Thank you, Dan for hearing our pain

We are grateful to you, Dan, for empathizing.  Thank you for telling your readers about the scary anti-sexiness happening in our city.  As Seattle enjoys a weekend of amateur porn on the big screen, Albuquerque is rid of sexy performances.  Freedom of speech in the U. S. of A. anyone?

As Dan suggests, tell Albuquerque's Mayor Berry if you want the right to seeing some pasties, porn, or even an erotic poetry reading, dance, gallery opening or film once in awhile.*

Do you want your art & culture judged appropriate only by the discretion of our zoning officials, or do you want your free speech to really be free and protected?

*They all could be cited as illegal based on Albuquerque zoning code, if performances take place outside limited adult-amusement zones. 

Pornotopia CENSORED Show Canceled in Albuquerque

An Open Letter to the People of Albuquerque:

We, the organizers of the Pornotopia film festival,  regret to inform you that as of today all Pornotopia events are cancelled indefinitely.

For the past 3 years, we have brought beautiful, raw, healthy expressions of adult sexuality to welcoming audiences. And, for the past 3 years the City of Albuquerque has attempted to limit, censor and persecute our constitutionally protected speech.

This year, in an attempt to defuse this ongoing conflict and comply with the City’s onerous zoning requirements, we voluntarily elected to postpone our annual film festival. Instead, we have spent recent weeks putting together a non-pornographic celebration of sexuality and the 1^st amendment under the title of Pornotopia CENSORED. As planned, this one night performance consisted of burlesque, drag, torch songs, film clips and risqué comedy sketches, all highlighting the power and importance of open, uninhibited speech in a free society. Each act in Pornotopia CENSORED was deliberately designed to meet the letter of the City’s highly restrictive interpretation of its own zoning regulations.

However, when it comes to Pornotopia, following the rules is not enough. Over the past few days, the City’s Planning and Zoning Department, apparently in coordination with other City agencies and departments, has conducted a campaign of bullying and intimidation against all those associated with Pornotopia CENSORED. Veiled threats have been made against the Sunshine Theater (the planned location of Pornotopia CENSORED) and against our performers. The City made it clear that both Zoning Enforcement officers and Special Investigations Divisions officers would attend the performance in number, and that these officers would find a way to shut down and silence an event focused on the importance and power of free speech. The Sunshine Theater was threatened with citations for permitting “adult entertainment” under an obscure provision of the zoning code which the City has never before enforced, and which it conveniently overlooked when similar events were held at City-run venues. The performers scheduled for Pornotopia CENSORED were threatened with potential citations for violations of the City’s business license requirements, even though to our knowledge no band, DJ or dancer at any other Albuquerque club has ever been required to meet such a requirement. Attendees, staff, and the Sunshine Theater itself were implicitly threatened by statements that Special Investigations Division officers would be specifically targeting the Pornotopia CENSORED performance for potential violations of New Mexico’s draconian alcohol service laws.

Even if these various citations ultimately proved to be groundless, the costs of fighting the foreseeable legal battles would bring financial ruin to the individuals and small businesses targeted by the City.

Under these circumstances, Pornotopia CENSORED simply cannot go forward. We cannot ask our supporters and our performers to risk legal and financial dangers of this magnitude. Pornotopia and Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center have always focused on promoting the beauty of adult sexuality in a safe, protected environment. The City’s actions have cast a shadow of fear and intimidation over the entire performance. Since we can no longer provide a safe space for our friends and allies to create their art and express their sexuality, we believe it is better to cancel the performance, conserve our resources, and move forward in our continuing efforts to bring an uninhibited, unashamed, sex-positive voice to the cultural and social landscape of Albuquerque.

Having made the agonizing decision to cancel our constitutionally protected and erotically charged performance, we now turn to you, the people of Albuquerque. We ask you to consider what our city is losing by having Pornotopia silenced. We ask you to consider if this is the type of city government you want, one where a relatively minor city bureaucracy has unchallenged authority to determine what you can say, and where you can say it. The City has threatened to interpret its zoning provisions as broadly as possible. Under that standard, every burlesque performance, every R rated movie, every sexy song, every naughty dance, every bikini contest, in fact every public expression of sexuality, can be silenced. Using your tax dollars, the City can transform itself into a puritanical utopia.

