events

From info@sexies.org:

The board and judges of the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards are proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Sexies. Selected from about 100 entries (not counting multiple nominations of the same piece!) submitted by both writers and readers, the winning entries cover subjects from teen pregnancy to conjugal visits, vaginal plastic surgery to prudish responses to public art. The winning articles come from all across the United States and Canada, and represent a range of genres, from news to advice columns.

What they all have in common, however, is that they succeed in embodying the Sexies criteria for sex-positive journalism far better than the vast majority of their counterparts, helping to improve the quality of dialogue around sex and create a more well-informed reading public. "Without clear-eyed, informed journalism about sexuality, the public runs the risk of seeing sex-related issues through a murky scrim of ignorance and biased attitudes. The Sexies help show the media—and the citizenry—how it can and should be done," says Carol Queen of the Center for Sex and Culture.

The first-place winners are:

This weekend I'm traveling to Washington DC for a Woodhull Freedom Foundation meeting (I joined their advisory council last summer) and I'm thrilled that I'll be in town there for this benefit event featuring Carol Queen, Nina Hartley and Dennis Sobin. If you're in the neighborhood (or can get to the neighborhood) don't miss it! Here are the details, as posted on Tied Up Events: 

Join The Woodhull Freedom Foundation SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, for a celebration of sexual freedom as a fundamental human right, hosted by Carol Queen, Nina Hartley & Dennis Sobin.

You won’t want to miss this fabulous evening – including famous Kennedy Center classical guitar artist Dennis Sobin, who will perform at the champagne reception that begins at 6:30pm (donation, $100)

After the reception, doors open at 7:30 for the 8:00 performance of scenes from PEEP SHOW, performed by Carol Queen – her solo spoken word piece about working at San Francisco’s famed Lusty Lady theater as a professional Real Life Nude Girl.

Then hold onto your seats for Nina Hartley – currently in rehearsals for The Vagina Monologues – sharing a private performance from the show!

Cost: $100 for the private champagne reception where you will be able to enjoy some one-on-one time with the performers and other Woodhull board and staff members, as well as some local candidates and elected officials.

or

$20 suggested donation for the performance that begins at 8 (doors open at 7:30) – but give as you’re able for this fun event!

Your donation is completely tax-deductible and will be used to help advance our movement for the affimration of sexual freedom as a fundamental human right.

Tickets are limited.  Click here to purchase yours.

LOCATION WILL BE EMAILED UPON RECEIPT OF RSVP OR DONATION.

CAN’T ATTEND: YOU CAN STILL SUPPORT US BY DONATING HERE

PS:  Please note that a portion of donations received for this event will be donated to Partners for Health to benefit the Haitian Relief Effort

Last night's panel discussion of sex work and civil liberties at Harvard Law School, hosted by the HLS ACLU, the American Constitution Society and the Women's Law Association (?) was a learning experience. I learned that some formats, which sound helpful in theory, are very limiting in practice. I learned that one should never make assumptions about an audience. And I learned that when you've had the last word and the panel is officially over, letting it be reopened is a very bad idea. 

The panel was extremely well moderated. Professor Glen Cohen promised at the beginning to keep a tight rein on the discussion and he did. That made me feel confident and safe going into the discussion that it would not become a shouting match nor be derailed by questions that are not really questions. Unfortunately that limited the opportunities for panelists to respond to each other. It meant that if we were to play by the rules (where did I learn to be such a good girl?) we could not easily challenge each other's evidence, or revisit questions once the discussion had moved on. For example, if an audience member had a question specifically for Melissa Farley, and Farley answered using anecdotal or unreliable evidence, as soon the question was answered a new question was invited. There were only a few questions that were posed to the whole panel and it was hard to get back to earlier questions without deviating from the format. So, lesson number one: advocate for format change or break the rules if necessary to get important information out.

I just got back from a New York State United Teachers conference and tomorrow I'm heading up to Cambridge to participate in a panel discussion about sex work and civil liberties. If you're in that area I'd love to see you there!

Sex Work and Civil Liberties: A Panel Discussion
Monday, 11/16, 5:30pm

Harvard Law School ACLU

Pound 107 (map of the law school campus: http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/map.html)

Featuring Vednita Carter, Dr. Melissa Farley, Dr. Samantha Majic, & Dr. Elizabeth Wood.
Moderated by Professor I. Glenn Cohen

Free and open to the public
Co-sponsored by American Constitution Society, Women's Law Association, & Harvard Law Students for Reproductive Justice

If any NYC-area readers are attending this event I would love to publish reports from it. I can't attend, myself, and want to hear all about the exhibits. What follows is completely copied from the New View Campaign website for the event:

The New View Campaign organized an arts and crafts exhibit and political event titled “Vulvagraphics” on October 24-25, 2009 to celebrate the role of art in activism and to kick off a campus-based movement to celebrate genital diversity.

Location: The Change You Want To See gallery at 84 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn

Those of you in Halifax are are in the middle of Queer and Rebel Days and I'd love to hear about them.

From the web site:

Queer and Rebel Days 2009 is a week of performances, discussions, food, and workshops in Halifax, NS, running from July 10 - 16, 2009. All events are free, trans and queer positive, and childcare is available upon request. Most events are based at the Roberts St. Social Centre, 5684 Roberts St., Halifax; see the Event Details page for more info. 

Our goals are:

 Check here for events and announcements.

This year my partner and I both missed our anniversary. A week after it had passed, as we were talking on the phone while I was in my mother's hospital room, he said to me: Do you realize our anniversary was a week ago? I had not. And in a similar way I almost missed the second birthday of SexInThePublicSquare.org. Yesterday on Twitter CatalinaLoves said to me "So I read on the @NYCSexBlogCal that SITPS turns 2 tomorrow? RU Celebrating in some way?" I had specifically put the birthday on the calendar so that I would not forget it. And what happened? I forgot it!

It is hard to believe that it's been two years since Chris Hall and I launched this site. In that time we've welcomed new regular contributors (Lou FCD, Michael Goodyear, Caroline) and have been honored by the contributions of guests (Lorraine K, M. P. Clark, Lolita, LisaVNYC, Rebecca Deos). We held a very productive forum on sex work, trafficking and human rights, and we've created a space for the stories of outed sex workers who want to speak out.

Click here to read more about our past two years and get a glimpse into the future!

Carol Queen reading from my favorite story of hers, Leather Daddy and the Femme.