Naughty Bookstore Adventures

I don't normally cover the same beat as Fleshbot, but this post, "J.K. Rowling inadvertently reveals her Chamber of Secrets", was amusing.

It made me think of several things, including how our sexuality is stamped by seemingly small events, how we currently freak out over the sight of a bra when bikinis bare more, and yes, of my customers in bookstores.

Speaking of dirty magazine purchases:

I hadn’t much done porn or erotic magazines for a few years and wasn’t really aware how things had moved on, so I was surprised, maybe even shocked at what I saw. It wasn’t the nude male body that made me jump, it was the erect cocks, some shown close up. I didn’t want to look at it too interestedly at that stage, but I was seriously intrigued.

Many of us hung around in a trendy and alternative bookshop near the campus. The next week I noticed they stocked the magazine. I’ve never been someone that doesn’t have the nerve to do things like that. Once I’ve made my mind up, I go for it. The female assistant got it down from the shelf, looking as if she felt right-on that she was so OK with gay men. I didn’t try to explain.

All the way home the magazine burned a hole in my jacket. I felt this way when I first bought a mainstream porn magazine from a station newsagent at the age of about 14 and on the way to stay with relatives. I had the same concerns then about being knocked over by a bus on the way home and being found carrying the magazine, and took extra care to avoid this. If the government really wanted a novel way to improve road safety, I’d suggest making everyone carry a shameful magazine.