Category Events | VenusPlusX

The Way We “Talk the Talk” Controls the Way We “Walk the Walk” PART 2

(También en español) In Part 1, I highlighted the first three of six sex narratives developed by Marty Klein, Ph.D., in his book, America’s War on Sex, and outlined in last year’s State of Sexual Freedom Report, produced by the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance (Woodhull). Dr. Klein posits, “Sexual freedom expands or contracts within political, social, economic, cultural, and psychological contexts–some of them contradictory, some of them mutually reinforcing.”

A quick recap: a “narrative” is a coherent storyline that contains a set of assumptions that enables people to make meaning out of raw fact. So the way we talk and tell stories about sexual facts influences our perceptions about sex and the meaning we give to facts. The first three narratives discussed earlier are that “sex is dangerous,” “government should protect us from sexual danger,” and “certain people aren’t sexually normal, and certain kinds of sex aren’t normal; society needs to be protected from both.”

Now, for the fourth narrative, “morality can be measured by sexual criteria–the less sex, the less evident the sex, and the less adventurous the sex, the more ‘moral’ the person.” This type of judgment is superficial because it bases a person’s morality on perceived sexual practices, on their decision-making, willingness to take responsibility for their actions, honesty in dealing with others, or willingness to sacrifice for the common good, which are key concerns when dealing with morality. This narrative also fuels people’s anathema to sex workers, which lead to the development of “Prostitution-Free Zones” (PFZs) laws in D.C., which legalized sex discrimination and allowed cops to profile people as sex workers based on appearance and perceived sexuality and sexual activity in public areas. Not only were these zones a threat to civil rights, but also human rights, something Woodhull actively advocates and defends. (Through the work of Woodhull, VenusPlusX, and a dozen other advocacy organizations, city officials now conclude that PFZs are indeed unconstitutional, and trashed a bill that would have made them permanent and police are no longer enforcing them.)

The fifth narrative is “sexual expression is appropriate only for some people, only under certain conditions. Anything else is unauthorized and bad for society.” This is evident in the fact that Americans are still uncomfortable with the idea of teens, the elderly, the non-heterosexual, the physically or mentally handicapped, the incarcerated, and the unmarried being sexual. Moreover, some forms of sexual expression, such as BDSM, are often considered unauthorized for anyone, regardless of consent.

Last, “when it comes to civil rights, sexuality is different.” However, this notion is false because our sexual rights are part of our civil rights (as mentioned previously) and a part of our basic human rights.

All in all, these six narratives play a key component to our perceptions of teen sexuality and sex education. With regards to teens, American society generates narratives about teen sexuality being “dangerous,” in need of governmental control through abstinence-only education, and only normal if it is heteronormative — but teen sexuality still immoral by nature and in premarital sexual expression. These are extremely harmful narratives for American youth, and the effects play out in the high rates of unwanted teen pregnancy, STD/STI transmission, and HIV.

Therefore, everyone must recognize these narratives for what they are: stories, and not scientific fact. Once we understand that, we can start disavowing these narratives of sexuality that negatively influence our perceptions of sex, teen sexuality, and sexual rights and freedoms.

Marty Klein’s six narratives of sexuality have profound impact on American youth, impacting our attitudes about teen sexuality and sex education.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit in September. Also, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will be presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

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Creative Commons Image Provided by: Kris Hoet

The Way We “Talk the Talk” Controls the Way We “Walk the Walk” Part 1

(También en español)

“Sexual freedom expands or contracts within political, social, economic, cultural, and psychological contexts–some of them contradictory, some of them mutually reinforcing.” Marty Klein, Ph.D.

This is where the narratives of sexuality come into play: a “narrative” is a coherent storyline that contains a set of assumptions that enables people to make meaning out of raw fact.

For example, take the fact that there are 1 million abortions in American every year. Now, some people will argue that this fact as evidence of moral weakness and sexual promiscuity, while others interpret this fact as reflecting poor contraception use and a culture that discourages sexual planning. So basically, the way we talk and tell stories about sexual facts influences our perceptions about sex and the meaning we give to facts.

Marty Klein, psychologist and author of “America’s War on Sex,” which is outlined in the State of Sexual Freedom Report, produced by the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance (Woodhull). Klein states that there are six key narratives of sexuality that support the restriction of sexual rights and freedom by controlling the way we “walk the walk” when it comes to sex.

