Book Sample: Module Contents and Disclaimer

Posted on by Persephone van der Waard

“Brace for Impact” is a novella-sized book sample written and invigilated for my upcoming “monster volume”—aka Volume Two of my Sex Positivity (2023) book series. The sample divides into over thirteen posts, whose total chapters/subchapters compile a taste of the larger volume (which releases in-full, mid-2024—click here to see details about the whole Sex Positivity book project); it was inspired by my friend and muse, Harmony Corrupted.

Originally a chapter in Volume Two (thus the URL still reading “chapter”), “Brace for Impact” expanded into a module (the first of three in the volume), followed by me making it Volume Two, part one. Clocking in at over ~185,000 words, ~469 pages, ~346 images, and 49 new exhibits, it’s essentially a companion piece to Volume Two’s monster modules (which will be released separately as Volume Two, part two). This promo post, then, includes the entire module’s table of contents (and hyperlinks to each post, when they release), followed by the book disclaimer.

Permissions: Any publicly available images are exhibited for purposes of education, transformation and critique, thus fall under Fair Use; private nude material and collabs with models are specifically shared with permission from the original model(s). For more details about artist permissions, refer to the book disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

(artist: Harmony Corrupted)

Module Contents

“Brace for Impact” divides into over thirteen posts (I keep adding new ones, so the page counts will keep updating until the samples exhaust). Some are posted on my old blog (meant for any audience); some feature explicit, pornographic nudity* and will post exclusively here on my website:

*My website is 18+ and contains full uncensored images of everything being discussed and exhibited. To that, “Angry Mothers,” “Solving Riddles,” “The Medieval” and “Facing Death” will all contain a variety of erotic nude images discussing psychosexual trauma. The purpose of their inclusion is art criticism, transformation and education regarding erotic Gothic media.

  • 1. “Psychosexual Martyrdom” (sample essay—on my old blog): This post samples from Volume Two, specifically the first half of its opening, “Concerning Martyrs, from Demons to the Undead: Learning from the Monstrous Past” (2024). Volume Two is the upcoming Humanities primer/monster volume for my book project, Sex Positivity (2023); its opening asks the reader to humanize the oppressed through reclaimed monsters by learning from the monstrous past as something to recreate ourselves. Length: ~14 pages.
  • 2. “Haunting the Chapel: A Cum Tribute to Harmony Corrupted” (dedication): Dedicates to my friend and muse, Harmony Corrupted, who inspired me to write the entire “Brace for Impact” module. Length: ~2 pages.
  • 3. “Hugging the Alien” (module opening—on my old blog): Introduces a concept of reunion with nature as alien and fetishized, requiring us to “hug Medusa” (the monstrous-feminine) as the classic punching bag of Cartesian forces. Length: ~6 pages.
  • 4. “Time” (“Prep, part zero”—on my old blog): Thinks about the Humanities—and the humanization of those perceived or identifying as monsters under capitalistic hegemony as invariably decaying towards fascism—less as pure fiction and more as something to cultivate using Gothic poetics in relation to space and time as relayed through fiction and reality during an ongoing relationship: dialectical and historical materialism. Length: ~7 pages.
  • 5. “Teaching” (“Prep, part one”): Focuses on the duality of monstrous language when employed in either direction, but generally in opposition, during dialectical materialism; i.e., as a means of introducing children to fear and dogma (to serve the state) or as a profoundly playful and performative means of worker liberation: getting children to learn as early as possible about their world (and the language that composes it)—to learn from the imaginary past as monstrous-feminine. In other words, “Teaching” explores how learning happens when playing with trauma, confronting and voicing it in symbolic terms whose duality must, in turn, be repeatedly puzzled over through incessant examination and application; i.e., theatrical/Gothically poetic metaphors the likes of which often involve animals-as-monstrous. “Teaching” thoroughly invokes Medusa through “the caterpillar and the wasp” refrain, but will branch out to adjacent forms of monstrous-feminine expression to explore teaching more broadly as a powerful Gothic-Communist device. Length: ~122 pages.

