Beautiful Agony
Encyclopedia
Beautiful Agony is a paid-subscription erotic website featuring head shots of user-submitted videos showing the participant having orgasm
s, without providing any visual description of what technique is being used or revealing anything below the neck and upper chest. Both men and women are featured on the site.
In 2003 Richard Lawrence and Lauren Olney created the initial video series. In 2004 beautifulagony.com was established as a commercial website. The site is owned and operated by Feck Pty Ltd in Melbourne.
The logo of Beautiful Agony is underscored by a quote of the French expression "Facettes de la Petite Mort” (Faces of the Little Death
) due to the facial gestures and sounds that a person makes when experiencing orgasm, and the french expression for orgasm.
Although the majority of clips on the site involve masturbation
, a limited number of clips also show participants achieving orgasm through (off-screen) oral sex
and, in a few cases, sexual intercourse
(although the partner does not appear on camera).
Most contributions include a separate short film called a "confession" of the individual discussing their views on sexuality and sharing descriptions of their sexual experiences. The confessions are typically set in a public place with the fully dressed subject responding to questions asked by an off-camera interviewer who often can not be heard. The site also includes a third series of clips categorized as "overkill" which include return appearances by past participants, extended Confessions, and clips that do not conform to the site's mandate, such as clips that more clearly show intercourse taking place (although these clips still do not contain nudity). Several Overkill clips posted in the spring of 2007 were shot for the British sexually oriented travelogue series Sin Cities
, whose host, Ashley Hames
, is shown interviewing one of the female participants (Hames taped his own Beautiful Agony session which was included in the main section of the site).
used Beautiful Agony's clips to make the music video for the song Romantic Death.
A fan made video also used clips from the site for The Joy Formidable's Austere". This video actually irked the band since other, less sexual videos (including their own official video) have been overshadowed by the video's success.
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
s, without providing any visual description of what technique is being used or revealing anything below the neck and upper chest. Both men and women are featured on the site.
In 2003 Richard Lawrence and Lauren Olney created the initial video series. In 2004 beautifulagony.com was established as a commercial website. The site is owned and operated by Feck Pty Ltd in Melbourne.
The logo of Beautiful Agony is underscored by a quote of the French expression "Facettes de la Petite Mort” (Faces of the Little Death
The little death
La petite mort, French for "the little death", is an idiom and metaphor for orgasm.More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm or to a short period of melancholy or transcendence as a result of the expenditure of the "life force", the feeling whereof is caused by the...
) due to the facial gestures and sounds that a person makes when experiencing orgasm, and the french expression for orgasm.
Although the majority of clips on the site involve masturbation
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
, a limited number of clips also show participants achieving orgasm through (off-screen) oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
and, in a few cases, sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
(although the partner does not appear on camera).
Most contributions include a separate short film called a "confession" of the individual discussing their views on sexuality and sharing descriptions of their sexual experiences. The confessions are typically set in a public place with the fully dressed subject responding to questions asked by an off-camera interviewer who often can not be heard. The site also includes a third series of clips categorized as "overkill" which include return appearances by past participants, extended Confessions, and clips that do not conform to the site's mandate, such as clips that more clearly show intercourse taking place (although these clips still do not contain nudity). Several Overkill clips posted in the spring of 2007 were shot for the British sexually oriented travelogue series Sin Cities
Sin Cities
Sin Cities was a British sexually-oriented travel television series. It originally broadcast on Bravo from 2000 to 2007. It has also been broadcast on Showcase in Canada. Series 1 and 2 were produced by Visual Voodoo while Series 3 and 4 were produced by Class Films.The first season was hosted by...
, whose host, Ashley Hames
Ashley Hames
Ashley Martyn Hames is an English television presenter, director and writer.-Presenting & Direction:...
, is shown interviewing one of the female participants (Hames taped his own Beautiful Agony session which was included in the main section of the site).
Other adult sites owned and operated by this company
- I Shot Myself
- I Feel Myself
- Sonic Erotica
In popular culture
The band The SunThe Sun (band)
The Sun is a band with styles described as garage, indie, progressive and psychedelic.-History:The Sun released their first full-length album Blame It on the Youth June 7, 2005 on DVD. Every song has a music video. The disc also has WAV files on it for listening without viewing the videos. While it...
used Beautiful Agony's clips to make the music video for the song Romantic Death.
A fan made video also used clips from the site for The Joy Formidable's Austere". This video actually irked the band since other, less sexual videos (including their own official video) have been overshadowed by the video's success.
External links
- beautifulagony.com - official website
- IFeelMyself.com, another website created and operated by the producers of Beautiful Agony as a more explicit continuation of BA