Tag Archives: Tiberio Simone

Health, News, Politics

Good Sex, Bad Sex 2011

‘Tis the season of year-end highlight lists. I’ve already shared my food highlights, but this food-writer-by-day and sex-educator-by-night (or something like that) has been thinking about the year in sex as well. With a look at the national scene and a little local (and also a food-flavored) finish, here are some highlights of the political and cultural climate related to sex for 2011, along with a couple of toy recommendations to take you into 2012.

1. As a sex-positive sex educator, I simply adored this “I Have Sex” video from the students at Wesleyan University (Connecticut) in support of Planned Parenthood:

2. Why the need for a video? Simply put, the war on women (and, underlying it, the war on sex) is as strong as ever. This was another year of a war against contraception, with the Obama administration contributing by allowing politics to trump science in restricting access to emergency contraception (Plan B). In a piece of good news (giving some faith in humanity), voters in Mississippi voted against Amendment 26, which would have defined a fertilized egg as a human being.

3.  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed. Just last week, we witnessed a lesbian couple sharing the honorary first kiss at a Naval homecoming. The earth still stands intact. Meanwhile, gay marriage hasn’t undermined the institution of heterosexual marriage, though in a preemptive strike, Minnesota’s gay and lesbian community apologized to State Senate Majority leader (and rabid anti-gay politician) Amy Koch for causing her extramarital affair with a staffer, and her subsequent resignation.

4. As the fight for gay marriage continues (and backslides in Iowa), nearly everyone wants to adopt Zach Wahls. His brave, intelligent, and emotional testimony is a must-watch:

5. Every weekday morning, I put a “Greed, Oppression, Perversion” (get the acronym?) posting on my Facebook page. For this year-end column, I was going to list all of the so-called “family values” Republicans who’ve been caught in the act of same-sex sexual behavior. But there are simply too many hypocrites. Instead, I share this rant from Richard Coughlan (NSFW). And, in a sneak peek of 2012, can you believe that hypocritical pastor Ted Haggard will be appearing on Wife Swap? Family values, indeed.

6. Herman Cain: Further evidence that Republican men don’t want women to have sex, unless it’s with them.

7. Anthony Weiner: Because Democrats can be wieners, too.

8. Speaking of which…locally, I faced opposition to sex education from an unexpected source. Alex Corcoran, publisher of Edible Seattle, censored my articles about sex and food, resulting in my resignation as a writer for the magazine. This episode reaffirmed my commitment to my work as a sex educator, as I realized that even “allies” can sabotage our society when they are uncomfortable with their sexuality, contributing to our anti-sex culture. (See more, including the absurd editorial cuts, here.)

9. On a more sex-positive local note, Tiberio Simone teamed with photographer Matt Freedman to put together La Figa: Visions of Food and Form. This is real food porn! In this era when anyone can gratuitously use sex to sell themselves and their work, Simone is sincere in looking at the connections between sex and food.

The Zini Deux will do good for the two of you

10. Finishing on a food-related note, I have a couple of favorite “toys” to recommend. (By the way, this year marked the debut of baconlube, which I can now report is pretty potent stuff that will probably appeal only to hardcore porkophiles.)

For those looking for couples-friendly hardcore videos, a visit to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot led to revelations about Recipe for Romance, a new release that is part of New Sensations’ Romance Series. From my write-up: “It’s the story of two people in the catering business who create chemistry–for their clients, and (ultimately) for each other.”

And speaking of couples, if you’re looking to share good vibrations and excitations, look no further than the Zini Deux, which shares the same premise of mutual pleasure as a cupcake.

Eats, Food

Finding Sex, Food, and Inspiration in La Figa

Over the years, I’ve had many inspiring moments in the world of sex. In Montreal, I saw Annie Sprinkle do a sex-positive solo performance called Sluts and Goddesses that included her “public cervix announcement.”

After speaking at the World Congress of Sexology in Amsterdam, I enjoyed a dance with adult film star turned feminist porn director Candida Royalle. And back here in the States, I once shared the stage with Joycelyn Elders, speaking to an audience of student leaders from across the country. (I enjoyed a reunion with her last month at a sexology conference in San Francisco.)

These people, like I, have been called pleasure activists. And now I’ve met another one.

Meet Tiberio Simone. He’s teamed with photographer Matt Freedman to put together La Figa: Visions of Food and Form. As a sex educator and food writer, I highly recommend this provocative book for your bedroom, kitchen, or coffee table. It’s inspiring.

Simone is an Italian import who’s had a storied life. His colorful words describe his early memories of food to his current work as a chef in the catering business. Simone’s enjoyed success, creating a winning concoction in a pastry competition that the James Beard Foundation sponsored in 1995. (To clarify some confusion, this is not the same as winning a James Beard Award, given to one pastry chef per year who serves as a national standard-bearer for excellence.)

Even more captivating is what Freedman’s camera captured: beautiful photos of Simone’s artful way of decorating bodies with fruits, vegetables, chocolate, and more. Using flesh as a canvas for food, Simone and Freedman have collaborated to create a celebration of food, sex, and the connections between them. As much as I enjoy paging through La Figa, I find joy in watching other people look at the book for the first time. This is real food porn.

The foods are diverse, from mangoes to mushrooms, and artichokes to avocados. Same with the bodies. Models include women and men, young and old, different races and ethnicities, bodies types, and, surely, sexual orientation.

I appreciate the descriptions of different ways to view, handle, prepare, and eat some sensual food items.

Take, for example, cucumbers. Simone recalls his days working on a cucumber farm, waiting for lunch break to taste the fruits of his labor, which resulted in “an explosion of joy inside me—just like an orgasm.” He reminds readers of the phallic nature of cucumbers, provides a recipe for a simple (as most of his preparations are, allowing the ingredients to shine) cucumber salad, and includes mesmerizing photos of models wearing only thinly sliced cucumbers that reveal the contours of the body.

Sex sells seemingly everything in our society: computers, cars, food, and even food writers. While some food writers use sex gratuitously to sell their writing (and themselves), it’s refreshing to find another person who’s made a sincere commitment to the cause of sex-positivity.

If Alex Corcoran is, thus far, this year’s “Sex-Negative Loser” for letting his sexual discomfort be reason to censor my “Hot Plate” feature for Edible Seattle, then Simone is currently this year’s “Sex-Positive Winner” for La Figa.

Boil it down, and Simone is all about food, touch, and love. A conversation with him winds around those themes. Some snippets :

  • On public nudity: “All men should have to wear bras—then they’ll understand women’s experience, and topless will soon be okay.”
  • On U.S. views about sex: “Kids go from puberty to pornography, with nothing in between. There are no nude statues like in Europe. No bodies to celebrate. To enjoy.”
  • On U.S. views about food: “We abuse food here. Everything that ‘s taboo here, we eat in moderation there [Italy], like cheese, meats, wine. Here, portions are too big. Just look at the portion size of ice cream and gelato.”
  • On Seattle’s most sensual restaurant: “My home. But if you ask my most sensual cuisine, it’s Japanese, especially raw sushi.”
  • On the most sensual foods: “Chocolate. Fig. Mango. And especially sea urchin. I just scoop it out and eat it with bread.”

Simone, I second the motion on sea urchin. (I like mine with just a little soy sauce.). And speaking of food and sex: What’s funny is that when I ask people what part of the sea urchin they’re eating, very few know. Don’t know yourself? Look it up. You’ll go nuts next time you partake.

Inspired by the likes of Simone, I’ll be launching a new feature about sex, food, and more starting next month. Stay tuned…