Sex & Society

That the movie "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" will raise a few eyebrows is a given. The film promises to be a saucy, sex-filled comedy about a couple in need of some extra cash. Their solution: amateur porn.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) initially tagged the film with an NC-17 rating. That was overturned on appeal. But now the MPAA has banned one of the posters for the movie, tut-tutting its nearly invisible blowjob reference. (Look closely and you will see the tops of two heads just about where the stars' crotches are.)

However, the "suggestive"  image will still be used to promote the movie in Canada.  "I've always loved Canada and Canadians for giving us hockey," says director Kevin Smith. "Now, I love 'em just a little bit more. For allowing tufts of hair."

Check out the trailer after the jump ...

One of the two University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletes dismissed from the wrestling team for posing nude (as "Cal") for Fratmen.tv says he got what he deserved.

Kenny Jordan, a junior, said "I made a bad decision and I got in trouble. ... My punishment is definitely fair."

Wrestling Coach Mark Manning had claimed earlier that both men had a history of questionable conduct, and that their appearance on a porn site was not the only reason they were kicked off the team.

"The history of behavior of these men, including the current matter, does not reflect the standard of excellence we aspire to on and off the mat," Manning said. This includes, according to the Associated Press, fines, issues with alcohol, and assault.

"We have outstanding student-athletes in our program and we will move forward in a positive manner toward our goals," Manning added. "I want to personally apologize for any embarrassment that may have been caused for our athletic department, the university and our fans."

Obviously if the boys were appearing in porn they were turning their lives around; what greater community service is there than helping thousands of gay men get off? Check out these pics.

Not only did last week's Democratic National Convention bring a few extra dollars into Denver, it also resulted in a noticeable increase in sex ads on Craigslist's Denver web site by almost 80 percent over August 2007.

From "Fuck a Republican" to "Looking to service a young Democrat" to someone in desperate need of "gloryholes" the ads offered much of what you would expect from horned up political types.

However, one woman turned to Craigslist to score a ticket to the convention by posting a picture of her boobs and suggesting, "Let's enjoy the day, see our next President speak and celebrate afterwards." (whatever does she mean by that?)

Turkey is a very interesting country. Even though it is currently being governed by a conservative Islamic party, the AKP, the country's constitution enforces a culture of strict secular freedom. The AKP was already taken to court for plotting to create an Islamic state and narrowly avoided -- by a single vote -- having their members banned from politics altogether.

This may explain a sudden withdrawal of a bill that would have, among other things, targeted pornography.

The party's deputy chairwoman, Edibe Sozen, wanted to force buyers of adult material to give their personal details to shopkeepers, who would in turn pass this information to the authorities. The same bill would have also introduced prayer in all state schools, something prohibited by the country's constitution.

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tried to distance himself and his party from the legislation. "It [the bill] is not the party's work, but it was perceived as if it belonged to the party," he told an AKP meeting. "Such works should be discussed within the party first. It is an ill-timed and fatal statement.

"The content is bad. She [Sozen] put the party in a difficult situation. We are going through sensitive times that need caution and ultimate care. This is valid for each one of us. We all need to refrain from any actions or statements that could create new tensions."

The Prime Minister would like to keep his purchase of 'Jugs' on the down low, thank you very much!

When 20-year-old Australian diver Matthew Mitcham won gold at the Beijing Games, NBC was accused of censoring images of Mitcham with his boyfriend Lachlan -- the two actually kissed following the medal ceremony.

It was an odd oversight considering Mitcham was the only openly gay male competing at the games, but not a single reference to his orientation was mentioned after he won gold in the 10 metre platform diving event.

"Anyone watching NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics is aware how much time the network devoted to many athlete’s personal stories," said AfterElton.com.

"Michael Phelp’s record setting eight Olympic gold medals and his relationship with his mother, Usain Bolt’s gold medals and world records, and even Sanya Richard’s relationship with her fiancée who plays for the New York Giants.

"Was Mitcham's win simply not that noteworthy? Given that he single-handedly kept the Chinese from winning every men’s diving gold medal, that explanation is highly unlikely."

NBC initially argued it was too difficult to cover every athlete's personal story. And since Mitcham is not an American diver his story may be less interesting for an American audience.

However, on Wednesday NBC's head of Olympic coverage admitted the network was in the wrong. "We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham's story," Gary Zenkel told AfterElton.com. "We apologise for this unintentional omission."

They can make it up to all of us by posting new pics of the delicious diver daily for the next month.

Some students at Lorain County Community College in Ohio are relying on a poster of a half-naked man kissing Jesus' neck to promote atheism.

“We had complaints all day,” said Amanda Lucero, a senior who also works at The Student Connection. “It’s sexually graphic. It’s very suggestive, and it still would be if it were a man and a woman.”

Those who objected gave the same pat responses: “You can’t portray Jesus like that. He believes in matrimony, that relationships like that should be done inside matrimony,” one sophomore opined.

Christopher Burns defended the decision of his group, Activists for Atheism, to put up the poster in the student commons area as part of Club Awareness Week. The intention, he claimed, was not intended to
mock religion.

“The purpose of the poster is to get students to see something they haven’t seen before,” he said. “The chances are it challenges them to challenge something they thought they knew.

“I understand that people will be offended. People will sometimes be offended for the most ridiculous of reasons,” he said.

We're all for discussions of sexuality and religion, but isn't the image of a gay Jesus becoming a tad cliche?

