My Grandmother, My Vibrator, and Me

Wacker M 3000 Concrete Vibrator...wait wrong tool

Little Chroma by Jimmy Jane

My Grandmother, My Vibrator, and Me
For $24.99 you can sleep like a baby, moan like a porn star and obtain happiness.

Writing an article on the power of vibrators isn't easy. There is a lot of research that goes into each article in Jaded. I can honestly tell you, this article is well researched. Let's start with the "history of" from our friends at Wikipedia.

“Western doctors invented vibrators in the late 1800s to help cure women of a Victorian-era condition known as “hysteria.” This condition was believed to encompass a variety of symptoms including irritability, lack of appetite for sex or food, nervousness, faintness, and even a “tendency to cause trouble.” Doctors would physically massage their genitals until they had an orgasm.”

While I am mainly interested in first hand sources, the above background from Wiki tells me two things; that we live in a sexist society [ ] gendering “unwomanly” traits as diseases and that women can outsmart a professional group of men to massage their clitoris. Though it is nice to have a professional do all the work for you, there is little privacy in sitting in an uncomfortable chair under harsh lighting and having a stranger touch you “down there”. A vibrator offers intimacy, but more important it provides an opportunity for self-discovery and independence.

It takes a courageous and curious woman to dive in the deep sea of orgasmic pleasures. And I was not that woman. Not only was I not curious, I was actually fearful of all the dark complicated areas down there. I went through half a box of tampons before deciding it was safe to put it all the way in and leave it there.

I finally decided to give the vibrator a try after finding some shocking discoveries about my grandmother. Two summers ago, when I visited her in her small town Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and she eagerly showed me her stash of porn, highlighting one magazine with all its models over 50 years old. I found out later she secretly gave my female cousin a dildo as a gift. After the shock and embarrassment subsided, I realized what she was doing was empowering herself as a woman. She was interested in seeing women of her age represented sexually and explicitly in magazines. When my grandmother gave my cousin a rubbery penis, she was giving her granddaughter a chance to explore her own sexuality. It was a present from a woman to another woman. Her committed to her sexual health even the age of 64 is something rare and inspiring.

Once I understood how masturbation is gendered to congratulate male sexuality and stigmatize female sexuality, I saw the vibrator as a tool of empowerment. Men are thought of as sexual beings; we always understand their need to masturbate. He comes every time during intercourse. On the other hand, she can have sex without reaching orgasm. In the public discourse there are more room for negative names like “slut” and “whore” than positive images of women exploring sexuality. It is powerful to know your own body and what turns you on, and be able to come at a moment's notice with the whir of a switch. The process of finding orgasm with a vibrator is daunting but well worth the search. And after that, you’ll be able to sleep like a baby.

One thing I learned from my grandmother was that it is important share. Since I have a healthy relationship to my vibrator, I’ve introduced it to the women in my life. To share pleasure from a woman to a young lady is a generous act womanly-love and self-love.

If hole-in-the-wall porn shops aren't your thing, check out these bourgeois sex shops, complete with jazz music, smiling employees dressed in matching polos, and corporate slogans.
Spankys- "Adult Emporium Since 1968" Also home of the world famous Monkey Spanker, Chicken Choker, Rocket Polisher and Strong Arm character tee shirts. Store located in Santa Ana. http://www.spankysxxx.com/
Good Vibrations - "Promoting sexual health and pleasure since 1977" They also have a weekly online magazine and information sessions called "Pleasure Parties" Stores are located in San Francisco http://www.goodvibes.com/
Babeland - "Sex Toys for a Passion World." Locations in Los Angeles and New York. http://www.babeland.com/
ConRev – "World's finest Erotic Gift Shop." Shops in Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach http://www.conrev.com/

-- Diana Jou

A little post-valentine's day article from the Jaded mag archives, Red Issue 2007

"The Hardest Working Presidential Candidate Logo"

This is a repost from Speak Up, who does a careful analysis of Obama's logo design. If you want to hear some good design talk click here.
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The New York Times , "Reading Tea Leaves and Campaign Logos"
Ward Sutton makes some observant design notes on everything from typeface to color to spacing.

