(Mailing list information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)
__
Greetings from the Center for Sex & Culture!
We are getting geared up for the Masturbate-a-Thon down here at CSC HQ! Monday we held the first volunteer meeting about the Thon; if you are not already on our volunteer list and want to come to future ones, feel free to let me know, or sign up here: http://www.sexandculture.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi -- it is the middle list on the pull-down menu. (This is the general volunteer list, not just related to the M-thon.) The next one will be same time, same station on Thursday, March 29. Robert's inspirational message is below, with the listing for that meeting.
And please note: If you have responded to the past couple of solicitations in this mailing to get directly in touch with Robert, your message may not have arrived. We figured out last week we've been having an email problem at his address. Here is the correct one: robert@centerforsexandculture.com -- please mail him again, and our apologies for this confusion!
Great stuff coming up -- don't miss Midori's first-ever showing of her Japan slides and discussion about sexual culture there.
xoxox--CQ and the CSC staff
In this edition:
Midori's Rope Dojo Afte-Party -- 3/24
Ask Me, I'll Tell You: Women and Men Talk about Sex and Aging with Joan Price -- 3/26
The Art of Feminine Dominance with Midori -- 3/27
Erotic Reading Circle with Carol Queen and Jennifer Cross -- 3/28
Masturbate-a-Thon Volunteer Meeting at CSC -- 3/29
Pink Japan with Midori -- 4/4
Benefit for Wanderlust Bike Tour -- 4/6
Declaring Our Erotic writing workshop series with Jen Cross -- begins 4/11
Save the dates
Non-CSC events and other announcements of interest:
ArtSFest presents Union at Grace Cathedral -- 3/23
Marty Klein's Bay Area sexuality talks -- 3/29 and 3/31
International Ms. Leather Benefit Lap-Dance-a-Thon (plus call for dancers!) -- 4/5
Sexual Partnering for Lesbians with Felice Newman -- 4/15
What Is Great Sex?: Seeking to Interview Older Adults
Volunteer Web Programmer Needed for Sex-Positive Journalism Awards
*****
Saturday, March 24, 6-10 pm -- CSC PRESENTS MIDORI'S ROPE DOJO AFTER-PARTY
$20 at the door, free to Midori's current Rope Dojo class members, $15 for those bringing (non-alcohol) drinks or snacks
At Joe's Place, 975 Howard between 5th and 6th Streets
A play party/practice session especially but not exclusively for bondage practitioners. Midori hosts at the party's opening and turns the room over to her trusted DMs, her students and other rope aficionados. Joe's place has lots of pillars -- it'd look fabulous with people tied to all of them!
For more about Midori's classes see http://www.ropedojo.com/.
*****
Monday, March 26, 2007, 8-10 pm -- ASK ME, I'LL TELL YOU:WOMEN AND MEN TALK ABOUT SEX AND AGING
Good Vibrations- Berkeley
For many people, sex and aging are two of the hardest topics to talk about. Add in the challenges of communicating across the genders and it can sometimes seem impossible. But Joan Price, ageless sexuality advocate, and author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty is here to help! In this interactive and fun discussion night, you'll have a chance to get the answers you're looking for. Joan will guide an evening of conversation and discovery, and will help everyone in the room learn from each other. For couples & singles, men & women. If you're 50+, or you plan to be, this workshop is for you.
$30 per person. Register via http://www.centerforsexandculture.com/pages/CSC-events-at-GV.html
*****
Tuesday, March 27, 8-10 pm -- THE ART OF FEMININE DOMINANCE with Midori
Good Vibrations-Polk St.
Elegance, power and confidence...learn how to be a finer domina with this exquisite foundation-building class. Tonight, Midori shares her personal secrets of the feminine art of dominance, including how to find your won style, psychology, politics, practical exercises, techniques and even a bit of fashion. She’ll share the secret three tools you must have! This class is open to all genders harboring the powerful woman within, from the novice to the experienced player.
$25 per person. Register via http://www.centerforsexandculture.com/pages/CSC-events-at-GV.html
*****
Wednesday, 3/28, 7:30 pm -- EROTIC READING CIRCLE
Come join readers as they share their work! Bring something to read or just be part of the appreciative circle of listeners. This is a great place to try out new work (ask for comments if you like), or get more comfortable reading for other people. Longtime writers will bring their latest... newly inspired writers, bring that vignette you scrawled on BART while daydreaming on your way to work! Non-judgemental listening guaranteed, all orientations welcome. With Carol Queen and Jennifer Cross.
