Category: Open Relationships

Recently, Zack at The New Gay wrote a fantastic article about non-monogamy and feeling “closeted” about it when we’re out of the closet on other parts of our lives…

“Yet I usually treat my relationship arrangement as something dirty, something to be done under the cover of night and not spoken of later. It’s funny, because my boyfriend and I have talked endlessly on the subject — why we allow it, what rules are set up to keep us both comfortable in it, how to handle the little hitches that may pop up here and there — but in the company of others we just dismiss it as an indulgence or necessary vice.”

You can check out his article in its entirety here!

Join with other attendees for an enriching and educational weekend at Loving More’s 2009 National Polyamory conference and retreat. The annual National Conference is held at the beautiful Easton Mountain Retreat Center in upstate New York. Enjoy hiking on 175 acres, soak in the hot tub, relax in the sauna, and enjoy the wonderful food and hospitality of the Easton Mountain Staff.

This is a chance to immerse yourself in polyamorous community, connect with wonderful poly people from the US and overseas and make new friends. Have fun sharing knowledge and support. Escape to a magical place called Loving More.

Each conference and retreat is different and offers unique opportunities to learn, grow and meet others of like mind. This is the perfect place to learn for people who are polyamorous, new to poly, poly-curious, or just exploring relationships of any kind.

Want more information or to register? Please visit their website!

Happy May! Wow, the spring has been very busy for me with lots of travel, college appearances, and other events. In the past few months, I’ve been to the University of Washington in Bothell, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Amherst, Los Angeles, Wesleyan University, Providence, Brown University, Boston, University of Vermont, Milwaukee, and University of Wisconsin in Madison. I also managed to go to the LGBT Equality & Justice Day Rally and Lobby Day in Albany and even made the cover of Headquest Magazine, a trade magazine for head shops (ironic, since I don’t even smoke!)

I’ve got lots of exciting things to announce. My new book for Quiver, The Anal Sex Position Guide, is now available online and in boo kstores. Fleshbot did a cool story about it along with some photos for you to check out! I’m thrilled with how the book turned out: it really is the anal sex coffee table book of my dreams. The latest Vivid-Ed movie, Penny Flame’s Expert Guide to Rough Sex, was released in March and has gotten lots of good buzz. And, my Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men will be out at the end of this month (look for a link to pre-order it coming soon on puckerup.com)! Plus, I re-teamed with Vixen Creations to create the Special Anniversary Edition of the Tristan Butt Plug; it’s a gorgeous toy. Check out this fantastic review!

I am getting ready to travel to Chicago, where two of my friends are getting married. Then, I head to LA, where I’ll be shooting three new movies for Vivid and working on editing the first volume of my new video series, Rough Sex. After a brief stop in Seattle to see family, I’ll be back in New York for nearly the entire summer. I’m looking forward to being home, catching up with friends, and taking a break from my insane work and travel schedule!

with lube + affection,
Tristan

P.S. I’m still in love with Twitter, please come follow me: http://www.twitter.com/tristantaormino

It has come to my attention that there is no longer a sale ranking for any of my books on your site, as there has been in the past. In addition, when I search for my name, “Tristan Taormino,” in the homepage’s search box, none of my books—except those that are currently out of print and unavailable—come up in the results; ironically, perhaps, an explicit sex ed video of mine does. According to the buzz on the internet today, this same thing has happened to many other authors, who all have something in common: our books are on sexuality, erotica, and gender, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues.

In response to one author who brought this to your attention already, a representative wrote the following email which is being circulated on the web:

“In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude “adult” material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.”

As the largest bookseller on the Web and a company which has profited nicely from my writing according to the now-disappeared sales ranks, you set an example for others. Your willingness to drop certain titles and authors from your search engine and ranking based on so-called adult content while you freely sell (and, again, profit from) pornography, sex toys, and other “adult” material is incredibly problematic and smacks of double standards.

I hope this issue will be resolved and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Tristan Taormino

To my readers:

Want background on what’s happened?

http://katebornstein.typepad.com/kate_bornsteins_blog/2009/04/disappeared-sex-positive-gender-bent-books-on-amazoncom.html

http://melissagira.com/sexerati/2009/04/12/amazon-removes-sales-rank-from-sexuality-queer-titles/

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/04/12/amazon-rank/

Or log on to Twitter and search for #amazonfail

Want to complain to Amazon about this debacle? Here’s a great resource: http://tinyurl.com/cbst9c. Please make your voice heard!