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Hillary has one logo and a couple unappealing on-the-road photo montage banners for her website
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Obama is giving everyone their own logo. A clean, slightly misty, banner. I smell re-post and website decorating opportunities.

Each design tries to connect to the group it is representing, it does so with sensitivity and respect. Never undermine the power of typography. It speaks tons.

Speak up says:
"This kind of playful flexibility is typically reserved for the likes of MTV, VH1 or Nickelodeon and the breadth of this kind of brand architecture for global corporations with endless divisions." ouch!

I hope Obama will redesign the White House stationary and make it look more modern, but classy of course. Shoot, he should redeocrate the White House itself. Add some color, make it fun.

And if you must, you can put a 5 second video of his logo (it doesnt do much) on your ipod via
mo/de the masterminds behind the logo.

- Diana Jou

Pregos Films; What Does It Mean For The Fetus Debate?

I saw both Juno and 4 months 3 weeks & 2 days last week. Juno is the indie superstar with four big nominations from the Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actress, Director and Original Screenplay. Juno tells the story of a witty and slightly tomboyish high school girl that is suddenly bore with the burden of an unexpected pregnancy. Most films at this point turn into a drama, but Juno is a comedy. We follow her as she as she decides between an abortion or an adoption but ultimately decides to give her baby up for adoption to a wealthy and desperate mommy wannabe. Anyone that can turn unplanned pregnancies into an enjoyable and heart-warming entertainment piece deserves at least one naked gold man. I came out of the movie announcing confidently, "I like that movie." What is there not to like? Juno is courageous, responsible, intelligent, rebellious, and knows a crap load about punk music. But a true task would be to make a humorous teen pregnancy film about a girl that is, let's say, a person of color. Or maybe in an urban environment? Or poor?

Okay, okay the purpose of Juno is to entertain the mind with happy fantasies and not smash you in the brains with unflattering realities that most young women have to face. That is the job of the Romanian film, 4 months 3 weeks, & 2 days. It received international acclaim by the International Federation of Film Critics and the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival but no mention from the coveted Academy. 4 months tells a story of two college students living in communist Romanian in 1987 and their experience as they arrange an illegal abortion. Gabita, the pregnant roommate, nervous and slightly absentminded (who can blame her) is helped by her resourceful and pragmatic roommate, Otilia. The abortion comes at political, physical sexual cost that the women have to bare. There is not much action, the shots are long and dialogs are short. The chilling factor lies in the creepy Dr. Bebe and his description of the painful realities of an abortion. The experience is so raw and ugly, it felt like a warning to all the kids out there, "abortion, too scary to try!" It is hard to decide which political camp it belongs to because it can be used by pro-lifers as the dangers of abortion and pro-choicers as the danger of illegal abortion. What makes this film a winner is that the true fright stems from anticipation and uncertainty of the women's decision. The uncertainty of whether the young and scared women are making the right decision is what transcends the film from being "pro-life" or "pro-choice" to being complicated and humane. I don't think women always know if an abortion is good or bad, right or wrong despite its legal status. It is invasive, emotionally and physically draining, but when given no choice they become desperate and vulnerable, specifically to men.

Juno and 4 months should be a double feature, people should watch both, one right after another. It is might be a path to enlightenment, if not serving to stretch our imagination by playing out two opposing scenarios of unplanned pregnancies from a women's perspective. After watching 4 months I was able to understand why I liked Juno, how it might hurt romantic young girls, and how it perfectly reflects a moderate American perspective. I liked Juno because it is a sweet love story even though there were Christian undertones of "God wants you to have a baby" and "gift of life" J. Hoberman from the Village Voice made an excellent point, it is a Christmas movie about charity and giving, except the philanthropic act is about going through with an unplanned teen pregnancy and letting an unbelievably loving and beautiful woman adopt the child. It gives me hope, and it even makes me welcome the unexpected. But I hope teeny bopper hipsters that are humming to Juno's theme song or more accurately a lullaby are more educated on the realities of producing a person and not be romantic fools that believe in the power of the Pennysaver classifieds. Juno is edgy because it openly tells a story of a prego teen, without shame and with humor while still reflecting American values of faith, independence, conviction, and altruism. No wonder the all-American teen prego film got 4 yes'ums from Hollywood, while our more liberal European friends applaud 4 months' depressing honesty.