Due to its size and multiple topics, I’ve divided “Teaching” into three total pieces:

      • 5a. “‘My Quest Began with a Riddle’: the Caterpillar and the Wasp” (chapter opening—on my old blog): Introduces the chapter goal (learning from the past as monstrous-feminine to liberate it from Capitalist Realism) and outlines the poetic, educational refrain: the caterpillar and the wasp. Length: ~6 pages.
      • 5b. “Angry Mothers; or, Learning from Our Monstrous-Feminine Past” (chapter, first half): Establishes the monstrous-feminine as something whose ancient past is forever in development—for the state or for workers. I consider this idea through Alien, but also my own work as inspired by Alien and the cuties that I work with. In short, it asks how I learned from Scott’s “ancient” past (and similar stories) to touch on post-scarcity in my own work. Length: ~26 pages.
      • 5c. “Solving Riddles; or, Following in Medusa’s Footsteps” (chapter, second half): Considers the monstrous-feminine as something to learn from in a variety of multimedia forms; i.e., starting with a broader relationship between our bodies and minds as interconnected with themselves and media at large, then narrowing down to conflict, mothers-in-conflict, and liberation. Total Length: ~90 pages.
        • 5c1. Opening to “Solving Riddles”; “Spilling Tea” and “Meeting Medusa”: Articulates how we can encounter “Medusa” in everyday life—a touch of the extraordinary lurking in those we meet as normally policed or controlled by the state. This classically falls under a male/female binary, which I will try to hyphenate based on my own experiences and expertise (scholarly synthesis). Length: ~37 pages.
        • 5c2. “Teaching between Media and our Bodies, and a Bit of Coaching“: Shifts focus, expanding on the monstrous-feminine as something to consider (and teach) through a) the space between multiple forms of media and our bodies, and b) is something to materialize and grasp at through coaching behaviors (of which I shall demonstrate). Length: ~20 pages.
        • 5c3. “Conflict, Mothers-in Conflict, and Liberation“: Concludes the chapter by concentrating on themes of conflict that double as praxial struggles insofar as language hermeneutically functions; i.e., always in conflict in a variety of ways. I consider that variety unto itself, then regard it in relation to mothers (and the monstrous-feminine) as trapped, fighting for liberation. Length: ~33 pages.
  • 6. “Medicine” (“Prep, part two”—on my old blog): Reflects on the synthesizing of good praxis from a medical standpoint; i.e., to pace ourselves and look after ourselves/monitor our vitals while engaging in subversive Gothic poetics as poets, sex workers, and rock stars, etc, generally do—actively and boldly. Length: ~8 pages.

(artists: Cuwu and Persephone van der Waard)

