MOMENTUM: Making Waves in Sexuality, Feminism and Relationships

MOMENTUM: The Anthology!

Mar 192012

We’ve gone and done it. Because organizing a conference just isn’t quite enough work for your intrepid organizers (that would be us, Tess and Dee, we’re waving at you), we decided to add another project to fill up our spare time. Of course, we wanted it to be something amazing, and since we have a group of amazing presenters, who also happen to be writers, we decided to put together the first MOMENTUM anthology. Thankfully a lot of our presenters thought this was a smashing idea, and generously wrote essays based on their 2012 sessions. So you can take the con home with you! Or if you missed it, for whatever reason, you can download the book on Amazon and read all about it. It’s the next best thing to being there!

MOMENTUM, the conference, deals with a plethora of issues that revolve around the themes of sexuality, feminism and relationships. In today’s climate, with a veritable war on women happening all around us -the Rush vs Sandra brouhaha, Susan G. Komen and the Planned Parenthood nightmare, worries about the availability of birth control, and some newspapers pulling Gary Trudeau’s dead on Doonesbury strips dealing with compulsory transvaginal ultrasounds prior to abortions – events like MOMENTUM become even more crucial.

This collection, begins with a foreword by a truly amazing and inspirational woman, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, that reads like a rousing call to action, something those of us who believe in MOMENTUM, can well relate to and ends with the hauntingly, beautiful poem by Leela Sinha, Easy Does It, that reflects on what would happen if we let pleasure be a guide. And in between that motivational start and reflective end, you’ll find the same diversity there is at MOMENTUM; stories about sex work and social justice, about the Pleasure Revolution, about the challenges of being a sex educator, about combating sexual abuse and violence within our communities, about senior sex and about sexual orientation and gender and much, much more.

We are so very proud of this book and so very grateful to the authors of the essays and to our co-editor, Inara De Luna, who can publish a mean e-book. Seek her out if you need assistance! Wait, don’t, we need her!

Now go, check it out on Amazon – Momentum: Making Waves in Sexuality, Feminism, & Relationships - and pick it up for only $9.99. That’s a lot of smarts for ten bucks!

Transgender Basics

Mar 182012

Transgender Basics is a 20 minute educational film on the concepts of gender and transgender people. Two providers from the Center’s Gender Identity Project (GIP) discuss basic concepts of gender, sexual orientation, identity and gender roles. Three transgender community members share their personal experiences of being trans and genderqueer. The film targets service providers and others working with the LGBT community, but it also provides a fascinating glimpse into gender and identity for the general public. “Our culture likes to make things simple, and gender isn’t.” Carrie Davis, Transgender Community Organizer, in Transgender Basics.

For more information contact the Gender Identity Project at 212-620-7310 or at http://www.genderidentityproject.org .

The Gender Identity Project is a program at the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. Find more information at http://www.gaycenter.org, http://www.youtube.com/lgbtcenternyc,http://www.facebook.com/lgbtcenternyc, http://www.twitter.com/lgbtcenternyc

DVDs of this video are now available at http://www.genderidentityproject.org.

Former US Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, Joins MOMENTUM’s Closing Keynote Plenary

Feb 292012

We’re thrilled to announce the addition of former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, to our closing keynote plenary. Alongside noted journalist, Lara Riscol, and therapist and international best-selling author, Esther Perel, Dr. Elders, will 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.

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 a contribution online.

Because of the late addition of Dr. Elders to our closing plenary, we have extended the regular registration fee of $100 until March 10th. After March 10th, registration will be $150.

Last year, registration sold out in advance of the conference, and we are on target to sell out again this year. We will NOT be selling tickets at the conference, so if you’re planning on attending, please try and get your tickets early and at the lower price!

Presenter News 11/16/11

Nov 162011

Say Happy Birthday to presenter, Jaclyn Friedman and join her for a combo 40th birthday blow out and book launch party for her new book, What You Really Really Want; The Smart Girl’s Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety on Sunday, November 20th at 7PM at Fontana’s, which just happens to be one of your organizers’ favorite NYC haunts.

Today also finds Tammy Nelson and Bill Taverner in the news. Tammy talks about affair-proofing your marriage over at Huffington Post and Bill is quoted in the New York Times piece, Teaching Good Sex.

More Presenter News

Nov 132011

On November 7th we linked to a piece written by Nadia West for Good Vibrations Magazine. After her assailant commented on her post, identifying himself in the process, Good Vibrations took the post down. Thanks to Kitty Stryker, you can read Nadia’s original piece on PurrVersatility.

Nadia West, a panelist on Being the Change you Want to See: Helping Stem the Tide of Silence about Sexual Abuse in Sex-Positive Communities,discusses this very important issue today in ~~Good Vibrations Magazine~~ PurrVersatility in her post What to Do When Sex-Negative Actions Happen in Sex-Positive Communities? (link has been updated). Get a heads up on what will be discussed in her MOMENTUM session by reading this excellent post.

Presenter News – Call for Submissions for Senior Sex Anthology

Nov 082011

Presenter and author of Naked at Our Age and Better Than I Ever Expected, Joan Price, has a call out for submissions for a senior sex anthology to be published by Seal. Submissions aren’t due until February 1, 2012 so you have plenty of time to get your writing on. Joan will consider stories from the soft and romantic to the kinky and edgy (yay!) as long as they demonstrate high quality writing and have an interesting plot and alluring characters.

