"I'm the voice of Yacht Rock you bitch!"

Yes, it's true, that was me you saw in the Goo-ardian this weekend (er, if the photo* and the name didn't tip you off), you may now stop texting me (although I must say I'm impressed by how many of you read your weekend Guardian, well done).

If you missed it, I'm reposting the entire article below (which was oddly laid-out so you may experience temporary confusion as to what section you're in- it may be easier just to read it on the Guardian site), since I'm sure all of history will want to benefit from my wisdom. If it sounds like my wisdom is an odd series of non-sequiturs that is because they were cherry-picked or even paraphrased from an hour-long interview which I actually thought was a pretty interesting conversation. I've asked Craig (who interviewed me) for the recording and I may post it here later if it comes through (if, y'know, you just can't get enough of my views on sex).

I thought I'd also take this opportunity to clarify a few things which may sound odd without context:

• The interviews were undertaken to provide a counterpoint to the main article- they wanted to see if Decca's theories mapped out in reality. I hadn't read the article before we did the interview and it was quite freeform (it ranged all over), so I was somewhat suprised to see that the two primary theories behind the article (the pornographization of the mainstream and the internet's role in the availability of casual sex) were echoed almost directly by my own thoughts. I think the main difference is that Decca took a largely negative stance on current views on sex and sexuality, whereas I think it's part of an evolutionary process (in which feminism has played an enormous, powerful role) that will unfold largely as it should- with both positive and negative sides. That doesn't mean I think people shouldn't pick sides- that's part of the process. My side? Well, we can't go backwards -and I wouldn't want us to- but we do need to make our way forward with care and circumspection.
  
• Many people have taken the opening line as some kind of condemnation of porn on my part. It really isn't. Like all men I've consumed porn and probably will again at some stage or another. I think there's definitely nasty aspects to it but I wouldn't make a blanket condemnation of it as a media form, or indeed anyone who consumes it. My comment was specifically about how porn has (quite recently, really) set up station in the mainstream of popular culture and I think there may be some creepy aspects to that. I saw my first pornographic magazine when I was thirteen and it was almost an artifact in terms of how hard it was for a group of teenagers to get a hold of. Yet I would have to stab my eyes out to avoid similar levels of exposure to porn in my regular day-to-day apperception of television and advertising today- it'd be downright odd if I saw a dance (or R&B) video that didn't feature a lot of nekkid ladies gyrating about. That was my main point. Not that porn is bad per se, just that it's everywhere.
• I haven't been through four relationships in the past six months: I've dated four people, by which I mean, you know, you hang out with someone, go on dates, see if you get along enough to get into an 'actual' (?) relationship- admittedly the line gets blurry as you start to phase from one to the other. I get the impression this is a largely American concept, but it's definitely gaining currency over here- I'm certainly a big fan of it. Presumably the word relationship was subbed in because a lot of people don't know what I mean when I say 'dating'. Hmm. Anyway, my primary point was that while its easier to find people and get dates, it's changed the value of sex...and really, how could it not?
• "Sex has gone from being this important relationship to being a recreational activity." I'm pretty sure what I said (or at least meant to say) was: "Sex has gone from being this important part of a relationship to almost a recreational activity." I didn't mean to say the former had overwritten the latter. Sex is, of course, a very important part of a relationship- I didn't mean to preclude that option. I was just saying that that there has been a large explosion in casual sex- now people can use the internet to dial up a casual sex partner just as something to do, not as part of a relationship- I'd say this is dangerous to a person's idea as to the value of sex.
• These are all opinions based on experience (although I should say I have never used the internet to dial up a casual sex partner- although I do know people who have), not declarations of fact based on inferential reasoning. I'm not saying I'm right, nor that anyone else is wrong- but feel free to jump in if you think I am, heh.
• It's a minefield out there, people! Take care of yourselves, and each other. [wink]

*with my teenty-tiny beady eyes (God how I hate them!) and ludicrous 17-inch neck (do you know how hard it is to lose weight in your neck?). And for the record, I didn't get intentionally dressed up, I didn't even know I was being photographed until an hour before I was. That's just what I normally wear to work, for real. I'm fancy.