Sex Carnival

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

Sex Carnival is Montreal columnist Bill Brownstein’s record of his
six-month odyssey through the best-known sex capitals of Europe and
North America. His prurient prowling took him to the famous and infamous
sex-and-sin hot spots of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam,
Paris and Montreal; to such unlikely sites as Winnipeg and Victoria,
British Columbia; and to a newly discovered Web site in Halifax.

Brownstein presents tabloid-style stories about exotic dancers, film
and video porn stars, adult software exhibits, Playboy bunnies,
practitioners of kinky sex, high-class call girls, and male strippers,
among others. He interviews waiters, bouncers, and bartenders of both
sexes; winners of the Porno Oscar awards; Andre Leon Tally, Vogue
magazine’s “larger than life fashion editor-at-large”; fashion
photographer Franco Rossi, “one of the best and most respected photogs
in the biz”; and the grand guru of modern sexual musings, Hugh Hefner.
He expresses his opinions on sadomasochism, censorship, male and female
prostitution, female domination, fetishes, nudity, sexual orientation,
and the benefits of “swinging.” Quoting from Frederick S. Lane’s
book, Obscene Profits, he notes that in 1999 Americans spent over $10
billion on porn-related products, a figure that exceeded the amount
spent on sporting events and live music combined.

Brownstein’s romp is more raunchy and ribald than sociologically
valuable, but his book does provide a behind-the-scenes look at various
alternative cultures and activities.