Now that the excitement from the MCON 12 weekend is slowly winding down, we have other business to attend to – we have an ebook for sale and we want bloggers and writers to review it for us on their own sites and on Amazon.

We’ll be starting the carnival on April 10th and want to schedule a blogger a day until the end of the month. If you’re interested email momentumcon@gmail.com and I’ll get you a copy of the PDF and a review date.

Here’s a summary, thanks to Rebecca Chalker, of the essays that comprise the anthology.

* In the introduction, Dr. Joycelyn Elders shines the spotlight on sexual ignorance perpetuated by Bush-era abstinence programs and issues a clarion call for fact-based, comprehensive sexuality education.
* To begin with, Rebecca Chalker identifies the yet unacknowledged dynamic feminist Pleasure Revolution that changed sex for women and their partners after the sexual revolution of the 1960s left intercourse-centered sex as the only route to pleasure.
* Therapist Esther Perel, author of Mating in Captivity, examines the Puritan roots of our discomfort with sexuality, argues that the American focus on achievement blocks erotic expression, and asserts that a healthy sense of erotic entitlement is built upon a relaxed, generous, and unencumbered attitude toward the pleasures of the body.
* Sexuality journalist Lara Riscol’s survey of anti-sex rhetoric will make your blood boil, but she cools it down, insisting that the best sex is for pleasure. “It’s morning in America,” she boldly asserts, “and she has a hard-on!”
* Ramapo College senior Jill Grimaldi describes the rewards of educating her peers on the possibilities of self-empowerment through sexual knowledge.
* Joan Price, author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex, says it is “time to fight what I call the “ick factor”: our culture’s attitude that…that seniors who enjoy or desire sex are icky, pathetic, even ludicrous.”
* Ned Mayhem, a queer scientist and pornographer, points out the need for research on sexuality beyond the ivory tower and describes the PSIgasm Project, an open source independent science project creating devices to measure arousal and orgasm in the body directly.
* Bill Taverner, Director of the Center for Family Life Education, and author of numerous books, including Taking Sides: Clashing Views of Sexuality, tells his own circuitous route to becoming a sexuality educator from scratch and makes a passionate argument for encouraging young professionals in the field of sexuality education.
* Professor Stef Woods explores the variegated opportunities, rewards and pitfalls of social media.
* Cultural sexologist Carol Queen dissects the benefits of pornography with a feminist critique and argues for porn in which “women’s sexuality [is] depicted as women would like our sexuality to be understood.”
* Allison Moon, author of the lesbian werewolf novel, Lunatic Fringe, and investigates the vertiginous advantages and pitfalls of new-media and self publishing.
* Polyamory advocates Lisa Speer, Brian Ballard and Jasmine Goldman explore the chilling effect that self-censorship has on sexuality and encourage new conversations, self-expression, and activism as antidotes to “the a partially expressed life.”
* Queer feminist legal activist Avory Faucette interrogates gender and sexual identity based on her own experience: “The word “queer” fit for me, and I started to build up a self-description of my “orientation” in a way that doesn’t reference gender as an overarching concept, and offers a sage collection of ideas for designing your own unique sexual orientation.
* In “Queer Is A Verb,” Charlie Glickman, Education Program Manager at Good Vibrations, explores the revelatory potential of “queering” to examine received wisdom, assumptions, even our sexual identities. By queering, he notes, “Even when we leave something unchanged, we have changed our relationship to it.” Queer, he suggests, “has less to do with who you have sex with and more to do with how you do it, why you make the choices you make, and how you look at the world.”
* Sex and relationship expert Tammy Nelson, looks at the crumbling foundation of monogamy, defines the new monogamy, and provides a theoretical roadmap employing honesty and transparency to open stalled sexual relationships within marriage to new sexual possibilities.
* Cunning Minx, producer and host of the Polyamory Weekly podcast, offers sage advice on how to relate, negotiate, misbehave responsibly, and get results from sex-focused social media. “The internet has offered alternative weirdos something wonderful: a place where we can feel safe to explore, connect and let our freak flags fly.”
* “Sex-hacker,” performer and activist Maggie Mayhem presents a larger spectrum of sexual assault responses and things that community members can do that supports the victims or survivors of assault and cultivates a culture of change against sexual assault. Training in this area is essential, she insists, because “Sex communities …lack the resources of mainstream support and this is why sex positive dialogue about sexual assault and abuse is so vital.”
* In her well-documented piece, polyamorous feminist librarian Nadia West exposes the silencing of sexual assault, rape or abuse victims within kink communities and through the lens of personal experience asserts the need to actively support victims. “If you don’t get involved, don’t take sides, then you are by default supporting the perpetrator,” she says.
* Ruthie Neustifter, author of The Nice Girl’s Guide to Talking Dirty, observes that “Our sub-cultures exist within the context of a larger society that endorses intimate and sexualized violence through enforced, misguided constructs of romance, heteronormative gender roles, and entitlement, and she argues that countering the culture of intimate partner violence requires the constant, active rejection of the isolation, ignorance, and denial surrounding it.
* Sarah Elspeth Patterson, community organizer with the Sex Workers Outreach Project of New York City, points out that all too often, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual behavior and LGBTQI rights are discussed within the context of violence, discrimination, stigma and judgment, ignoring the “holistic and affirmative aspects of sexual life, including expression, autonomy and pleasure.”
* Sex worker advocate Sabrina Morgan critiques the class divisions in sex work, the social and professional fallout of being outed, violence because of the stigma attached to the job, suppositions about choosing sex work, stereotypes and assumptions about clients.
* The founder and director of the Red Umbrella Project, Audacia Ray argues that while sex-positive feminism been supportive of the rights of sex workers, it has not adequately engaged in the realities of sex work, especially regarding class, race, disability, and stigmatized sexualities; and that the media promotes stereotypes by not letting sex workers speak for themselves. “It’s time to find a new paradigm, one that will allow for a more authentic pursuit of the human rights of sex workers and will be more inclusive of the broad spectrum of experiences of people in the sex industry.”
* The book ends with the lush, pleasure-positive poem “Easy Does It,” by Leela Sinha, a self-described “rogue sex educator since middle school,” and founder of the 30 Day Pleasure Project.

