Latest news with #BDSM
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
California High School Could Test Trump's ‘Anti-Indoctrination Order'
CARLSBAD, Calif. - Parents are demanding answers after a self-described "science of BDSM" expert from a clinic providing trans surgeries and representatives from organizations that help facilitate gender transitions were scheduled to speak at a California high school during a recent week of events supporting LGBTQ students. In late March, parents started speaking out against a decision to allow Mita Beach, a self-described BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism) expert, and representative of DAP Health, a medical clinic that provides gender transition surgeries, to deliver remarks at Sage Creek High School in Carlsbad, California. during a lunchtime event in the cafeteria open to all students. Parents learned that Beach, who lists his pronouns as "they/them" on his LinkedIn account, planned to speak as part of the Gender Sexuality Alliance clubs "Ally Week" of events promoting the LGBTQ community and anti-bullying messaging. After looking into his business websites and social media accounts, which contained at least one photo of Beach engaged in BDSM and listed workshops hes led on "Kink 101" and "Examining Self-Injurious Behavior, Erotic Play, and Body Modification," several concerned parents contacted the high school and district superintendents office. A photo of Beach, appearing to hold up a much smaller person who is grasping his bare back as whips and chains are displayed in the background, along with screenshots of his LinkedIn resume, quickly circulated on Instagram. Within 24 hours of those social media posts, the GSA club canceled Beachs appearance but moved forward with at least two other speakers from organizations that help facilitate gender transitions and surgeries. At least one of the organizations also works with other LGBTQ groups to provide "unicorn homes," or "transitional housing" for LGBTQ youth who claim to be homeless because their parents arent supportive of their sexual orientation or gender transitions. Over the last several weeks, parents of students who attend the high school have leveled a flurry of formal complaints about the schools decision to allow the speakers on campus and the educators responses defending the clubs invitations. Each side is digging in and each cites California and federal law. Parents and other concerned citizens also voiced concerns about the Ally Week speakers during a recent school board meeting. The uproar is taking place amid a series of high-profile legal battles over the promotion of gender ideology in schools and questions over how far President Trump and his administration will go to stop it. The controversy also comes amid a nationwide debate over local school districts allowing, and at times facilitating, students gender transitions while intentionally keeping that information from childrens parents. Trump issued three executive orders in late January directing federal agencies to end "radical indoctrination" in K-12 schools across the country, with one specifically deriding some schools practice of "deliberately blocking parental oversight." One of the executive orders demands an end to gender ideology instruction and activities in public schools, as well as what the White House describes as "discriminatory equity ideology," a term used to describe the practice of teaching awareness of race and privilege-based oppression. The executive orders direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in consultation with Attorney General Pam Bondi, to provide an "ending indoctrination strategy" to the White House within 90 days. The agencies have yet to publicly disclose the details of the strategy and whether the Department of Education will move forward with Trumps demand to withhold federal education funds from states they find in violation of the order. In late March, the Trump administration also launched an investigation into the California Department of Education over school districts withholding information from parents about their childrens gender transitions. The U.S. Department of Education announced the investigation, citing concerns that state education officials "played a role" in violating federal law by "socially transition[ing] children at school while hiding minors gender identity from parents." Any punitive action against schools by the Trump administration will undoubtedly face resistance from judges and courts. But an upcoming Supreme Court decision could reset the legal playing field - at least when it comes to allowing parents choices when their children are being taught gender-ideology curriculum at public schools. The high court is set to rule in a Maryland case in which parents sued the Montgomery County Board of Education for the right to opt out of instruction that includes storybooks featuring gender identity and sexual orientation. LGBTQ advocates and their allies are warning that Trumps executive order limiting gender-ideology activities and instruction on K-12 campuses could be creating a chilling effect on teachers and administrators willingness to embrace discussions or curriculum about