Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Now showing in the FemPower Theater...The FemPower Promo Clip

Our own Jana Cleveland has given us a beautiful promo clip; one that truly defines our mission at FemPower, and includes some hot guys besides (bonus!) Please enjoy. (And a very special thanks to our kind and very hot friend Smith Curren, http://www.smithcurren.com, for our beautiful logo!)

Saturday, April 17, 2010

FemIssue: Help Women in Haiti

I just received this from Amnesty International. I thought our readers should know:

A bill pending in Congress would help protect women and girls at risk during crises.
Help countries like Haiti combat violence against women and girls.





Dear Megan,

Michelle Obama's trip to Haiti this week was a powerful reminder to us all how much further there is to go before Haitians fully recover from the catastrophic January 12th earthquake.

According to the most recent estimates from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), roughly 460 makeshift camps are still the homes to more than 1 million displaced people in Port-au-Prince alone1.

Conditions are horrid all around, but for women and girls in particular, the situation in Haiti has become a perfect storm for increased violence and exploitation. Before the earthquake, Kay Fanm, a Haitian women's rights organization, estimated that 72% of Haitian girls surveyed had been raped and at least 40% of women were victims of domestic violence2. Amnesty International findings show that in the aftermath of the disaster, Haitian women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.

Help countries like Haiti prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) was specifically created to combat violence including in humanitarian situations such as Haiti. If passed, IVAWA would provide valuable services like rape counseling, medical assistance and even economic opportunities to women and girls in countries around the world devastated by humanitarian crisis.

Many Senators and Representatives have already pledged their full support for IVAWA. But if we're going to help countries like Haiti combat violence against women and girls once and for all, then we've got to get more members of Congress standing up for women's human rights and supporting IVAWA.

Have your elected officials signed on to support IVAWA yet?

Last month, when our researchers traveled to Haiti on a mission to investigate human rights violations, what they found was appalling. Women were being forced to bathe and go to the bathroom in public Security was sparse – officers were rarely seen patrolling the camps to maintain security. The flimsy shelters hardly offered any sense of added protection or privacy.

Gender-based violence has been a problem in Haiti for many years, but the earthquake has exacerbated the problem. In fact, we spoke to one women's organization that reported 19 cases of rape in only a small section of the large camp site located in the Champ-de-Mars3. Far too many are exploiting this humanitarian crisis and endangering the lives of Haiti's women and girls in the process.

But by urging more members of Congress to support IVAWA, we can fight back against this dangerous reality and empower women worldwide, especially those living in times of crisis.

Thank you for your support,

Daphne Jayasinghe
Advocacy Director, Women's Human Rights
Amnesty International USA

Friday, April 16, 2010

Happy Friday Ladies...



Image courtesy of BlingCheese.Com

Thursday, April 15, 2010

FemFeature: And the Winners Are...


We at FemPower congratulate the winners of the 2010 Feminist Porn Awards!


For Immediate Release



www.goodforher.com

175 Harbord Street

Toronto ON M5S1H3

416-588-0900

http://www.goodforher.com/fpa_2010



Good For Her is proud to announce the winners of the

2010 Feminist Porn Awards!



Toronto, ON, April 10, 2010: On Friday April 9th, feminist pornographers from around the world came together at The Berkeley Church Heritage Event Venue for a steamy and x-rated celebration of feminist porn. Twelve awards and four Honourable Mentions were handed out in categories ranging from Most Deliciously Diverse Cast to Hottest Kink Movie at this annual event, now in its fifth year.



"Good For Her began organizing the Feminist Porn Awards to celebrate the growing diversity of porn that really does exist," said Alison Lee, manager of Good for Her and the event's director. "Porn has expanded to include women and marginalized communities, and many people don’t know about the hot and artistic movies that are being made with a feminist sensibility. We are proud to promote these filmmakers, and excited about directing people to their work”.



The 2010 Feminist Porn Awards were hosted by Morgan Brayton, actor and comic from Vancouver BC, and a record-breaking 450 guests gathered at the Berkeley Church to toast those creating porn that offers a new and exciting vision of porn that includes the political.



