Fitas: sex-positive

Fitas sex-positive, by Ann Antidote e Daniel Cardoso.

Um artigo escrito a pensar em publicacao integral, acerca de filmes DIY, guerrilla film making, festivais de cinema depravados, e outras coisas. 

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A ideia por detrás de se ser sex positive não é a de se converter todo o mundo num imenso bacanal em que pacatos cidadãos se magoem com risco de vida (e da dignidade) ao escorregar no lubrificante. Tal como o ativismo LGBT não pretende converter o globo numa legião tebana. A ideia - infelizmente pouco ventilada - por trás de uma postura sex positive, entre outras, é que todos os modos de vida conscientes e consensuais merecem respeito. Já dizia a avó: "não tenho nada a ver com o que as pessoas fazem umas com as outras lá na casa delas". E é assim mesmo.

Muitos perguntam o porquê de ser agora, este crescimento do sex positive, da pós-pornografia, da pornografia feminista - de todos estes temas que, antes, nem atrás de portas se sussurravam. Há várias razões, mas uma delas é muito simples: uma série de coisas deixaram de ser proibidas. Há uns anos ainda se podia ir para a cadeia por foder com a pessoa do género errado, ou no sítio errado, ou simplesmente por mostrar demasiado exuberantemente uma identidade ou uma preferência. Coisas como a homossexualidade ou o BDSM foram até há relativamente pouco tempo (ou ainda não deixaram de ser, em países mesmo aqui perto) fortemente criminalizados e penalizados (apesar de reconhecermos que estão ainda em voga práticas mais subtis e indirectas de criminalização e penalização).

Claro que o crescimento da internet, e a possibilidade de cada pessoa escolher, até certo ponto, com que produtos culturais desejam interagir, em vez de ficarem sujeitos aos distribuidores de cinema da cidade onde vivem, mudou hábitos e criou circuitos alternativos de criação e distribuição de filmes. Por sua vez, esta mudança de hábitos criou espaços e mentalidades recetivas a produções DIY (faça-você-mesmo) e sem orçamentos que tornam o fazer de filmes (e a sua distribuição e reprodução) acessíveis a qualquer pessoa com um computador e uma câmara básica (tendência essa que, de resto, teve a sua pré-história com a tecnologia VHS e as câmaras pessoais).

Com isto explodiram nos últimos anos os ciclos de cinema especializados, e também os ciclos de cinema de temática sex positive e/ou sexualidades identidades não normativas. Temos em Berlim o PFF (Porn Film Festival), temos o TranScreen em Amesterdão (ainda a aceitar submissões!), temos o Fetisch Film Festival (FFF) em Kiel, temos o San Francisco Trans Film Festival, o Sex Worker Film Fest em Hamburgo, os Feminist Porn Awards no Canadá ou mesmo o Sydney Underground Film Festival na Austrália - só para citar uns quantos.

Passa-nos ao lado? Não: os mesmos mecanismos que mudaram a criação e distribuição de filmes, tornaram todo este circuito uma pequena aldeia global. Berlim e Amesterdão estão ali mesmo ao lado, Kiel ao virar da esquina, a Austrália um pouco mais longe... E se essas distâncias podem criar uma sensação de deslocamento para quem não está a viver nos sítios em questão, a mediação tecnológica vem dar a certeza que não é preciso "ir para fora", para se conseguir fazer bom trabalho e ser-se reconhecido por isso.

Tudo isto para dizer que também há a presença de pessoas portuguesas nos festivais estrangeiros, em várias categorias. Nós próprixs estaremos lá. A Ann Antidote tem um workshop no PFF de Berlim - onde Daniel Cardoso vai ter a estreia mundial da sua curta "Herm::aphrodite" e que arranca no fim de Outubro - e vai ver duas curtas suas serem exibidas no FFF de Kiel: "Vacations in SlutMeadow" e "Remember Gay Love Story", já este mês.

