Sex

"The title for my show says a lot about why I started podcasting in the first place; at the time I started out, podcasting was just beginning (and there were few women on the playing field), but I could tell that if it caught on the way I thought it would, then we'd have one of the most democratic, accessible audio mediums on our hands in history. And that's also something that has been missing from my line of work, sex education: democratic dissemination of accurate sex information. And of course, user input. Thus, Open Source Sex."

Violet Blue, Open Source Sex (see Figure 3.8)

Figure 3.8. Enter if you are over 18 screen shot from Violet Blue's website.

On one end of the podcasting spectrum there are the Godcasts, and on the other end is audio erotica or sex casts. The beauty of podcasting is that if either one of these groups offends someone, that person has the choice to simply not subscribe. Podcasting is a pull technology that is not censored by anyone. So frank and candid discussions that are often needed with subjects revolving around sex are openly embraced with podcasting.

As with most genres in podcasting, the variety of offerings is very diverse, with some sex podcasts bordering on comical (although they may not have intended for that to be the case) and others that are nothing more than a marketing tool to shill a book. But there are also some very well produced and thought out shows, such as those listed in Table 3.14, that have managed to capture their audience's attention and loyalty. Each of these shows approaches sex from a slightly different perspective. Some emphasize the sexuality of the host(s), others try to educate about sex, and others use erotica to stimulate their audience or do some combination there of. With podcasting, these hosts are able to talk about the things that Dr. Ruth had only dreamed about saying.

Table 3.14. Popular Sex Podcasts

Host(s)	Podcast	Website URL
Soccergirl and Ryan	Soccergirl, Inc.	soccergirl.podshow.com
Violet Blue	Open Source Sex	www.tinynibbles.com
Emily	Sex with Emily	www.sexwithemily.com
Missy and Bee	Suicide Girls	www.suicidegirls.com

Soccergirl, Inc.

Hosted by Soccergirl and often joined by her boyfriend Ryan, this podcast originates from their home in upstate New York. She releases about 10 shows a month, and they average about 30 minutes in length. This show is X-rated.

"It's comedy and a little bit political, and obviously I am very comfortable with nudity and I am very attached to my sexuality and my freedoms. And we have a very eventful sexual life together, and I am really happy about it. I feel that the taboo that surrounds sexuality and especially female sexuality is just silly, and it is unacceptable and I don't think that there is any reason why I should not feel comfortable putting myself out there, so that is a lot of what it is."

Soccergirl, Soccergirl, Inc.

Open Source Sex

Hosted by Violet Blue, Open Source Sex is the podcast for her Tiny Nibbles website. The typical length of an episode is 20 to 30 minutes, and new shows are released one to three times a month. But they are so worth the wait. Wikipedia described Violet as "an American sex writer, podcaster, blogger, editor, and sex educator." This show is X-rated.

"I have no set format for Open Source Sex, no future plans except to not get bored (or let listeners get bored). I try to keep each show's content unique while staying on topic (sex) within a range of entertainment, titillation, education, and fun. This means I do everything from read erotica and present lectures on taboo sex topics to interviewing porn stars and sperm bank workers. As long as it's hot and fun, and it seems like there's an interest in the material in the wider culture (like threesomes or fetishes), it's fair game.

"What has made my show remarkable for many people is that it's not like any other sex content they've encountered: people are so used to having to settle for bad porn, having their intelligence insulted, having their sexual interests made fun of, or all the usual stereotypes. I think people are a lot more sexually sophisticated than the media considers them to be, and in my podcast I talk about sex with them like we're friends investigating or playing with something really cool. I also think that most of the homophobia, judgmentalism, racism, and male/female sex stereotyping is an irritatingly antiquated thing to include with sex, and I'm over it."

Violet Blue, Open Source Sex

Sex with Emily

Hosted by Emily, this podcast has the tag line "Saving the world one orgasm at a time." This show is released between one and four times a month, and the typical length of an episode is 30 minutes. The show is X-rated.

"Sex with Emily is a talk radio podcast show about sex and relationships hosted by a 30-something single woman living in San Francisco. The show features not only experts but "real" people sharing the intimate details of their relationshipsin and out of the bedroom. Our goal is to "save the world one orgasm at a time" because who isn't having a better life when they're having honest, open, and (hopefully) mind-blowing sex?"

Emily, Sex with Emily

Suicide Girls

Hosted by Missy and Bee, this podcast is a rebroadcast of their Sunday night show on 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. This show is released once a week, and the typical length of an episode is 80 to 90 minutes. The show is NC-17-rated.

Keeping It Fresh

An often-quoted marketing report stated that sex- and erotica-based podcasts are the most popular types of podcast. However, that report was hugely flawed in that it took its stats from one of the smaller directories. The truth is, sex sells, but podcasts are free, so for the most part the porn industry has stayed out of audio podcasting. There is, however, a very large male podcasting audience that has found favor with a few well-produced podcasts revolving around sex, and they will be willing to listen to others if they are also well produced and have some real content. We started this section with a quote from Violet Blue, so it is only fitting we end this section with some advice from her as well.

"My overall recommendation for podcasters is this: don't get bored or do something that might get you stuck in a rut. Listeners can tell when you're going through the motions, and because podcasting is a listener-driven market, they can just go elsewhere. Don't be afraid to break your own ruleslisteners really enjoy the immediacy of podcasting, so if you do something unplanned, they'll love it. Also, don't fall back on a gimmick: a girl podcasting naked is interesting for just about a minuteunless what she's saying is really cool, funny, shocking, sexy, or enlightening. Then she's interesting for a lot longer."

Violet Blue, Open Source Sex