Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Skillz!

Learning brand new skillz is so awesome.

This past weekend, I laid out the fifth edition of Subversions: Journal of Gender and Sexuality in Indesign--I program I had absolutely no experience with prior to last Tuesday. Of course, I didn't do it alone, and I have to thank the amazing ladies who where there and willing to share their design experience with me.

Taking on a project that was outside of my skill set and then having people there to teach me how to do it myself has been incredibly empowering and it also really hit home the value of skill sharing within communities.

Seriously, I'm so high on this, right now, and I have a new, passionate geek-love affair with found images and a beautiful journal to boot.

Check out the Ste-Emilie SkillShare website for upcoming workshops.

Subversions Launch!!!


"It's that time of year again! Come celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of spring at the WSSA end of term party!

With Performances by:
Mizz Mandroux
We're Coming
Kate L.
The Pearly Whites
& more!

Dance Party afterwards with DJ's:
Sho Sho
Jenn D.
Faggotron
& more!

This event is also the launch party for Subversions: The Women's Studies Journal of Gender and Sexuality. Come early to get your free copy!

This event is FREE and open to everyone!
This venue is wheelchair accessible."

When: Thursday, April 9th
Where: Salon Il Motore, 179 Jean Talon West (Metro de Castelneau)
Come early for the performances, stay late for the dance party!
Doors at 8:30
Performances at 9:00 sharp!

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=71197867824

Monday, March 30, 2009

Get Yo Priorities Straight

Yep. Consensual anal sex with a slippery lubed up condom can be fun, especially for boyz. And, bois. And, just straight up dudes.

The p-spot. Learn it, try it, love it.

Image from Pictures of Walls.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Gratuitous Julie Doiron Post

Last night, Julie Doiron played a packed show at Il Motore to promote her new album, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day.

Man, I just love her.

It's happened more than once that I'll be getting out of the pool at the YMCA and I see this really beautiful woman in her red sport swim suit and I'm admiring the curve of her bum and then I suddenly realize it's Julie Doiron. Then, I usually smile at her and feel like a creepy stalker. But, you know what? It doesn't really matter because Julie Doiron is beautiful and talented and awkward and that just makes her all the more endearing, especially when you see her live.

Check out this video for her song "Me and My Friend" directed by her Ex-husband (and muse?) John Claytor. Also, watch for an irresistable Julie D. smile at about the 2:09 mark.



Ah, heartbreaking. And, yes, I am a little bit of a perv when I go to the pool, but that's just between you and me, ok?

Friday, March 27, 2009

Condoms = Not Endorsed by the Pope

On his recent trip to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI was heard saying he doesn't think condoms help to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS but instead only exacerbate the problem.

Ok, Popey, where'd you get your sex ed? Oh, wait. Forgot the Catholic church isn't so much into providing accurate information about contraception and safe sex.

Right.

Feminist Porn Awards Nominees!


Holy moly, there are 46 XXX films nominated for the Feminist Porn Awards this year! Whoo hoo!

Amongst the titillating titles are such gems as, Couch Surfers: Trans Men in Action, Sex Mannequin, Strap-On Motel and Post Apocalyptic Cowgirls.

I wanna see them all!

The Feminist Porn Awards have three basic criteria that are required for a film to be nominated:

"1) A woman has had a hand in the production, writing, direction, etc. Of the work.

2) It depicts genuine female pleasure.

3) It expands the boundaries of sexual representation on film and challenges stereotypes that are often found in mainstream porn.

And of course it has to be hot!"

For the full list of nominees click here.

For more info about the awards clitoral orgasm.

Join or Die

Check out artist Justine Lai's series of oil paintings which depict her having sex with every president of the United States.

"In Join Or Die, I paint myself having sex with the Presidents of the United States in chronological order. I am interested in humanizing and demythologizing the Presidents by addressing their public legacies and private lives. The presidency itself is a seemingly immortal and impenetrable institution; by inserting myself in its timeline, I attempt to locate something intimate and mortal. I use this intimacy to subvert authority, but it demands that I make myself vulnerable along with the Presidents. A power lies in rendering these patriarchal figures the possible object of shame, ridicule and desire, but it is a power that is constantly negotiated.