Sabem o que faz lá falta, porém? É que vocês, leitoras e leitores, peguem nas máquinas fotográficas, de filmar, nas webcams, nos brinquedos sexuais, nas amigas e amigos (e/ou em vocês mesmas e mesmos) e arrisquem, experimentem, façam. Mostrem ao mundo que somos diversas pessoas a viver num mundo diverso.

Ann Antidote - http://strangesavagelives.net.tc/

Daniel Cardoso – http://danielscardoso.net/

Placing the Safe on Safe-places: on the screening of Save the Place at Entzaubert 2012, part 2

Some ramdom thoughsts. by no particular order.

for a tentatively objecive descritpion on the incident at Entzaubert festival on the evening of the 3.8.2012 see my post here: "Placing safe on safe spaces". Comment moderation is enabled to avoid the usual internet spam, but I will publish everything which is not offtopic.

For those (like me) who think that "art" is anything which is created by human beings with some type of intention beyond a prurely funtional one, and feel unconfortable with the pomp and circunstance associated with the word "art", I will use the word stuff* instead

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There is a difference between intention and interpretation. Actually I think what makes stuff* interesting is that it can tell several stories, have different symbols for different people.

There is a difference between intention and interpretation. Of course if you (as an artist) have a significant number of people seeing things in your work you did not want to depict, maybe you want to look again at your work.

There is a difference between depicting violence and promoting violence or appologising violence.

I will continue to commit to the queer safe places as defined originally many years ago: safe places actively free from violence and discrimination, through self reflection and social responsability. I dont believe that stopiing to address or depict violence is a part of this. Other wise we can erase all discussions on racism and discrimination.

It is definetely a good idea to be considerate and avoid retriggering or re-hurting trauma, pain, putting salt on wounds etc. It is a good idea to do this independent of any rules on trigger there might be, only based on the fact that we tendendially want to be considerate, correct, and put other people in a fluffy place and not in hell.

Age ratings,  objective descriptions of films/works and trigger warnings are probably some tools which if correctly used might help achieve the former. I like a couple of them more than others, and e.g. dont really believe in trigger warnings, rather prefering objective descriptions in order for me to choose to see it or not.

If you as artist are submitting a work to a venue, be sure to know what the policiy on triggers are, so that you can help them with a better description or eventually with trigger warnings: so that it doesnt backfire on you or the organizators.

If you are organize an event and you want to have a trigger warning policy, make it explicit so that people can decide if they want to submit their works at all, ad so that people who submit their works might have a chance to provide a good description for the elaboration of descriptions and evtl trigger warnings.
 
Independent of safe spaces, but specially for safe spaces it is a good idea that discussions that go beyond the personal level in general get moderated, with some usual rules: no personal attacks tolerated, no interrupting, time limit, everybody should have the opportunity to make a point or refute a point (within time limits).

there is a difference between protecting and nurturing victims and disembalancing the discussion by giving a weight, and giving different rules (like, the possibility to shout, interrupt, be aggressive) to a person who takes the role of a victim. 

It is possible to accomodate people with different needs. It is desirable to do this. Safe place or not. It is about how we want to live. We need to think how, and to make it happen. But we cant do this at the cost of aggressive behaviour, because this is sacrificing one ideal to achieve the same ideal.

One of things worring me in this discussion: it is creating an "anti censorship" reaction, where all arguments on being considerate and accomodating different needs are being overruled.

There is a difference between protecting victims or creating a safe space for victims, and making politics with this.

If you are indeed interested in doing somethign about people with trauma before instrumentalising it for politics, start by reading this:
http://www.heal-post-traumatic-stress.com/help-PTSD-sufferer.html
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/diagnoses_and_conditions/post-traumatic_stress_disorder

starting a discussion about rape depiction in a spontaneous way where none was planned actually can and will trigger a lot of people who did not prepare for this and were not wishing to be confronted with this.

There are a lot of people with trauma. There are many triggers. It is probably worth mentioning if stuff* has violent content susceptible to re-enact pain and trauma. But you will never be able to cover all triggers. While I dont really believe in triggere warnings (rather believing in warnings about violent content), if you want to have trigger warnings dont assume you know everything about other people´s triggers, and try to formulate in a way that doesnt backfire: to you as organizer, to the stuff* makers and to your audience.

