August 27, 2012
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else. Much of the free-love tradition is an offshoot of anarchism, and reflects a libertarian philosophy that seeks freedom from state regulation and church interference in personal relationships.
According to this concept, the free unions of adults are legitimate relations which should be respected by all third parties whether they are emotional or sexual relations. In addition, some free-love writing has argued that both men and women have the right to sexual pleasure. In the Victorian era, this was a radical notion. Later, a new theme developed, linking free love with radical social change, and depicting it as a harbinger of a new anti-authoritarian, anti-repressive sensibility.
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August 26, 2012
Stirpiculture [stur-pi-kuhl-cher] is a word coined by John Humphrey Noyes, founder of the Oneida Community (a religious commune founded in 1848 in Oneida, New York, which practiced group marriage), to refer to eugenics, or the breeding of humans to achieve desired perfections within the species. Noyes derived stirpiculture from the Latin word ‘stirps,’ which means ‘stock, stem, or root.’
Up until the late 1860s, John Humphrey Noyes believed in only having children with purpose and preparation. In his society, it was not simply about the preparedness of the parents, but rather the preparedness of the community to support a new generation. In the early years of the community, when poverty was an issue, the community did not feel adequately prepared to take on the raising and support of children. Therefore, procreation was discouraged in these early days before the financial successes of trap-building. An ‘accidental’ conception was thought to be a failure in male continence, the act that was meant to prevent unwanted pregnancies through the withholding of male ejaculation during intercourse. Continue reading →
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August 26, 2012
Electro house is a subgenre of house music influenced by 1980s music. The term has been used to describe the music of many of the world’s top DJs, such as David Guetta, deadmau5, Skrillex, and Tiësto. Electro house, sometimes resembling tech house (a hybrid of techno with house), typically retains elements of house music and can incorporate electro-influenced synths and samples.
It often has a ‘dirty’ bass sound created from saw waves with compression and distortion. The exact origins of the genre are uncertain; it has sometimes been seen as a fusion of electro and house; or a term using ‘electro’ as an adjective (meaning ‘futuristic’ or ‘hard’). French house, by artists such as Justice and especially Daft Punk, has also been considered a strong influence.
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August 26, 2012
Molecular Mixology is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using the scientific equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy. These methods enable the creation of greater intensities and varieties of flavor, flavor combinations, and different ways of presenting drinks, for example using gels, powders, foams, atomized sprays, etc., as well as affecting the aesthetic qualities of the cocktail.
‘The Art of Drink’ website suggests that the earliest example of what we now call molecular mixology is the long-established bartending practice of layering ingredients in cocktails. This experimentation with the density and viscosity of fluids uses the principles of scientific investigation that are fundamental to molecular mixology. Continue reading →
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August 26, 2012
In the United States, open container laws regulate or prohibit the existence of open containers of alcohol in certain areas. Typically these laws concern public places, such as parks and vehicles. The purpose of these laws is to restrict public intoxication, especially the dangerous act of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Open container laws are state laws, rather than federal laws; thus they vary from state to state.
The vast majority of U.S. states and localities prohibit possessing and/or consuming an open container of alcohol in public places, such as on the street. However, the definition of ‘public place’ is not always clear. California is unique in that it does have a state law on the books, but similar to states that have no law, the state law only applies to areas that the ‘city, county, or city and county have enacted an ordinance’ in. Open container restrictions are not always rigorously enforced, and open containers may in fact be legally permitted in nominally private events which are open to the public. This is especially true in downtown districts and during holidays and sporting events and tailgate parties. Continue reading →
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August 26, 2012
Botellón [boh-tay-yone] (Spanish for ‘big bottle’), called ‘litros’ in Cantabria, is ‘mass meeting of young people between 13 and 24 years, mainly in open areas of free access, to consume drinks previously purchased in shops, listen to music, and talk.’ It emerged as an alternative to bars, discos or clubs, but normally is a previous step before going to such locations.
Although the origins of botellón started in Andalucia during the 1980s as a way for Andalucian workers to be able to enjoy a cheap drink outdoors instead of conforming to the prices that were offered in the bars, young people and especially students adopted it in the 90s, appearing for the first time formally in the city of Cáceres, in connection with the riots caused by the advance of the closing time for the nightclubs. Today it is a standard practice among the nightlife youth and even regulated in many cities. Continue reading →
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August 26, 2012
Social customs and laws on drinking alcohol in public vary significantly around the world. In some countries, such as the United States and the Muslim world, public drinking is almost universally condemned or outlawed, while in other countries, such as New Zealand and Japan, public drinking and public intoxication are legal (although local often authorities have power to pass bylaws declaring liquor-free zones).
