MasterZChicago
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National Coalition for Sexual Freedom Entertainment Media Update - 'Big Love' March 31, 2006 [email protected] www.ncsfreedom.org BIG LOVE (cable television series) Network: HBO Airdates/time: Sundays at 10 pm ET/PT; repeats follow Executive Producers: Mark V. Olsen (creator), Will Scheffer (creator), Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Think having three wives is a dream come true? Meet Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a modern-day Utah polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives, seven children, and a mounting avalanche of debt and demands. While managing the household finances together and routinely sharing "family home nights," they try to keep simmering jealousies in check and their arrangement a secret - polygamy is illegal in Utah and banned by the mainstream Mormon Church. (Provided by HBO) WEBSITE: http://www.hbo.com/biglove/index.html FEEDBACK: Call 212-512-1208 M-F/9-5 ET or submit email via: http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do?title=General% 20Information&questiontype=general HBO COMMUNITY DISCUSSION: http://www.hbo.com/biglove/community/? ntrack_para1=feat_main_text NCSF REVIEWER'S NOTE: It is NCSF policy to advocate only on behalf of sexual activities occurring between consenting adults, and the organization condemns any sort of coercive and/or abusive relationship, regardless of the age of its participants. While NCSF does not have an official position on polygamy, the series 'Big Love' has drawn an unprecedented amount of media attention to the topic and, in the process, directed new focus towards polyamory, alternative relationship structures, privacy rights and the fight for equal marriage. Though most particulars of the world depicted on 'Big Love' may be completely foreign, several aspects, especially the joys and troubles of balancing partners and of blending families, will hold resonance for many in the polyamory community. As a "water cooler show," the series will warrant our continued notice for its ability to coalesce discussion around topics of great relevance to sexual freedom, providing opportunities to interject our experiences and viewpoints through letters to the editor, participation on message boards and even casual conversation. (Lisa Vandever for NCSF) *** 1) Big Love, from the Set By Stanley Kurtz National Review March 13, 2006 "Social taboos may erode gradually over the very long haul, but up close, and especially toward the beginning, you get little collapses - the quick and unexpected falling away of opposition. What used to be hidden emerges with startling rapidity, because much of it was there all along. Polygamy, and especially polyamory, are already widespread on the Internet. Both practices are pushing toward a major public taboo-collapsing moment. We can't know when 'critical mass' might be reached, but 'Big Love' has got to be getting us there a whole lot quicker than we were." [cont] To read this entire article, go to: http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200603130805.asp To respond, write to: [email protected] 2) Pandora and Polygamy By Charles Krauthammer Washington Post March 17, 2006 "But this distinction between higher and lower orders of love is precisely what gay rights activists so vigorously protest when the general culture 'privileges' (as they say in the English departments) heterosexual unions over homosexual ones. Was 'Jules et Jim' (and Jeanne Moreau), the classic Truffaut film involving two dear friends in love with the same woman, about an 'activity' or about the most intrinsic of human emotions? [continued] To read this entire article, go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2006/03/16/AR2006031601312.html To respond, write to: [email protected] 3) Don't Do Unto Others: The difference between gay marriage and polygamy By William Saletan Slate March 23, 2006 "...I'm sure polyamorists are right that lots of people 'find joy in having close relationships ... with multiple partners.' The average guy would love to bang his neighbor's wife. He just doesn't want his wife banging his neighbor. Fidelity isn't natural, but jealousy is. Hence the one-spouse rule. One isn't the number of people you want to sleep with. It's the number of people you want your spouse to sleep with." [continued] To read this entire article, go to: http://www.slate.com/id/2138482/ To respond, post to: http://fray.slate.com/?id=3936&tp=humannature For a compilation of readers' posts about the article, go to: http://www.slate.com/id/2138327/ 4) Saletan on Polyamory By Stanley Kurtz The Corner on National Review Online March 23, 2006 "... Saletan uses an atypical polyamorous breakup to characterize polyamory as a whole. The Trask breakup came when a husband sneaked around on his wife. Proper polyamory is about open and honest multi-partner relationships. 'Just because we sometimes break our own rules of openness and fail,' the polyamorists will argue, 'doesn't mean proper polyamory won't work, especially when it gains social acceptance and support.' In any case, Saletan's piece is fascinating and important (unlike so much of what's said on this topic) for having addressed some of the real issues at stake." [continued] To read the entire post, go to: http://corner.nationalreview.com/06_03_19_corner- archive.asp#093189 To respond, write to: [email protected] 5) 'Big Love': Real Polygamists Look at HBO Polygamists and Find Sex By Felicia R. Lee New York Times March 28, 2006 "'In reality, there's not a woman out there who's going to share a man without religion being a factor,' Ms. Prunty said. 'That's what's missing in the show. This seems like some male fantasy, some alternative marriage that is Hollywood.'" [continued] To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/28/arts/television/28poly.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin (free onsite registration required) To respond, write to: [email protected] 6) Were Smith's Mormons Ahead of Their Times? By Richard Brookhiser New York Observer April 3, 2006 "...Polyamory, at least in theory, finds a slot B for every tab A. Yet it scarcely addresses a great pitfall of polygamy, the repression of rivalry and aggression. Didn't we learn anything from the 1960's? Didn't we learn anything from college? When everyone sleeps with everyone, everyone isn't happy. Love creates jealousy and supplies revenge. Cupid is Mars' deadliest soldier. [cont.] To read the entire article, go to: http://www.observer.com/20060403/20060403_Richard_Brookhiser_opinions_brookhiser.asp To respond, write to: [email protected] (250 words max.) HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Feedback letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging, or polyamory. You can help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types of practices. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF. Generally, for a letter to be published, it's important to include your name (or first initial, last name), city and daytime phone (for verification only). For more information, see: http://www.ncsfreedom.org/library/writelettertoeditor.htm Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM, swinging and polyamory at [email protected] ### A project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) is a national organization committed to altering the political, legal, and social environment in the U.S. in order to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression. National Coalition for Sexual Freedom 822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127 Baltimore, MD 21202-3707 410-539-4824 [email protected] www.ncsfreedom.org
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Master Z Master Z's BDSM Resource Guide http://www.masterzchicago.com Master Z's Bio http://www.masterzchicago.com/bio1.html National Coalition for Sexual Freedom Coalition Partner Representative http://www.ncsfreedom.org
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