People with trauma need support. That doesnt entitle them, or anyone, to engage in aggressive or unacceptable behaviour.

There are interesting political things to be done on trauma. Trauma therapy is usually difficult to access to people with other discrimination issues: migrants, kinksters, polyamorous, left-political-scene.. either because some of those topics get pathologised, or addressed as "difficult" due to being so specific, leading to a refusal by the therapist. Might also be dependent of what type of health insurance you have.



I would personally would like to see more done about handling with trauma at a personal level- workshops, information events, talking rounds - in the queer scene. Are we aware? do we kow the symtoms of trauma? did we read about it? do we know how to deal with it? do we know the authorities who can help with that?


the politization of trauma is forcing many people to out themselves as traumatized, in order to be able to participate in a discussion where you get a different voice depending if you choose the victim side or not. Forcing or driving somebody or a group to out themselves is not safe nor desirable.


The word "victim" is manyfold, and complex. And to label someone as victim (or ally) doesnt make the argumentation above easier. Actually it makes it very problematic. I am aware of this as I wrote the previous 2 paragraphs. 
  
There is a difference between getting feedback, no matter how demolishing in its content - for which most stuff* makers are always thankful - and getting personally attacked, interrupted, silenced. 


Asking somebody who is behaving in an unreasonable way to calm now is not silencing a victim. No reasonable respectful discussion can take place while everybody is not back to their senses, victim or not.

An interesting ever-returning topic. Allies. And speaking in the name of others.
http://lgbtlaughs.tumblr.com/post/29371541839/mama-boy-so-not-into-ally-bullshit-and-as-a

Don't discuss with a drunken person. Never, ever. Don´t.

(ongoing)

Placing the Safe on Safe-places: on the screening of Save the Place at Entzaubert 2012

This post is commiting to try to be a descriptive and objective text on the incident at Entzaubert festival on the evening of the 3.8.2012. Feel free to comment, correct or complete this description. Comment moderation is enabled to avoid the usual internet spam, but I will publish everything which is not offtopic. I will aboundantly comment and give my opinion in a separate post.

Save the place, or the tragic end of a real-estate agent, was screened as the opening film at the "collective block" from Entzaubert festival   last friday.

Here the link to the film´s synopsis, and the youtube links. The film has a very liberal CC  licence, so feel free to distribute the link aboundantly, and feed the discussion with your contributions, information, insight and gasoline.


http://www.lube-nomads.blogspot.de/2011/09/save-place.html
http://strangesavagelives.net.tc (official, but still under construction)


During the screening one person erupted to protest that the film depicted sexual violence and that it should not be screened in a queer place. The film was nevertheless quite applauded after the screening(s).

Afterwards, during the Q&A session with me and Lun (one of the other "Save the 'Place" authors) and other filmmakers on the stage, the same person grabed the microfone and repeated the same argumentation, that sexual violence should not be present at Entzaubert festival . Other people had things to say, and tried to get into the discussioon, specially (from the stage perspective) a group in the front row, at the right handed side, but they never had the chance to get their point heard (if you read this, I and others would like to know what you have to say).

I grabed the microfone to say that (1) there was never the intention to depict sexual violence, from any of the persons involved in the film. (2) that if this caused any suffering that it was definetely never our intention (3) that the film is a satire, and not an appology of any type of violence.

The people from the orga at the stage had a hard time bringing the discussion down, stating that during the selection they did not see "Save the Place" as a sexually violent film, rather seen as satire and definetely not as violence appology,  and that art is subjective, interpretations being in the eye of he beholder. It was then proposed to halt the current discussion and to continue it at a latter point, as the current discussion had stalled at the same point over and over, with accusations flying on that there was indeed an intention to represent rape and that our - at some point quite loud and impatient- refusal to further discuss this exact point after the disclaimer above was taken as silencing a victim.

