Sex – Tulpa Magazine

Femme Fatales – A Dark Fetish Freakshow!

Red Hot Pinups’ Femme Fatales: A Dark Fetish Freakshow brought the thrills of the kink world to a bustling room of attendees at the Duke of Brunswick on Friday night.

I was really taken aback by the performances in this show. The first act, titled Crush does a fantastic job representing that innocence of first crushes. Here, the main character dances with red feathers dressed in black. It is the only performance where there is no removal of clothing, which enhances the innocence. Perhaps the best part is at the end of it, the storyteller then begins to speak of their first forays into the thoughts of dark fetish. It comes so suddenly and is quickly retreated, following that adolescent feeling of trying to “fit in”.

The other performances throughout Femme Fatales only continued to build upon exploring the world of kink further. Members of the audience were invited to take part into the character’s exploration, which is represented through extravagant dances by numerous performers. The costumes were mesmerising and were influenced by pop culture icons like Bettie Page and the Bride of Frankenstein. The choice in music too made the performances even more raunchy and thrilling. A couple of these performances used jazz music, which combined with their 1940s – 1950s clothes, made for a thrilling show.

Perhaps the biggest take-away from this show is the positive messages it conveys. The performers were all different ages and physiques, showing beauty is more than what society claims it to be. The show promotes the idea of positive body image, and for women to embrace themselves for who they truly are.

Other themes explored include consent and respect. This is revealed following the main character’s story. She speaks of how the men whom she’s dated in the past have seen her as a “freak” because of her dark fetishes. There was cheering from the crowd when she says how she leaves them and embraces her inner freak instead. This, as I could only imagine, would have been empowering for many members in the audience.

One of the disadvantages with this particular venue was the absence of a stage, which made it hard to view what was going on at times. This show ran slightly overtime, which saw some people leave before it finished. Fortunately, this did little to dampen the whole experience overall. The performers passion and desire to entertain was clear through their level of professionalism even when things weren’t going to plan.

Femme Fatales: A Dark Fetish Freakshow was a thrilling performance from start to finish. I was captivated by the beauty of the performers and their acts, along with how they delivered the themes of consent and respect. It is an empowering show which allows you to embrace your true self.

4.5 / 5 stars

Words by Cameron Lowe
Femme Fatales – A Dark Fetish Freakshow! is showing until March 14

For more information and to purchase tickets click here

Down and Out in Paradise

Luke Williams

Echo Publishing 2019

ISBN:978-1-76068-584-3

Luke Williams’ Down and Out in Paradise is an intriguing memoir exploring the years he spent in Southeast Asia as a recovering and relapsing drug addict and an alternately employed and unemployed journalist. Living cheap, and sometimes even on nothing, Luke explores some of the debatably unsavoury hang-outs in Southeast Asia.

The idea of dropping everything and getting on a flight somewhere else is something that many people find incredibly attractive, more so when life isn’t quite going your way. When Luke Williams hopped on the plane to Kuala Lumpur, he was coming down off crystal meth. It was the cheapest flight he could book. He made his way to Thailand, the land of the free, where he chased drugs, stories, and sex. In Bangkok he became a thief, in Pattaya he became a prostitute, and somewhere along the way he discovered Buddhism. The memoir covers Williams’s travels throughout Southeast Asia and his penchant for fully embracing his journey.

Williams is very open about his sexuality and his time in Pattaya spent frequenting Boyztown and its bars and clubs. He met a number of Westerners there and for a short time, William’s worked as a prostitute himself. Much of the book fluctuates between him being broke in Southeast Asia and the occasional splendour of an expensive hotel and a bender.

During his time in Indonesia, Williams develops a fascination with his grandfather’s suicide. Williams spent a lot of time considering the prevalence of mental illness in his family. His father’s late onset schizophrenia, his uncle’s comatose state, and his cousin’s suicide. Concerned that this could be the reason for his various issues, Williams is determined to use his skills as a journalist to uncover the truth.