It is important to remember that the societal narratives and stories we tell about sexuality are not facts, but only meanings attached to the facts. It is our duty to decipher these negative narratives as to combat their control over sexual rights and freedoms.

First is the narrative “sex is dangerous.” When sex is discussed in American society, it is typically through negative topics such as unwanted pregnancy, sexual violence, sexual dysfunction, and STDs/HIV. This focus on the risks of sexual activity leaves little room for discussions about its benefits, advantages, or pleasures: a practice that is also pervasive in abstinence-only education.

However, when people only focus on the negatives of sex, they either become sex-phobic or are ill-prepared when they find themselves in a sexual situation.

A second narrative is the “government should protect us from sexual danger,” including sexual violence, perceived sexual abnormality, and the evidence of others’ sexuality. This narrative puts demands on the government to criminalize various sexual behaviors, restrict sexual commerce, and control sexual expression in mass media. Building off of this is the third narrative, “certain people aren’t sexually normal, and certain kinds of sex aren’t normal; society needs to be protected from both.” Examples of both these narratives are evident in the debate about marriage equality, the fight for LGBTQ rights, and in the SlutWalk movement.

To read about three more narratives of sexuality and their impact on teen sexuality and sex education in America, please read Part 2.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual rights/freedom and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit in September. Also, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will be presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

“If there were only 11 people in the world”: Narratives of sexuality reveals that, even with the progressive movement for LGBTQ rights, Americans at large still see certain sexualities as “normal” (heterosexuality) while all others are “abnormal” (homosexuality).

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Creative Commons Image Edited by: Alifa Watkins
Creative Commons Image Provided by: Flickr

in Events / News of Note / Public Information / Sex Education by Alifa Watkins 20 Sep 2012 2 comments

Kink Forwarding Sexual Freedom Rights

(También en español) Gay and straight Leather culture and BDSM culture combine under the mantle of Kink. Together these sexual freedom warriors are taking a machete to the underbrush of the sexual rights movement, blazing a trail that puts in play every question of civil rights and human rights in modern society, including the freedom to seek family and relationships.

When talking about trailblazers, I can hardly think of the best known ones without considering the illustrious life and work of Hardy Haberman.

Only part of Hardy’ story can be told by reviewing the awards and accolades he has received, most recently the Leather Leadership Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, or his ascension in 2011 to Chairman of the Board of Directors at Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance. Since coming out as both gay and kink in the 19070s as a twenty-something, Hardy’s films, books, lectures, and seminars have advanced the sexual freedom movement through a cogent exposition of the inexorable connection between spirituality and politics and the kink culture, and how it defines most of the issues we face as a society regardless of our sexual or gender expression.

Hardy just returned from the Great Lakes Leather Alliance’s conference in Indianapolis where he presented the keynote address, and taught a class,”Putting the Sex Back Into SM.” Hardy is there to explain the true nature of the erotic power exchange that is often sidestepped or forgotten by everyday practitioners. His award-winning art documentary short, “Leather,” continues through two decades to be well received. And, “Out of Darkness: The Reality of SM,” a documentary exploring abuse within the SM culture, is still being used by health industry professionals, and isabout to be updated and repackaged for release.

Recently asked if the word, Kink, accurately encompasses the sometimes divergent communities of Leather and BDSM, Hardy says the differences are subtle. “There is a hyper-masculization in the Leather community that is not so apparent anywhere else. And while Leather practitioners may be considered more renegade than others, they are more closely knit. You always know everyone’s real name in the Leather community while those practicing BDSM tend to remain attached to their ‘scene’ names.”

Spanning over 4 decades, Hardy has been able to monitor the growth of the Leather community in particular, and nurture the new generation. “Everytime it surfaces in the media, for example the recent published trilogy, 50 Shades of Gray, a new influx of what I would call ‘tourists’ show up, some will hang around, and some of those will ‘get it,’ will understand what it’s all about, that ‘erotic power exchange’ and spirituality that comprise the full Leather experience. Most important these days, he urges people not to believe everything they hear or read, and rather than relying on a computer, to get out there and involved with the community. “Our strength is found face-to-face rather than the diluted messages you can catch on line.”

