Exciting news: “Sex in Iran”, an article by Pari Esfandiari and Richard Buskin that I edited for the May 2007 issue of Playboy, has won the first Sexie Award for sex positive journalism. This award is given by the the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and the Center for Sex & Culture, and “Sex in Iran” won for Playboy in the “sex-themed publications” category. In seeking submissions, the presenters said they were looking for “stories that treat sexuality as something other than a problem or prurient curiosity”; they received more than a hundred entries. The judges were lavish in their praise of “Sex In Iran”, which was earlier selected to be included in the anthology Best Sex Writing 2008: “What an achievement this article is. Serious, attentive reporting and terrific scene-setting, with profound attention to the social and political context of sexual mores. A window onto a world of contradictions most Americans know nothing about. The best piece of sex reporting I have read in some time—and the best reporting on Iran as well. This is amazing journalism.” Two other Playboy articles, “The Redclouds Revolution” by John H. Richardson (September 2007) and “The Girlfriend Experience” by Erik Hedegaard (July 2007) took second and third places. Congratulations to the winners! The awards will be presented in New York in October. (For a complete list of all winners in all categories, click here.)
