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From a superficial description or catalog copy, MWI's videos could sound like they'd be the output of Just Another Amateur Porn Outfit, but thankfully, they're not. Their specialty is footage of real-life couples having real-life sex. Sound like it might be dull, sleazy, or just plain low-budget? Yeah, I know, I've seen those boring amateur and gonzo pornos too. And this ain't that. Really. I promise. Yes, this is in essence amateur porn. The individuals you see on screen are not professional porn actors and actresses. They aren't (for the most part) endowed with improbable Barbie-doll physiques or schlongs the size of a Republican tax break. The women's faces are not permanently set in the expression known as Van Nuys Blow Job. Nor do they launch into the When Harry Met Sally Memorial Orgasm Noise Competition every time so much as a breeze ruffles their pubic hair, thank goodness. But there are some very important differences between this and standard-issue "amateur" porn, differences that make it a far more interesting, and far more enjoyable, experience. First of all, the production values are high. The lighting is good and consistent, the camera angles generally clean, sensible, and varied, and the camera movements well-handled. Sound can be a little inconsistent at times, but it seems like that'd be one of the problems of trying to mike nekkid folks while they're schtupping without being so obtrusive as to get in the way of their being able to have a relatively genuine and heartfelt interaction. Generally speaking, there are no soundtracks (which means that you can supply your own, or not, or just enjoy hearing the participants going at it). There's no commercial-porn-industry costuming or makeup: the participants seem to be wearing clothes that are comfortable for them, and I suspect they supply their own clothes, lingerie, and so on. The sets are (as far as I can tell) people's actual bedrooms and living rooms, or something reasonably close to them. As a result, people look more comfortable and act in ways that are much more organically confident and sexy than they would if they were in unfamiliar surroundings or clothing. It's all part of the MWI house style, which if I had to characterize it in a phrase, I would call "darned good reality sex." The orgasms are real, and female orgasms particularly are both plentiful and lusciously unfeigned (and thus gratifyingly un-porno-actress-like). And, to their credit, apparently MWI has figured out a way around what I believe must be an industry regulation requiring all male orgasms to take the form of a money shot, a facial, or at least a gynecological closeup on the cream pie after the guy pulls out. Sex is shown with lumps and bumps, fumbling, in-process negotiation and encouragement, giggling, lots of kissing, and a variety of reactions -- from barely-there to full-bore moaning and shouting -- fully intact. Unlike in some of the amateur porn I've seen, there is only rarely the sense that the folks in these videos are trying to act like porn stars (or what they think porn stars are like, whichever). It is evident that the participants are all mutually and individually interested in being filmed having sex. They like sex a lot. Particularly, they love having sex with each other, and it's very obvious, even in the least externally reactive couples, that there is a lot of electricity between the partners. There's plenty of ardent kissing and caressing in all the videos, including the kinky ones, and thankfully, it's devoid of the theatricality and staginess of the foreplay scenes I've suffered through in other videos. The cuddly stuff is not merely presented as foreplay, either. Participants continue to kiss and cuddle periodically as they have sex, too. (Fancy that, porn where affection and love coexist with lust. Heaven forfend people actually see these, they might start to think it's okay or something.) I also like the kissing and caressing in these films for the opportunity it presents to watch people's sexual reactivity and arousal. Many people are more reactive, in ways that can be observed by an outsider at any rate, when they're kissing or being kissed than they are when they're having genital sex. Everyone who's seen mainstream porn is familiar with this. You will recall the stoic expression worn by most of the porn industry's professional studs, who can be humping away, balls-deep in some 20-year-old gym-buffed Brazilian-waxed coochie, all the while looking like they're listening to someone read the 1040 long form out loud. This is normal, really; sometimes your attention is all on what's going on with your body and the sensations you're feeling, and you simply aren't showing a response on your face. It happens with some of the people in MWI videos, too, but in these -- as in real life, and unlike in mainstream porn -- the kissing and caressing provides a nice chance for a counterpoint of aroused smiles, lovers' chitchat, and satisfied purring. All of this, plus the simple good humor and enthusiasm of the individuals in these videos - an impression enhanced by the interviews that precede the sex scenes -- lend it an emotional and psychological edge that is often lacking in porn. It's saying a lot that even when the individuals or specific sex acts I was watching didn't really turn me on, I was never actually turned off, either, simply because the people in them were having a genuinely good time. This is heartfelt stuff, even when it's sometimes a little gawky or uncertain or simply not particularly videogenic (real sex, unlike Porno Sex, is sometimes repetitive and undramatic, because what matters to the people having sex is not necessarily what matters to you, Little Miss Voyeur). Brief interviews with the still-clothed participants before each of the videos do a fine job of underscoring what that means: the individuals talk about themselves and their relationships, what they like best about their sex lives with their partners, and their various motivations for being willing to be filmed having sex. It's kind of nice to have a bit of an idea who these people are that you're watching have sex... a little less like a random drive-by schtupping and a little more like watching friends of yours go at it, only without the potential for post-voyeuristic ookiness at brunch the next morning. These are fun videos, tapes that I feel comfortable recommending to couples, those new to explicit sex