I approach the spectacle of sex and politics with a certain playfulness. It would be easy to let the images slide into territory that's strictly pornographic—the lurid and hardcore, the predictably "controversial." One could also imagine a series preoccupied with wearing its "Fuck the Man" symbolism on its sleeve. But I wish to move beyond these things and make something playful and tender and maybe a little ambiguous, but exuberantly so. This, I feel, is the most humanizing act I can do."

March 2009

Thursday, March 26, 2009

What am I, Twelve?


From BBC Newsbeat:

"An 18-year-old has secretly painted a 60ft drawing of a phallus on the roof of his parents' £1million mansion in Berkshire. It was there for a year before his parents found out. They say he'll have to scrub it off when he gets back from traveling."

Tee, hee. I wonder if he has an artist's statement.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Make Love And! Porn

Knowing what a big perv I am, my friends often tend to send me all kinds of links to sex related stuff. Not long ago, my loverrr alerted me to the site Make Love Not Porn.

While the title sounded a little fishy, especially since makin' awesome, consensual, lovin' porn is somethin' I'm kinda into, I was pleasantly surprised to find a straightforward sex-positive site dedicated to debunking the myths about desire and pleasure that are often depicted in mainstream porn.

"Porn World: Women come all the time in positions where nothing is going on anywhere near the clit."

"Real World: There has to be some sort of rhythmic pressure on the clit in just the right way to make a woman come. Can be pubic bone, tongue, fingers, something else entirely. But it has to be there."
"Porn World: All women love anal sex."

"Real World: A lot of women aren't into the idea of anal. Some women love it, some women don't. Some guys want to do it, some guys don't fancy the idea much. Guys, ask yourself how you would feel about someone sticking their cock up your butt. That will pretty much reflect broad female attitudes. Great for both of you if you're both into the idea; one of you may not be."

Yeah! This was pretty cool--a site that didn't make judgements about what gets people off but instead suggested communication as a way of ensuring the pleasure of everyone. Let's face it. Try as we might, somtimes talkin' about what really turns us on can be difficult and maybe even scary. It doesn't have to be, but Western culture has certainly made efforts to have us feel downright awful about our bodies and our desires.

I mean, how many heterosexual women do you know who fake their orgasms and don't know how to tell their partner? Hopefully few but, seriously now, let's reduce that number to zero.

Recently, Cindy Gallop, creator of Make Love Not Porn, called me from NYC to answer my questions about her intentions behind the site. Expecting Make Love Not Porn to have been created by a non-profit or maybe a feminist grad student, I was surprised and slightly intimidated to find that Ms. Gallop is an incredibly accomplished advertising exec who does TED talks and in 2003 was named New York's Advertising Woman of the Year.

In a charming British accent, Gallop explained to me that the idea for the site came from her personal experiences sleeping with younger men and the realization that a lot of these guys were getting most of their information about sex from porn. She described her intention that the site serve as sort of a counter point to the kind of unrealistic depictions of desire and pleasure found in mainstream porn, while at the same time heartily admitting her consumption of porn on a regular basis.

Explaining that Make Love Not Porn was designed to inspire and stimulate open discussion amongst people with a wide range of turn-ons rather than to judge folks for their sexual tastes, Gallop mentioned that both women and men have responded positively to the site, with guys also expressing their dissatisfaction with the one-dimensional representations offered to them by most mainstream flicks.

"Porn World: Men Love coming on women's faces, and women love it when men come on their faces."

"Real World: Some women like this, some women don't. Some guys like to do this, some guys don't. Entirely up to personal choice."

Expressing her desire to encourage an all around discussion about sexuality, especially amongst young people, Gallop was incredibly receptive when I told her of the complete cuts to sex education that have happened here in Quebec.

We finished the interview with Gallop telling me the story of a young man she had spoken with in Japan, who expressed to her his desire that his girlfriend sometimes take more control in bed. When Gallop asked him whether he had ever made this desire known to her, however, his answer was that, no, he had never really thought about talking to her about it.

Far from judging this person's honest response about the level of sexual communication in his relationship, I think it's good to remember, maybe even especially as sexually conscious folks, that not everyone has access to accurate information about sex--from how to be safe to basic anatomy.

If the queen of self-pleasure, Betty Dodson, once faked-it, we can be sure anyone can. But, then, we can also be sure that everyone has the ability to experience true sexual satisfaction through communication, consent and access to sex-positive information.

Whoo, Hoo!