If you have a better vision for our City, or for yourself, your sexuality, then we ask you to join us. As a first step, we encourage you to sign and deliver the attached short letter to Mayor Berry.  We also ask you to speak up about censorship and fight for free speech in our city!  Spread the word, share this blog post and don't let zoning and intimidation threaten the sexiness of Albuquerque.

Thank you,

Molly, Matie, the Pornotopia organizers and the community of Self Serve

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mayor Richard J. Berry

PO Box 1293

Albuquerque NM 87103

Dear Mayor Berry,

I SUPPORT PORNOTOPIA! (and you should too!)

I am writing to show my support for free speech in Albuquerque! The City’s zoning code has now driven Pornotopia’s constitutionally protected speech from theaters and clubs in Nob Hill and from downtown Albuquerque. Between the zoning code, the fire code and other building regulations, the City government has essentially banned the Pornotopia Film Festival from the City limits. This ban on adult speech and adult sexuality attitude limits the diversity of ideas in our city. Prohibiting free speech under the guise of zoning also hinders the economic activity of the City’s small businesses.

I am asking you to show your support of free speech by reconsidering the City’s current definition of “adult entertainment establishment.” At the very least, I am asking you to show your dedication to the fundamental principles of democratic government by supporting an exemption procedure which would allow the City to consider reasonable, short-term exemptions from zoning regulations.

Do what is right. Support Pornotopia!

Sincerely,

Name _____________________________

Address ___________________________

__________________________________

The Pornotopia Community

It's pretty amazing how much work it is to put on a porn festival. The 3rd Annual Pornotopia Erotic Film Festival takes place in nine days according to the countdown clock on our website, and I continue to be grateful for all the individuals and organizations making Pornotopia 2009 possible.

Tickets are about to be printed, Pornotopia T-shirts are being designed, flyers are being distributed, sponsors are preparing their screen ads, all so we can enjoy a unique weekend of excellent porn on the big screen. It truly takes a village to produce a one-of-a-kind film festival. I love that our committee of volunteers includes married couples, LGBT women and men, kinksters, swingers, and people of various ages, ethnicities and backgrounds. A cross-section of sexual preferences and desires all unified in pursuing good porn and a sex-positive community.

I laugh and think of a sticker I saw yesterday on a presumably conservative car bumper: "Freedom is Not Free." I agree. Your right to go see porn on the screen of the last independent cinema in Albuquerque is hard work. More than thirty volunteers have watched good and bad porn and argued about its merit for the Pornotopia audience. The brave folks at the Guild Cinema join us at Self Serve in risking all sorts of silly zoning violations to exercise our first amendment rights. A UNM class is studying the politics of pornography, attending the festival, and even writing papers on feminist porn. The size-positive group Brickhouse Betties, which started at Self Serve, raised over $250 in support of the festival at the Curvy Carnival. Eight core volunteers have been strategizing for months on everything from showcase selections to printing and marketing. The ACLU works tirelessly to defend our constitutional rights. The staff of Self Serve and event volunteers do all sorts of organizing and coordinating with sponsors, filmmakers, vendors,and community members. Award-winning sex toy manufacturers are donating raffle items worth hundreds of dollars for our Sexy Silent Auction. Most of our featured filmmakers are donating their films and charging no rental fees. Members of Fetlife are donating time and money to help bring feminist pornographer, writer, and sex educator Tristan Taormino to Albuquerque. Local businesses support the film festival with their already-limited funds. Superstar performers Saywut, September Smith, Burlesque Noir, Gender Offenders, Eve and others are donating their time to put on spectacular live shows at Vintage & Vaudeville.



The freedom to see porn is certainly not free, and Matie and I are ever so grateful for the liberated, sexy, proud people of New Mexico exercising their right to enjoy Pornotopia. There are only a handful of erotic film festivals in the country, and we know why. It's not easy. But the people of Albuquerque have a special opportunity to take a deep breath, giggle or smile, and sit down to watch indie porn with complete strangers in nine days. In our too-often sexually repressed society, this is one freedom you don't get to exercise everyday.

If you are in the Albuquerque area and wish to join us for an exciting weekend, check all the details and film schedule online. Tickets will be available starting this weekend at Self Serve. Don't miss our kick off party November 5th, 6 pm at Self Serve. We'll celebrate indie porn, drink locally-brewed Marble beer, introduce the sexy silent auction and have a whole lot of fun. You must RSVP to attend- so sign up now!