sexual orientation and anti-bullying lessons on campuses across the country. The American Civil Liberties Union, and other civil rights organizations, have long supported annual "Ally Week" events on college and high school campuses across the country as a way for students to "identify, support and celebrate" allies to LGBTQ students. The leaders of the clubs hosting the events often ask students, teachers, and staff to sign a pledge supporting efforts to end bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students. But here in this seaside Southern California city, the GSA clubs Ally Week is going beyond rallying around an anti-bullying message in hosting speakers who have worked with students and even adult military servicemen and women to help facilitate gender transitions. In response to parent complaints, school officials at Sage Creek High School and its school district argue they have no obligation or even a role in providing an opt-out opportunity for students whose parents disagree with the content on religious or moral grounds. School and district officials also are standing by a decision not to alert parents about the speakers or allow parents on campus to hear the content of these speakers remarks. Two days before Ally Week was scheduled to begin, Josh Way, Sage Creeks principal, informed parents via email about the GSA clubs week of events promoting support for the LGBTQ+ community. Most parents were already aware of Ally Weeks anti-bullying messaging. For the past six years, the week-long series of events, most of which are held in the cafeteria at lunchtime, had taken place featuring speakers that included local elected officials and the school districts superintendent. In a March 22 email to parents, the principal laid out the federal and state laws that he said support and encourage GSAs activities. But Way notably did not disclose the identities and backgrounds of the speakers the club had invited. Way asserted in the same email that California law "emphasizes creating safe school environments and does not require notification about specific clubs or their meetings." He also stressed the "importance of student privacy and the right to form supportive communities within the school setting." When a concerned parent asked to attend Beachs remarks, Way rejected the parents request. According to email correspondence reviewed by RealClearPolitics, Way acknowledged the state law allowing parents to observe their students instruction and activities on campus. But he argued that the parents student wasnt a member of the GSA club and hadnt attended any of its events, so likely wouldnt attend this weeks event. The parent countered that he believed his child was planning to participate because the speeches were occurring in the cafeteria at lunchtime with no requirement that only members of the GSA club can attend or that students are required to sign up before attending. He also noted that several parents planned to show up at the school to hear Beachs and other speakers remarks. Way wrote back informing the parent that Beachs appearance had been canceled and that he and other staffers planned to deny parents access to the lunchtime activities if the GSA had not invited them onto the campus that day. Neither Way nor Carlsbad Unified School District Superintendent Rick Schmitt returned RealClearPolitics inquiries. RCP also reached out to DAP Health and San Diegos Trans Family Support Services, the organizations employing two of the originally planned speakers, but did not receive a response. On May 8, Assistant Superintendent Megan Arias responded to a parents complaints with a six-page denial. The letter claimed that the district cannot restrict a student clubs guest speakers because of their "affiliation with or membership in an organization absent reasonable support that the guest speakers presentation will result in substantial interference with the operations of the school site." The GSAs decision to cancel Beachs appearance, Arias claimed, was made by club members alone and was "not due to any influence from district or school site administration." The letter also cited "First Amendment implications," and asserted that case law recognizes that "though the state education system has the awesome responsibility of inculcating moral and political values, that does not permit educators to act as 'thought police inhibiting all discussion that is not approved by, and in accord with the official position of, that state." The positions expressed in Arias letter reflect a broader push in public schools in California and elsewhere to keep information about students gender transitions from parents. California last year became the first state in the U.S. to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their gender identification change under legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The new law prohibits school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a students gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the students permission. In the case of Sage Creeks Ally Week speakers, parents found out about the speakers bios from the GSAs Instagram posts promoting the names of the "special guest" speakers and