Amber Goodwyn wants to make the masses cum. This 26-year-old DIY fireball founded Lickety Split, a collaborative, pansexual smut zine, to do just that. So far, the Montreal-based zine is a hit in Canada, even making it as far as the queer-lady scene in Sweden. Lickety Split launches its seventh issue tonight at Sala Rossa in Montreal. Xtra.ca spoke with Goodwyn, who also plays in the band Nightwood, about the zine and the launch party.
Xtra.ca: Tell me more about the current issue’s “Beyond Human” theme.
Amber Goodwyn: My main lady, Kathleen, came up with it. At first I was rolling my eyes, like, “Okay, sell it to me.” How she put it was, “It’s beyond human bounds.” None of our themes make sense. None of them are “kink” or something like that. It’s usually something a little bit more abstract that’s, hopefully, more inclusive.
A lot of people have taken it to mean robotic, vegetal, animal. Or spiritual, beyond the body. It really enhanced the sense of play for a lot of our contributors.
In the past we’ve had a multiples issue. That’s had other results. Like, looking for guys to have sex with each other on camera that look similar to each other. Anyway, it’s ridiculous. It’s lots of fun. We’re kind of straddling the high-brow, low-brow line that way. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.
Xtra.ca: Lickety Split is a “pansexual” zine. What does that mean to you?
Goodwyn: It suggests that we are inclusive and celebratory in regards to the variety of people out there in terms of gender, sexuality, desire and play. It’s a nice and easy way for us to sum up how we roll.
We do know that it’s fun for folks to flip through an issue and come across something sexy they don’t usually check out. We hope that sometimes people realize that something surprising turns them on. Desire is the ultimate truth!
Xtra.ca: What inspired you to start the zine?
Goodwyn: When I started the zine five years ago, it was sparked by my own “radical feminism” (I think that’s what it’s called now, that era of feminism) and also the fact that I was a zine maker already and enjoyed sex and enjoyed talking about sex and body politics. At the time there were no smut zines in town, and definitely none that were sex-positive, and none that would cater to all my friends, however they identified as a gender or a sexual preference, so it was just sort of a lark, really.
What makes us different from what else is out there is that Lickety Split isn’t meant to be a disposable magazine. It’s definitely meant to be a collectible object. It’s not about a commodified sexuality, it’s more about making it by and for yourself.
Xtra.ca: How has it changed over the years?
Goodwyn: It’s become a lot more focussed. The identity of the zine, each time we’ve published an issue, has become more clear. For example, we’ve never felt comfortable with a masthead and approaching each issue of the zine as if it were something that needed to be edited. We’re really about curating, seeking out artists and writers to get involved.
There’s a much larger sex-positive community, there’s a queer community, and all these communities that are coming into their own and they’re all very supportive of the magazine. We feel much more like we have a purpose and we’re serving a very particular community.
Xtra.ca: What can people expect at The Beyond Human Masquerade Launch Party?
Goodwyn: Hot, single people! Also, the Lickety Split volunteer staff have been making masks to give away at the front of the venue, so people can get in if they haven’t had the time to make their own masks. Also, at Lickety Split events — I have to laugh, it’s just so ridiculous — we have a dirty photo booth, so people also have the opportunity to immortalize their evening in the photo booth by themselves or with other people. And usually that kind of gets a little nuts.
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