We will be seeing Hardy this weekend, hoping to learn more at the Woodhull-produced Sexual Freedom Summit (Silver Spring, MD, September 21-23), so we asked him to give activists and advocates a call to action, the central message we wish to bring forward. It was, simply: “Grow up, and have an adult conversation about sex!”

The Sexual Freedom Summit takes place annually in honor of radical suffragette and sexual freedom pioneer Victoria Woodhull (b. September 23, 1838), and attracts hundreds of sexual freedom scholars, educators, and activists for presentations, workshops, social events, and awards (the “Vicki”) honoring those that have made a difference.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can still register to attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will also be presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

in Events / Global Sexual Freedom Watch / Public Information / Sex Education by Alison Gardner 19 Sep 2012 1 comments

Sexual Outlaws or Intentional Families?

(También en español) We are really looking forward to hearing from Family Law Attorney Diana Adams this weekend at the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance’s Sexual Freedom Summit (Silver Spring, MD, September 21-23). Her workshop, “21st Century Families: Cultural and Legal Shifts toward Family Freedoms,” will chart the decline of heterosexual monogamous nuclear families, once in the majority, to today’s new structures and expanding options that are meeting the needs of modern society, and growing steadily in popularity, more apparent in the media than ever before.

Families of all description, co-parenting groups of more than 2, non-marital families, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LBGT) parents and families, grandparents raising grandkids, polyamorous families, and kink families have all turned to Diana to validate their alternative or “intentional” family by helping them obtain the legal, civil, and social benefits everyone deserves.

In talking to Diana earlier this week, it quickly became apparent that her devotion to her work is deeply rooted in the spiritual journey she began as a child, a search for social justice beginning in her conservative Christian family and church that unfortunately didn’t offer her answers to her probing questions about the guilt and shame built into practically every facet of life. Once becoming a youth minister to help her church be welcoming to LGBT congregants, Diana has carried this passion forward into her work today: helping to enfranchise intentional families within the broader society and legal system. From her website, Feminist Outlaw, or representing Open Love NY, to her work as a legal activist, sex educator, and practicing attorney, Diana has become a sought-after lecturer and media spokesperson, and, for sure, a hero to many of us.

“Any family that is systematically excluded from mainstream life, and unfairly denied legal and social benefits that traditional families take for granted, deserves a legal advocate,” Diana submits. She is perhaps more well suited to this task than some, since Diana is herself a member of a polyamorous family and household.

Diana, who is a member of Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance’s Board of Directors, will be on hand all weekend to answer your questions. I am hoping to take away some of the themes and messages of this work, the key issues at stake, and how grassroots activists can organize to support this diverse community. “Anyone in an intentional family,” Diana said reflecting on the people she has worked with, “has common ground with every other economic and social justice advocate. We need to build allies to defend our right to create families of our choosing.”

When asked recently if she had a special message to all sexual freedom activists worldwide, Diana said, “Remember that a threat to the sexual freedom rights of any individual is a threat to us all,” pointing out the urgency and relevancy of our task. Diana says we are doing the right thing if we are concentrating on organizing the sexual freedom movement by engaging every type of activist that shares common ground with us, such as those fighting for women’s rights, including reproductive rights, and LGBT rights. “Wherever the sovereignty of our own bodies is under assault, we need to be there for each other, draw strength from each other, and work together for a better world. The rightwing is fiercely organized to wage war on sex, and we need to be organized to defend our rights to pleasure and relationship.”

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can still register to attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will also be presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

in Events / Global Sexual Freedom Watch / Public Information / Sex Education by Alison Gardner 18 Sep 2012 1 comments

Blow the Whistle on Stop and Frisk Today

The Stop Mass Incarceration Network will be blowing the whistle on the NYPDs “stop and frisk” program. It is estimated that every day 2,000 New Yorkers 2000 of color get unconstitutionally stopped by police in the war on drugs. Organizers Carl Dix and Cornel West are calling on thousands of people in New York and nationwide to respond to the NYPD’s racial profiling by blowing a whistle. On September 13, whistles and palm cards will be distributed with instructions for people to blow whistles when they see the police violating the rights of citizens of color.

