Recap of Sex Positive Week!

RECAP OF SEX POSITIVE WEEK

The event was fantastic! We got lots of coverage in local papers (see "Sex Positive Week in the news" on the right, below the schedule). The turn-out was great, and we received lots of great feedback! Many students said that they hope to see this event again next year. Our speakers were truly amazing!

Some student comments on Sex Positive Week:
"It's amazing. Do this more often."
"The speakers were great. Plan one next year."
"F.O.R.C.E. did a beautiful job putting this on!"
"It was extremely educational. Have something like this every year."
"I liked the awareness. Thank you!!!"
"I would love to see the sex positive week event extended to 5 days instead of just 3. I do wish there was something more to it, such as more workshops or forums, and educational booths. I'm definitely attending this event again next year! Good Job!"
"Let me just say thank you here and now to F.O.R.C.E. and all who were involved; thank you for telling the world it is OK to talk about sex." (Source)

Thanks so much to everyone who attended, helped us out, and spoke at our event!
Sincerely,
F.O.R.C.E.
Feminist Organization Reclaiming Consciousness and Equality
http://forceclub.blogspot.com

MONDAY, Oct. 6
11:00 Babeland
Sarah Tomchesson of Babeland started the day with a discussion on sex positivity and sex toys. Sarah was funny and knowledgeable about sexuality, and everyone in the room was comfortable and entertained. It was a great learning experience!



Some student comments about the Babeland presentation:
"Absolutely valuable in dispelling myths"
"fun and informative"
"The speaker was very comfortable talking about sex"
"excellent presentation!"
"I learned a lot!"

1:00 Panel Discussion
Next, we had a panel discussion called "What Does it Mean to be Sex Positive?" The discussion was moderated by Dr. Shira Tarrant. The speakers on the panel were Amy Lee, Siel Ju, Jillian Lauren, and Ashleigh Klein. The audience loved it! Many people asked some interesting questions in relation to sexuality and sex positivity.





Some student comments about the panel discussion:
"I liked the different array of topics that came up and that each speaker had a different background."
"I like that the importance of education was emphasized."
"I enjoyed that it was an open forum and a very comfortable atmosphere."
"I liked the honest and the panelists."
"I liked that it was an open discussion with the audience."
"Great panel. Open, frank, informative, and honest."
"Very eye-opening."

3:30pm "Beyond Vanilla" Screening + Q&A
We ended the day with a film screening of Beyond Vanilla (amazon.com). The film is about BDSM/S&M. It deals with the "extreme" side of pleasure and pain. The audience was shocked, intruiged, and excited to learn about taboos that are normally swept under the rug in our society. After the film, Dr. Patti Britton answered questions from the audience (and there were quite a few!).



Some student comments about Beyond Vanilla:
"I liked that this film showed people as ordinary people and not as crazy sexual deviants."
"Very informative from different aspects."
"The film was interesting and eye-opening."
"The whole documentary was amazingly informative. I found the movie to be both entertaining, educational and very informative. A complete positive view on sex."
"I have never felt more plain in my life. This movie took my already open mind and blew it."
"Kind of awesome. I want to see more!"


TUESDAY, Oct. 7
3:00pm The Pleasure Chest
Kristen Tribby of The Pleasure Chest gave a hilarious, educational, and insightful look into the world of sex toys and the G spot. Students were also able to write out anonymous questions for Kristen to answer. Many people seemed interested in learning about anal sex, to which Kristen joked that she should have given an anal sex discussion instead.


Some student comments about the Pleasure Chest presentation:
"I liked that nothing was censored."
"I liked that they treated the issue like a regular subject, without taboo."
"I liked Kristen's energy and antecdotes."
"Fun toys & Kristen was great!"
"It was very informative."
"I liked that we were given details about the G spot."
"Funny, interesting, really great speaking/visuals."

6:00pm "Sex Positive" Screening
That night, we had a film screening of Sex Positive (official site). The film is eye-opening and interesting look at the life of Richard Berkowitz. Berkowitz is "a revolutionary gay S&M- hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited." Marina Wood, co-chair of WSSA introduced the film.



ALL of the pictures from Monday and Tuesday of Sex Positive Week are can be viewed HERE!

Details on Wednesday's presentations to follow...

Good Vibrations Give-Away!