events including a "Ga(y)me Day" that promised "games, treats and swag" and a joint "Celebration of Pride & Unity" event with another public high school on Friday after school. The speakers listed on the Instagram post included Mita Beach of DAP Health, a medical clinic in Palm Springs that provides gender-altering surgeries "as part of its mission," its website states. Beach serves as the clinics director of operations for specialty and gender health and wellness and previously served as a "trans healthcare navigator" at a different medical clinic. His resume notes that he serves as a "subject matter expert" on a team dealing with bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism. "Scientific research focuses on alternative sexualities, particularly BDSM, with special interests in the motivations for the voluntary experience of pain, altered states of consciousness, extreme rituals, and sadism," Beach states on his LinkedIn profile. Parents then uncovered the graphic photos of Beach on his social media displaying large pentagram tattoos on his chest and back along with memes and cartoons with Satanic or anti-Christian themes. Beach also posted flyers promoting Virtual Trans Peer Support Groups on topics such as "surgery intervention & pathways" that he marketed as open to "trans/nonbinary folks and their families ages 16+." Melissa OConnor, who calls herself a "citizen journalist," posted the photos of Beach and several of his Instagram and LinkedIn pages on her own Instagram account the day before Beach was scheduled to speak. OConnors post included a warning to local parents that he would be speaking to Sage Creek High School students that Thursday and questioned whether the GSA club advisor, an English teacher at the school, had vetted and approved his invitation. The Instagram post began circulating among Sage Creek High School parents and other Carlsbad residents, several of whom contacted Principal Way with their concerns. By the time Beachs scheduled talk was canceled, Mondays and Tuesdays speakers had already visited the school and made their remarks. Those speakers were: Joscelyn Inton-Campbell, a manager at Trans Family Support Services in San Diego, a nonprofit that provides "family coaching, assistance with healthcare and insurance issues, help navigating the legal system, and support at schools," according to its website. In 2022, the group hosted what it described as "a family-friendly" queer Halloween party with a Disney villain-themed drag show, an event that made national news after parents objected to a flyer promoting attendance being included in a weekly digital newsletter sent to all public elementary school parents in Encinitas Unified School District. The event was sponsored by Richs San Diego, a popular gay nightclub in downtown San Diego, and Align Surgical Associates, a gender-reassignment surgery program. The other speaker was Dr. Karl Pongyingpis, a psychologist affiliated with the Navy Medical Center in San Diego who assisted servicemembers with their gender transitions before the Trump administration banned trans individuals from serving in the military and put a halt to all military-assisted gender transition surgeries and other gender-transition medical care. In early May the Supreme Court upheld the ban on trans individuals in the military. A source who attended Pongyingpis remarks to the high school students said he coached them on buzzwords to use with doctors and psychologists to attain a gender dysphoria diagnosis and receive gender-transitioning care. Pongyingpis also complained about the Trump administrations ban on trans people serving in the military and gave his cell phone number to the students, suggesting they call him directly with any questions. Efforts to reach Pongyingpis were unsuccessful. So far, the Trump administration has focused many of its fights over woke activities in public schools on higher education. In early May, McMahon launched an investigation into Washington state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdals office for allowing biologically male trans athletes on girls sports teams. Its unclear when or if the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Justice Department, will investigate so-called "indoctrination" activities taking place in elementary and secondary public schools as Trumps late January executive order pledges to do. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group, this year has filed two complaints against public high schools with the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education calling for investigations. In one of the complaints, ADF attorneys are representing two female high school track-and-field athletes in Spokane who have been forced to compete against a biological male who previously competed in the high school boys team. In that case, ADF contends that Washington state officials are violating Title IXs guarantee that students receive equal opportunity to enjoy education benefits regardless of sex. In the other, ADF joined the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and Parents Defending Education in urging the Department of Education to investigate Milwaukee Public Schools "gender