June 16, 2008

2008 Sexies Winners

Contact: Susan Wright, 917-848-6544 or Miriam Axel-Lute

First place: “Never Too Old for Sex,” by Jill Bauer, Miami Herald
Judges said: “This journalist challenged conventional assumptions about geriatric asexuality and undesirability, and did some excellent reporting on a sensitive, sometimes-taboo subject. She also did a fine job of rendering her subjects' humanity without making fun of them or lapsing into stereotype.” “Super matter-of-fact, with both a cultural slant and plenty of sex information. Terrific use of a ‘lifestyle’ piece to address real issues.”

Second place: “A Disciplined Business,” by Jon Mooallem, New York Times Magazine
The judges called this profile of Peter Acworth and his Kink.com porn empire “interesting, thorough, and matter-of-fact” and “terrific reporting and writing, with rare insight into the business angle, and a sensitive yet funny approach to the community tensions around the armory.” But they moderated their accolades on account of the article’s use of the phrase “wince-inducing grisliness." “This is the sort of line the Sexies were born to call out!” noted one judge, while another said it was “a highly unnecessary indulgence of readers' presumed prejudices.”

Third place: “How’s Your Love Life?” by Laura Sessions Stepp, The Washington Post
Judges said: “This could be a little less credulous regarding the issue of how sex research is done, but it takes a significant step toward helping the average reader grasp what's right and wrong about today's sex studies” and “This piece might have had more depth if she'd talked to a wider range of experts and other humans, but she asked a critical question (How much do we enjoy sex?), and took it seriously, giving it real analytic and empirical attention.”

News (other general-topic news publications*):

First place: “Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex,” by Debbie Nathan, Counterpunch
Judges said: “Debbie Nathan's been writing nervy critiques of sex panics, especially around children, for years now, and her dismantling of Kurt Eichenwald's odious reporting in The New York Times is excellent. Besides taking care of Eichenwald, Nathan also helps us think intelligently about teen libidos." “This piece is comprehensive, connecting the dots in a complicated and important case. It challenges conventional thinking about its subject matter, giving it relevance beyond the particularities of this article.”

Second place: “Just Say Know,” by Ken Picard, Seven Days
Judges said: “Reports on an important story carefully, showing the national context of a local story along with the local issues. Skillful writing about an inflammatory issue.”

Third place: “Media, critics get whipped into a frenzy over Leatherfest,” by Jefferson Siegel and Lincoln Anderson, The Villager
Judges said: “A newsy piece that's as balanced as it's supposed to be, but ends up being very kink-friendly.”

Runner up: “Tipping Point for Gay Sex?” by Bill Andriette, The Guide
Judges said: “This piece makes anti-sex laws relevant to the average person and complex legal issues accessible for lay people.”

Features (other general-topic news publications*):

First place: “Naughty Nursing Homes,” by Daniel Engber, Slate
Judges said: “This piece meets the strictest definition of sex-positivity . . . a well-written and persuasive article that walks a difficult line brilliantly” and “Engber's work has a nice, light touch.”

Second place: “Let's Talk About Sects,” by Omar Mouallem, Vue Weekly
Judges said: “Eye-opening and timely. We rarely get to read about Muslim sexuality, and almost never from an unbiased, objective point of view.”

Third place: “There's Something About Mary's,” by Jason Cohen, Portland Monthly
Judges said: “Gives readers the feeling they have been to the place, talked to the women, and even smelled the combination of beer, sweat, and cleaning products that keep the place going.”

Runner up: “Hot and Bothered,” by Emily Bristol, Las Vegas CityLife
Judges said: “Pieces about prostitutes almost always follow the cliches of ‘exploited womanhood.’ This one takes a more balanced look and makes readers smarter for it.”

Columns (all divisions):

First place: Between the Briefs, by Alysha Rooks, Res Gestae, University of Michigan Law School Winning entries: "I Will Not Eat It, Spam I Am," "Are You a Sex Offender?" and "Killjoys of Toys."
Judges said: “Sex and the law, by someone who clearly likes sex,” “Shows the creative and interesting side of legal decisions, and how legal decisions affect us in everyday life, motivating readers’ interest in these institutions and raising interesting philosophical questions in the process.”

Second place: Notes & Errata, by Mark Morford, San Francisco Chronicle Winning entries: "New York Condoms, Texas Dildos," "No Sex is Very Bad for You," and "How to Shave the Modern Male."
Judges said: “Morford’s style is wonderfully entertaining and easy to read. He enables readers to see the personal as political, and they absorb political information without feeling they’re being preached to.