  • 7. “The Medieval” (“Prep, part three”): Reflects on the Humanities through the poetic lens of monsters, magic and myth; i.e., an object lesson on how to think about, and engage creatively with, Gothic poetics the way a Gothic poet would, thus better synthesize praxis to foster Gothic Communism as an artistic movement.
    • I have divided it further into many pieces—“Monsters, Magic and Myth”—which cover the some of the messiest (and most exquisite) aspects to what Volume Two is about and which we’ve touched upon, but here I really want to go over as thoroughly as possible: as things to sell to others not as commodities, but propositions; i.e., for them to buy as a social-sexual exchange between cuties. Total length: ~266 pages.
      • 7a. Opening to “The Medieval,” and “Castles in the Flesh; or, a Personalized Example of Derelicts”: Provides a personalized anecdote from my life regarding how Gothic derelicts (castles or castle-like bodies; i.e., suits of armor) are expressed in more literal human forms: those we relate to with using Gothic media. Length: ~13 pages.
      • 7b. “Green Eggs and Ha(r)m; or, ‘Fucking’s Fun, Try it!’“: Partway on the road. Considers the Gothic as something its critics turn their noses up at like green eggs and harm, conflating capitalist forms with our iconoclastic doubles (making them bad critics); this subchapter outlines Gothic castles and draconian occupants in their half-real, dialectical-material totality (ours vs theirs). Length: ~15 pages.
      • 7c. “The Eyeball Zone; or, Relating to the Gothic as Commies Do“: Still en route! A more autobiographical subchapter, one that explores interpersonal relationships in the broader context of ludo-Gothic BDSM during class and culture war—how we can relieve stress and address praxial concerns that we leave behind; i.e., to be consulted when we become overstimulated (or don’t exist anymore) relative to our own web of relationships: a buffer when our walls go up, a glorious “eyehole” to peep through and engage with while the blinders are still on. Length: ~37 pages.
      • 7d. “Knocking on Heaven’s Door; or, Prepare for Entry!“: Arrives and waits for the door to open. Goes over some Marxist signposts and liberatory sex work exhibits, which seek to underline how the Gothic (and Communism) transcend mediums to speak across them in everyday relationships that help put out fires while not starting new ones (a complex spectrum of social-sexual exchanges, whose material factors and aesthetic elements of unequal power and trauma hyphenate to address systemic abuse). Length: ~10 pages.
      • 7e. “‘Heaven in a Wild Flower’; or, Exhibiting the Monstrous-Feminine Ourselves“: Greeted in the antechamber, and given pamphlets. Supplies a gender-studies hermeneutic, regarding the monstrous-feminine in relation to everything discussed so far in the book; i.e., there is always an aspect of the Medusa (war-like, morphologically diverse, and rebellious) to any monster that isn’t—figuratively or literally, in part or all together—a white, Anglo-American, cis-het, Christian male. Length: ~12 pages.
      • 7f. “Medieval Expression; or, ‘Welcome to the Fun Palace!'”: Enters the palace. Explores the idea of the Gothic as a liminal, holistic dialog that transcends mediums, precluding harm through a confusion of the senses, jouissance, magic assembly of old dead things, and other medieval devices tied to magic and myth as a dark, sexual affair (often an operatic one linked to popular controlled substances—metal when reclaimed by fags camping the canon with sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll as synonymous with each other and iconoclastic learning and expression). In other words, “Medieval Expression” explores the dialectic of the alien as generally expressed through monsters, magic and myths, mainly paradoxes and oxymorons that blend all of these things; i.e., how they hook up and interact, once conjoined. Length: ~184 pages
        • 7f1. Opening and part one, “A Song Written in Decay”: Outlines all of these points, and gives an example of mise-en-abyme through a disintegrating Song of Infinity exemplified by Lewis and his spiritual, academic-prone descendants—namely Hannah-Freya Blake and myself as coming from a lengthier Galatean, gallows-humor tradition not entirely foreign to Gothic academia. Length: ~34 pages
        • 7f2. Part two, “‘Red Scare’; or Out in the World“: Seeks out further examples in between my friends and I for this project specifically—namely the relationship between past media orbiting Red Scare (from Star Wars‘ rebellious allegory to American Liberalism and subversive potential in The Abyss to Chernobyl, and more) as also including non-academic sex worker friends’ old photographs and warlike, often-red symbols that contain Communist potential whose Gothic maturity can be built upon during our day-to-day relations. Length: ~37 pages
        • 7f3. Part three, “‘With a Little Help from My Friends’; or, Out of this World”: Explores an-Com rebellion (the dismantling of the state) as actively expressed between current sex workers using ludo-Gothic BDSM to inspire and invigilate a more recent (and actionable) portrait of rebellion; also inspects the classics—from The Wizard of Oz to Big Trouble in Little China—as things to learn from with our current friends as sharing a similar love for the imaginary past as rebellious for monstrous-feminine rights.
      • 7g. “Monsters, Magic and Myth”: Modularity and Class (feat. Jeremy Parish and Sorcha Ní Fhlainn)“: Packs up to leave (carnival prizes underarm, balloons in tow). Considers the purpose of this volume’s pointedly medieval voicings through a signature lack of restrictions and its thoroughly iconoclastic nature, as well as its dialectical-material function, modular devices and monster classes separately and then together. Also criticizes a former academic superior and research inspiration of mine (Ní Fhlainn and Parish, respectively). Length: ~54 pages.
  • 8. “Facing Death: What I Learned Mastering Metroidvania, thus the Abject ’90s (feat. Kirby, Marilyn Manson and Maynard James Keenan)” (module conclusion): Concludes the “Brace for Impact” module by reflecting on how the Gothic is queer and has been since day one; i.e., my revisiting and reflecting on this dark odyssey as it exists for me—the smaller journey I’ve been on while writing “Brace for Impact,” but also my entire life. Length: ~33 pages.
  • 9. “Halfway There: Between Modules; or, Facing the Past to Move Forward“: Discusses transitioning from a poetic understanding of the imaginary past with historical elements to a historical understanding of these poetic elements. Length: ~3 pages.
  • 10. “‘That Ass Is a Higher Truth’: Leaving the Castle; or, Bookending Harmony Corrupted“: Bookends my appreciation for Harmony Corrupted as a muse and friend, and supplies a backside to their frontside (during the initial dedication)—to say once more (unto the breach) how much I value her friendship and respect her work. ~10 pages.