$5-up sliding scale, but no one turned away for lack of funds. Location: Center for Sex & Culture, 290 Division at 10th Street, Suite 405
*****
Thursday, March 29, 6pm -- MASTURBATE-A-THON VOLUNTEER/PLANNING MEETING
At CSC, 290 Division St #405 * Snacks provided.
You are invited to volunteer your very life essence, the most valuable thing you have, to the most inane, insane benefit the world has ever seen. Come help a group of people masturbate in public to raise funds for a legally organized non-profit. Watch as they pleasure themselves toward a legal letter to the IRS which tells the IRS that they masturbated to raise money! A wank off which is a complete write off!
See the noodlers wander and peer. Experience base beauty and earthy wonders. Stand and soak in the marvel of a group grope.
No standing and modeling here, hang with the jiggiling flesh of the masses. Leave the pretty parties behind and experience the flesh of the ages.
This year is going to be very busy indeed. We have booked the Porn Palace at 415 Jessie Street, behind the Old Mint. We have on line needs for directors and production crew, administrative and office manager, models, security and traffic control, on line ad sales, tshirt and poster producer, floor monitors/orgasm counters, cleaning fairies, 2257 release staff, clothes checkers, old and young gaffers, best bois and good hearted sex workers and strippers of all catagories.
We need sexually oriented acts and content, sex esthetes, nude performers, exhibitionists, jack off artists, jill off artists, vibrator riders and fucking machine exhibitionists who wish to be seen by a lot of people on line and would love to show the world that they will be willing to:
Come Save the World - Come for a Cause!
*****
Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 pm -- 4/4 -- PINK JAPAN with MIDORI
Pink Japan: Contemporary Sex Culture at CSC, 290 Division at 10th, Suite 405 * $20
From cuisine, music, fashion, technology to anime, Japan's cultural influences on the West is immense. In many ways the Japanese erotic cultures are also influencing today's Western tastes. Yet the daily realities of Japan's gender relations, sexual habits, sexual consumer culture and gay/lesbian/transgendered world remain hidden to us, creating an aura of mystique. In this funny and insightful talk, join Midori for a double-expatriate's photo tour of Japan's hidden sexual culture today.
Midori is a Kyoto born, Japanese-American author and sex educator based in San Francisco. Raised by trail blazing feminist professors in Japan, she's well versed with the contradiction that is 21st Century Japan. Graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in psychology and trained as a sex educator, she possesses a keen insight into culture and sexuality. www.PlanetMidori.com
*****
Friday, April 6, 6-8 pm -- BENEFIT FOR WANDERLUST BIKE TOUR! Our associate Nora and her trusty bike Rhonda will take to the highways next month to pedal across country seeking sex-positive folks as well as people working for reproductive rights. Come send her off and donate to her expenses as she blazes a trail of CSC associates all across the US! 6-8 pm at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk St btw. Sacramento and Clay.
Here's what Nora says about her trip:
I'll be spending the summer touring the country by bicycle, interviewing, listening to, and connecting people who are doing groundbreaking, interesting work that in some way combines reproductive health care, political advocacy, and sexuality education.
I am fortunate to be sponsored by the Center for Sex and Culture and supported by Good Vibrations, two amazing organizations which are supporting my trip. On the road, I hope to gather knowledge and information, forge connections between people who could mutually benefit from knowing each other, and get inspired and excited by the amazing communities, ideas, and projects that are being manifested every day.
I'll be writing about my experiences, taking pictures, posting podcasts of my interviews, and more, depending on how fancy I get technology-wize, and I hope that you'll follow along with me from the comfort of your computer screen. While I can't promise that it will be informative, I can promise that I will endeavor to be entertaining. I just hope you're easily amused.
This trip would not be possible without the support of the amazing people at Good Vibes, at the Center for Sex and Culture, at the ACLU of Northern California, and the people in my life who have provided guidance, support, and advice as this trip has been planned.
I invite you to become a part of this network, and by supporting me, supporting the spread of knowledge and information about reproductive health care, sexuality, and politics. There are several ways to support me, all conveniently outlined below for your reference.
Connect me with your people - Firstly and most importantly, I'd love to know who YOU know that you think I would like to talk to. (I'd also like to talk to you!) On my website there is more info about who exactly I'm looking for, and why, as well as an invitation that can be sent to folks you know.
