Public Information

Proclamation of Masturbation: Joycelyn Elders Gives Masturbation Thumbs Up (Part I)

(También en Español) In 1994, then Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, MD, proclaimed, "With regard to masturbation, I think that it is something that is a part of human sexuality and a part of something that should perhaps be taught." Masturbation being taught in schools? This statement is not one of shock, confusion, and contempt (or even a question) in countries where comprehensive sex education thrives, such as in the Netherlands, but in the United States, it sparked a nation-wide controversy that resulted in the termination of Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. So what was the fuss about? Joycelyn Elders has been a strong, public ...

Read More›
in Global Sexual Freedom Watch / Public Information / Sex Education  by Alifa Watkins 1 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 ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / End Police Bias / Events / Grassroots / Public Information / Transunity & Transleadership  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Op-Ed: . .Tis The Season of Love . . . and Not-of Love

También En Español. Which will you choose for 2012? Will you commit yourself to the power and supremacy of love? Will you check yourself to make sure your actions are “of love?” Are you willing to call out those who are not-of love? The stark realities and compounding errors of the feckless conspiracy of the greedy and the stupid are in sharp relief. These realities become clearer, bolder, and more desperate by the hour, with no exit strategy that doesn’t involve even greater hardship to the rest of us who own this earth. Who are the humane and the inhumane? Who ...

Read More›
in Global Sexual Freedom Watch / Op-Ed / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 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 ...

Read More›
in Events / Key Issues / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Sign Our Petition to Stop Harmful Prostitution-Free Zones

Tomorrow in DC we will be delivering testimony, reprinted below, in opposition to  Bill 19-567, a proposed new law that would allow police to designate permanent Prostitution-Free Zones (PFZs), which have been dubbed by local activists as Trans Profiling Zones. If you cannot attend tomorrow, you can watch online. In any case, in the coming two weeks, please join us by signing the change.org petition. Each time someone signs, the DC Council gets email notice. We want to deluge these officials' in boxes and make sure that this legislation is never passed, and that even our current ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / Grassroots / Public Information  by Alison Gardner 1 comments

It’s just hair! Right?

Editor's note: This post was written by one of our interns, Jamor Gaffney. It was the summer before I began 5th grade when I got my first relaxer. I was curious, nervous, and unsure of whether I was making the right decision. Not because of what I now understand to be a deeply rooted, oppressive standard of beauty in this country, but simply because I didn’t know how my hair would turn out. The morning before I went into the hair salon, I wore an Afro; I walked around my neighborhood so everyone could see my hair, and they would ...

Read More›
in Op-Ed / Public Information / The Sexual Freedom Project / Videos  by Alison Gardner 0 comments

Congress to Resume SOPA Hearings Wednesday

News of Note: Congress to Resume SOPA Hearings Next Week (This Wednesday) The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will continue its hearing on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) on Wednesday, not until after Congress' holiday break, as originally believed. Late Friday, Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and committee chairman, scheduled a continuation of the hearing to amend the bill for this Wednesday at 9 a.m., even though many members of the committee may be out of town for the holidays. Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican and opponent of the bill, tweeted the ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / News of Note / Public Information  by Jack Diehl 0 comments

SOPA would “criminalize” the Internet

News of Note: Google chairman says online piracy bill would 'criminalize' the Internet An online piracy bill in the House [US House of Representatives H.R.3261] would "criminalize linking and the fundamental structure of the Internet itself," according to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Schmidt said the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would punish Web firms, including search engines, that link to foreign websites dedicated to online piracy. He said implementing the bill as written would effectively break the Internet. "By criminalizing links, what these bills do is they force you to take content off the Internet," Schmidt said, calling it a ...

Read More›
in News of Note / Public Information  by Jack Diehl 0 comments

Occupy Foreclosed Homes

Looking for another way to fight back against big banks? OccupyOurHomes.org is calling for a national day of action on December 6, 2011. "Everyone deserves to have a roof over their head and a place to call home. Millions of Americans have worked hard for years for the opportunity to own their own home; for others, it remains a distant goal. For all of us, having a decent place to live for ourselves and our families is the most fundamental part of the American dream, a source of security and pride. In 2008, we discovered bankers and speculators had been ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / Events / Grassroots / News of Note / Public Information  by Jack Diehl 0 comments

The Sexual Freedom Project: Human Trafficking

Today's video comes to us from the Demi & Ashton Foundation (DNA Foundation) and is about human trafficking: the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery. Some important facts from their website: Today, more than twelve million people worldwide are enslaved.[1] An estimated two million children are bought and sold in the global commercial sex trade.[2] The sex slavery industry has become an increasingly important revenue source for organized crime because each young girl can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for ...

Read More›
in Campaigns / Global Sexual Freedom Watch / Public Information / The Sexual Freedom Project / Videos  by Tiye 0 comments