Is this the showing of conservative American media? In school, the only type of sex education that is relayed to our children is abstinence. (My German friends tell me they have young children's sex ed books with titles like "one plus one equals three." with pictures of mommy and daddy have sex but not without talking about a condom first!) Teens are taught how to use a condom but are required to buy condoms behind locked glass cases at CVS (I tried and it took me 20 mins to track down a store employee, how embarrassing). Though Juno is considered "alternative" (she has a punk attitude) the picture is a traditional pro-life tale; you should keep the fetus, it is a gift from god, hope and love will be embodied in the sea of affluent and desperate infertile couples. This is an acceptable film, if not a beautiful one but it is not the only conversation I want to have with young sexually active people. I love the movie, but by denying a nomination for 4months, an exceptional film of the same topic with a different view, you really limit the cultural and political discussions around unexpected babies.
Where does this lead us in abortion and baby debate? A little place not far from the circle of the usual arguments.

you may sing along, but dont get addicted.

- Diana Jou

"Obamamanias make me cry, sometimes."

The power of Barack Obama's words is evident in his ability to inspire a cast of Hollywood hitters to make an online music video, made completely independent of his campaign, based solely on the words from his speech after the New Hampshire primary. Supporters often compare his speeches to lyrical poetry, but never before had people actually turned presidential speeches into songs. Plus it wasn't even a presidential speech, it was an address he made after he lost the New Hampshire primary.

"Yes We Can" music video is directed by Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan's son, and produced by Black Eye Peas' will.i.am. It features Common, Scarlett Johansson, Tatyana Ali, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Kate Walsh, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Adam Rodriquez, Kelly Hu, Adam Rodriquez, Amber Valetta, Eric Balfour, Aisha Tyler, Nicole Scherzinger and Nick Cannon. To gather all these people and figure out a sweet tune is not an easy task to do in three weeks. Since the video was release on Feb 2, it was viewed over a million times and favorited over 6,000 times.

Youtube is known for its treasure trove of weird and funny videos posted by tech savy folks, young and restless teens, and dissenting critics. Naturally there are of hundreds of mockumentries and video mash-ups against G. Bush. Beyond amateur videos, free services like Youtube makes it possible for people to participate in public discourse through publishing evidence of injustices or political support without having to maneuver the expensive political media machine. What's more is that there is an audience on the other side of the computer screen interested in what alternative media have to present.

A simple search on Youtube of this year's presidential candidates will reveal Obama's strong internet presence over his contenders. There is a strong supply of speeches posted by the Obama campaign and by individual users. While other candidates not only lack in supportive propaganda, but have an abundance of bad publicity. Poor Hillary's top searches include Ann Coulter vowing to campaign for her if McCain wins the nomination, a mash-up of an old superbowl Apple Mac ad referencing Orwell's 1984, with Hillary representing Ingsoc, the totalitarian government, and the closest she got to a music video is Hillary herself singing the National Anthem last year in Iowa. Obama on the other hand inspired two musical collaborations, "Yes We Can" and "Fired up, Ready to Go." "Fired up, Ready to Go" (see video below) involves Reverend Pat Wright and her renowned gospel choir, drummer Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam, lead singer Jake Bergevin, other top studio professionals, all decided to do this for free and independent of Obama's campaign. Just a couple dozen of folks making music to Obama's speeches on their time off.



Recently Obey's Shepard Fairey, a graffiti artist known for his criticism of political propaganda, independently made street bills promoting Obama as a political candidate. Obama's overwhelming support from young people is hardly any news, but what is unique here is that his words are moving people to do something creative and independent. People are actively trying to sway debate, from posting a music video of his speech to postering on the streets. Can't say I witnessed the same enthusiasm for the last election, unless you count P. Dilly and Paris Hilton as voting advocates with their "Vote or Die" shirts. Which ever way you vote, this year is going down in history.

referencing, Andre the Giant.

More music!
Electro Hip-hop for Obama:
FMB (Fire Magic Blood), which consists of Daedelus and Taz Arnold & Shafiq Husayn from Sa-Ra.

FMB - Vote Obama (mp3)
via Keepin It Right Radio


- Diana Jou