Web Snausages - Links Found on Monday, 1/16/2012 January 16, 2012
Tom O’Reilly – Why I’m Fighting SOPA:
I talked with Nancy Pelosi about SOPA the other day, and she said that the experience with piracy is different for people in the movie industry. Maybe — I’m not a movie producer. But I do know that right now the entire content industry is facing massive systemic changes, and to claim that declining sales are because of piracy is so over the top. Any company that is providing great content online in a way that’s easy to use with a fair price has a booming business right now. The people who don’t are trying to fight that future. So here we have this legislation, with all of these possible harms, to solve a problem that only exists in the minds of people who are afraid of the future. Why should the government be intervening on behalf of the people who aren’t getting with the program?
Megan Rosalarian Gedres – Dressed to Kill:
It’s not the characters’ bodies themselves that are the biggest problem, but how they are dressed and posed. Tits out, ass out, lips pouty, legs spread, hips cocked, eyelids at half mast. Outfits that make Wonder Woman’s star spangled panties look fit for a Mormon picnic. Short skirts, cutouts, stilettos, fishnets, thigh-highs. I’m not describing Playboy here. You don’t see male heroes wearing these costumes or posing like this. Outside of statistical outliers like Namor, their costumes tend to have full coverage, and when they pose, it’s to inspire fear, not boners.
Note: Megan has created some really excellent, and quite hilarious images to accompany this article to prove her point. If the political content turns you off, at least click through for the comedy gold.
Pandagon – Legally Requiring Condoms for Porn Filmed in LA:
They're just going to take porn shoots elsewhere: Really, liberals? This is the best you can do? This is actually a standard argument business always makes against labor protections. This threat has various degrees of seriousness to it, but even in serious cases, it's an empty argument. It basically deprives the government of the right to protect people within their jurisdiction because they don't have the right to do so in other jurisdictions. Governments should have a right to say, "This behavior is so wrong that while we can't ban it everywhere, we can ban it here." Often, once one jurisdiction does it, others soon folllow, especially with regards to safety regulations. Plus, I'm a little skeptical of the notion that the entire porn industry in L.A. will decamp to another location. They aren't in L.A. just by accident, you know. The one thing the porn industry needs---more than latex-free dicks, even---is a steady supply of young people who don't have a lot of money but put a lot of effort into their looks. The steady stream of people who come to L.A. to make it and then don't is a gold mine for the porn industry. You're not going to find that in Minneapolis. It helps if they can be convinced that doing porn could be the entryway into a career they want. The porn industry grasps this, which is why they take any porn actress who has a bit part in any Hollywood movie and trumpets the hell out of it, to keep the crossover dream alive. You're just not going to have that in any other city. Look, the porn industry isn't fighting this tooth and nail because they have a lot of options. They know that L.A. has them over a barrel on this, which is why they're fighting so hard.
Thanks to Alyse for the link!
PurrVersatility – A Switchblade In My Sleeve – Why I Talk Back:
None of this "turn the other cheek" bullshit. I am not a passive person. I am not the docile type. I am a feral cat and I will claw back. As well I should, really. What sort of world is this when someone suffers abuse and harassment and is told the best method to deal with it is to shut up and sit down? Bless your hearts, I know there are people reading my blog who have said this in the interest of maintaining my mental health- I know you mean well, but I am not in the business of playing dead, and to hold my tongue exhausts me more than to fight back. I do not have the privilege of "just ignoring it"- as a fat girl, as a sexual woman, as a fat sexual being, as a sex worker, I would have to completely block out human interaction to have safe space. To ignore it is to submit to it.
Whatever you want to call 'em, you know they aren't good for you, you shouldn't have them anywhere near your mouth, and they're very, very oddly funny!
So raise your PBR to the new Blog BBQ where we're just serving up the steamiest of sassy sausages!