Starting in 2008, the Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards added a second night to their celebration: this year titled Public Provocative Porn: The Year’s Best in Feminist Film, giving audiences a chance to see more of these incredible films as well as a chance to engage with filmmakers in a panel discussion and Question and Answer period. Held this year at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto, over 350 people gathered to watch selections from five Feminist Porn Award nominated movies including Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men by Tristan Taormino, The Deviant by Nica Noelle, Crash Pad Series Vol 5 by Shine Louise Houston, and a series of clips starring performer April Flores from Bordello (directed by Courtney Trouble) Behind the Red Door (directed by Carlos Batts) and Dangerous Curves (directed by Carlos Batts).



The 2010 Good For Her Feminist Porn Award winners are:



Hottest Website

Rubysdiary.com – Ruby Day



Best Direction

Des Jours Plus Belles Que La Nuit

Jennifer Lyon Bell and Murielle Scherre; Blue Artichoke Films + La Fille' D'O



Hottest Dyke Movie/Hottest Kink Movie

River Rock Women’s Prison | Kathryn Annelle; Triangle Films





Smutty Schoolteacher Award for Sex Education

Tristan Taormino’s Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men | Tristan Taormino; Vivid Ed



Hottest Bi Movie

Fluid: Men Redefining Sexuality | Madison Young; Reel Queer Productions



Most Deliciously Diverse Cast

Dangerous Curves | Carlos Batts; HeartCore Films



Sexiest Short

Handcuffs | Erika Lust; Lust Films



Most Tantalizing Trans Film

Speakeasy | Courtney Trouble; Reel Queer Productions



Hottest Feature

The Band | Anna Brownfield; Hungry Films



Sexiest Straight Movie

The Deviant | Nica Noelle; Sweet Sinner Video



Emerging Filmmaker Award

Tobi Hill-Meyer



Heartthrob of the Year

April Flores



The Boundary Breaker

Jiz Lee



The Visionary

Shine Louise Houston



The Trailblazer

Tristan Taormino



Honourable Mentions:

Women Love Porn | Produced by Anna Span; Easy on the Eye Productions

Dirty Diaries: 12 Shorts of Feminist Porn; Njuta Films

Sensual Massage For Pregnacy | Jaiya; New World Sex Education

Cocksucker | Julie Simone; Julie Simone Productions



Good For Her are proud to have now celebrated five years as producers of the Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards, the largest and longest running celebration of feminist porn in the world. Since 1997, Good For Her has been creating a nurturing environment where everyone can feel comfortable learning about sex and pleasure. Good For Her takes pride in providing quality sex toys, erotic and educational books as well as DVDs and workshops that empower and celebrate the diversity of everyone’s sexuality.



The Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards & Public Provocative Porn took place

Friday April 9th at the Berekely Church Heritage Events Venue – 315 Queen St East/ $15 advance $20 door. Public Provocative Porn took place at the Bloor Cinema at 506 Bloor Street West, $12. Images from 2009 can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/feministpornawards , with 2010 pictures coming soon.


Our warmest thanks to Alison Lee from Good for Her for this info, and to Lana Paiement for the photo. And many congrats to all the winners!

Monday, April 12, 2010

FemIssue: Toward a healing place

Today at Feministing.Com, I read a heartbreaking post from a woman who was living a very painful memory; the anniversary of a rape she suffered at her stepfather's hands.

As I read her post, I felt her pain so acutely; I also felt rage on her behalf, and a strong desire to do something.

What can I, an erotica author, do about the problem of rape and domestic violence? I've written briefly about the effects of these crimes in some of my books, including Mauve Christmas, Song of the Vamp and Behold the Beauty. I also did a charity booksigning once on behalf on Sunrise Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, an excellent organization that does great work in my area.

I try to do all I can, but it never seems like enough. Not when I'm constantly reading stories like the one I read today.

Beyond being an outlet for women's erotic entertainment, I want FemPower to be an agent of change and healing, hence the name. Regularly I'll be posting resources and fund-raising opportunities and resources, and I encourage our readers to do the same.

FemPower is not only a fun place, but a sharing place, a place of healing. Let's make it a good one!

Love,

Megan

Monday, April 5, 2010

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Sunday, April 4, 2010

Tell me what you want

Ladies, I'd just love to write a special erotic story for our readers at FemPower, and as usual my head is just brimming with naughty ideas. Ah, but which one should I write about? I'm opening this up to an audience vote, so leave your comments below:

A male steward services a female passenger on an airplane.

A male submissive seduces a potential female mistress. (No hard bondage; just not into that)

A male model seduces a female photographer

Just let me know...

Hugs,

Meg