Good Vibrations has sponsored a give-away for Sex Positive Week!
Anyone who will be attending any of the events during the week is eligible to win some goodies. You can enter via email for some items. You can also enter in person during Sex Positive Week.

If you would like to enter to win something, please email your Name, Email, Phone Number to theragzine@gmail.com. If you win, you can pick up your prize at any time during Sex Positive Week.

CSULB Student Health Services & Health Resource Center presentations: Wednesday, October 8

CSULB Student Health Services & Health Resource Center presentations
by Heidi Burkey and Linda Pena
STIs and HIV, sex and communication; sex, alcohol and drugs; and sexual assault
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 12:00pm and 1:00pm

Heidi Burkey has been a health educator at the CSULB Student Health Services for the last 6 years. She is a State-certified HIV prevention test counselor and coordinates the HIV testing program at CSULB. Sexual health, including family planning, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and partner communication are her areas of research specialty.

Linda Peña is an Educator at the Health Resource Center and the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Programs on campus. She is the editor of The Journal of the Health Resource Center and the Health Beat Newsletter, publications that serve college students and related professionals by providing further knowledge for possible diagnosis or treatment.
Also trained through U.C.L.A. as a Substance Abuse Counselor, she has worked off-campus in drug and alcohol rehab centers serving as counselor and director of aftercare programs. Currently, she is redefining and organizing the treatment policy for students who come to the Student Health Services with sexual assault issues.
As a certified Sexual Assault Crisis Counselor, she works directly with students who have been sexually assaulted, assisting them in taking positive action steps from victim to survivor. Also, as a Rape Aggression Defense Instructor with the University Police sponsored R.A.D. program and a Certified HIV Counselor through the State of California, Linda may interact with students who are seeking instruction and testing as a direct result of having been sexually assaulted.
As a health educator, Linda always seeks ways to promote positive sex through safer sex practices and verbal intercourse before sexual intercourse.

Sex Workers Outreach Project presentation: Wednesday, October 8

Sex Workers Outreach Project presentation
by Mariko Passion
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 3:00pm

Sex Workers Outreach Project Los Angeles (SWOP LA), at its most basic, is an anti-violence campaign. As a multi-state network of sex workers and advocates, we address locally
and nationally the violence that sex workers experience because of their criminal status. Operating in one of the most prominently violent societies today, sex workers in America experience this phenomenon pointedly in the context of their criminal status. SWOP works to educate policy-makers and the public on the institutional harms committed against sex workers, and advocates for alternatives.
SWOP promotes proven and effective social policy approaches to the sex industry. In order to reach its goals, SWOP adopts the principles and practices of nonviolent action in order to reduce violence and achieve dignity and rights for sex workers.

The Pleasure Chest: Tuesday, October 7th

A presentation from The Pleasure Chest
by Kristen Tribby
"The G-Spot: A User's Guide."
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 3:00pm

From the beginning, the Pleasure Chest has been celebrating sexuality and the infinite forms of its expression through a simple belief that no question is too silly, no fantasy too wild, no desire too crazy and no instinct wrong. Our objectives are simple: to facilitate discovery, encourage exploration and to provide products, information and an upbeat and pleasurable shopping experience that will make you feel great.

Kristen Tribby was raised by a relatively sex-positive family, where the
words "cervix" and "scrotum" were casually mentioned at the dinner table. After graduating with a degree in Sociology she went on to put it to good use by working as a Sex Educator. Kristen has taught a variety of workshops on sexual pleasure and health throughout the country. Currently, she is the Director of Education and Marketing for The Pleasure Chest and is honored to be a part of their long legacy of sex positivity. You will find that her workshops are informative, entertaining and inclusive to all types of sexual orientations and practices.

