Unbound Edition Press today announced it will publish Blue Movie, Stephan Ferris’s debut collection of Queer sex, culture, and policy essays. Ferris is an accomplished Queer legal scholar and activist attorney. His most recent work was published in Harvard’s LGBTQ Policy Journal.
Ferris’s work, however, is not just academic. He is also known widely as Blue Bailey, the performance name he uses in the adult entertainment business. He has starred in what some critics have called one of the most shocking and disturbing adult films ever produced.
That infamous movie, Viral Loads, from Paul Morris’s Treasure Island Media, has been the subject of in-depth articles by mainstream publications like VICE and scholarly forums, including at The University of Pennsylvania. Most serious discussions of the work consider it an important, if controversial, exploration and confrontation of the fear over HIV.
“The movie is an intentional performance of protest art,” Ferris said. “We were pushing back on the public hysteria surrounding HIV, and working to erase the irrational fear of it by embracing it as a simple fact of modern gay life.” Based on Ferris’s personal experiences, Blue Movie will continue this type of exploration into sex panics, including the history of sex clubs and parties, the marginalizing dangers of FOSTA-SESTA legislation on sex workers, and the making of and public reaction to Viral Loads.
“My philosophy in addressing complex subjects like sex policy and policing is to bring my professional, legal mind and my personal, bodily experience together to be the sexual outlaw the world needs now,” Ferris said. “The issues of today track the history of blue movies, censorship, and obscenity debates in general. I am here to challenge those with my own personal stories and insights. That is my work.”
“Not everyone will be happy about this book, but that’s not the goal,” said Patrick Davis, the publisher at Unbound Edition Press. “Our intent is to start meaningful dialogue around past and current panicked reactions to human sexuality. As an LGBTQ+-focused literary press, we are proudly committed to thoughtfully challenging work that does not shy away from the voices, views, and experiences of our non-traditional communities, relationships, and people. We believe representation and dissent matter, especially for those who have been ignored, excluded, misunderstood, or shamed.”
Blue Movie has a publication date of October 2022.
Stephan Ferris is part of an emerging generation of openly Queer and sexually progressive activist attorneys who see the law as an opportunity to make social, civic, and cultural change. He advances his views and work to a wide range of audiences through published scholarly articles and speaking engagements related to sexual health, activism, and the law. He contributes his expertise to the San Francisco Leather Cultural District, and is a board director for Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. He lives in San Francisco’s Castro District.