Misanthropic Martial Mistake: Portia De Rossi Apologizes for Marrying Ellen

Check out this clip from a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live where Portia De Rossi apologizes for all the hardships endured by prop 8 supporters when she decided to marry long-time love Ellen Degeneres.

Well, isn't it good to see her finally taking accountability for all of those poor heterosexual's downfalls: a fifty percent divorce rate, child-custody battles, extramarital affairs, boring sex...

Wait.

What?

While the debate definitely still rages on between radical queers and more mainstream gay rights activists over whether marriage is really the best thing for their communities, there is definitely no reason why people who identify as straight should get to chose whether this is an option.

Down with prop 8!

Cool Reads

Check out these proudly Canadian articles to titillate the sexy tip of your brain:

First off, Hal Niedzviecki, founder of Broken Pencil Magazine, ponders the question "Why are ordinary women exposing themselves online?" Focusing primarily on married, middle-class couples, he looks into the popularity of sites such as voyeurweb and, I think, bears witness to the fact that voyeurism, exhibitionism and sexy images are a huge part of human sexual expression, especially now.

The Walrus » Hal Niedzviecki on Internet Porn Addiction

Then, Alison Lee of Good for Her, discusses "The New Face of Porn" in This Magazine. Giving a great overview of the conflicted history of feminist scholarship around pornography, she talks about the new stakes feminists have in porn and how we can get our hands on smut that's hot, hardcore and stamped with a big approving F.

Happy sex geeking!

Posted using ShareThis

Reggie Does Archie!!!


"TONIGHT, after years of locker room gags and laughs at Riverdale beach, Reggie finally fucks Archie!

Apparently, Betty and Veronica have hooked up too, which means plenty of action on campus tonight at Reggie’s Bar!

Queer Concordia proudly presents:

REGGIE DOES ARCHIE!

A rockin’ good time, with swell music by:

Kate L
Noisy Nora
Faggotron.

$4 Martinis
$3 Pints

When: TONIGHT! Monday, March 23, 8pm - 1 am
Where: Reggie's Bar, Hall Building,
Concordia University, Hall Building
1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest"

This sounds awesome! You totally know Dilton's gonna get his permission slip signed for a special "field trip" with Mr. Weatherby.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Ugh.

Nooooooooooooo!

Sex worker discrimination is evil! Women can't be sexual and be responsible marine biologists? Just, FUCK YOU.

Seriously.

Check out this article on Fleshbot to find out about Julia Yalovitsyna, a former cam girl and trained marine biologist who was denied a job in her field because of an employment history that included, gasp!, sex work.

Thanks to JCS for the tip.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pin-up Piss-Off

May 1971: “Male supremacy is all right — but I favor a different position.”


Dissatisfied with the rigid standards of beauty and thinness that are sadly de rigeur in Western culture, many grrrls have turned to the vintage pin-up as a alternative representation of the female form. Appropriating cheesecake images that were once only intended to titillate heterosexual men, this remixed celebration of the work of artists such as Alberto Vargas has emerged alongside a slew of art forms which make old new again.

What then, are we to make of these Vargas prints which take the empowering slogans of 70's era social movements and transform them into sexual invitations directed at the (likely white) male audience of Playboy magazine?

March 1969: “What sort of peace did you have in mind, Mr. Smith?”


April 1973: “So you’re from the Bureau of Indian Affairs?”


September 1970: “I believe in black pride, but there are some things I’d rather take lying down.”

November 1967: “And that, Mr. Bigelow, is yet another definition of black power.”

Clearly influenced by the "sexual revolution" that emerged temporally alongside grassroots liberation initiatives, such as the feminist and black power movements, these drawings water down political struggles and appropriate them in a way that is only humourous to those who have a stake in the status quo.

But, what about today? Looking at these prints, I can't help but think of other problematic campaigns that have appropriated images from different social movements in order to forward their own rights--most recently the pro-gay marriage movement's use of pictures of water fountains and benches marked "gay" and "straight" that attempt to bring home the gravity of their cause by likening anti-gay marriage sentiment to the kind of pernicious racism endured by African Americans through racial segregation.

What do you think?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Queer Concordia stuff!