(disclaimer exhibit: Artist: Harmony Corrupted, who provided me with various materials from her Fansly account to use [with her permission] in my book, including cum photos. For those of legal age who enjoy Harmony’s work and want to see more than this website provides, consider subscribing to her Fansly account and then ordering a custom/tipping through her Ko-Fi. You won’t be disappointed!)

Disclaimer

“If it was not good, it was true; if it was not artistic, it was sincere; if it was in bad taste, it was on the side of life.”

—Henry Miller, on criticism and the Supreme-Court-level lawsuit he received for writing The Tropic of Cancer (1934)

Regarding This Book’s Artistic/Pornographic Nudity and Sexual Content: Sex Positivity thoroughly discusses sexuality in popular media, including fetishes, kinks, BDSM, Gothic material, and general sex work; the illustrations it contains have been carefully curated and designed to demonstrate my arguments. It also considers pornography to be art, examining the ways that sex-positive art makes iconoclastic statements against the state. As such, Sex Positivity contains visual examples of sex-positive/sex-coercive artistic nudity borrowed from publicly available sources to make its educational/critical arguments. Said nudity has been left entirely uncensored for those purposes. While explicitly criminal sexual acts, taboos and obscenities are discussed herein, no explicit illustrations thereof are shown, nor anything criminal; i.e., no snuff porn, child porn or revenge porn. It does examine things generally thought of as porn that are unironically violent. Examples of uncensored, erotic artwork and sex work are present, albeit inside exhibits that critique the obscene potential (from a legal standpoint) of their sexual content: “ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sado-masochistic sexual abuse” (source: Justice.gov). For instance, there is an illustrated example of uncensored semen—a “breeding kink” exhibit with zombie unicorns and werewolves (exhibit 87a)—that I’ve included to illustrate a particular point, but its purposes are ultimately educational in nature.

The point of this book isn’t to be obscene for its own sake, but to educate the broader public (including teenagers*) about sex-positive artwork and labor historically treated as obscene by the state. For the material herein to be legally considered obscene it would have to simultaneously qualify in three distinct ways (aka the “Miller” test):

  • appeal to prurient interests (i.e., an erotic, lascivious, abnormal, unhealthy, degrading, shameful, or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion)
  • attempt to depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way (i.e., ultimate sexual acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, masturbation, excretory functions, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sado-masochistic sexual abuse)
  • lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Taken as a whole, this book discusses debatably prurient material in an academic manner, depicting and describing sexual conduct in a non-offensive way for the express purpose of education vis-à-vis literary-artistic-political enrichment.

*While this book was written for adults—provided to them through my age-gated website—I don’t think it should be denied from curious teenagers through a supervising adult. The primary reason I say this (apart from the trauma-writing sections, which are suitably intense and grave) is that the academic material can only be simplified so far and teenagers probably won’t understand it entirely (which is fine; plenty of books are like that—take years to understand more completely). As for sexually-developing readers younger than 16 (ages 10-15), I honestly think there are far more accessible books that tackle the same basic subject matter more quickly at their reading level. All in all, this book examines erotic art and sex positivity as an alternative to the sex education currently taught (or deliberately not taught) in curricular/extracurricular spheres. It does so in the hopes of improving upon canonical tutelage through artistic, dialectical-material analysis. 