Get yourself a whistle and do the same in your city. I’m going to, I see it all the time.
Police bias and profiling of all sorts must be stopped. The result is that a person of color is 5.6 times more likely be become an ex-felon for a minor offense that his white counterparts do with impunity. VenusPlusX has been writing about stop and frisk, mass incarceration, and the for-profit prison industry that feeds on this in Mass Incarceration: Follow the Money, Part 1 and Part 2.

in Campaigns / Events / Grassroots / Key Issues / News of Note / Public Information by Brenda 13 Sep 2012 0 comments

Sex Education is a Human Right

También en español

The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance (Woodhull), named in honor of Victoria Woodhull, joins the public discussion about sex education by framing it in the context of sexual freedom and human rights.

Woodhull is a leader in advocacy and activism for sexual freedom, rights, and liberty and also acts as a convener of activists and a resource for progressive initiatives that advance sexual freedom. Woodhull works hard to combat the prohibition of pleasure, advance an agenda that recognizes the wonderful diversity of sex, sexuality, and our rights as human beings to make informed, consensual choices in our lives; Woodhull recognizes that this agenda can be accomplished through comprehensive sex education. Woodhull believes that comprehensive sex education includes age-appropriate, medically accurate information on a broad set of topics related to sexuality, addresses both genders and transgender and all orientations and disability, and teaches how alcohol and drugs can effect responsible decision making.

However, Woodhull does not just approach sexual health as an educational issue, but also in the context of sexual freedom and our universal human rights.

Former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt with the English version of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Woodhull posits on the inclusion of sexual freedom.

In their report, State of Sexual Freedom in the United States 2011, Woodhull advocates that human beings, including youth and adults, have the right to access information that will help them make the best decisions for themselves and lead happier lives. As sexuality is a part of every human being, access to sexuality information is a part of our basic human rights. Sexuality is not only about sex, either. In the broadest terms, sexuality encompasses everything from engaging in sexual acts, to how people see themselves in terms of body image and gender roles, to how people relate to others in emotional and physical relationships.

As such, Woodhull asserts that everyone deserves access to comprehensive sex education, because a lack of access to valid information about sex and sexuality is not only harmful and ineffective, but also contrary our fundamental humans rights. Along with the right to access vital information, we have the human right of sexual freedom, a freedom that is the right of all individuals to develop and express their unique sexuality, and includes the freedom of sexuality education and sexual health. Sexual freedom involves not only the freedom “to do” something sexually, but also the freedom “not to do” something sexually. Therefore, sexual health programs that boost sexual health, like comprehensive sex education, are the ideal for sexual freedom because they incorporate teachings about both abstinence and contraception.

Woodhull justifiably frames the discussion of sex education in the context of our fundamental human rights of education and sexual freedom.

If you want to find out more about the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance and their views on sexual health education and other key issues of sexual freedom, such as sex work and reproductive justice, you can visit their website. Also, you can attend Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit (September 21-23), where Alison Gardner and Dan Massey, VenusPlusX’s founders who work closely throughout the year with Woodhull as members of its Advisory Council, will presenting their workshop session, “Sacred Sexuality and Erotic Communion, the Human Experience.”

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Feature Image Provided by: Alifa Watkins

in Events / Key Issues / Public Information / Sex Education by Alifa Watkins 31 Aug 2012 2 comments

Major Transhumanist Event in Second Life—July 20

TERASEM ISLAND CONFERENCE CENTER, SECOND LIFE

JULY 20, 2012 1PM – 4PM EDT

This year’s workshop theme:

PRINCIPLES OF GEOETHICS & THEIR APPLICATION TO LIFE-SAVING NANOTECHNOLOGY

WHAT: The workshop is an exchange of scholarly views regarding the varied applications to life-
saving nanotechnologies, including the impact of its use on others, the accessibility of it to all, and
independent means of monitoring its compliance with widely agreed-upon norms.

WHEN: On the 43rd anniversary of the first lunar launch, July 20, 2012, 1PM – 4PM EDT.

WHERE: Terasem Island Conference Center in Second Life (coordinates: 129.195.34). The
workshop proceedings are open to the general, virtual public and are subsequently archived online
for free public access.

WHY: To exchange scholarly views regarding the varied applications to life-saving
nanotechnologies, including the impact of its use on others, the accessibility of it to all, and
independent means of monitoring its compliance with widely agreed-upon norms.

