#laura duncan

[coffinblood]

Dita Von Teese in “The Plutocracy Issue" for Flaunt Magazine #125 Photographed by Naj Jamai Styled by Laura Duncan

[saladsally]

Sutton Foster by Laura Duncan (@lauramarieduncan) at Drift Studio NYC (@driftstudionyc)

via @nathanjohnsonny

[radioon]

If you're going to SXSW, you should make sure you don't miss Laura Duncan talk about sex robots.

[lduncan1-blog-blog]

Silence is Golden?

The thought of venturing out into the world speechless, left a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.  But when I was told I would not be able to speak for a week, I vowed to live as I normally do and cope with the situations that arise.

New Phone Day, or NPD,  is somewhat of a celebrated holiday for me.  I research my options and choose the phone (woobie) that will best fit my personality.  After purchasing, I always go home and play with my phone for 2 days, all the while, smiling like a child on Christmas day.  I have become very close with my CPP (Cell Phone People).  I consider them as important as my doctor, my hair stylist and my manicurist.  They keep me alive (inside) and keep me in the latest fashion.  I walked into the store and Ben immediately reminded me not to talk!  He promised that he knew exactly what I needed.  Although I was supposed to remain silent, he made me laugh several times.  I felt as though I couldn’t quite connect without tapping on the counter or snapping my fingers for attention. I guess when one becomes used to reacting quickly in conversation and directing vocal traffic, it is difficult to stifle.  So, feeling ironically happy about my new phone (even though using it to speak was forbidden), I began the journey home to play.  When I began my investigation of new sounds and new aps, I became overwhelmed with joy as I screamed “I love my new phone!”  Uh, Oh.  Not only did I speak, I spoke quite loudly.  It was the same look I get from my husband on Football Sunday when I walk in front of the TV during a big play or ask a question while the announcer is explaining a penalty.  I knew that I was being scolded and rather than vocalize my independence, I was forced to sit and take it.  Never mind that my husband  forgets that I cannot speak and calls me from the other room or asks me questions and then looks away instead of waiting for my facial response.  I was in the wrong and he was the one to tell me about it.  To make things right, I went to lunch with my husband and his friend.  I allowed them (yes, ALLOWED) to make jokes at my expense with only one grunt of displeasure. 

I am learning how to be humble through this process.  I am also learning that I miss talking to my best friends and my WTTS family, including you.  “Talk to ya’ later”.  Have the best day of your life!

[underpaidgenius]

Hey, Where’s My Robot Girlfriend?

Hey, Where’s My Robot Girlfriend? An Exploration of Sexual Robotics, Teledildonics and Carnal Technology

An illustrated lecture with sexual health researcher, educator and writer Laura G. Duncan Date: Thursday, March 24th Time: 8:00 PM Admission: $5 Presented by Morbid Anatomy

The robotic bride. The orgasm ray. The sex machine.

These classic tropes of science fiction – how fictitious are they really?

Hybrids of sex and technology are flourishing in contemporary culture, from basement workshops where power tools are lovingly repurposed into bedroom aids to sexual media empires with genres devoted solely to robot-human couplings. The medical sciences have even gotten in on the act with models of sperm-powered nanobots.

Technology and sexuality have long been intimately connected, each inspiring innovation in the other and nowhere is this more striking than in the fields of teledildonics (computer-interfaced sex toys) and sexual robotics. The mechanical in service of the libidinal is rooted deeply in our cultural consciousness.

So just how close are we to having a real life Data, the beloved android from Star Trek as fawning partner to our eminently human Tasha Yar? Will we be able to disable our foes with weaponized orgasms? Can you learn to love a robot? Can a robot learn to love you?

Join researcher Laura G. Duncan for a multimedia lecture on sexual technology to find out. With examples from popular media, the medical sciences and actual sexual robotics projects, this talk will work to explode the dichotomy between the “natural” and the “technological” and open a critical analysis of how society conceptualizes sexuality, science and even the body itself.

Laura G. Duncan is a sexual health researcher, educator and writer currently living in Brooklyn. Her research is in the field of medical anthropology and focuses on the influence of medicine on social and individual understandings of sexuality, as well as issues of health care literacy in underserved communities. She has taught sexual health education in a variety of academic, non-profit and community venues and is currently a student and full-spectrum doula. She is, disappointingly, not a robot.

Something I wish I wasn't missing, but I am in SF today.