poem, pro-consent & pro-bike-alike

I feel some more poetry and sex talk subsuming this post. I do miss you, bicycles. I will return.

But, for starters, here as an updated poem:

Underwear

We are not fixed,

rather, free in

underwear

like

bicycles

provide room for

movement, for rotation,

to leap to turn to pose,

to motion you over with my

pointer-finger, tonight.

Tonight, no one but

you knows their

mauve and black stripes,

and drop down curvy handle-

bar-like hips and soft surfaces like

I know you and

your soft steps toward

me on this hard-wood floor

at your own speed

reciprocating the motion of our

cranking legs or our

relaxing coasts.

Switching gears... (not sure how I feel about that euphemism)

I cannot be more excited about the motion the Anti-Rape movement is undergoing. And for those of us not sure of what I speak to, please check out this vivacious woman's explanation. In brief, all of the much needed and fantastic energy placed on the Anti-Rape movement for the past forty plus years seems to currently be more focused on a sex positive, Pro-Consent frame.

This means that more people want to discuss sex in a comprehensive way that includes STI talk, Pregnancy talk and healthy relationships talk, but also want to give a voice to... pleasure! communication! toys! queer! contraception! And, dare I say more importantly, but some even want to talk about the gray areas, like, "What is a rape fantasy? Does it exist?" or, "What happens if the survivor and perpetrator were both drunk? Who is called the survivor and who is called the perpetrator?"

Those are just a couple of questions that I've been asked while doing presentations and had to steer through my mind to find something that might answer part of some of the questions. So, it seems like time to talk about all of this confusing crap, mostly so that we can all go on to have fun and safe sex lives! Yum.

So, what do Pro-Consent and Pro-Bicycle have in common? Not a whole lot, perhaps. But in my mind they are directly related. Imagine this scenario:

I am out with a couple of friends who are in a monogamous relationship. We start talking about sex, so I discuss my own choices and gripe about monogamy. They talk about why they like and are choosing monogamy, and we still disagree. All the while, we gain a little bit of knowledge and insight as to why we have such different ideas.

Now, imagine this scenario:

I am out with a couple of friends who ride fixed geared bikes without brAKEs. We start talking about riding, so I discuss my own choices and gripe about brAKEless fixies. They talk about why they like and choose to ride sans-brAKEs, and we still disagree. All the while, we gain a little bit of knowledge and insight as to why we have such different ideas.

Finally, I am not equating riding brAKEless fixed gear bicycles with monogamy, despite the hilarity in doing so. I am also not saying engaging in either activities is good or bad. I am saying that if we just fucking talk to each other and are honest and self aware when we do so, we can get a whole hell of a lot done, whether that means having better sex, being in more enjoyable relationships, riding fixed gear bicycles or road bikes. At the core of the Pro-Consent movement, after all, is communication. Am I right?