social networking features of this site,
there are things that are specific to this niche such as reviews of
providers and clients. Also there is a paid membership feature that
allows you extended access that includes reviews with intimate details.
This, in addition to referral links to other adult services, is how the
site is monetized.<br>
There are multiple benefits of deploying this technology for this
industry. From a political perspective it reduces the street aspect of
the industry. This has a kind of a "out of site out of mind" type
reaction within the political and law enforcement world. (Although in
reality it is currently thriving online.) Safety wise this provides
multiple levels of protection for all involved: a rating system allows
clients to know what to expect with a provider and providers can be
tainted if they have a history of participating in unethical practices
within this community. Activities such as not expressing their rates
properly, upselling their services, or even a reputation of stealing
from their clients can follow them in this virtual world. For providers
they are able to get recommendations from other providers about
specific clients, which helps protect them against law enforcement
stings as well as protecting themselves against potentially dangerous
clients. While there is obviously still a risk on many levels for both
clients and providers ranging from STDs, robbery, or even worse, this
screening process created by these sites has considerably lowered risks
on a lot of fronts. When compared head to head against street
prostitution the risks are considerably lower.</p>
<p> Beyond the social networking type of website, there are a few other
sites that people use that are current web 2.0 technologies. <a href=3D"htt=
p://craigslist.com/">Craigslist.com </a>has
been in the news recently for their erotic services section on their
website. It has drawn the ire of law enforcement personal as well as
religious advocates. The erotic services section is filled with
multiple ads for adult services that include phone sex operators, web
cam girls, massage parlors, and escorts. An interesting angle to the
use of <a href=3D"http://cragslist.com">cragslist.com</a> is that Craigslis=
t is actually looked down upon by
many of the people that are involved in these community websites. It is
widely proclaimed by message boards such as <a href=3D"http://aspd.net">asp=
d.net</a> that Craigslist is
a haven for scam artists.</p>
<p> People that are active on message boards centered around
prostitution have created a hierarchy of the adult industry. This
community has created a social ladder, just like you would see in any
other community. "There is a perceived hierarchy in the industry,"
Jennifer said. "Topless dancers think they're better than nude dancers.
Nude dancers think they're better than the prostitutes. The people on
Craigslist tend to be women on the lower end of the spectrum."<br>
Forums such as <a href=3D"http://aspd.net/">aspd.net</a>
offer up a source for providers as well as clients. There are
established users that have created a handbook of how to get involved
in- as they refer to it- "the hobby". The forum is also a place that
ties multiple websites together, where people can post reviews from
multiple different providers websites, as well as interacting with
other users via private message and instant messenger, all while
keeping their true identity hidden. Here they evaluate the information
that is posted on these sites, as well as tell each other about
potential scam warnings and law enforcement lookout. Another topic that
the users actually approach is the idea of safe sex and protecting
oneself from potential STDS.</p>
<p> In examining multiple dating and sex forums the topic of STDs are
never brought up. On this website there were multiple threads dedicated
to this topic including multiple links to websites with extremely
valuable information regarding safe sex. When compared to other forums
that have frank talk about sex, like different dating forums, the topic
of STDs and save sex is barely every broached. Here they have formed a
community that looks out for each other, from a law enforcement all the
way to health perspective. While the activities they are doing are
illegal in most areas of the United States and arguably immoral, the
amount of participation and care displayed for their fellow "hobbyist"
was remarkable.</p>
<p> Detailed information flows pretty freely on these sites. All of
this information is available for people that want to take part in the
"hobby". There is a free transfer of information ranging from who to
acquire services from and how to get them, to how to protect yourself,
avoid scams, and participate within this community. Most providers are
perceived to be very open and honest, and while most clients hide
themselves behind online identities they were still open with details
about a very intimate part of their life creating a sort of comfort
level amongst the users.</p>
<p> This openness and transparency of all this comes with a problem
from a pragmatic sense, in that law enforcement now has access to
information about the business that these people are in. According to a
recent article in the New York Times, law enforcement agencies are
supported by the digital footprints that sites like Craigslist provide.<br>
<img src=3D"http://www.buzznetworker.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/5252585=
_240x180.jpg" title=3D"escort arrests" alt=3D"escort arrests" align=3D"left=
">
Despite police complaints that Craigslist facilitates prostitution,
some experts say the Web site also aids enforcement. 'Craigslist is a
very open site, and it leaves digital footprints,' said Leslie A.