At times within the memoir, Williams is critical of the influence of Westerner tourism throughout Southeast Asia, even as he contemplates that many the local people rely on tourism just to get by. Williams writes about the variety of people on his travels who coloured his world-view; reaffirming his privilege as a white Australian male and putting his problems in perspective compared to people working on the street for twelve or more hours a day just to afford food for their families. Together with perspective, Williams found spirituality as he explored various religions by trying them on for size.

There are sections of the memoir where it is clear that Williams was relieved to be clean and other sections where he embraced the highs of his addiction. Having struggled with addiction his whole life, Williams knew he needed help but had issues admitting it. While Williams had a number of boyfriends and sexual partners throughout his travels, few of them appeared to help Luke with his recovery from addiction or his trouble with jealousy. However, there is one man who inspired Luke to do better, to keep living, and to eventually return to Australia to get help.

There is so much to unpack in this book and Luke Williams, as the author, presents himself as a highly complex character who might not be mistaken for a good person but also shouldn’t be dismissed for a bad one. He is complicated and real, struggling and adapting to his situation as he goes; sometimes driven by his addiction, his mental health, or by altruistic desire. I would highly recommend this book as it is downright fascinating to read as Williams details the highs and lows of his time in Southeast Asia as a journalist, an addict, and a human being.

4/5 stars

Words and photography by Kayla Gaskell

The Truants

Kate Weinberg

Bloomsbury 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5266-0012-7

Whether it’s as basic as skipping school or smoking a bit of pot in the toilets to theft or worse; doing the wrong thing can be alluring. One of the questions Kate Weinberg asks in her novel The Truants is, “could you be driven to kill someone?”

Following the move to University in Norfolk, Jess discovers a sense of freedom for the first time. Being the middle of five children, she’s always felt as if she were invisible, and has mastered the art of being unseen. Bookish and overshadowed by her siblings, university is Jess’s chance to shine. However, after being booted from Lorna’s class “The Devil has the Best Lines” during fresher’s week, Jess feels her world tumbling around her. After a rather intense enquiry to tutor herself, Jess finds herself enrolled in Lorna’s Agatha Christie course instead and is faced with her first challenge: securing the reading-list without blowing her meagre budget. And is it really theft if you plan on returning it? Drawn in by Lorna’s larger-than-life presence and quickly becoming a favourite, it’s almost as if Jess is being seen for the first time.

Having befriended Georgie, Jess finds a social life-line at uni, someone to force her towards the fun things living on campus has to offer. Georgie is wild-willed and Jess revels in her company, forming close bonds with not only Georgie but her mysterious South African boyfriend Alec, who drives a hearse and always thinks up the greatest schemes. Joined by second year geology student Nick, the group are almost inseparable. That is, until it all goes terribly wrong.

With Georgie’s growing drug problem and the rising tensions in South Africa, it seems the fun is over. Jess’s world is about to come crashing down and with no-one else to turn to but Lorna, will it all have been worth it? And who is Lorna, really? Why did she leave her esteemed position at Cambridge to work at Norfolk?

The thrill of doing wrong – and getting away with it – is ultimately captured in Weinberg’s novel as the reader delves into the increasingly complicated lives of Lorna, Alec, and Jess. With authentic, complex characters guaranteed to draw you in and extraordinary wit Weinberg’s writing is a refreshing look at the Christie mystery and the power a charismatic speaker has to influence the lives of those around them. Filled with secrets and mysteries to be solved, The Truants is enthralling. Dealing with a range of issues facing young people including drug abuse, mental and sexual health, and relationships, The Truants is perfect for anyone fifteen and up.

Words by Kayla Gaskell

The Hunting

Every now and then we are gifted with a piece of art that forces us to confront our biggest fears and society’s greatest misgivings and this is exactly what the Australian mini-series The Hunting has done. This four-part drama which aired on SBS last Thursday, follows the release of nude photos in two Adelaide high schools and the irreversible impact this has on the students, families, and educators. Closer Productions, a collective of accomplished Adelaide-based filmmakers, present an exploration of sexuality and its intersections with gender and culture, offering a complex and genuine portrayal of adolescent life in Australia. Creators Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormac, and directors Hyde and Ana Kokkinos have produced a compelling and intuitive series that doesn’t shy away from explicit themes.

