The name of the game

"First off, what's up with the whole bird gimmick? I mean, I kind of get it as a theme, but why shrikes?"

Somehow I knew this question would be one of the first dancing about people's neurons. Mostly because the whole theme concept is entirely arbitrary and doesn't have a bloody thing to do of itself with pornography or adult stores. It's rather glaring for its lack of context to the subject matter.

I rather like that. I could have come up with something clever and alliterative of sex, perhaps highlighting a flirtatious double-entendre or playing up the sarcastic retail service angle, but I wanted to be a touch more obscure. I didn't want something that would immediately proclaim "sex blog." Call me strange or deluded, but I hoped those who stumbled across my writing would go or stay on the basis of what I had to say rather than browsing through titles for those that looked likely for some gratuitous smut. So I considered the matter and just how I might encapsulate my thoughts. I settled upon this format, if you will, for personally attractive reasons.

At the most simple, I like birds, especially birds of prey. Most people think of eagles, hawks, owls, etcetera when they think of predatory species. Not many people think of shrikes. They're somewhat unique as a species. It's as if several thousand years ago a songbird decided it was tired of seeds, berries and the occasional small insect and set its sights on bigger prey. They don't have talons, though they do have a wickedly hooked beak. In fact, they are small and subtle enough that I doubt they would catch anyone's notice outside of ornithologists were it not for a general behavior expressed by the Genus; they use spikes or thorns to store their prey for later consumption.

Personal affection for the little blighters aside, they did suggest a certain symbolism that was entirely apropos to the subject matter in my perspective. They are dramatic. People tend to be either horrified/disgusted by their habits or get an atavistic thrill from them, much like people seem to regard pornography. Sex is something that tends to polarize folks in this society.

In addition, the concept of impaling things is highly evocative. It has a tingle of the sensational to it. It can be scary, bringing to mind brutality and violence. Or it can be something a bit less lethal, but still conveying sensitive flesh pierced by a rigid point. It isn't a large stretch to understand how that might conceivably relate to sex. There are some who would say that isn't a comforting, tender, or loving view of those acts. Though personal perspective has a large part to play in what is considered comforting, tender, or loving, I have no problem agreeing with that assessment either. A lot of adult media is focused on things, organic or otherwise, penetrating a human body. It's hard to consider the scene as sweet and affectionate when two guys are "fishhooking" someone bent over a couch and seemingly intent on discovering if two dicks in the ass will cause a prolapse. It is aggressive. It is a paean to physical violation.

Then there is the predatory aspect. Like it or not, porn has an insatiable appetite. Studios are always looking for new talent, mostly girls, who will make a flurry of movies before fading from the spotlight. For every one that becomes a well-known name, there are dozens more who were obscure within minutes of ending the shoot.

Switching to the thorn bush motif, there are also a couple symbolic connections as well.

Customers are often prickly. They're rarely what one would consider sharp, but they can definitely get under the skin and fester. One does not usually want to throw oneself into customer interactions, else one comes out of it the worse for wear. Their thought processes and excuses are often as tangled and baffling as an overgrown bramble. Like a shrike, it's mine to navigate and not get snared in the process.

At the same time, sex can be a thorny problem all by itself. So many people have their own view of what it is and should be. There are countless religious or philosophical standpoints regarding adult materials, the shades of personal morality are legion. There's no telling what will snag a given person, what will transfix their psyche, or even pass them by without a mark.

And I, I am easily overlooked and dismissed, but for a tendency to post things for me to tear into and digest.