videos, and to people who are tired of (or simply not interested in) the artifical and often really darned silly aesthetics of mainstream porn. The "Real Couples" videos featuring heterosexual pairs make a particularly nice resource for straight women, who rarely get a chance to see heterosexual video porn that is as geared toward women's desires and pleasures, let alone that features women whose bodies and faces weren't grown in the secret silicone vats underneath the Playboy mansion jacuzzi. That said, let me say a few words about each of the three MWI "Real Couples" videos I recently viewed. MWI Real Couples Volume 4 Three straight couples strut their stuff on this tape. Those who have a thing for skinny little pre-Raphaelite girls will love the first pair, Fiona, a reed-slim nineteen year old with lovely long hair and admittedly very pretty breasts, with her somewhat older, sweet, dark-haired, slightly stocky (yum!) boyfriend, D. The slightly shy thirtysomething middle couple, Bonlie and Monroe, were fun to watch, but seemed a little self-conscious. My personal fave, was the last duo, Autumn and Michael, who were giggly, creative, playful, and ardent as hell. I generally don't get a lot out of watching straight sex these days, but these two had a lot of energy and a dynamic I found downright infectious. The penultimate scenario in this section, with Michael fucking Autumn doggy-style and pulling her hair back hard, just the way she asks him to, was scrumptious: not because of the activities per se, but because of how much she was loving it. I never get over how much empowering fun it is to watch a woman come that hard, or fuck with that kind of lusty abandon. |
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MWI Real Girlfriends Volume 1 Another three-couple tape. The first pair, Sara and Alyssa, sort of prototypical young urban dykes, are sweet and soulful and awful darned cute with their cuddly sweet pussy-eating and strap-on play. The third pair, Divina and Tara, are tricked-out Tantric tootsies whose (excerpted) rich, multi-part sex ritual features some fun-looking tribadism, a rarity in dyke porn. But my favorite was the middle pair, Annika & Sara P., two gorgeous, unapologetically fat women who have some incredible, sincere, deeply connected, raw sex. In all honesty, this was the first porn I've ever seen of fat women where I actually got off - and having literally written the book about fat people and sex, I've seen a lot of fat pornography. Why was this so different? Well, probably because unlike a lot of porn featuring fat women, it wasn't about fat (which may be an object of sexual fixation to some people, particularly the fat-admiring heterosexual men who are the usual market for that kind of porn, but it's just a fact of life to me). Instead, it was about ecstatic sex and deep erotic communication between two women who do happen to have lush, deliciously responsive fat bodies. They were clearly completely in their bodies every instant of the time, and loving every microsecond, every ounce, and every miniscule motion. I can't think of a better pair of poster girls for the beauty and power of fat sexy bodies... or as role models for women who are simply trying to better embrace and honor their love of getting thoroughly and passionately fucked. Keep this sort of thing up, MWI, and you may eventually convince me to get on the business side of your cameras. Seriously. I was almost that impressed. |
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MWI Real Kink Volume 1 Danger Will Robinson: This is not kitten-with-a-velvet-whip, introduce-your-girlfriend-to-the-concept kink. This is serious, experienced, heavy-duty, no-bullshit SM and SM sex. If you have no clue what it means when someone wears a black bandanna in his or her back jeans pocket, you may find this video to be just a wee teensy bit extreme. And even if you do know what flagging black means --even if you do it yourself -- this video may or may not be your cuppa. On the other hand, it may be precisely what the doctor ordered. What we've got here is some very enthusiastic and obviously well-practiced heavy kinky play and kinky sex with two very ardent women who, while not conventional beauties by any stretch of the imagination, are both very strong, powerful, intelligent, and attractive. Big, burly Daddy Blue launches pretty much directly into cackling, gleeful play with her longtime partner and playmate, the lithe and beautifully tattooed Lydia. Do not try this at home, chickens: You have to have been playing with someone for a long time, and be a pretty heavy player as well, to consider laying into someone with sparring gloves on to be in the category of "warmup." It continues in the same intense vein, with flogging, caning, single-tail whipping, electrical play, and some impressively athletic oral sex. Later, Blue demands service from Lydia, including being filled fore and aft with some lengths of chunky, heavy chain while hangin' out in the plush-draped sling. Blue is explosively, very noisily appreciative, which occasionally seems a little stagey and may prompt you to turn the sound way down, but there's no mistaking the fact that she's a good old fashioned pig for penetration (and thus a woman after my own heart) and she's having one whoopdejamboreehoo of a time. This may be your thing, or it may not. That it combines BDSM with actual genital sex is noteworthy, for that's rather a rarity in porn (although not at all a rarity in people's actual sex lives). In its favor, the enthusiasm and expertise and very obvious adoration these two women share for one another and the sex they enjoy are enough to make the video worth a look. |
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12.07.06: Scarlet Letters -- in case it isn't glaringly obvious -- is currently
on an extended hiatus. The web has changed, we've changed, and
we're trying to figure out how we both fit together now, which isn't a process we want to rush. If you're looking for more current SL-related content, you can
have check out upcoming books from editor Heather Corinna and previous co-editor Hanne Blank, check out Heather's current sexuality sites, or explore sites through the femmerotic network. We hope to be back with you soon, as fresh, challenging and
unexpected as ever.
In the meantime, by all means, enjoy our years of past content,
all of which still remain in the public and subscription areas.
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