A moose and a pussy are two animals that form the perfect fit for a name of a local sex magazine.
Founded in 2008 by Jeff Blackman and Kate Maxfield, the idea was conceived while the two were in bed.
“We were talking about how there’s not any good sex literature around,” Blackman said.
As for the name, Blackman said his partner Kate noticed there were not a lot of euphemisms for the whole male package when she came up with the moose.
“[The moose] is funny-looking and droopy, but also proud and fierce,” said Hanson-Finger.
Blackman, Maxfield and two other friends published the magazine at Carleton, which features short stories, poems and artwork twice each semester.
The aim of The Moose and Pussy is to be sex positive, publishing good writing and art about sex, said editor Jeremy Hanson-Finger.
Tanya Decarie, the newest editor for the magazine, agreed.
“We don’t want to sell it as sweaty or trashy. Our goal is to be artistic and open about sex, and allow other people to discuss it.”
The magazine receives submissions from the local community and people around the world, from the United States to Bombay, India.
While there are no specific guidelines for what gets published, the magazine has one rule for submissions.
“If you take away the sex, there’s something there still, something deeper,” Blackman said.
“The point isn’t always to get people aroused, but if it does, it’s a bonus,” Decarie said.
Although The Moose and Pussy is more of a publication than a club, magazine members and students who are interested can share their work at In/Words’ writers’ circle held every Monday.
The magazine holds sex-writing workshops, with an upcoming workshop at the GLBTQ centre Jan. 28. And the magazine also hopes to have a movie night on Valentine’s Day.
Copies of The Moose and Pussy are available for free at the English department’s office, or can be purchased at several stores around Ottawa.