Opponents of drinking in public argue that it encourages overconsumption of alcohol and binge drinking, rowdiness and violence, and propose that people should instead drink at private businesses such as public houses, bars or clubs, where a bartender may prevent overconsumption and where rowdiness can be better controlled by the fact that one is sitting down and security or bouncers may be present. Alternatively, one may drink at home. Continue reading →
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August 25, 2012
Ageplay or age play is a form of roleplaying in which an individual acts or treats another as if they were a different age. The practice can be regressive, in which the goal is to re-experience childhood, or sexual, recreating a sexual relationship with people of the pretend or true ages.
Sexual variations may include among other things such as incest play, in which individuals recreate and sexualize roles within a family, and ‘Daddy’s girl’ fetishism in which real or imagined age differences are the basis of the roleplaying and the female is portrayed as the younger partner. Ageplay is also commonly done by children when they play games such as ‘house’ and take on roles of a nuclear family, which typically consists of a father, mother, a child or children, and/or a baby.
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August 25, 2012
Erotic target location error (ETLE) is a term coined in 1993 by sexologist Ray Blanchard, referring to having a sexual preference (or very strong sexual interest) in features that are somewhere other than on one’s sexual partner(s). When one’s sexual arousal is based on imagining one’s self in another physical form (such as an animal, an infant, or an amputee) the erotic target is said to be one’s self, or erotic target identity inversion.
The best known examples of erotic target identity inversions are biological males who experience sexual arousal in response to imaging themselves as women (called autogynephilia), but there has also been at least one reported case of anatomic autoandrophilia (a woman’s tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of herself as a man). Autogynephilia can be associated with gender dysphoria and Gender Identity Disorder, discontent with one’s biological sex and the desire to under surgery for sex reassignment and permanently take on a role and life of the other sex. A male with sexual arousal based on temporarily taking on the appearance or role of a woman is called ‘transvestic’ fetishism.
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August 25, 2012
Fursuits are animal costumes made from various materials. They range from simple tails and ears to full costumes cooled by battery-powered fans. Fursuits can be worn for personal enjoyment, work, or charity. The term ‘fursuit’ is believed to have been coined in 1993 by Robert King and can also refer to animal mascot costumes in general, as opposed to human or inanimate object mascots. Fursuits have also been featured in visual mediums as backdrops or as part of a central theme.
Fursuits are associated with furry fandom, a subculture devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. More advanced fursuit features include jaws which move when the user speaks, and moving tails. Often, the suits depict a personal character and are used in a form of role play, or for expressing their owners’ ‘true’ personality. Some fursuiters do not talk while in costume to ‘preserve the magic.’ A few members of the furry fandom consider the fursuit a sexual item. Fursuits can be sold with or modified to contain provisions for sexual activity, such as openings, removable panels, and anatomically correct artificial genitalia. Sexual arousal that depends on portraying one’s fursuit identity has been called ‘fursuitism’ and sexuality in furry fandom is refered to as ‘yiff’ or ‘yiffing.’
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August 25, 2012
Plushophilia is a sexual fetish involving stuffed animals. Plushophiles are sometimes called ‘plushies,’ although this term can also refer to non-sexual stuffed animal enthusiasts, and to stuffed animals in general. Plushophilia is sometimes assumed to be a practice common within furry fandom (a subculture revolving around animal anthropomorphism), due in part to a 2001 ‘Vanity Fair’ article that linked various members of the furry community with plushophilia.
Pornography and sexual activity involving animal anthropomorphism is known in the furry fandom community as ‘yiff’ (and sexual acts as ‘yiffing’). Sexual arousal that depends upon imagining one’s self as plush or anthropomorphized animal is ‘autoplushophilia.’ Paraphilic interests that involve being in another form have been referred to as Erotic target location errors, a term coined in 1993 by sexologist Ray Blanchard, referring to having a sexual preference in features that are somewhere other than on one’s sexual partner.
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August 25, 2012
The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. According to fandom historian Fred Patten, the concept of furry originated at a science fiction convention in 1980, when a character drawing from Steve Gallacci’s ‘Albedo Anthropomorphics’ started a discussion of anthropomorphic characters in science fiction novels. This led to the formation of a discussion group that met at science fiction and comics conventions.
The specific term ‘furry fandom’ was being used in fanzines as early as 1983, however, fans consider the origins of the subculture to be much earlier, with fictional works such as ‘Kimba, The White Lion’ released in 1965, Richard Adams’ novel ‘Watership Down,’ published in 1972 (and its 1978 film adaptation), as well as Disney’s ‘Robin Hood’ as oft-cited examples. To distinguish these personae from seriously depicted animal characters, such as Lassie or Old Yeller, cartoon animals are referred to as ‘funny animals,’ a term that came into use in the 1910s.
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