Me and Lun spent the night exhausting ourselves in discussing and answering people´s questions, in separate private discussions. During this, I (and a lot others) noticed that very few people seemed aware that there was *not* a trigger warning policy neither an age rating statement in the program the entzauber festival, but at the same time argumenting as this would be a matter of fact.

The next couple of days the focus of the whole discussion moved in the direction of the (curational) need or not of having trigger warnings in queer festivals, and in the queer community and if Entzaubert festival will want to have a trigger warning in future events.

Tuesday (7.8.2012) there has been a feedback round which shoud deal with these topics where I was not present (N.T. for not being able to deal with what could become yet another very violent discussion). Discussion is anyway going on at several informal channels. I will complete this post with links and texts if/when they are provided.




Post containing comments and musings will follow.

Thanks for reading!

A review from Arse Elektronika

A review from Arse Elektronika (by Ann Antidote)

(complete text to be found in the Krake 2012)

Arse Elektronika is a compilation of texts and presentations from the conference with the same name, organized by Vienna-based collective Monochrom. “We may not forget that mankind is a sexual and tool-using species. And that’s why Monochrom’s conference Arse Elektronika deals with sex, technology and the future. As bio-hacking, sexually enhanced bodies, genetic utopias and plethora of gender have long been the focus of literature, science fiction and, increasingly, pornography, this anthology sees us explore the possibilities that fictional and authentic bodies have to offer. ” reads the manifest.

One grey day in November I found an envelope containing this book with both “the Krake” and my name on it, due to an avalanche of chances. Browsing this book in a hurry I recognized electronic diagrams and lines of code, quite familiar from my previous life as an engineer, I caught words like sex, gender, hacking, control theory, feminist pornography, kink, body extensions. I had immediate flashbacks of one of my favorite books, “The Cities of the Red Night” by William Burroughs, and it was not before long that I found, selbstverständlich, his name, his imaginary and even his writing style quite present all over this book. “Ok, I just have to write about it”, I thought.

At a first glimpse, Arse Elektronika appears to be a book that demands you are an engineer or a geek in order to understand it. It isn't, it is a book that asks more or less politely from you that you believe that you don't have to be engineer to understand its main topic - the interconnections between technology, humanism and therefore our sexual boundaries, our identity boundaries, their reflection in social matrix, and possibilities to extend those - or be inspired by it, to be challenged by it.

If I had to explain in a nutshell what is inside this book, I would start by listing examples on how technology, not only recently, has changed our bodies, our sexuality and therefore our society. There are people out there living with artificial limbs, with more or less neuronal control; people who modify their body to accommodate it to their gender identity via surgery and/or hormonal intake; saying tender words to our absent loved ones - like we do now on the telephone or on skype - would be unthinkable some centuries ago. In these almost every day life examples, we see how technology was used to solve a problem or fill a hole, and how our bodies, emotions and society integrated it. Now, if we use this as a starting point, what if we all sit together and try to think what other possibilities are out there, and what could they do to our life, our sexuality, and our concept of humanity? Would you like to have an embedded LCD display on your arm showing you -real time- your lover´s heart, beating? Would you build a DIY set for having remote, intercontinental, sex with one of your lovers, transmitting most of seeing, sensing, hearing sensations? What about computer controlled electrical sexual titillation? And most of us used the internet to find polyamorous like-minded peers, right? Would you like to add an extra pair of arms to your torso? What about Krake-like tentacles? And how would society accommodate this? Would it be more variety-friendly? Would this press hetero-sexism out of the picture? Would it still be regarded as human? Ethical?

Arse Elektronika is an exploratory book which will leave questions unanswered, for the interested reader to look further for the answers. It will eventually inspire you and show you the principles on how to build the mentioned DIY remote sex set or the so-called pussy pad, but it is not a “how to” manual. The manual, the actual set, and the identities and societies you will be living in with it will have to be constructed by you.

Bibliography:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monochrom_Gruppe

http://www.monochrom.at/arse-elektronika/