In the opening scene we meet Zoe and Andy, played by Luca Sardelis and Alex Cusack respectively. Cybersex is the catalyst for the dramas that arise between these characters – betrayal and a breakdown of trust. Zoe and Andy stand as accurate, in-depth representations of how adolescents explore their sexuality, and the different pressure experienced as a result of masculinity and femininity. Alongside Zoe and Andy, we see Kavitha Anandasiyam play Amandip, a young Indian teenager, and Yazeed Daher play Nassim, a Lebanese teenage boy. Together these characters spark an exploration into the impact culture has on the sexual development of adolescents. Through the character of Amandip, audiences see how conflicting expectations between ethnic home life and wider Australian society generates a fear that leads to secrets, and secrets which create a gulf between parents and their children. Like many young people, Amandip is living two separate lives, both of which she understands, respects and wants to be a part of.

These young adults should be highly commended for their mature, layered performances; such brave and captivating portrayals show the reality of adolescent life in the 21^st century. Mirroring these teenage couples is a sexual relationship which develops between two teachers, played by Jessica De Gouw and Sam Reid. This relationship proves significant as it reflects how the gender constructions and sexual insecurities acquired in adolescence are carried into adulthood: present in the bedroom, the workplace, and nights spent at a bar swiping through Tinder.

The parental representation in The Hunting is diverse. There is everything from a progressive lesbian couple to conservative migrant parents to those who have a grave disconnect from the reality of their children’s lives. Because of these vast representations, every parent will find a way into this series. This production may also serve as a wakeup call, as it demonstrates how society as a collective has provided insufficient education around sex and sexuality to teenagers. There are gaps – no, potholes – in in the way we conceptualise and discuss sex, sexual identity, and relationships with our young people: these holes form when no institution, whether it be school or home, takes responsibility for thorough and wholistic sexual education. The result? Teenagers enter the infinite and unregulated world of the internet because they are naturally curious.

The Hunting doesn’t throw a blanket over all adolescents. It doesn’t paint them all as basic, angsty individuals, but as complex and inquisitive beings. This show also doesn’t suggest that parents further discipline their children, regulate their behaviour, or keep their teenagers on a shorter leash. Instead, this show exposes the need to guide, educate, and form open, honest connections with young people in order to empower them to make smart decisions. This needs to be done in schools and at home. There is a need to educate about the power of their bodies and the effects of their actions in this virtual and tangible world that is often unforgiving. This education can’t be done with a whiteboard or a slideshow or by taking notes. This requires two-way conversations that are constructive, comprehensive, and tolerant.

I would like to finish by saying that I wish The Hunting existed when I was in my adolescence: a show that didn’t skip over the darker conflicts of teenage life and didn’t bury its head in the sand in regard to how teenagers interact with each other. I say this not only because I, like many, relate to the young people in this series, but because I believe it would have educated parents and teachers on the need to more effectively relate to young people; it would have started important conversations; and it would have been a means of showing the teenage experience without demonising the teenager.

Catch up on the first episode on SBS On Demand and tune in for Episode 2 on SBS Thursday 8:30pm.

Words by Michelle Wakim

#MeToo: Stories from the Australian movement

Edited by Natalie Kon-yu, Christie Nieman, Maggie Scott and Miriam Sved
Picador Australia

In the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017, editors Natalie Kon-yu, Christie Nieman, Maggie Scott and Miriam Sved have pulled together a collection of poetry, fiction and essays placing issues of sexual violence and harassment in an Australian context. This incredibly timely and hard-hitting collection is a must-read for Australians of every sex and gender. While many of the personal stories in this anthology can be confronting and visceral in their discussions of sexual harassment and abuse, they serve as a vital testament to the importance of opening up nuanced and often hard-to-have conversations about the issues facing women, non-binary and transgender people in Australia.

