feminism

Triple Play Q&A with Rikki de la Vega

/ Jaye Elise / 2 Comments

WomanReadingHello all!

For this week’s Triple Play Q&A segment, I’d like to introduce you to Rikki de la Vega, author of Peri’s Bliss and Hannah’s Healing. I’m so excited to host her and to share her feisty, witty, inspirational responses with you!

Welcome, Rikki!

Rikki de la Vega lives, lusts and writes in Boston, Massachusetts. Polyamorous, kinky, and a feisty intellectual, she crafts her erotic tales from real-life experiences with the goal of presenting good smut for smart people. An unorthodox sex-positive feminist, she is also an online activist for everything from sex work decriminalization to disability rights.

PerisBliss

Love it, Rikki—such a pleasure to meet you! And now it’s time for your Triple Play Q&A!

If you were a character in a book or series of books, who would you be and why?

My own character of Lila Jaworski, in the Free Spirits series, is one with which I identify. She’s vivacious, generous, and yet doesn’t need to be the center of attention to get things done. She also has a strongly intuitive sense of people, and none of the burdensome shame that so many have about sexuality and gender expectations.

HannahsHealingWhat writing project are you currently working on?

Right now, I’m writing Amalia’s Truth, my fourth book in the Free Spirits series. The series is set around members of the Free Spirit Connection, a fictional modern spiritual community which sees sex as another form of communion, even allowing members to get it on in private communion rooms. The title character in this book appeared previously, and in this book she’s attending the Connection’s Triennial Assembly as a delegate, not to mention having plenty of erotic encounters. But she also becomes the target of some unsavory rumors, and has to defend herself.

If you were to perform karaoke, which song would you pick and why?

Well, disclosure time here. I have a serious speech disorder, which makes it extremely difficult (even painful) to try to speak or sing for anything longer than a short sentence. So I let my friends do the karaoke thing, and I show my support to them by clapping and dancing. Anyway, if that weren’t the case, I’d be singing “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. It’s so positive and high energy, you can’t help moving to the beat, feeling it flow through you. We need more of that energy, more talk about love and pleasure, less pettiness and “me-and-my-group-first” nonsense. And if you out there reading agree with me, do me a favor and sing “Walking on Sunshine” for me at your next karaoke night!

Well, Rikki, you’ve got it! “Walking on Sunshine” is officially on my next karaoke set list! Thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing more about yourself and your current projects! 

If you’d like to find out even more about Rikki de la Vega, or would be interested in picking up some of her fantastic books, please click around the links above and below and go to town!

BridgetsCalling

Wonder Woman’s Kinky Backstory?

/ Jaye Elise / 2 Comments

Wonder Woman 1Okay, okay, I admit it – the title is total clickbait. After all, what could be hotter than Wonder Woman…and kink?? But now that you’re here, how about you take a gander and find out some fun (sexy) facts about Wonder Woman’s origins. And when I say “origins,” I’m not referring to Diana, Princess of Themyscira’s origin story, but rather to the man who created this goddess and gave the world one of its most recognizable, strongest feminist superheroes.

In 1941, writer and psychologist William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton) created Wonder Woman. Incidentally, Marston was also instrumental in the development of the polygraph machine. But where’s the kink you promised, Jaye? Well, here you go! For starters, Marston and his wife Elizabeth were involved in a polyamorous relationship with Olive Byrne, the woman largely credited with providing the inspiration for Wonder Woman’s appearance, especially her iconic bracelets. All three were fervent feminists and Marston would explain, “Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world.” While his idea that Wonder Woman “would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love,” may ring as decidedly non-feminist according to our modern sensibilities, his foresight in creating a vehicle for a strong female comic book lead character was unheard of during the 1940s.

Of course, one of the kinkiest elements in the comic books and in the subsequent TV iterations of the iconic goddess is that of bondage. Diana often finds herself tied up and held at the mercy of her foes, invariably escaping through her own cunning and strength. This is largely due to the fact that Marston aimed to subvert the ‘damsel in distress’ trope – Wonder Woman can rescue herself, dammit! But isn’t it hot to see her all tied up in the first place? Why, yes. Yes, it is. And it’s quite likely that Marston agreed with us wholeheartedly, at one point describing bondage and submission as “a respectable and noble practice.” A gorgeous, nearly omnipotent feminist all tied up, who then releases herself from bondage? Hot damn… No wonder she’s been around for nearly 80 years.

Wonder Woman 2

For all of the fascinating details of how Wonder Woman has evolved over the years, how she became a feminist icon, and even how she (briefly) became an Honorary Ambassador to the UN, please refer to her Wikipedia article, the same source for the information I’ve included in this post.