FEATURED
Candice
Elle
Candice (CANDIDA ROYALLE) was born and raised in New York City. Her mother left her and an older sister in the care of their father, a jazz musician, when Candice was only 18 months old. The departure, and subsequent absence, of her mother caused a great deal of upheaval in her younger years.
Despite this setback, Candice trained in music and dance from a young age, and was active in the women's rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. In 1975, she began working as an actor in adult films under the name Candida Royalle, but it was her move into erotic film production from a woman's perspective that brought her international public acclaim.
In 1984, Candice created Femme Productions Inc. in order to produce adult films that spoke with a woman's voice, and promoted positive sexual role modelling for couples. Her work has received accolades from around the world for its sex-positive, egalitarian approach to sexuality and eroticism. Candice is also a sought-after public speaker, the author of How To Tell a Naked Man What To Do, and the co-designer of Natural Contours, a line of discreet personal massagers.
She has been featured in a number of documentaries.
Elle Chase (LADY CHEEKY) is best known as the popular sex blogger and aficionado of beautiful erotica, Lady Cheeky. Her body-positive Tumblr site, LadyCheeky.com (NSFW), boasts a loyal following that believe in her credo, “smart is sexy.” And her sex blog, SmutForSmarties.com, features op-eds, personal essays, sex ed resources, toy reviews, and sexuality support for people with self-image concerns.
In 2013, it took the Best Sex Blog title in LA Weekly’s Best of the Web Awards. As a sex educator and writer, Elle’s work has been published by a number of outlets, including Men's Health UK, The Huffington Post, Kinkly.com, AVN Magazine, and PassionateU.com. She’s also appeared on popular sex and sexuality programs, including; 'Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino' and Playboy's 'In Bed with jessica drake.'
Samantha
Samantha Allen writes about gender, sexuality, and technology. She is a contributor for The Daily Beast and her opinion pieces appear regularly at The Daily Dot. Her work has also appeared on Salon, Huffington Post, The Advocate, Mic, Kinsey Confidential, Jacobin, and in Adult Magazine. Before becoming a professional freelance writer, Samantha blogged about the intersections of gaming, gender, and feminism for The Border House, earning Critical Distance's 2013 Blogger of the Year award.
Samantha grew up in a devout Mormon household in which it was not possible for her to explore her sexual and gender identity; much of her earlier writing explores her journey out of the Mormon Church and through the complexities of her evolving identities. By day, she is an academic researcher, completing a dissertation on sexual fetishism. In 2013, she was the recipient of the 2013 John Money Fellowship for Scholars of Sexology from the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.