We are fortunate to have Therese Schechter here with a preview of her new film,“How to Lose Your Virginity,” which she will show in Potomac Salon D at 12:00 today. Afterwards, there will be a discussion about virginity.

Momentum:  Making Waves in Sexuality, Feminism, and Relationships, affirms a multi-dimensional view of sexuality that exposes and confronts the fraudulent, heteronormative, one-dimensional abstinence until marriage version that gets so much air-time from fundamentalists, family-values politicians, and right-wing media bloviators.  This richly textured collection of revelatory articles showcases the inquiry and critique of sexuality activists into a broad range of sexualities.

• In the introduction, Dr. Joycelyn Elders shines the spotlight on sexual ignorance perpetuated by Bush-era abstinence programs and issues a clarion call for fact-based, comprehensive sexuality education.
• To begin with, Rebecca Chalker identifies the yet unacknowledged dynamic feminist Pleasure Revolution that changed sex for women and their partners after the sexual revolution of the 1960s left  intercourse-centered sex as the only route to pleasure.
• Therapist Esther Perel, author of Mating in Captivity, examines the Puritan roots of our discomfort with sexuality, argues that the American focus on achievement blocks erotic expression, and asserts that a healthy sense of erotic entitlement is built upon a relaxed, generous, and unencumbered attitude toward the pleasures of the body.
• Sexuality journalist Lara Riscol’s survey of anti-sex rhetoric will make your blood boil, but she cools it down, insisting that the best sex is for pleasure.  “It’s morning in America,” she boldly asserts, “and she has a hard-on!”
• Ramapo College senior Jill Grimaldi describes the rewards of educating her peers on the possibilities of self-empowerment through sexual knowledge.
• Joan Price, author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex, says it is “time to fight what I call the “ick factor”: our culture’s attitude that…that seniors who enjoy or desire sex are icky, pathetic, even ludicrous.”
• Ned Mayhem, a queer scientist and pornographer, points out the need for research on sexuality beyond the ivory tower and describes the PSIgasm Project, an open source independent science project creating devices to measure arousal and orgasm in the body directly.
• Bill Taverner, Director of the Center for Family Life Education, and author of numerous books, including Taking Sides:  Clashing Views of Sexuality, tells his own circuitous route to becoming a sexuality educator from scratch and makes a passionate argument for encouraging young professionals in the field of sexuality education.
• Professor Stef Woods explores the variegated opportunities, rewards and pitfalls of social media.
• Cultural sexologist Carol Queen dissects the benefits of pornography with a feminist critique and argues for porn in which “women’s sexuality [is] depicted as women would like our sexuality to be understood.”
• Allison Moon, author of the lesbian werewolf novel, Lunatic Fringe, and investigates the vertiginous advantages and pitfalls of new-media and self publishing.
• Polyamory advocates Lisa Speer, Brian Ballard and Jasmine Goldman explore the chilling effect that self-censorship has on sexuality and encourage new conversations, self-expression, and activism as antidotes to “the a partially expressed life.”
• Queer feminist legal activist Avory Faucette interrogates gender and sexual identity based on her own experience:  “The word “queer” fit for me, and I started to build up a self-description of my “orientation” in a way that doesn’t reference gender as an overarching concept, and offers a sage collection of ideas for designing your own unique sexual orientation.