One of the things this anthology does best is its ability to bring together works from a diverse range of voices, providing a truly intersectional perspective on sexual violence and harassment in Australia. This includes stories from women of colour, immigrant women, LGBTQIA+ people and women with disabilities. This intersectionality is made all the more important when you consider the often over-bearing whiteness of mainstream feminism. For many women of marginalised backgrounds the ability to speak out, to share a #MeToo story must be weighed up against the risks of financial, social and personal repercussions.

With this in mind, some absolute must-read pieces in this collection are: Eugenia Flynn’s discussion of Aboriginal women and gendered violence, Carly Findlay’s piece on sexual harassment and accountability within disability and activist communities, Rebecca Lim’s ‘#MeToo and the Marginalised’ and Kaya Wilson’s piece about the transgender perspective of gendered violence and harassment.

Something many of these stories have in common is the complexities involved in speaking out when you belong to a marginalised group. As Eugenia Flynn notes, ‘It is the #MeToo movement not hearing all the times that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women did not speak out, for fear of further stereotyping our men’. Multi-layered identities, in which women belong to multiple groups facing unique issues, make navigating the #MeToo movement much harder.

What the stories in this anthology do is remind us all of the voices left out of movements like #MeToo and the need for all of us to listen to, and support, the women and people whose voices cannot be as readily shared without an awareness and understanding of intersectionality. It’s for this reason that this book is so vital, and why I recommend it to all adult readers. We all have a lot to learn about one another and about gendered violence and harassment. This book is an important step forward for these discussions.

5/5 stars

#MeToo is available to purchase here and through any good book store.

Words by Lisandra Linde

The Birds and the Beats

Let’s talk about sex, baby. That’s the premise of Grant Busé’s show, The Birds and the Beats. Armed with only the basics (mic, guitar, and loop pedal) the Melbourne-based performer welcomes the audience to class and proposes to teach us Sex Ed 101. It’s apparent from the first song, the titular “Birds and the Bees”, that Busé won’t be pulling any punches. He raps verses over looped beats that include lines such as “I’m sick of metaphors, similes, analogies. Let’s talk about sex. Fuck the birds and the bees”, before launching straight into a verse explaining sex, sans the metaphors.

Busé, an actual teacher, takes us on a journey of curiosity via his younger self speaking to his present-day self, asking the kinds of questions he wishes had been answered by his sexual education. His topics (and songs) range from the horrors of intercourse in the animal kingdom to the importance of “no glove, no love”. At one point, a song about BDSM that begins with Busé listing experiences he’s had (with the audience encouraged to woo! if they’ve had a similar experience) becomes a song about a loss of trust. The mood only dips for a moment though because this begets an innuendo-filled segue into a discussion about why we still don’t use condoms.

Performed in the cosy BoardRoom at RAJOPOLIS at Raj House, where the back row is only a few metres from the stage, The Birds and the Beats really does feel like a lesson, or conversation, where the audience readily participates and elicits reactions from the performer. This is encouraged right from the first song in a call and response, then continues as Busé asks the crowd what they wish they’d learnt in Sex Ed (among other questions), and finally when he opens the floor to questions about his own sex life. The result is an intimate atmosphere where it doesn’t feel odd to hear a stranger sing very frankly about their sexual experiences.

Underpinning the hysterical jokes and original songs is an important theme that Busé urges us to take home: we need to be teaching kids more than just the biology of sex. We may have been taught more about playing the recorder at school than informed consent, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve sexual education for kids today.

And when class is over, it’s not hard to see why Busé’s musical Sex Ed is such a hit. The Birds and the Beats is an ingenious comedy-music show that will make you laugh ‘til you cry, bemoan your own sexual education, and leave you wondering just how you’ll explain the birds and the bees.

Words by Amelia Heffernan.

5 stars

The Birds and the Beats is playing at RAJOPOLIS at Raj House until March 18. Tickets available here.