THURSDAY NIGHT SEX TOY PARTY
WHEN: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
WHERE: QPIRG,1500 de Maisonneuve O., suite 204 (NEW LOCATION!!) FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=56777039131&ref=ts

Queer Concordia, The 2110 Center for Gender Advocacy and Joy Toyz are combining forces! Get ready for a fun, sexy evening learning about some of the unique and high-quality sex toys available from Joy Toyz adult toy shop. A representative from Joy Toyz will be introducing a wide variety of sex toys for solo play, couples and people of all genders and sexual orientations. The presentation is fee and open to everyone. Cum one, cum all for an evening of sensual schooling!

REGGIE DOES ARCHIE
When: Monday, March 23, 8 pm – 1 a.m.
Where: Reggie's Bar, Hall Building, Concordia University,1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest FACEBOOK EVENT: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=61368195355&ref=ts

Queer Concordia invites you to a sexy night on campus with AMAZING MUSIC by:
DJ Kate L.
Noisy Nora,
Faggotron
... and all the gang from Riverdale!

$4 Martinis
$3 Pints

Sunday, March 15, 2009

GAYLORD-O-RAMA STRIP-O-GANZAHHH!


GAYLORD-O-RAMA STRIP-O-GANZAHHH!
queer strip show fundraiser for the STE-EMILIE SKILLSHARE!!!!!!
+ lap dances, photo booth, peep show, misc. dirty tricks and treats plus dancing party!
SATURDAY APRIL 4th
EASTERN BLOC
Performances start at 9pm
$5/pwyc
ps: note the date on the poster is incorrect- new poster is on it's way!!!
♥♥♥
♣♦♠
  • GAYLORDORAMA STRIPOGANZA is still looking for performers! We have a bunch of acts lined up but are still looking for some more sexy people who want to take off their clothes!!!! Amazing atmosphere for experienced and not-so-experienced exhibitionists alike!! Let us know if you wanna perform at gaylordoramastripoganza@gmail.com
  • We're seeking a diversity of body types and self-identities, we don't want to replicate and re-impose the oppressive norms of mainstream sexiness standards that we see so much of, so this will be part of our selection criteria.
  • We're also looking for smutty films (there is a projector), lap dancers, and any other sexy art, projects/installations that you would like to create, just send your proposals to gaylordoramastripoganza@gmail.com.
  • We're also looking for volunteers to help out on the night of, please get in touch if you're interested!
All proceeds go to the Ste-Emilie Skillshare!!! http://snap.mahost.org/distro/

The Honeysuckle Strip Spelling Bee

The Honeysuckle Strip Spelling Bee is like Strip Poker. Only it's a spelling bee. & it's played in front of a live audience of hooters, hollerers & hecklers who want to see some smart & sexy skin. One by one, participants are asked to spell a word. If they get it right, they make it through to the next round. If they get it wrong, they must striptease an item of clothing off, and that is considered their first "strike". A second strike means 2 items off. A third strike means 3 items come off. Once a speller is naked, they are out of the competition. The winner takes home $50.

Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at The Mainline theatre
3997 st-laurent blvd. (just south of duluth)
$6 at the door

Doors at 10:00
Sign-up at 10:30 sharp (Note, we will cap the number of spellers at 25)
Bee at 11 PM

Saturday, March 14, 2009

How Naked Are We Gonna Get?

Khaela Maricich of The Blow is totally adorable and highly fuckable. Check out this video of her singing a song about first fuck jitters in the middle of a train station.

Will your next lover be prepared for how incredibly white you get when you finally arrive?





Did I mention she's Miranda July's best friend? Jealous.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

O for an O

Now that our neighbours down South have had him for almost two months, do you still want an Obama dildo to take you to that better place?

For more info check out headostate.com

Monday, March 09, 2009

Go to Dumpster-Diving Heaven with the folks from Sharing is Sexy




If you haven't already, you should definitely check out J. Bird and Pennyroyal's latest radical smut shoot over at Sharing is Sexy.

Entitled, "Cunt Foraging: Reclaiming the Dumpsters," the story goes a little like this:

"Its been a long summer day in the city. The street lights glow a soft orange in the alley at midnight and illuminate the sweat on their skin. As J Bird rolls up, Pennyroyal’s face is lit up by her head lamp, showing her inviting gesture for J Bird to join her. J Bird is enticed by her desires to get down in the dumpster. Inside the dumpster their passion for cunt foraging grows. A dirty exploration of a trash fetish and each others sexy bodies."

Yowza. These folks are awesome!