Attend my Going Away Party and Fundraiser! Good Vibrations is hosting a happy hour shindig where you can hear more about my trip live and in person, bid on fabulous silent auction items, buy wanderlust t-shirts and other propaganda, and look at a giant map that explains what an absolutely absurd amount of ground I have to cover.
http://wanderlustwithrhonda.com/ (bookmark to keep up with Nora and Rhonda via Nora's blog!)
*****
Indulge your spring fever -- Erotic writing workshops begin in April!
Tuesdays -- DECLARING OUR EROTIC with Jennifer Cross: April 10-May 29, 2007 (no meeting May 1), to be held at the Center for Sex and Culture in San Francisco. Open to folks of all sexualities and all genders! Meets Tuesday evenings -- workshop limited to 8 participants.
Declaring Our Erotic- Reclaiming Our Sexuality: April 11 -May 30 (no meeting May 2). Open to women. Meets Wednesday mornings in San Francisco. -- workshop limited to 8 participants.
In this workshop, you will :
** Get more comfortable exploring and talking about sexual desires,
** Celebrate and struggle with various and complex aspects of your sexual self, and, of course,
** Practice explicit erotic writing!
Visit www.writingourselveswhole.org for more information or to join us!
***********************************************
SAVE THE DATE! More info to come:
4/7 -- BENEFIT FOR CSC AT JOE'S PLACE!
4/13-15 -- JOURNEYMEN'S ACADEMY ADVANCED BDSM LEARNING
4/28 -- GREAT SEX IN DISABILITY, ILLNESS OR AGEING with David Spero, RN
5/25 -- PERVERTS PUT OUT!
5/26 -- THE MASTURBATE-A-THON!
Also scheduling: Estate Planning and Money Management for alternative relationships and families; Juliet's Tender Loving Touch; nutrition for sexual health!
***********************************************
Non-CSC Events and Things of Interest:
Artsfest presents...UNION, a new monthly series presented at Grace Cathedral.
UNION is an immersive, participatory forum for activating the spirit through interactive, performance ritual, sacred music, visionary art, conscious spoken word and lucid meditation. With the intention to encourage community through the arts, UNION will provide a dynamic individual journey in the context of a greater communal experience.
On Friday, March 23rd we will present a special Spring Equinox event, "The Great Turning", a ritualized musical healing prayer performed by a rich and diverse collection of bay area artists and musicians. Join us in an immersive sound meditation journey, powered by the geometry of the labyrinth and the amplifier of this magnificent sacred space.
Doors open at 6:30pm for contemplation/meditation, with the musical and performance ceremony taking place from 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Bring a pillow for Labrinth seating. Tickets may only be purchased at the door ($10 - $20 sliding scale). For information, call 415-561-7822.
ArtSFest -- May 3-28 * www.artsfest.org
*****
Marty Klein's Bay Area talks this month; for more see http://www.SexEd.org:
March 29, 2007
America’s War On Sex
National Sexuality Resource Center
San Francisco
www.nsrc.sfsu.edu
March 31, 2007
Power, Anger, Trust, and Communication--
Innovative Approaches with Couples & Individuals
AASECT
California Pacific Medical Center
San Francisco
800/584-5111
*****
Attention Exhibitionists, Rebels and Other Defenders of Sexual Freedom!
Announcing the first: IMsL Lap-Dance-a-Thon
April 5, 2007, 9pm-1pm
Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
1500 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
Room TBA
Contact: Jessi HolmanAhart
imsl2005@aol.com
(410) 212-2225
As a way to celebrate the return of the International Ms. Leather contest to San Francisco, we are hosting a Lap-Dance-a-Thon. Proceeds to benefit IMsL & IMsBB travel funds , NCSF the LA&M and The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. Please help!
Audience,
If you know an exhibitionist that you want to see dance, please encourage them. Sponsor our dancers before the event. They are being asked to show up with money when they arrive, as well as dancing for tips. Sign a few sponsor sheets and add more nearly naked lovelies to the scenery. Nothing makes a hot thing hotter than a hot place to be, and someone hot watching! Give them your money before you get there. Show up and bring your friends with their pockets full of cash.
You will pay $5 at the door to help defray the costs associated with this event. Guidelines for alcohol consumption are still in negotiation. We are hoping for at least a bar outside of the performance space. Bring ample money for tips. Big bills are great. Have enough of them so that you don’t run out, or desperately NEED to go running around hunting for change.
