Steven Toushin isn’t anything if not prolific.
The author and Bijou Video President’s latest book, Destruction of the Moral Fabric of America, covers a huge variety of topics. “It’s a good read, but it’s a long read,” Toushin told AVN.com. “You get a couple of copies of it, and it’ll give your biceps a workout,” he joked.
“The book deals mainly with morality,” Toushin explained, “as well as S and M being the last sexual frontier…that’s something that I’m very involved in, and have been involved in, since my mother first spanked me on the ass.”
With over 35 years of experience in the industry, Toushin, who was the recipient of AVN’s Reuben Sturman Award in 1989, has diligently weathered 35 arrests, five federal trials, three federal appeals and numerous state and local trials. Toushin’s lineage is directly reflected by the size of his latest book; a 600 page monster, which is actually five smaller books in one. In the book, Toushin presents a vast overview of moral destruction, stemming, in his mind, from the greed and dishonesty of government and religious officials.
“The book is different than most,” continued Toushin, “because it covers a really broad range of topics centered around sexuality and morality, born out of life’s experiences.”
Toushin’s beginnings in the industry were quite by accident. Toushin was born in Brooklyn, and while making what he though would be a six month stop in Chicago in 1968, he became employed by the Aadvark Theatre, an experimental theatre in Piper’s Alley. Ten months after that, Toushin had his first obscenity arrest.
In 1970, when porn films started to hit public theatres, Toushin’s were the first to exhibit the movies in the Midwest. Based on the releases’ success, Toushin opened the Bijou Theatre and sex club in 1970. Bijou Video, a gay production company, was formed in 1978.
At the center of Destruction of the Moral Fabric of America is the first S/M obscenity trial following the 1985 Meese Commision on Pornography which, as Toushin puts it, “ignited a decade of persecution of the adult industry.” The trail includes a debate of the issues among prominent members of the BDSM community, sociologists, anthropologists, mental health experts, and legal experts.
Toushin also interweaves his thoughts on BDSM, freedom of expression and religion, as well as his experiences in federal prison. With a unique and creative structure, the author goes as far as to create a factitious conversation about morality between himself and Thomas Jefferson.
“I feel like the book accomplished what I set out to do…[people] will agree with some of my theories and disagree with others…and [people] will tell me things that I should have included in the book.
In the end, Toushin returns to his multi-faceted views on BDSM as a justifiable lifestyle and a constructive form of sexual expression. He explains the various levels of the lifestyle (e.g. Masters, Slaves etc…) and calls for a structural process to help authenticate and recognize practitioners, freeing it from the recesses of society.
“All in all, the book accomplishes its main objective; it’s informative and makes you think.”
For more on Toushin and Destruction of the Moral Fabric of America, go to www.steventoushin.com.