Asserting their independence from Federal law, the Coquille Indian Tribe of Oregon has passed legislation to officially recognizes same-sex marriage. This contradicts the state's constitution which was amended in 2004 to prohibit gay marriage.

However, as a federally recognized sovereign nation, the tribe is not bound by the Oregon Constitution. Take that!

Acceptance of homosexuality differs from tribe to tribe in North America with many turning against traditional belief in two-spirited people, where member of a tribe whose sexuality was different were often given a place of respect. Shaman were often two-spirited.

Ken Tanner of Ashland, chief of the Coquilles explained, "For our tribe, we want people to walk in the shoes of other people and learn to respect differences. Through that, we think we build a stronger community."

This may be the first tribe in the US to make such a bold move, and only time will tell if the feds will challenge the Coquille law as a way of testing the limits of tribal independence. Guess whose side we're on!

According to Outsports.com only 10 of the 10,708 athletes at the 2008 Olympics is openly gay, with a single openly bisexual American softball player. And of those 10, only one is a man.

Matthew Mitcham, a diver representing Australia, came out a few months prior to the games. But he doesn't want to be defined as a queer athlete.

“I just want to be known as the Australian diver who did really well at the Olympics,” he said. “It’s everybody else who thinks it’s special when homosexuality and elite sport go together.”

As for other divers: "They don’t seem to mind that I’m a big homo,” he said. “I make jokes about it all the time. I haven’t made an issue of it, so they just reciprocate that attitude.”
 
Of course there are gay and lesbian athletes competing who have chosen to remain mum on their sexuality. Our gaydar has gone off more than a few times during the games ...

Outsports sees the lack of out athletes as a disappointment when one considers how far the gay community has come over the past decade.

“Strangely, this year there are no out riders competing on any team,” equestrian star Robert Dover, who retired in 2005 after competing in six Olympics, said in an e-mail to Outsports. “There is one rider who is married, but is having an affair with a guy, but so far he's not coming forward about it. Sad!” [more]

St. Louis attorney Mike Colona is one step closer to a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives. He won the Democratic primary over four other candidates, taking an impressive 42 percent of the primary vote.

Not bad for a man who was concerned his work with X99 Media (parent of Citiboyz Video) could hinder his chances for the nomination. He worked as the company's custodian of records, responsible for maintaining proof-of-age records to prove the X99 Media complied with federal obscenity regulations. When political opponents tried to use the information against him, he made sure to explain his work to potential voters.

"A small part of my job is to ensure no minors are exploited by the pornography industry," Colona told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Some of my opponents want to mischaracterize the work I've done. Make no mistake, my work is focused on keeping kids safe."

The  Republicans are not putting forward a candidate so Colona should be a shoo-in for the House of Reps election.

According to the Huffington Post, the chairman of Manhunt.net, Jonathan Crutchley, made a personal donation of $2300 to John McCain's campaign for the presidency.

One would assume that a man whose website brings in a reported $2.4 million monthly from horny gay men would lean a little further left in his political views. But according to Out.com, although Crutchley considers himself a Massachusetts Republican, he is anything but a liberal.

“Welcome to the age of the internet, where everyone’s private life becomes public," Crutchley wrote in response to a post at Online Personals Watch that criticized him for his contribution. (The comment has since been removed from the site, though a copy of it can be found at Towleroad.) "I believe McCain will be a better commander-in-chief than Obama, who also opposes gay marriage. If we have an experienced, seasoned person defending the country in this dangerous age, we will be able to argue about the gay agenda later.”

Blogger Joe.My.God isn't impressed. "Log in, get off, get betrayed," he wrote when he heard the news.

Manhunt.net's co-founder Larry Basile was forced to mitigate the damage: "It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley's donation to McCain left the entire Board in disbelief. I am disappointed that we have lost some customers, and I understand the anger. It is too bad for the web site if we lose customers, but PLEASE never refer to me as a Republican. I consider it an offense."

John Marsh, owner of Fratmen.tv, was recently contacted by the University of Nebraska's athletic department. He was not being offered his pick of university studs, but was being asked about two Cornhusker wrestlers who had appeared on his site.

The Scarlet Project, a University gossip blog, broke the story on August 9. An anonymous source sent in pictures and video of the two athletes -- named 'Nash' and 'Cal' on the site -- undressing, showering and masturbating.

Marsh refused to confirm their identity, however, citing his policy to protect his models.

However, the two men were dismissed from the wrestling team and have lost their National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) standing, thereby compromising any eligibilty to compete in future sporting events. According to the University the decision has little to  do with the sexual aspect of their pictures, but rather the violation of rules prohibiting athletes from appearing in commercial photoshoots or videos.

We're sure the porn aspect of the videos made the coach's decision that much easier. No wonder so many men are posing for Maskurbate.

Even behind the broken english -- “Sports make you health” -- a series of interesting condom adverts are popping up around the Beijing Olympics to promote safer sex as fun. Stick-man athletes are shown using condoms as various Olympic apparatus from archery targets to gymnastic rings. 

Prophylactics and the Olympics seem to go hand in hand. During the 2004 Games in Athens 130,000 free condoms were given to athletes and officials. And in the Sydney 2000 Games, each athlete received 51 condoms (talk about pressure!) on arrival at the Olympic Village, with an additional 20,000 required when supplies ran low.

It certainly gives a whole new meaning to going for the gold. Check out the ads after the jump ...