Fair Use: This book is non-profit, and its artwork is meant for education, transformation and critique. For those reasons, the borrowed materials contained herein fall under Fair Use. All sources come from popular media: movies, fantasy artist portfolios, cosplayer shoots, candid photographs, and sex worker catalogs intended for public viewing. Private material has only been used with a collaborating artist’s permission (for this book—e.g., Blxxd Bunny‘s OF material or custom shoots; or as featured in a review of their sex work on my website with their consent already given from having done past work together—e.g., Miss Misery).

Concerning the Exhibit Numbers and Parenthetical Dates: I originally wrote this book as one text, not four volumes. Normally I provide a publication year per primary text once per text—e.g., “Alien (1979)”—but this would mean having to redate various texts in Volumes One, Two and Three after Volume Zero. I have opted out of doing this. Likewise, the exhibit numbers are sequential for the entire book, not per volume; references to a given exhibit code [exhibit 11b2 or 87a] will often refer to exhibits not present in the current volume. I have not addressed this in the first edition of my book, but might assemble a future annotated list in a second edition down the road.

Concerning Hyperlinks: Those that make the source obvious or are preceded by the source author/title will simply be supplied “as is.” This includes artist or book names being links to themselves, but also mere statements of fact, basic events, or word definitions where the hyperlink is the word being defined. Links to sources where the title is not supplied in advance or whose content is otherwise not spelled out will be supplied next to the link in parentheses (excluding Wikipedia, save when directly quoting from the site). One, this will be especially common with YouTube essayists I cite to credit them for their work (though sometimes I will supply just the author’s name; or their name, the title of the essay and its creation year). Two, concerning YouTube links and the odds of videos being taken down, these are ultimately provided for supplementary purposes and do not actually need to be viewed to understand my basic arguments; I generally summarize their own content into a single sentence, but recommend you give any of the videos themselves a watch if you’re curious about the creators’ unique styles and perspectives about a given topic.

Concerning (the PDF) Exhibit Image Quality: This book contains over 1,000 different images, which—combined with the fact that Microsoft Word appears to compress images twice (first, in-document images and second, when converting to PDFs) along with the additional hassle that is WordPress’ limitations on accepting uploaded PDFs (which requires me to compress the PDF again—has resulted in sub-par image quality for the exhibit images themselves. To compensate, all of the hyperlinks link to the original sources where the source images can be found. Sometimes, it links to the individual images, other times to the entire collage, and I try to offer current working links; however, the ephemeral, aliased nature of sex work means that branded images do not always stay online, so some links (especially those to Twitter/X accounts) won’t always lead to a source if the original post is removed.

Concerning Aliases: Sex workers survive through the use of online aliases and the discussion of their trauma requires a degree of anonymity to protect victims from their actual/potential abusers. This book also contains trauma/sexual anecdotes from my own life; it discusses my friends, including sex workers and the alter egos/secret identities they adopt to survive “in the wild.” Keeping with that, all of the names in this book are code names (except for mine, my late Uncle Dave’s and his ex-wife Erica’s—who are only mentioned briefly by their first names). Models/artists desiring a further degree of anonymity (having since quit the business, for example) have been given a codename other than their former branded identity sans hyperlinks (e.g., Jericho).

Extended, Book-Wide Trigger Warning: This entire book thoroughly discusses xenophobia, harmful xenophilia (necrophilia, pedophilia, zoophilia, etc), homophobia, transphobia, enbyphobia, sexism, racism, race-/LGBTQ-related hate crimes/murder and domestic abuse; child abuse, spousal abuse, animal abuse, misogyny and sexual abuse towards all of these groups; power abuse, rape (date, marital, prison, etc), discrimination, war crimes, genocide, religious/secular indoctrination and persecution, conversion therapy, manmade ecological disasters, and fascism.

(artist: Harmony Corrupted)