transition" policy. The policy allows school staff to create a "Gender Support Plan" and "Gender Communications Plan" for minor students without notifying parents and then hides the plans from the students records to prevent parents from accessing them. The organizations allege that Milwaukee public schools are directly violating federal law. "Parents ought to be in the drivers seat when it comes to their own childs education," ADF attorney Vincent Wagner told RCP. "Theyre the ones who have the fundamental right to make decisions about how their kids are educated." Wagner cited the pending Maryland case before the Supreme Court in which parents are objecting on religious grounds to their children receiving instruction about gender and sexuality instruction that was integrated throughout the day. He argues that the same sort of legal issues could be at play in Sage Creek High Schools Ally Week, in which parents didnt know about the speakers bios so didnt have a chance to prevent their children from participating. Wagner cited a long legal precedent for respecting parents religious liberty and objections in public schools. In a famous 1948 case, the high court sided with a Jehovahs Witness student whose parents objected to him saluting and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. "The same principle would apply when were talking about these novel ideas about gender and sexuality that so many religions have problems with," he said. Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' national political correspondent.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gabby Windey admits to being jealous of wife Robby Hoffman's BDSM scene with Michelle Williams
Comedian Robby Hoffman and her wife, The Traitors star Gabby Windey, are once again proving why they're your fave lesbian couple! On the most recent episode of the Long Winded with Gabby Windey podcast, Hoffman joined her wife to talk about her sexy scene with Michelle Williams in the new Hulu show Dying for Sex, and Windey hilariously admitted she gets jealous. 'What was it like touching Michelle Williams, and were you thinking about me?' Windey asked. Hoffman admitted that during the scene, she was worried about having coffee breath in front of Williams. 'My baby's never had halitosis,' Windey assures her. Dying for Sex stars Williams as a woman who is diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and leaves her husband so she can embark on a journey of sexual exploration that leads her to learning about BDSM from Hoffman's character named G. The Hacks season 3 star, whom Windey calls her "hubby baby," told the podcast audience that in her spicy scene with Williams, eagle-eyed viewers will be able to spot her 'G' ring that she got shortly after she and Windey started seeing each other. New ep of Long Winded with hubby baby Robby wifey!! 'I have a G ring that I got made that scared Gabby initially. When we were dating for three months, I was so excited about us, I had this ring made that had Gs on it for Gabby,' Hoffman explained. Swoon! They play a clip from the miniseries that shows Hoffman wearing the ring along with a leather harness while caressing Williams. 'People are like, did that turn you on? And I'm like, oh my god,' Windey said. 'Not that I'm jealous. But who cares, we're allowed to be jealous.' The 34-year-old former Bachelorette star joked that if the day comes when Hoffman has to make out with a celeb for a role, she's going to go ballistic. 'I'll go full Ryan Reynolds, I'll go full Tommy Lee,' she admitted in her signature deadpan style. 'Come baby, come to set. Blow this shit up,' Hoffman responded. Let this kind of love find us! Windey continued, saying she would tear up Hoffman's trailer and ask, 'Who the f*ck are you kissing?' The couple jokes back and forth about destroying things and causing a '$400 million lawsuit,' before Hoffman makes a reference to Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni by quipping, 'Somebody comes into my trailer when I'm breastfeeding? I don't think so!' Watch the full episode of Long Winded with Gabby Windey below. - YouTube
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Health
- Perth Now
Kinky lovemaking relieves arthritis pain
Kinky sex sessions can ease the pain caused by arthritis or a bad back. New research has found that people who get pleasure from using whips and handcuffs between the sheets experienced health benefits as well as sexual enjoyment. This is said to be because of the simultaneous release of stress hormones in response to pain and the feel-good hormone dopamine during a BDSM session. The study involved 525 people who enjoyed BDSM, with four in 10 participants suffering from chronic pain, and it was found that 35 per cent felt their discomfort had eased after a passionate romp. Reni Forer, a researcher at the University of Michigan in the US, said: "Many BDSM practitioners experience benefits beyond sexual pleasure. Given the overlap in brain circuitry involved, BDSM could unknowingly result in pain relief for people with chronic pain." She added: "Participation can also benefit other aspects of one's life, including trauma processing, decreased psychological distress and higher wellbeing."
