Hey now, two shows into the Backlash Tour and we are already getting some FANfuckingTastic reviews of Bike Porn 3: Cycle Bound.Grace Pettygrove's article of the bike porn screening and discussion at The University of Oregon totally hits the mark. Her column includes a number of gems like this:
The featured shorts in “Cycle Bound” reflect a diversity of ideas about what sex is, could be and should be. Some of the movies are pure comedy, parodying clichés in the porn industry or playing up any available visual puns offered by the bicycle frame. Several films feature nude Portland bikers doing awesome things on their Franken-bikes: dive-bombing hills, playing games and racing around the city. Conceptually, this still falls under the category of porn: For a Portland bike cultist, tall-bike jousting is as good as sex.Curious, we have been promised tall bike sex for so long, its almost upsetting. And really the way some people have sex is a lot more like jousting than they would probably like to admit.
But rather than just call it a bit of nice, fluffy university media, Pettygrove goes one step further and begins to inspect and possibly even unravel the nature of sex positivity.
I also came to question the limits of the sex positivity movement. Can such a cerebral distinction actually draw the line between exploitation and empowerment? Though there were obvious elements of role reversal and satire in the raciest moments of Bike Porn — including a short that used a child’s bicycle to parody the concept of “kiddie porn,” and a scene in Tour de Pants that looked a lot like gang rape — I don’t imagine that a victim of sexual exploitation or assault could sit through the whole presentation and feel empowered.
Indeed. Just as one man's treasure is another man's cum bucket, so too there is no way to allow vast freedoms of expression without potentially ruffling a few feathers. That said another viewing might show that the "victim" of the gang rape gave verbal agreement to consent not once, but twice! Yea, we didn't notice it the 1st time either and it definitely is not using a very rigorous standard. (could she be expressing verbal agreement without actually providing informed conscent?)
The evening was punctuated by a surprisingly coherent expression of bikesexuality by almost everyone in attendance. The classroom was able to agree on a few points:
Either way, thanks for asking good questions. If there is a limit on the value of sex-positive culture we hope we never find it!
The show last night in Ashland was fantastic. What an amazing venue! They even had chairs! We were asked which hotel we stole our robes from and also had a request for unicycle porn.
On our way to San Francisco, with a possible polo turny in the works on Saturday!
naked pedicab joust photo credit to Solteronita, U of O Willamette 100 photos credit to Courtney Rodgers
Here we see our discussion with overhead projection displaying our theory on bike sex
dicks OR vags PLUS bikes DOES NOT EQUAL babies
Thank you Oregon, we will kiss your fertile soil again in just three months!