If you are new to Second Life, you may want to familiarize yourself with the meeting environment and the way an SL viewer is used to control your avatar and to interact, through speech and text, with other avatars. We highly recommend that you experiment with SL before attempting to attend the conference. Some very helpful pointers have been provided by our good friend, Khannea Suntzu, via her personal web site. Here is the key information, in Khannea’s own inimitable words:

What is a SLURL?
A SLURL is a Second Life Universal Resource Location. This is the SLURL for this event. It does not get any easier.

What is a Second Life “Event?”

How to attend this event? How do I get inside Second Life?
You need a client, of which I recommend Firestorm, and you need to create an account. Then you may need to enable access to mature sims in advance. You need to test if access works – dozens of dumb-asses discover on the day of such conferences they can’t enter specific sims with big meetings/gatherings because they still need to figure out what this whole business with “maturity ratings” is. They are invariably the ones complaining “SL Is Too Complex.”Guess what? so is a bike the first day. Effectively you also need some expertise to work with Second Life. Proper (or even minimal) SL expertise is actually more difficult than learning to operate a smart phone. Don’t prepare means fail. Tolerance towards shambling/clueless SL virgins is diminishing sharply these days, so you will receive very little sympathy when you waste 30 minutes unable to walk. My best suggestion is to train up using Second Life in advance. Getting your bearings will take 4-8 hours of “playful” advance exploration. It will take you about 12 hours to get full situational awareness going in SL. I can reduce this time by tutoring you, and for this tutoring process (which comes with a well-styled avatar) I charge 25,000 Lindens. Actually that’s low. It is a lot of work, and requires a lot of patience on my part.

What is required to follow events in SL?
You need to test your sound functionality inside Second Life. Very few people will actually like explaining anything to you under stressful conditions, how to use a mike, how to set your sound, and how to fine-tune these interface aspects. If you like attending an event in Second Life make sure you know at least several days in advance how to hear sound, how to produce sound, how to NOT produce sound. (There are always clueless people around that leave their mike open, so half the conference can actually hear them devour spaghetti or use angered patriarchal blasphemy to their wife and children. Seriously – this kind of stuff happens.) And, most important, how to not produce reverberation (loud screaming mike echo) while doing so. The best way to do so is in advance, at your leisure. Get a headset. Switch off your mike by default, and understand when (how) it is switched on (and off again).

Hosts

Avatar Presentation and Code of Conduct
Terasem maintains a strict morality code. This reflects in use of PG styled avatars, sophisticated discourse and interaction, and a zero tolerance to sexually explicit content. If you’d get arrested for it in front of the White House, don’t do it at the Terasem sim, ok?

in Events / News of Note / Terasem by Dan Massey 13 Jul 2012 0 comments

A “how-to kit” at Philly Trans Health Conference

Dan Massey and I are here at the 11th Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference with 2500 trans and genderqueer folk and their allies. On the conference’s last day, we will be presenting, “Ending Police Bias and Anti-Trans Violence: A Grassroots Approach.” We will be joined by Ruby Corado and Kiefer Paterson in outlining our successful approach to bringing about substantial and substantive change in DC through our work with the DC TLGB Police Watch coalition. Here are some the materials we are providing at our workshop as a “how-to kit” for use in your community if you are suffering and similar epidemic.

For further information: DC TLGB Police Watch, 202-290-7077.

The steps we took . . .

Identify community concerns including interviewing victims of police bias and anti-trans violence.
Identify local and national stakeholders, organizations and individuals, too form coalition willing to remain as a continuing presence after the first action (more actions are planned if demands are not met). Continue to add new coalition partners after work on action begins.
Tabulate community concerns, including especially victim’s concerns. This can be a long list.
Assay goals that articulate these community concerns. Again, could be a long list.
Select 3-4 goals that address most of the top community concerns.
Identify change-agents with power to change the status quo (Mayor, City Council, Police Chief, Attorney General, for example), the same people who have to date have refused to make substantial and sustainable changes to end police bias and anti-trans violence.
Discuss strategies that might be used to force implementation of changes and achievement of the selected goals (street protests with list of demands, visits to change-agents’ offices, letter-writing campaign, petitions, media exposure, etc.). Select the strategies that come closest to representing and start planning action/s.
Fully vet and finalize set of demands with all coalition partners, and implement chosen representative action.
After the action, debrief with the coalition partners and tabulate results, especially lessons learned.
Continue to work with coalition partners to monitor response and actions, or lack thereof, by change-agents; re-organize and take to the streets again when necessary.