Third place: Pucker Up, by Tristan Taormino, Village Voice Winning Entries: "Dangerous Dildos Part 1 and Part 2," "Knockin' Vintage Boots," and "Schlong Song: Circumcision: Health-conscious procedure or unnecessary sexual amputation?"
Judges said: “I appreciate someone who can open a column on sex-toy safety by an anecdote about an ass-to-ass dildo porn scene causing her a rectal emergency. Too frequently, toy-safety columns sound more like releases from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, if the CPSC did such things.”

Runners up:
PastOut, by Liz Highleyman, distributed by Q Syndicate
Judges said: “It's great to see a sex history column in such an amnesiac, sex-phobic culture.”

Sex in CINcity, by Rebecca Lehamn, News Record, University of Cinncinati Winning entries: "Genital piercings are popular for sexual pleasure," "Disabilities not problematic for having sex," and "Morning after pill sometimes unavailable."
Judges said: “Features straight-ahead writing, in a style that sees sex as part of normal life.”

Sex-Themed Publications (news and features):

First place: “Sex in Iran,” by Pari Esfandiari and Richard Buskin, Playboy
Judges said: “What an achievement this article is. Serious, attentive reporting and terrific scene-setting, with profound attention to the social and political context of sexual mores. A window onto a world of contradictions most Americans know nothing about. The best piece of sex reporting I have read in some time—and the best reporting on Iran as well.” “This is amazing journalism . . . the authors don't just tackle teaching us about sex in another cultural context—they have to get us up to speed on that context at the same time.”

Second place: “The Redclouds Revolution,” by John H. Richardson, Playboy
Judges said: “I really loved the way this piece took me on a trip through an online community and blurred the distinction between ordinary folks and sex people. Very compassionate.” “Richardson has written an elegant, even literary portrait of a community, with unexpectedly winsome characters. This piece is raucously fun, yet somehow pensive, too.”

Third place: “The Girlfriend Experience,” by Erik Hedegaard, Playboy
Judges said: “Although this article reinforced the hackneyed fantasy of the ‘hooker with the heart of gold’ without interrogating it, I still loved it because the writing and scene-setting was so strong, and the character of Nikki rendered so vividly.” “This piece gives us multiple treats—it's a personality profile, an informative look at contemporary web-based escorting, and introduces the GFE concept, and it does all of these things entertainingly and informatively.”

Runners Up:
“The Bareback Controversy,” by Joanne Cachapero, XBIZ
Judges said: “[Barebacking] is such an important issue in porn, and generally gets pretty short shrift inside the industry; this piece expands the discussion substantially and the author gets great quotes/perspective from each side of the controversy.”

“War Games: No WMDs But Military Police Find ‘Dangerous’ Dildos in Iraq,” by Tom Johansmeyer, AVN
Judges said: “This is the sort of story that ought to find its way into the mainstream, but is instead consigned to the adult press specifically because of the biases we've started the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards to address.”

Opinion (all divisions):

First place: “Abstinence 1, S-CHIP 0,” by Amanda Robb, New York Times
Judges said: “A quick but effective jab at the silliness of abstinence-only education policies.” “Her article is scathing, and her wrath is in proportion to the outrageous damage being done by a government in thrall to Christian fundamentalists.”

Second place: “The Scarlet Newscast,” by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Monitor
Judges said: “This piece demanded journalistic integrity from middle American TV news on the topic of public sex. Mr. Birkey’s piece shows clear thinking about the role of journalism in our society, and a maturity about sex that a lot of his peers could learn from! I gave this reporter extra points for his locality. He has to live in his community, and he defended objective reporting perhaps at a cost to his own comfort. It would have been a lot easier to write this piece in New York or San Francisco.”

Third place: “How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children?,” by David Pogue, New York Times
Judges said: “Succinct and to a major point, yet personal, this piece is well-written and very neatly cuts an emotional, hot-button issue down to size.”

Runner up: “To Fake Is to Forfeit,” by Jenna Bromberg, Cornell Sun
Judges said: “If Jenna Bromberg represents the next wave of fierce, feminist sex writers, the future of sex positive journalism is in good hands! This is a light-hearted and hilarious look at faking orgasm, in defense of honest sex. Honest itself, it’s laced with surprising realness about sex, bodies, and the ways men and women interact. Bravo!”

(*News publications include daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly newspapers or news magazines, college newspapers, and exclusively online edited news publications. Blogs or other publications/websites with no firsthand reporting or editorial oversight, while crucial parts of the information landscape, do not qualify as news publications for the purposes of this award.)

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