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You are here: Wild Ideas > Calyx >
Heterosexuality isn't normal, just
common.
— Derek Jarman
 he
Calyx explores wild sexuality. So what’s that? Sexuality and sexual
identity that is diverse, daring, intense or in some other way outside
the bounds of the domesticated or civilized norm. In some senses, sexuality
itself is “wild”. It is visceral, unpredictable, messy, organic,
and viewed by authoritarian societies everywhere as being in need of
domestication and control — much like nature itself.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (broadly called “queer”
in ’90s political jargon) issues are dealt with here, as well as
feminism, gender identity, the sex industry, sex-negative attitudes
in society, and other related matters. Much of the content in the Calyx
Library comes from Nihil Obstat, the column I used to
write in Xtra magazine, a Toronto gay and lesbian biweekly).
And if you’re wondering what on earth a “calyx” is, it’s
a Latinized Greek word related to the English work “chalice”,
which variously describes a drinking vessel, or the cuplike interior
of a flower. And if you can’t figure out what that has to do with
sexuality you either (a) are not a lesbian, and/or (b) haven’t
looked at enough Georgia O’Keefe paintings. Literalists, however,
will be glad to know that the term is also used to describe any of various
cup-shaped structures in the human or animal anatomy, such as —
well, you do the math.
The Calyx can be viewed as a stand-alone site, but it is also part of
a larger entity called Wild Ideas,
an online celebration of the Wild in all its forms, from the familiar
sense of wilderness and wild nature, to looser interpretations in the
contexts of spirituality, sexuality, politics and consciousness. The
Calyx is also still partially under construction at this point; some
areas still contain “placeholder” pages, but I will be replacing
those with real content as soon as I can. The process of restructuring
and redesigning such a large site has been more of an uphill battle
than I had anticipated!
Regarding navigation, the top menu, just beneath the title graphic, lists the
main areas of Wild Ideas. The menu at left lists the specific features of the
Calyx. Enjoy!
All content copyright 1999-2006 by the
individual authors, where cited, or by
Lynna Landstreet
where not specifically credited.
Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
2.5 License.
Site design: Spider Silk Design - Toronto web designers
This page last modified: January 29, 2006
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