Writing Tips that kick TS/TG Oppression right where it hurts!

Dear Non-Trans students, writers and bloggers,

As spring draws near and your desire/need to overthrow hetero colonial capitalist patriarchy is invigorated by the prospect of brighter days and muscular, unshaven legs spinning bicycle wheels, why not heed Jacob Hale's advice and aquaint yourself with these:

Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans...

From sandystone.com:

  • "1. Approach your topic with a sense of humility: you are not the experts about transsexuals, transsexuality, transsexualism, or trans ____. Transsexuals are.

  • 2. Interrogate your own subject position: the ways in which you have power that we don't (including powers of access, juridicial power, institutional power, material power, power of intelligible subjectivity), the ways in which this affects what you see and what you say, what your interests and stakes are in forming your initial interest, and what your interests and stakes are in what you see and say as you continue your work. (Here's what Bernie Hausman, p.vii, says about how her initial interest was formed: She had been reading about transvestism and ran across library material on transsexualism. "Now *that* was fascinating." Why? "The possibilities for understanding the construction of 'gender' through an analysis of transsexualism seemed enormous and there wasn't a lot of critical material out there." Remember that using those with less power within institutionalized, material and discursive structures as your meal ticket (retention, tenure, promotion) is objectionable to those so used.)

  • 3. Beware of replicating the following discursive movement (which Sandy Stone articulates in "The Empire Strikes Back," and reminds us is familiar from other colonial discourses): Initial fascination with the exotic; denial of subjectivity, lack of access to dominant discourse; followed by a species of rehabilition.

  • 4. Don't erase our voices by ignoring what we say and write, through gross misrepresentation (as Hausman does to Sandy Stone and to Kate Bornstein), by denying us our academic credentials if we have them (as Hausman does to Sandy Stone), or by insisting that we must have academic credentials if were are to be taken seriously.

  • 5. Be aware that our words are very often part of conversations we're having within our communities, and that we may be participating in overlapping conversations within multiple communities, e.g., our trans communities, our scholarly communities (both interdisciplinary ones and those that are disciplinarily bounded), feminist communities, queer communities, communities of color. Be aware of these conversations, our places within them, and our places within community and power structures. Otherwise, you won't understand our words.

  • 6. Don't totalize us, don't represent us or our discourses as monolithic or univocal; look carefully at each use of 'the', and at plurals.

  • 7. Don't uncritically quote non-transsexual "experts," e.g., Harry Benjamin, Robert Stoller, Leslie Lothstein, Janice Raymond, Virgina Prince, Marjorie Garber. Apply the same critical acumen to their writings as you would to anyone else.

  • 8. Start with the following as, minimally, a working hypothesis that you would be loathe to abandon: "Transsexual lives are lived, hence livable" (as Naomi Scheman put it in "Queering the Center by Centering the Queer").

  • 9. When you're talking about male-to-female transsexual discourses, phenomena,experiences, lives, subjectivities, embodiments, etc., make that explicit and keep making it explicit throughout; stating it once or twice is not sufficient to undermine paradigmaticity. Don't toss in occasional references to female-to-male transsexual discourses, phenomena, experiences, lives, subjectivities, embodiments, etc., without asking what purposes those references serve you and whether or not those purposes are legitimate.

  • 10. Be aware that if you judge us with reference to your political agenda (or agendas) taken as the measure or standard, especially without even asking if your agenda(s) might conflict with ours and might not automatically take precedence over ours, that it's equally legitimate (or illegitimate, as the case may be) for us to use our political agenda(s) as measures by which to judge you and your work.

  • 11. Focus on: What does looking at transsexuals, transsexuality, transsexualism, or transsexual _____ tell you about *yourself*, *not* what does it tell you about trans.

  • 12. Ask yourself if you can travel in our trans worlds. If not, you probably don't get what we're talking about. Remember that we live most of our lives in non-transsexual worlds, so we probably do get what you're talking about.

  • 13. Don't imagine that you can write about the trope of transsexuality, the figure of the transsexual, transsexual discourse/s, or transsexual subject positions without writing about transsexual subjectivities, lives, experiences, embodiments. Ask yourself: what relations hold between these categorial constructions, thus what implications hold between what you write about one and what you don't write about another.

  • 14. Don't imagine that there is only one trope of transsexuality, only one figure of "the" transsexual, or only one transsexual discourse at any one temporal and cultural location.