Dancers,
Bring your luscious body, your hot energy, and tempting dance moves.
In order to participate as a dancer, you will need:
v A pledge form and at least $25 in pledges. Hot prizes to the top fundraisers, including a grand prize package to IMsL 2008. Other prizes to be announced.
v At least one dance outfit, and the more the merrier. We are still working out the details of the venue, so come expecting to wear a minimum of the equivalent of a publicly legal swimsuit. If we are allowed anything less, we’ll let you know.
v CD(s) with music you like to dance to (please mark at least 3 songs). Clearly mark your music before you hand it to the DJ with name, phone #, room # (if applicable), and which songs you hope get played. If sequence is important to you, make it clear for our DJ (she’s a volunteer).
v Optional: Music for up to three dance sets. Each set would be three great songs that go great together, that you intend to dance to, and may remove extra layers of clothing down TO your “swimsuit”. You may use props and as much creativity as you can muster. If you decide to perform, you will sign up for a specific time slot for your set(s), when you arrive on Thursday.
v Please note: In consideration of the venue, we ask that you keep your show and performance may include simulated sex, NOT actual sex.
*****
Sexual Partnering for Lesbians: How to Create & Sustain Vibrant Sexual Relationships
with Felice Newman
Berkeley, CA
April 15, 2007, 1-5 pm.
Felice Newman is on a mission to end “lesbian bed death” in her lifetime. She believes that a dwindling sex life is not inevitable for long-term partners. In fact, as Felice tells her clients, lesbian partners need not settle for anything less than a completely satisfying sex life.
In this half-day workshop, Felice will introduce the concepts and practices that will help you create a shared sex life that will deepen in heat and intimacy through the years.
When you have sex, you bring with you the whole package of who you are: your sexual history, your beliefs about sex and gender, your accumulated sexual wisdom, your erotic imagination and yearnings, and your physical structure. As a somatic practitioner and sex educator, Felice addresses the whole “self,” including sensations, desires, tissues, emotions, thoughts, muscles, breath, movement, language, history. This workshop will include basic somatic practices including sensation awareness, self-observation, breathwork, and a (fully clothed) couples’ bodywork exercise.
Space limited–register early!
$170 per couple; $150 if paid registration is received by March 16, 2007.
To register: Send an email to Felice Newman: felice@felicenewman.com
About Felice
Felice Newman is author of The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us (Cleis Press). She is a sex educator and certified Somatic Coach who works with couples and individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a member of The American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT).
Visit Felice’s website: www.felicenewman.com
*****
What is Great Sex?:
Seeking to Interview Older Men and Women
We are a group of researchers in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University and at the University of Ottawa who are studying optimal sexuality. We are interested in interviewing individuals, preferably over the age of 65 who have been in long-term relationships and who have had great sex at some time in their lives. It doesn’t matter if it was once, long ago or every day. We are hoping that we can contribute to the field by getting some idea of what great sex actually consists of from people who have lived it. We would like to gain wisdom from people who have a lifetime of sexual experiences to share.
This research has been approved by the ethics committee at Carleton University (project number 05-150). If you would like to participate, you will be required to provide informed consent but you may remain anonymous if you choose.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact either Dana Ménard at dana.menard@gmail.com or Dr. Peggy Kleinplatz at kleinpla@uottawa.ca or by phone at (613) 563-0846.
PLEASE FORWARD
*****
VOLUNTEER WEB PROGRAMMER NEEDED FOR SEX-POSITIVE JOURNALISM AWARDS
Sick of knee-jerk anti-sex media coverage? Want to lend your web skills to the cause? The Sex-Positive Journalism Awards needs a few hours of your time to launch our website. Our graphic designer will provide Photoshop layouts of the home page and a few sample pages that clearly define the exact layout. We need someone who can then program the pages in HTML/CSS/whatever to match that, including slicing & optimizing any graphics, if necessary. It will be a fairly simple page. We want a basic site up ASAP. By the end of the summer we'll need to add a form that will allow users to upload pdfs. Contact writer@mjoy.org if you're interested.
--
The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:
You are subscribed to the following list:
Center for Sex and Culture- Announce
using the following email:
scott@planttrees.org
You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:
<http://www.sexandculture.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/CSC_Announce/>
If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism.
You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:
<http://www.sexandculture.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/list/CSC_Announce>
If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:
The following mailing address is associated with this mailing list:
2215-R Market St. #455
San Francisco, CA 94114
|