Harris, president of the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology.
'It makes it easier for the police.' While the idea of enforcement is
nice, the actual implementation of enforcement policies has been rare.
Over the last year there have been large arrests, but they are only
highlighted by three cities versus the hundreds of cities that have
specific sites on Craigslist. "Cook County, Ill., rounded up 43 women
working on the streets =97 and 60 who advertised on Craigslist. In
Seattle, a covert police ad on Craigslist in November resulted in the
arrests of 71 men, including a bank officer, a construction worker and
a surgeon." These arrests aside, most law enforcement agencies explain
that they simply don't have the manpower to respond to this or they
don't consider it a priority. The impact of technology is apparent
here. While it leaves the risk of a digital footprint, it is still more
cumbersome and challenging to track providers and clients down than it
is to arrest someone on the street or raid a massage parlor.</p>
<p> When looking at prostitution and the people that are involved in it
online, you can compare it directly with other communities. The use of
various web 2.0 tools and techniques have helped multiple communities
grow and have fostered an atmosphere of upfront information sharing.
With information being shared so openly due to this use of technology
it has caused this illegal activity to expand in the digital age. It
has also helped reform a business that by all accounts has had been
unsafe for the people involved and the society around it. While the
online component of this activity doesn't cure a lot of the social ills
associated with prostitution such as drug use, the exploitation of
women, and other problems, it has created a safer environment for those
that are involved by creating a screening process, an information
sharing network, and a system where people can interact with those
around them all by creating and growing a virtual community around it.
It is sad to say that corporate America is lagging behind the online
sex trade for fully using web 2.0 applications to their fullest.</p>
<p>"AFP: Millband's blog goes live," Google News. 26 September 2007. &lt;<a=
 href=3D"http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQcnDsaK3DaEJnf1-UTvd22ruT5g">=
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQcnDsaK3DaEJnf1-UTvd22ruT5g</a>&gt;.
<br>
Bruce Lambert. "As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist Law Takes Notice." New Yo=
rk Times 5 September 2007&lt;<a href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/n=
yregion/05craigslist.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/nyregion/05cra=
igslist.html
</a>&gt;.<br>
<a href=3D"http://aspd.net/">Aspd.net</a>- Unable to access page to cite<br=
>
Lambert<br>
Lambert<br>
"Prostitution profits from high internet visibility, little police response=
." Buffalo News 13 August 2007<br>
&lt;<a href=3D"http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/139910.html?imw=3DY">h=
ttp://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/139910.html?imw=3DY</a>&gt;.</p><br><b=
r><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Nov 13, 2007 11:22 AM, Brad Borevitz &lt;<a=
 href=3D"mailto:brad at onetwothree.net">
brad at onetwothree.net</a>&gt; wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" st=
yle=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex=
; padding-left: 1ex;"><div class=3D"Ih2E3d">On 11/12/07 11:59 PM, &quot;kja=
cobs&quot; &lt;
<a href=3D"mailto:kjacobs at cityu.edu.hk">kjacobs at cityu.edu.hk</a>&gt; wrote:=
<br><br>&gt; about the male habit (gay and straight) to represent oneself o=
n sex sites by<br>&gt; means of a cock image.<br><br></div>lehman&#39;s ess=
ay is at:
<br>&lt;<a href=3D"http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cinema_journal/v046/46.4leh=
man.html" target=3D"_blank">http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cinema_journal/v04=
6/46.4lehman.html</a>&gt; (but you<br>will need access through academic aff=
iliation)
<br><br>and the site he discusses is at: &lt;<a href=3D"http://www.voyeurwe=
b.com/" target=3D"_blank">http://www.voyeurweb.com/</a>&gt;<br><br>he also =
mentions his book &quot;Running Scared: Masculinity and the<br>Representati=
