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A letter to Dan Savage: Share your righteous anger with us

 
Pornotopia Film Festival fan, organizer and friend of Self Serve asks one of our favorites, Dan Savage, to hear our story of censorship in Albuquerque.  Elisa sent this letter to Dan, and her message is so important, we wanted to share it here:

Dear Dan,

I have been a fan of your work for more years than I can remember, and I have always appreciated your humor and direct approach to advising a variety of people in some…let’s just call them “interesting” situations. More recently, I have come to appreciate your righteous anger, especially since it is directed at deserving targets.

What prompts this letter is not so much a sexual problem, rather a problem with sex or, more specifically, the depiction of sex. I am one of the organizers of Pornotopia, an erotic film festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico started by the amazing ladies of Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center.

Pornotopia was conceived as a showcase for porn that is healthy, tender, raw, beautiful, and real, where pleasure is paramount and everybody gets off. We highlight independently produced porn, and we aim to please our hetero-, homo-, trans-, and just plain sexual audience.

For its first three years, Pornotopia ran a three-day program at the Guild Cinema in the Nob Hill section of Albuquerque. Before the first film ran, the festival and the Guild were threatened with citation for violation of zoning codes. Despite the Guild’s previous incarnation as a full-time adult theater, its current status as the town’s only independent movie theater was not congruent with the exhibition of adult entertainment.

The ACLU has been valiantly fighting for our right to an exemption to these zoning codes for this less-than-1%-of-the-year event. So far the zoning commission has argued that 10% of the city is appropriately zoned for our festival—except that this magical 10% is primarily warehouses and car dealerships and heavy industrial areas. For a multitude of reasons—not the least of which includes public safety mandated fire codes—these “appropriate” areas are not conducive to the needs of a film festival.

Our dedicated committee spent more than nine months scouring the city for a space that could legally and practically hold Pornotopia. When we finally found a downtown theater that simply needed an exemption to allow adult entertainment, we were told BY THE ZONING OFFICE it should be a simple process.

It was a mere month before the event that a third call to zoning yielded a big fucking hiccup.  A “downtown corridor revitalization” overlay prohibited even the possibility of an exemption for any venue downtown. This gentrification plan was already in play when we first contacted zoning and got the “should be a simple process” answer, but no one in the office seemed aware of its existence until we were ready to sign contracts.

We are only so grateful that the brakes were slammed on prior to signing contracts. And because we aren’t in the habit of bending over and taking it up the ass without a sufficient amount of lube and foreplay, we are holding a “Pornotopia Censored” event at our downtown location with live Burlesque/Boylesque, drag, and comedy performances in lieu of the actual film festival.

The Pornotopia 2010 festival is ready to roll when we find an appropriate home. At this point, it appears that home will be outside city limits. We could take the festival underground, or offer it online with the rest of the wide world of internet porn. But our purpose in holding Pornotopia in a public space is to remove the stigma of shame, to show how porn can educate and enlighten, and to take back the good name of porn and perverts everywhere. To step back into the alleys and shadows means to accept defeat, even if we are grudgingly allowed to show the films in this setting.

We never set out to be porn crusaders or to start a sexy revolution, but here we are on the frontlines of the fight for freedom of speech, and we’re looking for allies. No one is saying this isn’t porn; it’s hot and heavy hardcore fuck action, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. But we have a right to make this available to a consenting, adult audience, and our rights are being violated.

From one open-minded, sex-positive, fellow porn festival organizer to another, would you be kind enough to use your mighty forum to bring attention to this travesty of justice? We want to shine a national spotlight on our city’s restrictive zoning, shaming them as they would like to shame us. You can find more information at www.pornotopiafilmfestival.com, www.selfservetoys.com, or contact me at ptopiavolunteer@gmail.com.

Sincerely and passionately,

Elisa McGovern

Local news coverage about our fine festival- Updated

No Porn at Pornotopia Censored event - KRQE Albuquerque

Pornotopia Runs Into Zoning Issues - Video - KOAT Albuquerque

The local news visited Self Serve today. We can't vouch for accuracy in reporting, but we hope the coverage helps more folks that love the 1st amendment join us November 6th!