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Man, 19, abuses two schoolgirls after becoming warped by corrosive and destructive porn when he was a schoolboy... but AVOIDS jail
A 13-year-old boy influenced by 'corrosive' extreme pornography horrifically abused two schoolgirls, a court has heard. Prosecutors told how the boy had forced the girls, also aged just 13 and 14, into bondage and strangled them during sex which they did not consent to. The boy, who had been introduced to BDSM pornography at the age of 12, had been looking online for 'extreme bondage, domination and anal sex with young schoolgirls.' Despite admitting 22 sexual offences, the defendant, now a man aged 19 - who cannot be identified to protect the anonymity of his victims - has been spared jail by a judge, who warned of the 'destructive' influence of such material. It comes after the UK was thrown into a panic about the misogynist and highly sexualised attitudes of young children following the release of Stephen Graham's four-part Netflix drama Adolescence. In the show, a 13-year-old schoolboy describes how he receives nude pictures of a girl in his year who he later murders, after being exposed to extreme online content. Reading Crown Court heard how, in March 2021, the first victim to come forward disclosed to a member of staff at her school in Maidenhead, Berks., that she had been 'physically and sexually abused' by the boy for the last five months, the court heard. Shaun Esprit, prosecuting, said the girl, aged 14 at the time, told police the boy would hold her down by her stomach or her arms to abuse her. She described how he would grab her breasts and pull her around aggressively. The girl said the boy, also aged 14 at the time, would pick up condoms and say to her 'come on, let's have sex'. 'She felt she was too young, but the defendant would get angry', Mr Esprit told a judge. 'Most of the time she would say 'no', but she learned this would have no effect. 'The prosecution's allegation was that [the first victim] was asleep on more than one occasion when the defendant had penetrative vaginal sexual intercourse with her', Mr Esprit said. The girl described how the boy would tie her up with ropes, which she said 'were like shoe laces', which he already had in his bedroom. 'Over the course of the relationship, the defendant encouraged [the first victim] to send him photos of her in an increasingly undressed state', Mr Esprit said. The girl also disclosed how the boy had tried to continue the abuse while they were at school together, often in full view of other pupils. 'In the canteen, she would be sat with friends and he would put his hand up her skirt or her top, he would touch her between her legs', Mr Esprit explained. 'She said he did it a lot even though there were people around, she would push him off, she always did.' Mr Esprit told about the manipulative and abusive methods the boy would use to keep the girl in a relationship with him, stating 'he regularly threatened to cut himself, kill himself or hurt her'. He also put hot plates on her to burn her stomach, put his fingers down her throat to force her to be sick and gave her a razor blade so she could cut herself, the court heard. 'His mum was around when she was screaming, telling him to stop, but his mum could not do anything', Mr Esprit told the court. 'When they broke up, he told [the first victim] he would kidnap and kill her, her family and friends', the prosecutor added. 'He spoke about killing her and keeping her body.' Mr Esprit told the court: '[The first victim] recalled an occasion when the defendant covered a flannel with a chemical of some kind and placed it over her mouth. She felt dizzy and sick and thinks she may have passed out.' Police investigating the first set of allegations discovered the defendant had previously been in a relationship with another girl, when both of them were aged 13. When they interviewed that second victim, she described how, around a month into the relationship, whenever she went to the boy's home something sexual had happened. 'She refused initially', Mr Esprit explained. 'The defendant would gent very angry, punching the bedroom walls and saying she did not love him. Because she wanted to please the defendant, she usually gave in and allowed it to happen. The second victim told police they had sex 'more times than she could remember' and that she had been 'strangled and choked' by the boy. Mr Esprit said the boy had also encouraged the 13-year-old girl to send him pictures in an underwear and a bikini, which he had screenshotted on his own phone. When the boy was arrested in the summer of 2022, he gave a prepared statement where he denied raping the first victim and said: 'I admit some of the messages I had sent her do come across as controlling. It is a symptom of my autism and way I communicate.' Police seized the defendant's phone and conducted an examination which found he had made internet searches for hardcore pornography. The boy had also searched the internet for 'how long can you get for rape?', Mr Esprit told the court. James Partridge, defending, said the boy had been diagnosed with ADHD, high-functioning autism, depression and anxiety. 