• In “Queer Is A Verb,” Charlie Glickman, Education Program Manager at Good Vibrations, explores the revelatory potential of “queering” to examine received wisdom, assumptions, even our sexual identities.  By queering, he notes, “Even when we leave something unchanged, we have changed our relationship to it.” Queer, he suggests, “has less to do with who you have sex with and more to do with how you do it, why you make the choices you make, and how you look at the world.”
• Sex and relationship expert Tammy Nelson, looks at the crumbling foundation of monogamy, defines the new monogamy, and provides a theoretical roadmap employing honesty and transparency to open stalled sexual relationships within marriage to new sexual possibilities.
• Cunning Minx, producer and host of the Polyamory Weekly podcast, offers sage advice on how to relate, negotiate, misbehave responsibly, and get results from sex-focused social media.  “The internet has offered alternative weirdos something wonderful: a place where we can feel safe to explore, connect and let our freak flags fly.”
• “Sex-hacker,” performer and activist Maggie Mayhem presents a larger spectrum of sexual assault responses and things that community members can do that supports the victims or survivors of assault and cultivates a culture of change against sexual assault. Training in this area is essential, she insists, because “Sex communities …lack the resources of mainstream support and this is why sex positive dialogue about sexual assault and abuse is so vital.”
• In her well-documented piece, polyamorous feminist librarian Nadia West exposes the silencing of sexual assault, rape or abuse victims within kink communities and through the lens of personal experience asserts the need to actively support victims.  “If you don’t get involved, don’t take sides, then you are by default supporting the perpetrator,” she says.
• Ruthie Neustifter, author of The Nice Girl’s Guide to Talking Dirty, observes that “Our sub-cultures exist within the context of a larger society that endorses intimate and sexualized violence through enforced, misguided constructs of romance, heteronormative gender roles, and entitlement, and she argues that countering the culture of intimate partner violence requires the constant, active rejection of the isolation, ignorance, and denial surrounding it.
• Sarah Elspeth Patterson, community organizer with the Sex Workers Outreach Project of New York City, points out that all too often, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual behavior and LGBTQI rights are discussed within the context of violence, discrimination, stigma and judgment, ignoring the “holistic and affirmative aspects of sexual life, including expression, autonomy and pleasure.”
• Sex worker advocate Sabrina Morgan critiques the class divisions in sex work, the social and professional fallout of being outed, violence because of the stigma attached to the job, suppositions about choosing sex work, stereotypes and assumptions about clients.
• The founder and director of the Red Umbrella Project, Audacia Ray argues that while sex-positive feminism been supportive of the rights of sex workers, it has not adequately engaged in the realities of sex work, especially regarding class, race, disability, and stigmatized sexualities; and that the media promotes stereotypes by not letting sex workers speak for themselves. “It’s time to find a new paradigm, one that will allow for a more authentic pursuit of the human rights of sex workers and will be more inclusive of the broad spectrum of experiences of people in the sex industry.”
• The book ends with the lush, pleasure-positive poem “Easy Does It,” by Leela Sinha, a self-described “rogue sex educator since middle school,” and founder of the 30 Day Pleasure Project.