Our Call To Action, here and here.

Our Poster

Our Action

Our Demands

Images

Sample PR

Sample media results, here and here.

Sample results from change-agents, here and here.

Testimony by DCTC member Jason A. Terry before the DC Council Committee on the Judiciary Oversight Hearing on Hate Crimes and Police Response July 6, 2011.

Testimony by DCTC member Jason A. Terry before the DC Council Committee on the Judiciary Oversight Hearing on Hate Crimes and Police Response November 2, 2011.

Testimony by DCTC member Alison M. Gill before the DC Council Committee on the Judiciary Opposing Bill 19-567, the Prostitution Free Zone Amendment Act of 2011 Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Jason Terry-Mayor Vincent Gray Letter, February 29, 2011

Testimony by DCTC member Jason A. Terry before the DC Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary Oversight Hearing on the Metropolitan Police Department March 18, 2011

in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Public Information / Transunity & Transleadership by Alison Gardner 01 Jun 2012 0 comments

February 2012 Newsletter

(También en Español)

Hundreds rallied around our message, “Sexual Freedom – You Are Born With It” at the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference a couple of weeks ago in Baltimore, which brought together 3000 equality rights activists and allies. Many made videos about what sexual freedom means to them and you will be seeing them here in the coming months.

Most of the VenusPlusX crew were out in force and brought an exciting presence to the Creating Change Exhibition Hall. And, we supported the Bi/Alt/Kink Hospitality Suite, and the Trans Hospitality Suite, where we convened a special afternoon reception for Trans Latino and Latina attendees.

Hot on our priority list, and something we have been especially pleased to inaugurate recently, is VenusPlusX’s roll out of Spanish language resources, including videos, news, and insights into Transhuman Erotic Freedom, such as “A Course in Immortality” (“Un Curso de Inmortalidad”) presenting a rational, myth-free, and practical guide to living a sane and happy life.

Plans for the coming months include upstepping our work with a coalition of organizations fighting police bias and the resultant violence against the trans community, and expanding our online conversation on Transleadership & Transunity to include many more voices.

In January, VenusPlusX joined the U.S. Human Rights Network’s Sexual Rights and Gender Justice Working Group, and attended our first working meeting at Creating Change. Also last month, founder Alison Gardner was installed as secretary of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance. Continuing as members of the Gender Rights Maryland Advisory Board, we are looking forward to continuing to work as long as it takes to finally realize trans-inclusive legislation in that state.

For those of you who want to go deep, you can find a long interview of Dan and Alison done in TeleXLR8 virtual space by Guilio Prisco, talking about the “new age of sexual freedom” and its direct connection to advocacy for equality rights. The Institute of Ethics & Emerging Technologies (IETT) posted the video and a summary (here).

Lady Gaga launched her youth empowerment foundation, Born This Way Foundation, on November 2, and we were happy to see it start on the same day to follow VenusPlusX, a sign we are permeating the twitterverse, and spikes in our viewership have been encouraging. So, if you haven’t already, will you start following @VenusPlusX on Twitter, and “Like” us on Facebook, or subscribe to our RSS feed, when you can? You can find us on Tumblr now, too.

in Events / Key Issues / Public Information by Alison Gardner 20 Feb 2012 0 comments

Wikileaks: US Threatened Spain For Not Implementing Internet Blacklist

News of Note: US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law

In a leaked letter sent to Spain’s outgoing President, the US ambassador to the country warned that as punishment for not passing a SOPA-style file-sharing site blocking law, Spain risked being put on a United States trade blacklist . Inclusion would have left Spain open to a range of “retaliatory options” but already the US was working with the incoming government to reach its goals.

Yet again we have Wikileaks to thank for revealing the truth. Citizens of Spain can fall asleep knowing that their loss of freedom was largely caused by the United States Government. Here we are worried about SOPA being passed in our own country and our government is running around policing the world with similar bills. What is happening to this country? The whole world needs to stand up and pay attention to America’s behavior; this sort of thing should not be ignored or tolerated.

in Events / News of Note by Jack Diehl 07 Jan 2012 0 comments

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