SFisting: Spank Me With A Weekly

In light of the recent unmaking of best-selling writers as fakers (JT Leroy, James Frey), as well as less-recent revelations of journalists making up stories (Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass), I would expect your editorial staff to spend at least a few minutes fact-checking the stories you print.

After reading Harmon Leon's most recent installment of "Infiltrator", ("Dieter Gone Wild"), we can only assume -- thanks to numerous and blatant factual errors -- that this is a complete work of fiction and should have been been presented to your readers as such. Its clear that the only "infiltration" that Mr. Leon is succeeding in doing is infiltrating your masthead.

The 2006 AVN Awards took place at the Grand Ballroom of the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, on January 7, 2006. The awards have never, in their 23 year history, taken place at "a large nightclub in Los Angeles", as Mr. Leon purports. They've been at the Venetian since 2000, and before that in other hotels -- but always in Las Vegas.

Mr. Leon goes on to describe the host of the event as "an MC who looks like an out-of-shape social studies teacher" -- another dubious claim since this year's awards were co-hosted by comedian Greg Fitzsimmons and adult star Jesse Jane. He goes on to say that "The Mistresses of Ceremonies announce the first award, Male Favorite." Male Favorite has never been a category at the AVN Awards.

Full names are lacking in this article, but one person he does mention by name is T. T. Boy, a straight male performer. Mr. Leon says, "The next winner is T.T. Boy." However, T. T. Boy hasn't won an AVN Award since 1997, when he was awarded "Male Performer of the Year" (in 2003, he was inducted into AVN's Hall of Fame). He continues, "The most important award, Video Vixen ..." Again, Video Vixen is not -- nor has it ever -- been an award category at the AVN awards.

(For more errors, compare the NY Times' account of the event with his.)

Beyond the incredibly obvious factual errors in this story, as two people who (proudly) work in the adult industry, we found the mocking tone to be patronizing and offensive. Even fiction writers do more research on their subject matter.

The real insult, however, is not some perceived disrespect for the adult industry in particular -- Leon treats Christian rockers, right-wing punditry, Amber Frey and male models (in both the Weekly and other publications) -- it's Leon's relentless reliance on Conventional Wisdom. He makes up facts that support a story everyone is far too ready to believe.

But truth is stranger than fiction, and more interesting too. The adult industry often seedier than he imagined, but also more normalized andin many ways progressive and healthy. But rather than examine the knotty pine of realism, Leon resorts to cliche and caricature -- producing a column limper than either Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo or Jerry Springer's Final Thought.

When the Bush administration itself crosses the Orwellian lines between fact and fiction, we are vigilant because we disagree. When editors and readers cease to challenge the presumptions of a cultural Armstrong Williams paid in sensationalist glory, we have become as complacent in our ideas as they have. That Leon pulls the wool over readers eyes is one issue, but the failure of an alternative weekly -- no matter how short staffed -- to fact check even the most salient facts of his piece is irresponsible journalism.

Sincerely,
Jack J. Shamama
Michael Stabile
Editors, gaypornblog.com
Writers/Creators, Wet Palms

Yes Virginina, it's true -- San Francisco may not be as filthy with pornstars as Silicone Valley, but we happen to be home to the most thriving and articulate (and widely-read) sex writers, sex workers, porn filmmakers and pro-sex pundits in America (not to mention some of the most-trafficked porn sites in the world). So in a local paper running Good Vibrations ads, it's quite curious that a piece with a flaw like that could've made it across the desktops of SF Weekly staff without a question being raised... unless they were so busy flagellating themselves with their attack ad on the Guardian (PDF) in penance like little monks in the SF Weekly cave. This, we understand, the self-flagellation with local weeklies -- why, we do it every week. But firing Harmon makes the whole thing reek of soiled leather, lube past its "use by" date and soggy edible underwear. Perhaps they should take a few lessons from local doms (and bloggers) about corrections; he deserved a mean whipping for his tone, for sure, but not castration for mistakes that should've been caught by the higher-ups.

Local luminary, Good Vibrations General Manager board president (and owner), and Center for Sex and Culture founder Dr. Carol Queen sums it up perfectly:

You know, there's plenty of porn in San Francisco, and plenty of porn stories. What strikes me as especially amateur about this (besides the fact that I really wish "alternative" papers bothered to be more trustworthy and sex-positive than the New York Times) is that there are so many interesting things to say about sex that are both current and local. What the Weekly printed is neither, and it's pretty clueless to boot. The folks at FOXE probably rolled their eyes after "Dieter" came through the room and said, "Well, *that* guy was high." And if the porn crowd weren't so nice to their fans, they would've said he was an idiot. If you're going to infiltrate, it's nice to know something about where you're going, and that sure doesn't shine through here.

And as for the Weekly running it? Hey, April 1st isn't for another two and a half months. Do they think their readers are complete fools? It's just disrespectful.

Meanwhile, we're dreaming of the day Carol swats us with a rolled-up SF Weekly, telling us just how naughty we've been...