Audacia Ray

The Shrinking Public Square

Chris — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:44:47 -0700

If you want to get a good idea of what we're on about with the title of this website and why the concept of "the public square" is so important to us, go on over to Audacia Ray's site, Waking Vixen. You should be doing that anyway, but if you haven't been checking her out recently, she's had some experiences lately that illustrate neatly the realities and risks of talking publicly about sex.

First of all, Dacia tried last month to open an account at Citibank for her business, Waking Vixen Productions. After filling out the preliminary paperwork, she received a voicemail delicately informing her that her line of business made them unable to take her account.
Then, early this month, she got a similar notice from iTunes, notifying her that her podcast, Live Girl Review, could no longer be included in their directory. ITunes was less direct than Citibank, saying only that podcasts could be excluded "for a variety of reasons." On checking out their podcast spec sheet, she found "strong prevalence of sexual content" included among the possible reasons that Apple can kick you to the curb.
And just last week, Google yanked her Google Checkout account, barely twenty-four hours after she'd put her new short film The Love Machine up for sale. According to the e-mail Google sent Dacia, "the products or services [she's] selling on [her] website are considered ‘Restricted’ per our policy- Adult goods and services."

More intelligent talk on sex work...

Elizabeth — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:40:58 -0700

Thursday night I was at a reception in honor of the launch of a new nonprofit organization called "Sex Work Awareness." Formed by the amazing folks at $pread Magazine, SWANK, and PONY it promises to make truly important contributions to sex work advocacy, research and community organizing. I think they're definitely an organization to watch!

And tomorrow I'll be on a panel at the Left Forum with one of Sex Work Awareness's founders, the seemingly indefatigable Audacia Ray. Also on the panel are some other sex worker advocates I admire deeply: Ignacio Rivera and Amber Hollibaugh also of Queers for Economic Justice and the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, and Antonia Levy from the Graduate Center at CUNY. Here's the panel info:

Viviane212's Flickr Photos of the SitPS "Coming Out" Party

Elizabeth — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:54:38 -0700

These photos are just a sampling from Viviane's Flickr set. Thanks Viviane!

Me, with co-founder Chris Hall and Rachel Kramer Bussel

Audacia Ray, Lux Nightmare and Rachel Kramer Bussel

Post-Launch Bliss

Elizabeth — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 07:25:00 -0700

I'm sleepy and exhiliarated after our "coming out party" last night. It was really amazing to meet so many friends of Sex in the Public Square face-to-face, in one place and at one time! Your enthusiasm for this project was palpable, and I can't wait to see where that energy takes us.

Slowly throughout the day today and tomorrow we'll be getting pictures together, so if you took any you want to share send them along to me at elizabeth at sexinthepublicsquare dot org or drop me a link to your Flickr page or just let me know where to find your shots.

Here are just a few to get you started. They're of our fabulous speakers, who I really can't thank enough for honoring our project by sharing their work. You really did demonstrate all the different kinds of things we want this site to accomplish!

Lux Nightmare's exploration of the pink ghetto...

If the event listing wasn't enough to get you there

Elizabeth — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:16:52 -0700

Here's the poster for our "Coming Out" party. (Yeah, it's the same party we've been talking about. We just decided "coming out party" sounded better than "launch party. Don't be confused!)

You're coming, right?

(Click on the image for your own poster-sized copy. It's a PDF, so you need Acrobat or something similar.)

Sex in The Public Square "Coming Out" Party

Elizabeth — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:37:13 -0700

Join us to celebrate the launch of SexInThePublicSquare.org!

Sex in the Public Square is dedicated to expanding the space for public discussion of sexuality. Blending the techniques of blogging and social networking (think Blogger meets MySpace -- but all open source!), Sex in the Public Square is a space on the Internet where members can explore which parts of sex are private, which parts are public, and what happens when private and public collide. We believe that sexuality is a fundamental component of human life, and that by excluding it from "polite conversation," we lose an important element of democratic participation.

Audacia Ray Talks About the Fuckbot Takeover

Chris — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 20:43:20 -0700

Violet Blue just did a cool video interview with Audacia Ray about her new book, Naked on the Internet. You can check it out on the website for Geek Entertainment TV; among other things, Audacia talks about the coming "Fuckbot Takeover." Watch the video if you wanna know that is.

Technorati Tags: Audacia Ray, books, Media, Violet Blue

Audacia Ray and Violet Blue on Sex and Technology

Elizabeth — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:00:15 -0700

Audacia Ray and Violet Blue discuss sex, tech and mutual awesomeness at an event sponsored by the Center for Sex and Culture.

Panel Discussion: Naked on the Internet (New York City)

Chris — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:08:15 -0700

Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads and Cashing in on Internet Exploration

A Panel Discussion Moderated by Audacia Ray
Monday, June 11, 2007
7:00- 9:00pm

Audacia Ray, author of Naked On the Internet: Hookups, Downloads, and Cashing In on Internet Sexploration , moderates a discussion about female sexuality and the Internet.

Panelists: