February 19-25, 2004

mailbag

Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

No Calm Over Club Kama Sutra

Thanks for the very interesting article about the straight "lifestyle" club CKS in Philadelphia ["Sex and the Witty," Amy L. Webb, Feb. 12, 2004]. It's obvious from reading the article that those who run the club are concerned for the well-being of their clientele. The owners put time and energy into making their venue safe and fun for those who choose to attend their events. I only wish the same could be said for many of the owners who operate Philadelphia's sex clubs and theaters where gay and bi men congregate. Most of them are filthy, with no lighting, no condoms or safer sex information freely available. You'd be hard-pressed to find soap and paper towels or even toilet paper in the bathrooms. Such reckless disregard for the gay community only contributes to the continued rise of STD and HIV cases in this city. Why is there a double standard when it comes to places where gay and bisexual men have sex?

Timothy Latz
Philadelphia

It's fun to read you. Usually. But sometimes you fail, and fail miserably, like the recent article about Club Kama Sutra (CKS).

"Threesomes with women are encouraged," but "male bisexual or gay activity" is not allowed because "members wanted it that way," we are told by "Fred." Huh?

Could we please see the member survey results? More likely, it's because of hypocritical and homophobic owners and underlings like this Fred character, not because the members would be horrified by two men touching each other. Your clueless writer did not feel that this absurd pronouncement deserved questioning or, at least, a comment?

The problem is bigger, though -- the writer's total failure to do her homework.

First, the article misrepresents what the lifestyle is about. Swinging is certainly one part of it, but there's a host of other shades (falling mostly under BDSM) that are totally off the writer's radar. Then, there are no interviews with random patrons of the club or with members of the local scene, no real understanding of what this is all about. We are told about neighbors' views secondhand (by the club owner, of all people), but there are no interviews with any of said neighbors. In fact, the information on CKS is almost exclusively based on what people with a financial interest in it told the writer. That's reporting?

The entire article is a shameless plug for the specific establishment, complete with prices and process for signing up, staged pictures to titillate and detailed information on franchising (just in case you have a spare $150K).

Companies normally would pay thousands of dollars for such advertising. The CKS owners must be ecstatic to have found the naive Ms. Webb to repeat what they spoon-fed her for free. Or did she?

A shallow and sometimes offensive article. Worthy of a tabloid rag.

Constantine Daskalakis
Philadelphia

As someone finishing up my wedding plans and getting married this summer, I am worried about bringing up my children in a society with no moral backbone, willing to accept anything.

Keep sliding, humanity, but remember -- that sudden stop at the base of the slope is what ends up killing you.

P.S. I bet the N.A.M.B.L.A. members are lovin' how y'all will accept any behavior as "normal."

Anthony Troxel
Via E-mail