'His behaviour may not have been considered acceptable to others, the defendant may not have understood he did anything wrong', Mr Partridge said. Appearing in court in person, the first victim to come forward told Judge Alan Blake: 'He took everything from me, took my first kiss, took my virginity, took my teenage years, took away my innocence. 'He destroyed everything good about me', the girl added, explaining she now does not feel safe around men. The second victim to come forward also appeared in court and told the boy: 'You broke me. I was 13, a child, you took a piece of me away from me. You never loved me, you just wanted someone who could live in your fantasy, someone you could control. I still do not know where that part of me went.' Both victims told how they had never consented to the sexual acts which took place and spoke of their disappointment that the boy had admitted to 20 offences of sexual activity with a child and two offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The boy had initially admitted the offences on the basis that the victims had consented to all the behaviour, which the prosecution did not accept. Prosecutors had planned to bring the boy to trial and to pursue an allegation of rape against him, but on the day of his trial in February this year, the boy withdrew his basis of plea and accepted the victims did not consent. Sexual activity between under 16-year-olds is often charged as sexual activity with a child under 16, rather than rape. Though the age of consent is 16 in England and Wales, the boy could have defended a rape charge on the basis that, though the victims did not in-fact consent, he reasonably believed they had consented, a defence which is not available to a charge of sexual activity with a child under 16. Judge Alan Blake, sentencing on Friday, told the defendant: 'The victims did not have the maturity or understanding at the age they were to know how to deal with your sexual desires. They went along with what you wanted. 'Whatever you may have thought at the time, neither victim was able to make and express an informed choice about what they did and did not want to do. It is important for them and for you to hear that they bear no blame for your offending.' The judge said he was concerned to hear the boy had a 'continued interest' in BDSM pornography, which he warned was dangerous for young people. 'Your attitudes towards sex was distorted and wrong', the judge told the defendant, 'no doubt influenced by the extreme BDSM pornography you were searching for and watching, apparently having been introduced to it at the age of 12. 'That plainly influenced your attitudes and desires', the judge added, pointing to the behaviour involving butt plugs, bondage and pressure on the necks of the victims. 'That behaviour shows how corrosive and destructive it is for someone as young as you were to be exposed to that material. It affects you but then that distorted view affects your sexual partners.' But Judge Blake explained that primarily due to the age the defendant had been at the time he committed the offences but also because of his psychological issues, he would not send the boy to prison. The boy was sentenced to a two-year community order, with a requirement to complete a 26-day accredited course to address his distorted sexual attitudes, as well as 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 150 hours unpaid work. He was also slapped with a five-year restraining order. Judge Blake concluded by telling the victims: 'No sentence can turn the clock back and undo what you have experienced.' Referring to the worries they expressed in their victim impact statements, he added: 'While no doubt damaged, the good in both of you is inherent and will survive and cannot be destroyed.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Pillion' Review: Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling Are Magnificent in a Wildly Explicit and Strangely Sweet BDSM Romance
Dick-sucking, boot-licking, and ball-gagging are de rigueur for a movie like writer/director Harry Lighton's wildly graphic and strangely moving BDSM romance, 'Pillion.' But for a British queer film that puts the particulars of a gay dominant-submissive affair (or arrangement, better yet) up front and up close, actors Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling find the sweet center of a story marked by clamps, cages, and assless unitards. No doubt comparisons will arise to another A24 movie, 'Babygirl,' which last year put Nicole Kidman on all fours, crying out to Harris Dickinson that 'I'm gonna pee!' when actually she was just having an orgasm with another person for the first time. Lighton, adapting Adam Mars-Jones' book 'Box Hill,' really does take us there in the delightful 