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One of the big debates that comes up over and over in sex education is the role and effectiveness of the strategy of harm reduction. And part of why it’s tricky is that a lot of people have so many judgments and opinions about sexual practices that it’s hard to have a reasonable discussion. When folks can’t separate their discomfort, triggers, and squicks from the discussion of sexual practices, things go nowhere fast. So I’d like to use an example from my life that illustrates the value of harm reduction.
First, a little background. I’m pre-diabetic. My body is somewhat resistant to insulin, so even when there’s fuel in my system, it doesn’t get transported into my cells as efficiently as it might. This
Continue reading Harm Reduction Cookies
This post also appeared on the Good Vibrations Magazine.
A few weeks ago, Northwestern University professor J. Michael Bailey did something that ruffled a lot of feathers.
He teaches a lecture class on the science of sexuality and in order to supplement the course, he organizes a series of optional presentations with guest speakers. These sessions are 100% voluntary, none of the material presented is included on exams, and he puts them together on his own time and for no pay. He does it because hearing from people who actually engage in various sexual practices puts a human face on it. His guest speakers have included a panel of gay men, a transsexual performer, convicted sex offenders, swingers, and a plastic surgeon.
Now, I think
Continue reading Sex Education, Live Demonstrations, and Northwestern University
Margaret Brooks, the noted anti-sex work activist who thinks that arresting sex workers somehow protects them (because hundreds of years of evidence isn’t enough to show that it always makes things much worse for them), is at it again.
Citizens Against Trafficking just released a statement from her that’s full of scare quotes, misinformation, and misdirection to try to convince readers that sex education is the source of all evil. Let’s take a look:
She starts off with a statement about how “At least four students attending universities in Rhode Island have contracted acute HIV infections within recent months,” which she describes as a sudden increase and a recent outbreak. According to wikipedia, there are 12 colleges and universities in the state, with a
Continue reading Margaret Brooks Attacks Sex Ed Again
I love teaching people about new ways to enjoy sex and pleasure, especially when it’s on a topic that most people are unfamiliar with. I’ve heard from a lot of men and their partners that they’ve heard about how much fun prostate play can be, but they’re not sure how to make it work. Or maybe they’ve tried it and it wasn’t what they were expecting. It takes a little know-how to have it all come together.
I’m co-teaching a workshop in a couple of weeks at Good Vibrations about prostate play. We’ll cover everything you need to know about it, so you can go right home and try it out! Here’s the info- feel free to pass it on.
Prostate Play Tuesday, February 1st,
Continue reading Upcoming Workshop: Prostate Play 2/1/11
I woke up this morning to discover this in my twitter feed:
RT @TheFakeEscort: Alexa di Carlo “really” a man named Thomas “Pat” Bohannan. Deets: http://exposeabro-alexa.blogspot.com
Since I was well aware of the controversy surrounding Alexa’s blog www.realprincessdiaries.com (now offline) was listed as the Between My Sheets top sex blog of 2010, I’m not surprised that things finally came tumbling down for Alexa. That level of notoriety often leads to the sort of scrutiny that filters the truth from the lies.
I’ll admit that when I first read the Real Princess Diaries, I bought into the story. The writing was really good, both in terms of the technical proficiency and the stories. I know a lot of real-life escorts are very careful to keep their
Continue reading The Downfall of Alexa Di Carlo
There are a few seats left in my workshop tonight. If you teach workshops or seminars on sexuality or relationships, come get the key tools you need to create motivation, design effective lesson plans, and make sure your presentations hit the target!
How to Be a Top Presenter Tuesday, October 19, 6-8 pm $20 in advance, $25 at the door Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk St., San Francisco Being a great sex educator doesn’t happen by accident, so where do you go to learn the information and skills you need to be the best teacher you can be? In this interactive and engaging workshop, you’ll learn how to improve your teaching, enhance learning, and create dynamic exercises. Using a simple and flexible model of adult learning,
Continue reading Just a Few Seats Left! How to Be a Top Presenter: A Workshop for Sex Educators
I got this info in my inbox today and thought I’d pass it along. See below for details and feel free to pass it along to anyone who might be interested.
They also have openings for medical assistants, clinicians, and nurses.
How would you like to make a living being a San Francisco Sex Educator!
Golden Gate Community Health is hiring and we are looking for a highly qualified sex education professional. The ideal candidate would be familiar with SF schools, has experience teaching and ideally experience teaching sex ed. The must have their own transportation and be a able to work on their own as well as with a team.
For more information about the position check out the job description for Community Educator
Continue reading Golden Gate Community Health is Looking for Sex Educators
This piece also appeared on the Good Vibrations Magazine.
Clipped from: www.huffingtonpost.com (share this clip)
At the beginning of September, I wrote about an opinion piece published on the Chronicle of Higher Education website. The original piece, by Margaret Brooks, is a pretty standard example of how people attack sex education through fear, shame, innuendo and misrepresentation of the facts. And several of my colleagues and I responded to it. We also collaborated to write a letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education, which we sent them on Sept 16:
Dear Chronicle Editors,
We were deeply disappointed by your recent publication of economics Professor Margaret Brooks’ op-ed, “‘Sex Week’ Should Arouse Caution Most of All.” It is clear that
Continue reading Sex Educators Call Out the Chronicle of Higher Education
I love being a sex educator- there’s nothing quite as satisfying as knowing that right now, someone somewhere is having a better orgasm because of something I said to them. I want to help other sex educators develop their skills and discover how much fun it can be!
One of the biggest hurdles, though, is that most people who offer workshops get little or no training on how to teach. There’s more to it than standing in front of a room and talking for a couple of hours and there’s more to it than copying what you’ve seen in someone else’s classes. So I’m going to be teaching a workshop on how to teach, with a focus on the issues, concerns, challenges, and joys of
Continue reading How to Be a Top Presenter: A Workshop for Sex Educators
One of the biggest difficulties queer, kinky, and/or polyamorous people face when looking for therapists or other mental health support is that professionals get very little training about any kind of sex, much less “alternative” sexualities. Despite the lack of any real correlation between being kinky (for example) and having mental health issues, many therapists assume that BDSM players are also abuse survivors. Of course, many kinky folks are, simply because there are a lot of survivors in the world, but if sexual assault caused kink, there’d be even more kinky folks. Similar attitudes about queers and polyamorous folks are also pretty common.
So it’s really great that the Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities is hosting the 3rd Annual Alternative Sexualities Conference on
Continue reading Upcoming Conference on Alternative Sexualities 9/23/10 in San Francisco
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