Burnt out on the male-dominated sex world, the founders of Cake want to give straight women something to scream about

Some might find Melinda Gallagher and Emily Kramer a bit, well, naive. But the cofounders of Cake, an organization devoted to discussing women's sexuality, prefer to see themselves as visionaries, striving to do as much for straight women's libidos now as Betty Dodson and Nancy Friday did in the '70s. "We want to provide women with an option [for exploring their sexuality] other than Cosmo and Mademoiselle," says Gallagher. And though Cake is just a fledgling operation (the pair claim their website has 3,000 members), its founders have bigger ideas: "An empire" is how Kramer describes what they have in mind.

Gallagher and Kramer grew up as friends in the Long Island suburb of Stony Brook. Gallagher, 27, studied human sexuality in NYU's graduate program and later worked for a not-for-profit women's health organization. But during the course of her study, she found herself wondering Why isn't there something out there for women's pleasure? She came up with the concept of Cake, enlisted 22-year-old Kramer (a recent women's studies graduate from Columbia), and left her job three months ago to dedicate herself full-time to the cause.

The two see conventional ideas about women and sex - as expressed in pornography or at live-sex clubs - to be at odds with what women really want. And they aim to make things right through a combination of education on their website, parties and more far-reaching ventures. "There is a very public world of sexuality, but it's dominated by men," says Kramer. "And if you control women's sexuality, you're essentially controlling women." But that's been said before. Can these two polite, educated, conventional-looking women from the suburbs succeed where more experienced pioneers have failed?

"I think they're geniuses," says Marisa Malone, of the woman-owned Toys in Babeland sex shop. The store is working with Cake, providing porn videos and general feedback for the venture. Malone maintains that, as a straight woman, she understands the need for creating a forum where straight women can talk about sex. "For example, I love anal sex," she says. But when she recently tried discussing it with a friend, "she was basically revolted and asked me to stop talking about it"

Cake's founders hope there are enough women like Malone to sustain their enterprise. The website, subtitled "the next generation of erotic entertainment for women," is entered by clicking on the question "Wet yet?" It's full of snappy bits of sex info and erotic photos from Cake parties."We wanted to find out: What do women really want to see?" explains Gallagher. So she and her partner rented mountains of porn, from classics to new amateur productions. "I found there was porn that turned me on that I hadn't realized was out there.... If I am able to imagine myself as the porn star, as a participant in the scene, I get off on it!" The two edited together a sampling of their favorite snippets to be shown on big screens at their August premiere party, which drew nearly 500 people.

Their second soiree, held in September at Fun and cosponsored by the Spice Channel, also drew a large crowd. "At our next party," assures Gallagher, "there will be no man allowed in without a woman.In addition to more bashes - including an all female soiree - Gallagher and Kramer are developing a Cake stamp of approval for porn, sex toys, health products (like lube) and sex channels; eventually, they even hope to produce their own women-oriented adult films.

-Beth Greenfield