'Pillion,' with Skarsgård getting more emotionally naked than ever and almost physically more than he ever got as Eric Northman on TV's 'True Blood.' But not without, at first, this leather-clad biker, who seeks a submissive with seemingly disinterested vibes, radiating aloof energy when he first meets barbershop quartet singer Colin (Melling, in a truly special and wonderful breakout performance). A parking garage attendant by day and dandied-up singer by night who's just a bit too old to still be living with his parents — though his mum (Lesley Sharp) is dying of cancer, which in part keeps him home — Colin isn't so much looking for love or companionship or sex as much as he finally happens to fall into it when on Christmas Eve he's asked for a date, of sorts, by Ray (Skarsgård, who looks and sounds more and more like his father with each day). More from IndieWire Jodie Foster: 'Silence of the Lambs' Filmmaker Jonathan Demme Is My 'Favorite Feminist Director' LA Mayor Karen Bass Wants to Cut the Red Tape Required to Get a Movie Made in Hollywood Ray is an enigma and a mystery, a man who zips into town on a motorbike like a phantom and could just as easily evaporate at any minute. He's not at all giving of emotion toward Colin as their courtship — again, if we can call it that — turns into a serious but never sinister game of domination and submission. When Ray eventually brings Colin back to his ascetically composed apartment, he refuses to let Colin hang up his coat. He refuses Colin to have much volition at all. Ray also has a tattoo in the middle of his chest, inked with the names 'Ellen Wendy Rosie' for reasons never explained but all the more to add to his impenetrable allure. It's penetrating Colin — physically, psychically — that he eventually gets around to after some toying and coying. He won't let Colin sleep next to him, keeping him on the floor like a dog at the foot of the bed. Here's the kind of guy for whom Karl Ove Knausgård 's 'My Struggle' is light bedtime reading. Colin's mother is shocked when Ray makes him buy the groceries and cook his own birthday dinner. 'You couldn't upset me if you tried,' Ray, ever the implacable and gorgeous dominator, tells Colin at one point. What makes 'Pillion' so thrustingly good is how much the movie teases and tantalizes us, getting off on withholding, until finally unleashing in all its graphicness once Colin is face down, plunging his mouth on Ray's quite large, pierced cock, plunging ever deeper into Ray's expansive kinky social world. Scissor Sisters lead Jake Shears makes his acting entrance as one of the submissives orbiting Ray — and he ends up one of the stars of a very hot group sex scene splayed out over a picnic table, in which Ray fucks Colin face to face, eyes locked on eyes, for the first time. It warms the cockles of my heart still to think about Colin, having shaved his head and totally turned himself over to acts of devotion and in service of his master, wearing a locked chain around his neck, with Ray wearing the key around his own. 'Next to you, I'm nothing. When I'm yours, I'm the same,' Colin tells Ray, which sounds like the debased line of someone being desperately exploited by a partner. But Colin says it with the cadence of love, which his mother in her dying days simply cannot understand. Colin willingly puts himself in an abject position because what's happening between him and Ray is love, for him at least, even if that version of love doesn't comfortably conform to our understanding of what love is supposed to be, a system of back-and-forth flow in mutual directions. Colin craves Ray's command, and Ray would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling feelings about his boytoy, too. Which is when 'Pillion' takes an unexpected direction, Colin finally assuming more control over the relationship and becoming the emotional power bottom he was destined to be in their dynamic. What makes 'Pillion' work so well is that the film finally does give way to a big emotional release after so much cockteasing and edging of the audience and of Colin. Cinematographer Nick Morris has an eye for both sweaty intimacy in its hottest moments and the pooling reserves of desire and reined-in emotion that require a certain detachment. Until we are snapped back into what is ultimately a deeply moving love story, one where we become the submissives to Lighton's strange, beautiful, and sexy vision. It also never hurts to be anchored by two actors who are totally game and committed to that vision, and willing to go there, chains, gags, assless chaps and all. 'Pillion' premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. A24 will release the film at a later date. Want to stay up to date on IndieWire's film and critical thoughts? to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings — all only available to subscribers. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked Every IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade from Best to Worst