“If you’ve ever paid good money for a book that promised to put hot sex back into your marriage, you know how disappointing and dispiriting this genre can be. An exception is Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel. She’s a New York City psychotherapist who speaks nine languages and conducts therapy in six. Perel’s spirited and bold take on the paradoxes of domesticity and eroticism will pull you in and keep you there. She challenges the notion that great intimacy leads to great sex — in fact, she believes the opposite — and she questions, well, everything. You can’t exit from this book without your basic beliefs about sex — or the lack of it — undergoing a seismic shift. And what marriage can’t use that?”

Be sure to attend the closing plenary tomorrow at 2:30 tomorrow where former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and journalist Lara Riscol join Perel in a closing that will be open to the public for a $10 fee which will be donated to fund Dr. Elder’s chair in human sexuality at the University of Minnesota. Arrive by 2:00 PM to purchase your ticket if you are not a registered attendee.

March 29, 2012 Washington DC – MOMENTUM will be opening the closing plenary to the general public for a $10 donation which will go towards The Dr. Elders Chair in Human Sexuality at University of Minnesota Medical School. Alongside noted journalist, Lara Riscol, and therapist and international best-selling author, Esther Perel, former US Surgeon General, Dr. Joyceln Elders will speak and continue her lifelong mission of changing the sexual status quo and progressing the conversations we have about sex in America beyond the smut and sanctimony rhetoric that stagnates our growth and puts our health at risk.

Where: Crystal City Marriott at Reagan Airport, 1999 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA

When: April 1st, 2012 2:30 – 4:00 PM please arrive no later than 2:00pm to purchase tickets

From early in her career, Dr. Elders focused on advocating for adolescents, including assisting her patients in determining proper birth control and family planning. Appointed by then Governor William Clinton as head of the Arkansas Department of Health in 1987, Dr. Elders stirred up controversy with religious and conservative groups, as she successfully established a K-12 curriculum that included sex education, substance-abuse prevention, and programs to promote self-esteem in 1989.

President Clinton appointed Dr. Elders U.S. Surgeon General in 1993. In 1994, at the United Nations conference on AIDS, Dr. Elders was asked whether masturbation might be successful in preventing riskier sexual practices. She replied, ”I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught.” This statement stirred up a storm of controversy that led to her removal from office. Dr. Elders continues to believe that change can only be achieved when those in positions of authority can get people to listen and talk about difficult issues.

Since leaving office in 1995, she has remained a prominent figure in the public discourse around human sexuality and has been a champion for comprehensive sexuality education, reproductive rights, and sexual rights. Dr. Elders is currently teaming up with the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota Medical School to advance comprehensive science-based sexual health education. You can help support her efforts to continue to advance sexual health education by making an additional contribution online.

We very much understand and respect the need for privacy among our attendees and presenters at MOMENTUM. As a result we have a red NO Photos button that means just what it says, you are not to take any photos of anyone wearing a NO photos button. This button should be pinned to your lanyard directly above your badge.  

When taking photos please be aware of anyone in the background who may not wish to be photographed. Please choose to err on the side of caution and respect for your fellow attendees privacy at all times.

Badges must be worn at all time when in the conference space. Badges are required for admittance to all sessions, the vendor, sponsor, recharge and hospitality rooms and for the evening entertainment.

We are sharing the hotel space with guests and hotel employees who are not here for MOMENTUM. Please be respectful of that fact and refrain from any behavior that might be offensive to others.  There is no dress code, but we do ask that you dress in an appropriate manner especially when in public, shared areas of the hotel. It goes without saying, but there cannot be any nudity outside of your hotel room including at the pool.