  • 15. If we attend to your work closely enough to engage in angry, detailed criticism, don't take this as a rejection, crankiness, disordered ranting and raving, or the effects of testosterone poisoning. It's a *gift*. (And it's praise: there must be something we value about you to bother to engage you, especially since such engagement is often painful, as well as time-consuming, for us.)"


Wednesday, March 04, 2009

We Won! Best English Zine! Expozine Awards!!!

Yessssss! Congrats to the whole team and all the contributors for putting together such an amazing issue!

Have a look at Sarah's post below for more good tidings!!

We Won!!!

Well, of course everyone won, really. But, in terms of walking away with prizes and making empowering speeches on stage, we definitely won! Go team Lickety Split! Go Collective! Go round of beers on Amber! (Thanks, Lady).

While I don't have any personal photos from the event, I feel this photo from Neko Case's new album perfectly represents how we all looked and felt throughout the evening.

Yeah, that's right. Fierce. Especially, K$. Holy sh** that woman is smoking hottttt. Brains, talent and beauty, we've got it all at Lickety Split.

I'm going to celebrate by diving into that new Neko Case-it drops today!-and reading my new copy of Nailbiter: An Anxiety Zine. Good times.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Hypersexualization of Youth

Wanna feed your head some ideas around this issue? Check out the KickAction blog this week:

""Hypersexualization," Pop Culture & Media

The fourth and final week of the blogging carnival is kicking off on kickaction, so come by to check out what our six guest bloggers have to say about pop culture, media, and that thing some people call ‘hypersexualization.’

For more information about the blogging carnival or to read the blogs, check out www.kickaction.ca.

Monday, Mar 2 : Geneviève Morand, a youth facilitator at Maison des Jeunes Bordeaux-Cartierville and editor in chief of Authentik magazine.

Tuesday, March 3: Anoushka Ratnarajah, co-coordinator of V-Day UBC

Wednesday, March 4: Tanya Déry-Obin & Jessica Grosman, contributors to Authentik magazine & organizers of Back-Off!: Lets Reappropriate Our Bodies & Back Off 2!, Dissident Representations in Arts & Social Movements.

Thursday, March 5: Candis Steenbergen, professor in Girlhood Studies, writer, reader, thinker & mom.

Friday, March 6: Kristin Matte, student & blogger "

This is the only awards show Lickety Split will be invited to, probably ever.
























What to wear? What are you gonna wear?

Sunday, March 01, 2009

birthday wishes!!!


















*safesolvent >>>> happy birthday! (That's him above at the Beyond Human launch last November)......

Toss that Tired Shower Head and Catch the Wave!


Ok, maybe not. Let's not mess too much with the tried and true. However, if you are currently racking your brain desperately searching for a birthday gift that Twelve-year-old female in your life might actually use, why not consider giving her the Neutrogena Wave.

I was first alerted to the hidden "benefits" of the Wave while enjoying a little internet TV courtesy of the highly fuckable Sarah Haskins and her segment Target Women.

Marketed as a revolution in teenage facial cleansing, the Wave has "gentle vibrations that help open pores" in order to get that, ahem, "deep down tingly feeling" purportedly coveted by young women everwhere and which advertisers would have us believe is pretty much the next closest thing to nirvana.

Gentle vibrations, eh? Deep down tingling...wait a minute, I'm sorry, the Wave isn't for your face--it's for your fucking clit! Or, rather the aforementioned Twelve-year-old lady's curious clit! As Sarah Haskins' sarcastic deadpan bluntly puts it, "this product is definitely for washing your face."

I'll admit, I'm tickled pink by the idea that girls out there can start to further explore the magic of masturbation with something so perfectly counter intuitive as the Wave. I mean, the moral gulf between notions of cleanliness and notions of dirtiness/self-pleasure has plagued youth for centuries only to now culminate in the "cleansing" vibrations of the wave. Ha!

While not recommended as a substitute for frank and open talks about pre-teen/teenage sexuality and sexual health, the Wave certainly seems to be an introduction to the wonder of sex toys. Sweet and pink and available in assorted colours just like the dildos at any women oriented sex shop, while being more discreet than those rubber ducky vibrators, I can only hope that grrrls out there will soon be using the Wave for some much needed cleansing under the covers.