Loveology presentation on Sexual Taboos: Wednesday, October 8

Loveology presentation on Sexual Taboos
Presented by Dr. Hernando Chaves and Shelly Barnum

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 11:00am

Shelly Barnum
Shelly Barnum, 21 years old, is the youngest Loveologist® yet! A native resident of Los Angeles California, she is currently working on her Bachelor's Degree at Cal State Northridge as a psychology major with a concentration in Human Sexuality. Aside from being Dr. Ava Cadell's executive assistant, she also contributes to the university by writing and editing a portion of the LU curriculum. As a Loveologist® she works with adolescents to encourage healthy relationships and create a better understanding of love and communication among teens.
Shelly is also a part of Project DATE: http://www.csun.edu/counseling/peer/date.htm

Hernando Chaves
Dr. Hernando Chaves is a Clinical Sexologist and certified
Loveologist® in the Los Angeles area. He currently works as a
psychotherapist with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teenagers
and has a successful private practice in Beverly Hills. He is also a
professor of human sexuality at Los Angeles Valley College in Valley
Glen and at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, where he teaches both
the introduction to human sexuality and advanced human sexuality
course. His next lecture, on the health facts and myths of male
circumcision, will be at the Society for the Scientific Study of
Sexuality (SSSS) national sexology conference November 2008 in Puerto
Rico.

Panel Discussion - "What does it mean to be sex positive?": Monday, October 6th

"What does it mean to be sex positive?"
Panel Discussion
Featuring Jillian Lauren, Ashleigh Klein, Siel Ju, Amy Lee, moderated by Dr. Shira Tarrant
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 1:00pm


Jillian Lauren
Author and performer Jillian Lauren grew up in suburban New Jersey and fled across the water to New York City. She attended New York University for three minutes but promptly dropped out to work with Richard Foreman’s Ontological Hysteric Theater and with The Wooster Group, among others.
Jillian has an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in Flaunt Magazine, Pindeldyboz Magazine, Opium Magazine, The Chiron Review, Society, Pale House: A Collective and in the anthology My First Time: A Collection of First Punk Show Stories.
Her memoir will be published by Plume/Penguin in the Spring of 2010. Jillian Lauren's memoir, Some Girls, is a coming-of-age story about identity, adoption, tattooing and the two years the author spent in the harem of Prince Jefri of Brunei.
She has read at spoken word events in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, including Tongue and Groove, Talk, Talk, Talk and Words like Sugar. She has recently worked with directors as diverse as Steve Balderson, Lynne Breedlove and Margaret Cho.
She is married to Weezer bass player Scott Shriner. They live in Los Angeles.

Ashleigh Klein
Ashleigh Klein started volunteering as a rape crisis counselor at the Sexual Assault Crisis Agency in 2005. She was hired on as part of the SACA staff in 2007 and is now the Director of Outreach & Education. Her responsibilities at SACA include planning community events, working with 4th grade through college students on sexual violence prevention education, conducting self-defense classes and training professionals in the public service sector. She has received specialized training in working with survivors of sex trafficking and the LGBTQQI community. She also works closely with the Women’s Resource Center at CSULB on Project Safe: A Campus Response to Eliminating Violence.
In May 2008, Ashleigh received her BA in Women’s Studies from CSULB and plans on pursuing a graduate degree in Public Policy and Administration in the spring.

Siel Ju
Siel Ju is an environmental writer and activist. She's a contributing editor at BlogHer, a regular blogger for Lime.com, and a contributing writer to both SCI FI Channel's How You Can Save the World blog and to Whole Life Times magazine. Siel also blogs at green LA girl (greenlagirl.com) about eco-happenings in the L.A.-area. Previously, Siel headed up the Los Angeles Times' environmental blog, Emerald City. Siel also writes poetry and holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. She lives in Santa Monica, Calif., and rides her pink Townie bicycle to the beach almost every day.

Amy Lee
Amy Lee was born in Nonsan, South Korea. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1991. Amy is 26 years old, and has been educated in Korea and the U.S. She graduated from CSULB in 2008. Currently, Amy is doing demonstrations for natural skin care companies, and she is also working at Mother's Market. Mother’s Market is “dedicated to manifesting truth, beauty and goodness in the context of a natural products store, offering a selection of high-quality natural foods, health and related life-style products and information.”