We, and the hotel, reserve the right to remove anyone in violation of the privacy and conduct policy.

In a joint effort MOMENTUM and ArtPulp.net will encourage conference attendees to express themselves and share their unique identity through the visual arts in order to promote healthy views on sexuality and gender.

The project, dubbed “EyeDentify: How We See Who We Are,” will encourage participants to visually complete the statement “I am __________ and I _________ ” by thinking outside societal restrictions and view points on sex, sex work, identity, gender and current issues.

Thanks to ArtPulp, participants will be exposed to a wide range of tools like paint markers, crayons, colored pencil, sketching tools, charcoal on multiple mediums including newsprint, sketch paper, and more in order to capture inspiration when it strikes.  All work will be photographed and uploaded to the MconEyeDentify blog on Tumblr as well as being part of the inaugural online exhibition at ArtPulp.net.

Individuals who are not able to attend are encouraged to participate and email their original artworks to MconEyeDentify@gmail.com to be included or submit them directly to the ArtPulp.net galleries.

“I was really honored to be part of such an amazing conference.  After attending Momentum last year I knew that the entire weekend will be filled with so much creativity energy we had to be there as part of the launch of our site” says ArtPulp.net founder Drew Griffiths.

We’ve always wanted to incorporate art at MOMENTUM; teaming with ArtPulp allows us to bring these two communities together to create a great platform for furthering our message. This project will be something that will carry on past the conference and allow those unable to attend to make their artistic statement.

Visit MconEyeDentify.tumblr.com to learn more.

About ArtPulp.net

Our mission is simple to foster and celebrate creativity in all forms and variations of the artistic process.  So what does that mean?  It means any individual who creates a piece of art with integrity and respect to the process regardless of its final form or function should have the venue to exhibit their work. True artistic process is built on integrity not exclusivity.  This is the fundamental principal of ArtPulp.  We are proud to accept and display as many works of art as we can support technologically as long as they adhere to principles of integrity for the creative process.  For more visit www.artpulp.net

AN EXCLUSIVE SEMINAR FOR MOMENTUM CONFERENCE ATTENDEES

Sunday, April 1, 2012 – 5:00 PM

Hospitality Suite

The 2nd Annual Momentum Conference has offered you a chance to network and connect with other sex-positive folks. Attend this special final event to find out all you need to know to take your sex-positive work and business to the next level.

Topics include:

Business entity and tax information for all businesses

Benefits and risks of keeping information.

Marketing vs. privacy/discretion concerns.

Keeping work and personal lives separate.

Protecting yourself and your clients.

Sexquire

Get your Saturday night at Momentum off to a great start at the Good Vibrations Meet & Greet! Charlie Glickman & Carol Queen (from Good Vibrations) are hosting an evening of Bellinis poured by the fabulous Tina Horn. Join us for sparkly drinks, scrumptious chocolate & scintillating conversation and have a little social time before enjoying the rest of the night’s fun.

When: Saturday, March 31, 6:00-7:30 pm
Where: Dulles Hospitality Suite, 
3rd Floor

*From the Sex Worker Meet & Greet invite,

MOMENTUM was conceived as a safe space for sex workers to not only attend but also to identify as sex workers. It surprised me last year both how many sex workers attended, and how many had no idea how many other sex workers were present until afterward – let alone how much community support they had. To that end, all current and former sex workers attending MOMENTUM are invited to attend a special sex worker-only meet and greet before the conference begins.

Conference organizers Tess Danesi and Dee Dennis will introduce themselves and their vision for MOMENTUM as a space not only safe for, but respectful of sex workers.

A sex toy raffle will also be taking place to benefit SWOP Bay Area.

Come and connect with other sex workers attending MOMENTUM over hors d’oeuvres before joining the larger conference community!

RSVP for this event via Eventbrite.  Location will be emailed after your RSVP is approved.

Note: This event is open to current and former sex workers only. Allies are dearly beloved but should respect the private nature of this event.

Any questions should sent to Sabrina Morgan at sabrinamorgan@gmail.com.