on of the Male Body&quot;; an abstract is at
<br>&lt;<a href=3D"http://wsupress.wayne.edu/film/filmtheory/lehmanrs/lehma=
nb.html" target=3D"_blank">http://wsupress.wayne.edu/film/filmtheory/lehman=
rs/lehmanb.html</a>&gt;<br><br>its a good place to start, since it apparent=
ly discusses exactly that
<br>strategy that i pointed out in the scenes by crandall: &quot;the patria=
rchal<br>culture that keeps the male body=8Band especially male genitals=8B=
out of sight.<br>Lehman documents the pervasive anxiety underlying images o=
f the male body,
<br>arguing that attempts to keep male sexuality hidden in the pursuit of &=
#39;good<br>taste&#39; and an avoidance of perversion maintains the &#39;ma=
le mystique&#39; and<br>preserves the power of the phallus.&quot;<br><br>
so we are really discussing two opposing strategies, the one hegemonic and<=
br>the other contestatory. the exposure of the (non-normative) penis on sit=
es<br>like voyeurweb may in fact be a radical gesture. but if it is, it is =
exactly
<br>because of the control of the line of sight by by hegemonic procedures =
of<br>display such as those depicted in jordan&#39;s piece and referred to =
in<br>lehman&#39;s. it seems to me that it is crucial to be able to recogni=
ze the
<br>differences between them.<br><br>so i went to voyeurweb in search of re=
volution. but what i found was a<br>determined and normative depiction of h=
eterosexuality. the most prominent<br>pictures where of young, conventional=
ly pretty, buxom women. there were
<br>other women to be found, for sure. but there was no dick. OK, so i didn=
&#39;t<br>pay, and i only spent about 15 minutes in my search; but still, i=
f it takes<br>more than 15 minutes to find some dick, it can&#39;t really b=
e that significant
<br>a feature of the site.<br><br>i did find one man. he was in a series of=
 images: him stripping -- and it<br>stopped at the point where the outline =
of his cock was barely visible<br>through his boxer shorts. is this soundin=
g familiar?
<br><br>compare &lt;<a href=3D"http://www.dudesnude.com/" target=3D"_blank"=
>http://www.dudesnude.com/</a>&gt;. now this is a place where one can do<br=
>some serious research on cock (and ass). but i don&#39;t imagine that you =
will
<br>find a revolution there either.<br><br>the problem is that even the pic=
tures of &quot;growers&quot; (and even the<br>terminology) maintain and but=
tress a phallocentric worldview, a masculinity<br>that revolves around the =
penis and its various symbolic ruses. at the heart
<br>of this is exactly the fear of seeming pathetic, that is, powerless (of=
<br>castration, in other words; look, i DO have a cock. this is still<br>em=
phatically the fetishized overinvestment in penile presence and potency).
<br>so it is not a revolution at all, but only a transformation, a slight s=
hift.<br>lehman admits as much in his essay.<br><br>so we get a salve for t=
he ego&#39;s of those poor men who where suffering from<br>some kind of inf=
eriority complex. now they can function in society just like
<br>their well endowed compatriots. all of which misses the point that the<=
br>mechanism of the phallus is symbolic and does not rely on the actual pen=
is<br>for its functioning anyway.<br><br>finally, i don&#39;t think that ge=
net&#39;s writing works in the same way at all.
<br>his embrace of the abject as adornment seems to create a very different=
 kind<br>of sexual world. as i recall, the narrative center of genet&#39;s =
novels tend to<br>be a character who wants to get fucked. and here, as else=
where, i&#39;m with
<br>marx on where to seek for signs of the revolution: look for it at the<b=
r>bottom.<br><br>where are the depictions of unabashed receptive pleasure? =
where are theory&#39;s<br>paeans to passivity? maybe Bersani is a place to =
start: reread &quot;is the
<br>rectum is a grave&quot;? &lt;<a href=3D"http://www.jstor.org/view/01622=
870/sp060002/06x0111g/0" target=3D"_blank">http://www.jstor.org/view/016228=
70/sp060002/06x0111g/0</a>&gt;<br><div class=3D"Ih2E3d"><br>Brad Borevitz<b=
r>
&lt;<a href=3D"http://onetwothree.net" target=3D"_blank">http://onetwothree=
.net</a>&gt;<br><br><br></div><div><div></div><div class=3D"Wj3C7c">_______=
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