Shira Tarrant
Shira Tarrant is the author of When Sex Became Gender (Routledge), a book connecting generations of feminist thought. Her recent anthology, Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power (Routledge), is a lively collection of first-person perspectives on sexuality, identity and positive change. This one-of-a-kind anthology is hailed for asking sharp questions about negotiating the masculinity trap.
Shira Tarrant's work has appeared in Bitch magazine, Genre, Women's Studies Quarterly, off our backs, the UCLA Historical Journal, Girlistic.com, The International Encyclopedia of Political Science, The Women's Movement Today: An Encyclopedia of Third-Wave Feminism, the Journal of Intercultural Studies, and Barnard College's Scholar & Feminist Online. Her next book, Men and Feminism (Seal Press) will be on the shelves in Spring 2009. She is currently at work on a co-edited anthology, Feminism, Fashion and Flair: Confronting Hegemony With Style.
Shira Tarrant grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and lives in Southern California, where she teaches in the women's studies department at California State University, Long Beach. She has a PhD in political science from UCLA and fond memories of lounging on the grass in the campus sculpture garden. (http://www.redroom.com/author/shira-tarrant/bio)

'Sex Positive' film screening: Tuesday, October 7th

Sex Positive

a film by Daryl Wein

Film screening

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 6:00pm

Daryl Wein (www.darylwein.com) is a New York based actor/writer/director/producer. His feature length documentary, Sex Positive, which he produced and directed received Official Selection in competition at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival and BFI Times London Film Festival, in addition to 20 other film festivals around the world.

SEX POSITIVE explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M- hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic as a community leader, demanding a solution to the problem before anyone else would pay attention. However, it was not Berkowitz' voice alone that sparked contention. SEX POSITIVE explores the explicit bravery of this unrecognized triumvirate, and their dire quest to save lives in the midst of unwavering dissent. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen. Through the eyes of Mr. Berkowitz, the audience is made witness to a graphic testimony of sex, death, and betrayal, while placing the invention of ‘safe sex’ in a fresh and compelling context. (sexpositivethemovie.com)

'Beyond Vanilla' film screening: Monday, October 6th

Beyond Vanilla

Film screening and Q&A with Dr. Patti Britton

Monday, October 6, 2008 at 3:30pm

Beyond Vanilla explores the kinkier aspects of sex on the other side of vanilla. With interviews, demonstrations, and a good dose of how-to instructions, this documentary covers the gamut of fetishes and S&M practices. For the curious, the voyeur, or the enthusiast, this is a fascinating journey into the world of high performance sexual athletes, where the boundaries of gay, straight, bi, or transgender seem almost irrelevant. Open your mind and the rest will follow . . . (amazon.com)

Dr. Patti Britton, is a nationally board-certified clinical sexologist, sexuality educator and sex coach; she is the author of four books, a sought-after expert for the media, host of over 30 DVDs in couples' sexual enhancement, director of the Sexuality Track for California Certification at California Graduate Institute, and has a private practice in Los Angeles. She is also the partner of the award-winning filmmaker, Dr. Robert Dunlap and appears on the DVD extras for Beyond Vanilla.

NOTE: The screening of Beyond Vanilla is a way to explore and educate about various different choices and sexual lifestyles. The screening will be followed by a Q&A where the audience is encouraged to challenge, question, and gain insight on the film. It is important that audience members come in with an open mind and a respectful attitude.

Babeland: Monday, October 6th

A presentation from Babeland
by Sarah Tomchesson

Monday, October 6, 2008 at 11:00am

Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning opened the first Babeland store in 1993 in response to the lack of women-friendly sex shops in Seattle. The store offered top quality products, a pleasant place to shop, and most of all information and encouragement to women who wanted to explore their sexuality. The store's popularity with both women and men eventually led to two more stores in New York and one in Los Angeles, as well as a thriving website.

Sarah Tomchesson is a Babeland trained sex-educator and has been teaching for the company for 2 years. Sarah will be giving a presentation for Babeland during Sex Positive Week.

SEX POSITIVE WEEK
California State University, Long Beach
Monday October 6, 2008 - Wednesday October 8, 2008

In a culture that promotes sexual ignorance, it becomes increasingly important to be sex positive. Being sex positive means encouraging and normalizing open sexuality, in all its forms, and being receptive to new ideas. The United States has spent over $1.5 billion on abstinence-only sex education in an effort to keep teens from having sex. What this has done, instead, is further perpetuate the sexual ignorance.

During Sex Positive Week, there will be panel-led discussions about the connections between sexuality, freedom, religion, the environment, health and politics. This will be an opportunity for students and sex positive professionals to have an open discussion free of judgment. Throughout the week, students will be able to submit questions for panel discussions anonymously, if they wish to do so.

For any progressive, sex positive individuals and organizations who would like to be involved in Sex Positive Week, please email us at theragzine@gmail.com