Let's Talk About Sex

Ladies, you may now remove the yellowed copy of AnaÏs Nin from under your bed and put it on your bookshelf. In fact, you could clear space for an entire women's erotica section. It seems the word is out: Girls have dirty fantasies, too.

Maggie Estep

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We're sure Maggie Estep proudly displays her naughty books on her coffee table -- of course, she has written most of them. Estep's latest, Soft Maniacs, is proof-positive that the female libido is throbbing at full force in popular culture: A nymphomaniac psychiatrist masturbates while her patient tells her about his sexual experiences. After the patient becomes her lover, she brings home a whore, makes her take a shower, has her way with her and then tries to talk him into doing the same.

Estep's work has been gaining a wide audience, but she thinks we have a long way to go. "There's still a great division," she says. "If a woman goes on stage and talks about dicks as graphically as some men talk about tits, well, she's not gonna get as warm a reception. But at least she can, usually, do it, which is more than could be said even 20 years ago."

Estep herself will do it this Saturday at DiverseWorks's "Hot and Bothered: Sex Fest '99" with a reading from Soft Maniacs. Don't expect a cold, nose-in-the-book recitation of the sexy words. Estep considers herself as much a performer as a writer. A few years ago she appeared in Houston with her band, I Love Everybody, which opened for Hole. You may also know her as a former headliner for spoken-word spots on MTV Unplugged.

Sex Fest '99 also features a women-only workshop on writing and performing porn, called -- what else? -- "Breaking the Cherry" and Aurora Picture Show's arty but smutty "Through Her Eyes: Stimulating Chick Cinema." And don't miss Estep performing Friday night with Gynomite, Houston's own group of fearless, feminist pornographers just back from their summer "Below the Bible Belt" tour. Be prepared for graphic sex talk, thongs and performers passing out towels to the audience. Says curator and organizer Liz Belile, "You ladies will be all wet." Gynomite: Friday, September 17, 8 p.m. $12. Workshop: Saturday, September 18, 2 to 6 p.m. $20. Maggie Estep: Saturday, September 18, 8 p.m. $12. DiverseWorks, 1117 East Freeway, (713)228-0914. Films: Sunday, September 19, 8 and 10 p.m. $5. Aurora Picture Show, 800 Aurora, (713)868-2101.Maggie Estep