Lesbian Sex and Sexuality

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Studio: Genius
MSRP: $29.95
Rated: NR
Running Time: 158 minutes
Special Features: Nichts.

The Pitch

“A Brief History of Dykes.”

The Humans

Written and directed by Katherine Linton, and featuring a host of faces, recognizable and un, such as Skye Blue, Tristan Taormino, and a gaggle of lovable dominatrices.

The Nutshell

A six-episode miniseries, with each episode devoted to some facet of overt lesbian sexuality. No covert lesbians here, with dark glasses and Enigma machines hidden in their trenchcoats; these are the lesbians that ride helicopters into battle, blaring Wagner.

The Lowdown

I can honestly say that I'm not on the bleeding edge when it comes to lesbian sexuality. I have lesbian friends, sure, but we don't talk about issues related to sexuality, apart from defining “Abraham Lincoln” in terms of naked charades. I've seen my share of girl/girl porn, but that's just porn for guys who don't like watching other men's penises obscure the action; so I'm a lesbian virgin, and will forever remain so, barring late-onset gender dysphoria.

Genius Entertainment aims to close the gap between the lesbians and the people like me with Lesbian Sex and Sexuality. The series is targeted at hetero-types, and presented as a sort of survey course of womanly intimacy, in all its various forms and positions. From porn to stripping, to sensuality both subtle and explicit (but mostly explicit), the series takes us deep into the vagina.


May contain trace amounts of peanuts.

Things start off with an episode devoted to pornographic lesbian movies, which are a far cry from the latest volume of Where the Boys Aren't (which I rented for reasons of comparative research). Blowfish Productions, one of the two lesbian porn houses profiled in the episode, get a good chunk of time to discuss what differentiates lesbian porn intended for women from lesbian porn intended for men. The considerations don't dig far beneath the surface, unfortunately, relying on professions of satisfaction of market demand as centering the relevance and context. What's more worthwhile about this episode, and the formula it establishes for the rest of the series, is the volume of anecdotes from participants in the pornography business. These range from the intensely personal to the banal, but together suggest a thrill of liberty that seems to have driven the whole production.

The remainder of the first disc is devoted to like segments, covering the realms of exotic dancing in lesbian clubs and various forms of literary and performance erotica. This disc makes up the expository half of the series, and offers at least a glancing introduction to media players in the current lesbian game.


(2) Whatever you want it to be, Mr. Webster.

The meatier segments of the show appear on disc two, which holds episodes devoted to more abstract concepts, such as the fulfillment of fantasies, relational politics, and the division between niche lesbian subcultures and mainstream society. Unfortunately, for the viewer aiming to get a bit of edification out of the content, the show sticks to its guns in providing only anecdotal evidence and individual case examples. I don't want to deny that these are interesting in and of themselves -- and, more importantly, none of them seem to contain forced emotion -- but they are necessarily limited in scope.

All these little anecdotes combine into a broad history of lesbian erotica in a modern context. I'd call that a too-small focus, especially since the information included in each segment is far from exhaustive. Instead, the producers center of individuals and their positions on and opinions of the spectrum of lesbian sex. In other words, as a documentary it teaches you more about Tristan Taormino than it does about, say, hardcore lesbian pornography. I'm also kind of surprised at the amount of footage wasted on titillation, which could have been spent on more interviews or other dry, boring bits of information.


Guess which celebrity's Sidekick got stolen this time.

Lesbian Sex and Sexuality shows off a small, California-centered corner of its title. The stories that it carries are inspiring -- in an abstract, “good for you” kind of way -- but it doesn't contain nearly enough solid information to stand as a thorough exploration of the subject.

The Package

Nothing for you but the content of the episodes and a trailer. Also, the thing is just letterboxed widescreen, so it comes off kind of ugly. The visuals, not the content.

Did I make it through without offending anyone unnecessarily, apart from myself?

6.5 out of 10