Ottawa- In September something sexy will hit Ottawa newsstands.

A new magazine published by Carleton students and alumni, the Moose & Pussy, will feature erotic poetry and short stories and invite students and locals to submit their own erotic literature.

The magazine will be available on campus and at specialty magazine retailers throughout the city.

The magazine is the contrivance of Jeff Blackman, Kate Maxfield, Jeremy Hanson and Rachael Simpson.

They said the idea grew from a conversation between Blackman and Maxfield as they considered the lack of a euphemism for the male sex organ.

“‘Pussy’ is the word that describes the female genitalia,” Maxfield explained. “Guys have ‘cock’ and ‘prick,’ but they’re not animal-related. We were just goofing around and we suggested ‘moose’ and for some reason it just fit because, as Jeff says, it’s a floppy, funny animal at one moment and a wild beast at the next!”

Blackman and Maxfield continued the discussion, eventually deciding that they had found the perfect name for a sexual magazine. The idea was presented to Hanson and Simpson who jumped onboard as co-editors.

With that, the Moose & Pussy was born.

Hanson admits that backlash about the explicit content of the magazine is possible, but is hoping for a positive reaction to its inaugural September issue.

Ottawa writer Elizabeth Batten-Carew, who writes erotic novels under the penname Opal Carew, said she has seen very little opposition to her writing and hopes for the same when the Moose & Pussy hits newsstands.

“I think there’s a resistance to change. I think that some people just don’t understand [erotica],” said Carew. “But I’m surprised at how little negativity I’ve seen.”

Ann Heesters, a McMaster University philosophy graduate and ethicist, wrote her master’s thesis on the question of pornography and freedom of expression.

She said that while a magazine like the Moose & Pussy would have probably been denounced while she was writing her thesis, both the times and public sexual opinion have changed.

She went on to give advice as to how those involved with the Moose & Pussy should react to any disapproval they might face.

“Focus on the principle of the thing: don’t try to defend the individual fantasy,” she recommended. “Defend the larger principle that people should have a right to creative expression, to an erotic life that differs.”

The magazine’s first issue is sleek and simple.

Hanson compares its look to an issue of the New York Times or Walrus and said that the editors were looking to create a contrast between the magazine’s raunchy content and elegant exterior.

Sharon Page, an Ottawa-based erotic novelist, is excited by the initiative. She said that erotic literature offers authors opportunities for character-development that don’t exist in other genres.

“In the erotic genre you learn a lot about the characters through what happens in the bedroom – what excites them and what their fantasies are,” she said. “It’s a really great place to show the vulnerabilities of characters.”

But is there a market here for this sort of magazine?

After all, Ottawa is a conservative city known more for parliamentary procedure than carnal pleasures.

The editors of the magazine don’t seem overly anxious.

“It’s a city of about a million people; there’s got to be people who are into crazy things,” Hanson said.

“I think there’s got to be a market underground,” Maxfield agreed.

Also in agreement is Patricia McCarthy, an independent writer based in Sandy Hill who has met considerable success in the city.

As the author of the Crimson series, a series of erotic novels set in Ottawa, McCarthy sees undeniable value in this genre of literature.

“You have a visceral, physical reaction with erotica,” she explained. “You actually feel something. Erotica is a connection with civilization. It’s been with us since man first realized that ‘if I rub myself a certain way, something’s going to happen.'”

Page, Carew and McCarthy agree on one thing- no matter what reaction the Moose & Pussy incites, its editors and writers should believe in their publication and ignore critics.

“Just go for it,” insisted McCarthy.