Pornotopia's Censorship Saga as told by an Insider

One of the star volunteers of the Pornotopia Film Festival Planning Committee tells the story of the festival's recent censorship woes.

Autumn in Albuquerque: the chile is harvested, the state fair brings the whole of New Mexico to town, the hot air balloons rise (weather permitting), and the perverts gather to celebrate healthy sexuality at Albuquerque’s only erotic film festival, Pornotopia. At least that has been the narrative of the last three years; this year the city of Albuquerque’s zoning enforcement division has finally succeeded in eliminating any legally-approved site to host the festival.

Conceived as a way to bring erotica that is “healthy, tender, raw, real and beautiful” to a willing public, Pornotopia has grown increasingly popular over its three year history. Put together in hundreds of hours, donated by dozens of volunteers, Pornotopia 2010 was ready to roll Nov. 5-7 at the Sunshine Theater in downtown Albuquerque. That is until the third call to the zoning commission was made and it was revealed that things had changed.

Pornotopia has endured a contentious relationship with the zoning regulations in its short lifetime. At the inaugural festival in 2007, before the first film had even been introduced by Matie & Molly, the zoning office presented the Guild Cinema with a letter, threatening legal action for potential zoning violations. Despite its history as an adult theater, the Guild is not now zoned to show adult entertainment on their screen.

For six months, the Pornotopia committee researched zoning, looking for any space that was approved for adult entertainment. Narrowing the options were additional codes for public safety. Minimizing the list further was finding proprietors who were sympathetic to a porn festival on their property.

When the Sunshine Theater appeared both sympathetic and appropriately zoned, we verified its category with the zoning office. When negotiations with the Sunshine were coming together, the theater also researched regulations thoroughly. One month before the festival, just before contracts were to be signed, we decided on a triple-check with the zoning office. This time, however, we found a previously-forgotten, newly-passed “downtown corridor plan” that overrides the zoning code and expressly forbids new commercial adult entertainment ventures. No exemptions, exceptions, ifs ands or buts, even for a special event. One weekend of an erotic film festival would not be allowed downtown.

While no one is arguing that the content of Pornotopia isn’t “adult entertainment,” it might surprise you to learn what else qualifies as adult entertainment: Anything that shows the male member, anything that shows pubic hair, and anything that shows the female breast below the top of the areola.


That’s right; every time you’ve seen a movie that contained a fully-exposed breast, you’ve technically been watching ADULT ENTERTAINMENT. Do you feel dirty? No one is saying that we CAN’T show this pornography. But we can’t show it here…or here…or here…or, it turns out, ANYWHERE in Albuquerque without intentionally violating the zoning codes.


Zoning codes have historically been used to limit adult entertainment, and truly, any sexual information, education or art. It's problematic, and even in this twenty-first century, intelligent and open-minded adults should realize the censorship going on here.


We tried to play by the rules; we tried to play nice. Censorship is trying to screw our festival, but without buying us dinner or even complimenting us on how nice our hair looks. And we’re not putting out anyway. We will not take this lying down. We will not take our sex toys and go home (well, we will, but we’ll be back shortly.) We are adults, you are adults; we have a legitimate right to show this pornography, and you have a legitimate right to see it. You should care that your rights are being restricted.

Pornotopia is not canceled; it is simply postponed until we can find a home. The further we go from Nob Hill and Downtown, the more dollars we take from those local businesses. But we will find a home for our porn. We will find a way to bring the hottest, most real, diverse sexy films to a public screen for you perverts.

With Love,
Elisa
Pornotopia Volunteer Coordinator, Pornducer and Big Supporter of the 1st Amendment

Pornotopia is censored again?! Really? Seriously?

Pornotopia Film Festival 2010 Update

The City of Albuquerque's highly restrictive zoning regulations have effectively banned the festival from all potential venues and censored all new erotic speech from our city.

