Artgasm

Photographer Substantia Jones joins Allison to discuss fat visibility. We discuss the challenges and joys of working with amateur models, the barriers fat people face when trying to exist let alone thrive in a world that wants them to disappear, and the utter joy of watching people embrace their bodies on camera. 

Naked Athena and the Wall of Moms have been getting a lot of mainstream news coverage in response to Federal agents' hostile occupation of Portland, Oregon. Is this a show of allyship or appropriation? 

For more, read Mitchell S. Jackson's "Who Gets to Be Naked Athena?" in the New York Times Op-Ed section. 

Sex podcaster Stephen Penta talks with Allison about gender, being a dude in the sex-ed world, RomComs as "pornography of the heart" and talking love with people who just want to learn about bjs. 

Co-writers Alana Phelan and Kevin Patterson discuss navigating metamour-ship and friendship while writing books, making private lives public, and bridging the gap between relationship education and narrative fiction.  Find their books here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732872805

Allison is joined by old friend and splendid writer Rachel Gold to discuss queer representation in lit, sex in YA, neurodiversity as a superpower. From lesbian werewolves to Wolverine doing dusting, we cover a lot of ground! Learn more about Rachel at rachelgold.com 

Booksellers Charlotte and Fi of Category Is in Glasgow, Scotland, join Allison to discuss the politics of queer visibility and the ongoing need for social spaces for sexual minorities. Come for the vampires and stay for the Gore Vidal.

A writer shared an interesting fact about American Gothic and got odd blowback from people who refused to acknowledge the truth. When our opinions are so tied to our emotions, how can we ever hope to have our minds changed?

Fashion designer and social worker Nhakia Outland uses fashion to teach young audiences in Philadelphia about empowerment, sex education, and healthy relationships. 

Plus: A short tribute to fetish artist Namio Harukawa

Commonly used in sexual healing practices and ritual, what's the problem with sexual archetypes based on the 'universal' concepts of men and women? What's the opposite of depersonalizing sex? In this Artgasm Quickie, Allison discusses a concept and critique that opens Angela Carter's classic sexual philosophy text The Sadeian Woman. 

Burlesque performer and producer, Laika Fox digs into the the business and politics of burlesque and what it means to use stripping as a means of explorating the politicization of the body.

Do you have to make stuff to matter? Do you have to provide value to deserve to live? Allison gets personal on this special productivity-focused solo episode of Artgasm.

Illustrator Felix D'eon shares his love of storybook aesthetics, representing queer love through erotic and tender depictions, and his commitment to cultural and historical accuracy in representing LGBTQ stories around the globe.

Malta has some of the most remarkable Neolithic artifacts including what many refer to as "goddess" figures. But what do these figures actually represent? What were they for? And how do our modern sensibilities skew understanding of ancient cultures?

Artgasm is back! Kick of season 2 with erotica writer/editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. We talk about the power of listening to smut while shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers AND how filthy fiction can expand your mind.