Sex just keeps getting censored

It still ceases to amaze me. People are so very afraid of sex. Why else would there be so many censorship battles? Self Serve is just two and half years old, and we've had more than our share of brick walls, closed doors and unwanted editing. All in the name of preserving what? Some puritanical fantasy of an asexual, totally repressed world?

Why now do I bring this up? Thanks to an abundance of recent inspiration:

• A sex educator in Rhode Island is being blocked from opening the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health due to (you guessed it...) zoning issues!

• Google Checkout, of the all-amazing (and all-powerful) Google, shut down our account after a mere 48 hours of having selfservetoys linked to their shopping results.

Rhode Island deserves sexual pleasure and health!

Seriously? I keep thinking of the SNL weekend update with Amy Poehler and ... where they just get more and more astounded by the stupidity of the actual news. Well, so am I! Megan Andelloux in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, wants to open a welcoming, safe space to learn about sexuality and improve relationships. Megan Andelloux is supported by sex educators, sex therapists, the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists and all her potential business neighbors. But the city is using zoning (as usual) as an excuse to keep her from doing great work. Now she has an expensive legal battle on her hands.

What are you so afraid of, people?! I have to admit, it reminds me of the cold-hearted adult children on Grey's Anatomy last week. I was so proud of the 82-year-old character for pursuing his penile implant. Sure it's not a liver transplant, but if that man wants to enjoy his good health with a new love, that is a beautiful thing! Yet his middle-aged children were embarrassed, critical, condescending and judgmental.

Sex is healthy and pleasure is good for you. This concept is apparently still radical. What a pity.

The first time I got really mad at the all-mighty Google.

How Google felt justified closing our Checkout account is a whole other story of hypocrisy. Self Serve uses Google. We typically love Google. We use Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa, Blogger (apparently) and we were excited to start using Google Checkout. We had our web programmer lady work for hours on setting up a new Google Checkout account. I was so excited for the new visibility for our site. The account went live, and within hours we had new orders. Then within three days, Google closed our account and claim their policies do not allow the sale of adult items.

Well guess where you can find over 5 million pages of shopping results for even one vibrating item in Google Shopping results? Oh, silly me. I thought that policy was bunk since all the most gigantic online retailers seem to be selling adult toys through Google Checkout.

Hmm, how odd. Little companies like the Center for Sexual Health and Pleasure and Self Serve are fought tooth and nail for the basic right to teach healthy, happy sex education, while Amazon, Walgreens, Drugstore.com, Buy.com and others can go on undercutting prices of independent retailers and get away with ignoring Google's anti-adult policies.

Unfortunately, we're not new to this whole censorship thing...

If you are new to the world of Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center, here are a few more reasons we get fed up with censorship:

• Banks won't lend to any sex education business. Even with the economy in a slump, no SBA loans for new businesses teaching sex education. Even when we won an award for our business plan, no institutional lender would touch us. Instead, we found 9-plus amazing real people willing to help fund our start-up.
  
Four landlords in Albuquerque said no to us before we found a retail space.
Our Pornotopia independent erotic film festival is awaiting another court decision about zoning violations in 2008. We'll keep you posted as this year's festival approaches.
• We once had to fight to publish a subtle picture of a bunny when designing a $700 magazine advertisement.
Online merchant service-providers say no to adult web sites of any kind.
• After paying hundreds of dollars for insurance for over a year, our provider gave us 30 days to find a new underwriter -- because of what we sell.
• We once donated a silent auction item worth $50 to support continuing education for teen moms. The auction organizer rejected our donation. We found out only after the fundraiser.
  

So how do we cope without pulling our hair out?

Yes, of course the first obvious answer is therapeutic masturbation. But after you finish your nap- then what? The world is slowly changing, minds are opening and powers-that-be are recognizing the possibility of healthy, empowered sexuality for all. But change will not arrive without speaking out and taking action. Here are some suggestions.

• Pay attention. Speak Out. When voices are not being heard -anyone's voice- free speech is being censored. As Audre Lorde famously stated, "Your silence will not protect you."
• Support small, local and minority-owned businesses. Your money is exponentially more likely to stay in your community.
• If you believe in the right to a sex-positive life- support free speech and sex education.
• Support Megan's effort to open the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health in Pawtucket, RI. We're getting more action steps from her soon!
• Attend Pornotopia Erotic Film Festival in Albuquerque, NM!
• Support your local ACLU!