In protest over Albuquerque's blatant attempts to censor films protected by the 1st Amendment, are announcing Pornotopia - CENSORED, Cirque de Sex, a live celebration of eroticism, sensuality and the joys of free speech. Cirque de Sex will feature September Smith, Cookie Fortune and many other circus, drag and burlesque stars of the Southwest. Cirque de Sex will be held November 6 at 8 pm at the Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Doors open at 7 pm. General Admission is $10-$20 sliding scale.

Pornotopia has not been canceled. We are not giving up on finding a home for Pornotopia 2010 and a home for free speech. We will not let these erotic films be censored.

Learn More and Support Free Speech! Self Serve is hosting all sorts of events in the next few weeks. We will not go quietly, or fully clothed.

Saturday, October 23
2:00 pm
Save Pornotopia Press Conference
at the Guild Cinema

Saturday & Sunday, October 23 & 24
2:30 pm
The People vs. Larry Flynt
at the Guild Cinema $7 general admission

Thursday, November 4
7 pm
Kicked Out! Event
at Self Serve free to attend, space is limited
Learn more about free speech, censorship and how you can support Pornotopia Film Festival.

Pornotopia Censored : Cirque de Sex

Sat, Nov 6th at 8 pm
at the Sunshine Theater
Burlesque, Circus, Comedy and More! Featuring September Smith, Cookie Fortune, and many more stars of the Southwest. Dancing and revelry will follow the show.
$10-$20 sliding scale
Advance Tickets will be available October 29th at Self Serve

The Volunteer Committee is working long, hard hours to plan this year's festival. If you are interested in volunteering, email us at ptopiavolunteer@gmail.com.

Follow the news here and the Save Pornotopia Facebook page.

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!

Femme Identity and Passing...

Around LGBT Pride time every year, amidst Self Serve pride planning, building a float and attending lots of fun events, I find a time to reflect on my own identity as a queer femme who passes most of the time.

I have a transgender FTM partner who passes as male, and I'm feminine looking and people assume we're straight. I had an interesting conversation with a friend about passing. If you are not "out" to those around you, is it dishonest? Is it your responsibility to come out, educate or explain yourself to those you meet? I think most people vary day to day on this question.

We were talking about how "out" you are in your identity- whether you have a chronic illness, you're gay, you're transgender, you're a breast cancer survivor, you're HIV positive or any number of identities. There are lots of parts of yourself you can hide, and some you can't. Many a person with a visible disability knows the responsibility and, often, fatigue of coming out.

On one hand, my partner and I enjoy privilege by passing for straight, avoiding questions. On the other hand, I don't want to pass most of the time, and I want people to know I'm queer and proud. My ability to pass is often an open door. It's an opportunity to have someone assume they can relate to me as hetero, only to have their perception flipped on its head thereafter. That's a plus. Having a trans partner means often either having no questions asked of us (when we pass) or complete bombardment of every personal and inappropriate question you can think of (when we come out).

As a sexuality educator, I want to educate, share, and relate most of the time. I want my experience to be one others can learn from. On the other hand, I know the feeling of just wanting it to be easy.

I still look forward to the time when we are surrounded by accepting, loving people who know us. Where people don't require explanations of gender and transition and surgeries and genitalia. In LGBT communities and many other accepting diverse communities, we find those safe spaces where we don't have to work at it all the time. Where we can just be. In this moment in my life, I appreciate coming out, sharing those 'ah-ha' moments with a stranger who's never met a queer dyke or never heard of an FTM. But I admittedly love and need those moments where we can just love each other, be respected by others, and not have to explain ourselves.

Comfort and respect. It seems it takes just a little discomfort of some closed-minded individuals to get there. Well Happy Pride. xo -Molly

So for those that read this and of course have questions :) some resources:

Hot and Hilarious femme Shar Rednour challenges over-eager questions and comments

the femme show

genderqueer revolution

smartypants Morty Diamond

wiki butch and femme definitions

FTM International