Details follow:

(11/1/11: I’m bringing this Call for Submissions to the top again to remind you to send me your complete contact info if you’d like to submit a story or personal essay to this anthology. The submission isn’t due until February, but I’d like your contact info ahead. Thanks! I’ve also added some updates.)

Joan Price is seeking erotic stories and memoir essays of high literary quality from writers over age 50, featuring steamy characters also over age 50, for a senior erotica anthology to be published Spring 2013 by Seal Press.

Will this be your typical erotica anthology with a few wrinkles?

No, the truth is that we seniors don’t respond to the sopping-wet panties and rock-hard erections that are the hallmark of traditional, youth-oriented erotica. Instead, we want erotica that we can relate to, that encompasses the changes and adaptations of age, that acknowledges how we like to be stimulated. Age is accepted, celebrated, and sensually enjoyed.

Characters may be having spicy sex with partners they love and have loved for decades; or with new loves or casual encounters; or solo with hands, vibrators, memories, and fantasies. Although I admit my bias towards erotica that is tender and loving, I’m also looking for edgy and kinky stories for a balanced collection.

Seal Press and I will choose submissions of high literary quality, not just good, explicit sex scenes. Arouse us with a sexy, well-crafted

plot we haven’t read before, characters who entice us and feel real to us, language that describes sex in a new way. I welcome diversity of all kinds, including race, ethnic background, gender identification, sexual orientation, disability, and every other kind of diversity.

Word length: 1,500-3,000 words, previously unpublished preferred.

Payment: $100 on acceptance and 2 copies of the book on publication.

Submission deadline: February 1, 2012 (earlier submissions preferred). Please submit Word document, double-spaced, Times or Times New Roman font. Authors may submit up to 2 contributions.

Before you submit (right now would be good!), please email me at SeniorErotica@gmail.com with the header “senior erotica submission” and include your 75-100-word author bio written in the third person and complete contact information: legal name, pseudonym if applicable, mailing address, email address, and phone. Please include your age, also (which won’t be public unless you want it to be). I’ll put you in my database of potential contributors and update you as the project progresses.

Please feel free to copy and forward.

Thank you!

Joan Price

9/22/11 update: I’m receiving submissions already — thank you! I’d prefer the sex scenes to take place at the characters’ current age (over 50, 60, 70…). A story or two with flashbacks to younger years is fine, but I’m getting too many youthful flashbacks and too few current-age erotic scenes. What makes a story sexy and arousing at our age? That’s your challenge!

10/4/11: Please read this new post updating what I’m seeking — even if you already submitted your story.

11/1/11: I know it’s tempting to write about older characters having sex with impossibly attractive, young partners, and yes, it’s ok if you’ve written a truly fabulous story in that vein — but I’d love to see more stories about older characters who are wildly attracted to each other and have amazing sex together. Let’s show our youth-oriented culture (and ourselves!) that we’re sexy at this age, too.

Presenters Making Waves

Nov 072011

It’s a busy day for our fabulous presenters as they go about creating the kind of change we all want to see and making the world a better, more sex-positive, place to live.

Nadia West, a panelist on Being the Change you Want to See: Helping Stem the Tide of Silence about Sexual Abuse in Sex-Positive Communities, discusses this very important issue today in Good Vibrations Magazine in her post What to Do When Sex-Negative Actions Happen in Sex-Positive Communities? Get a heads up on what will be discussed in her MOMENTUM session by reading this excellent post.

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Want to learn about desire and getting the sex you really want all from the comfort of your couch? And get 5 AASECT CE’s while you learn? Presenter Tammy Nelson joins Gina Odgen for their semi-annual teleseminar series resuming on Wed., Nov 9, at noon ET - with all new material. Remember that you can join any time, because all sessions are recorded, so you can download them and listen when it is convenient for you

This telesemenar is engaging and interactive, filled with exercises and techniques, and designed as an introduction for students and new therapists as well as a lively and nuanced refresher for seasoned therapists.

The Return of Desire – Getting the Sex You Want

A Teleseminar for Health Professionals

Fall, 2011, Five Wednesdays

Approved for 5 AASECT CEs

Gina Ogden, PhD, LMFT www.GinaOgden.com

& Tammy Nelson, PhD, LPC www.DrTammyNelson.com

All sessions meet by telephone from 12:00-1:00 pm US Eastern Time. Call-in numbers provided on registration. Call from anywhere in the world. All registrants immediately receive downloads of sessions, so you can participate even if you cannot attend in person.

Session 1-Nov 9: Dynamics of Sexual Desire…

Session 2-Nov 16: Imago Techniques for Couples…

Session 3-Nov 30: Menopause and Andropause…

Session 4-Dec 7: Breathing, Imagining, Visualization for Pleasure…

Session 5-Dec 14: Poly, Kink, and Other Edgy Subjects…

Entire series: $250 (student rate available)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Or contact Dr. Tammy Nelson at tammy@tammynelson.org or 203-438-3007

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Presenter and author Jaclyn Friedman has a must read article on Jezebel today. So go and read an excerpt below and then head over to Jezebel to read The Trouble with ‘It Just Happened‘ in its entirety.

“It just happened” is incredibly common when it comes to sexual relationships. It’s also the enemy of what you really really want.  When we say “it just happened” (and we don’t mean “I was incredibly drunk or high or asleep and therefore not aware enough of my surroundings to have actively participated,” which is sexual assault, not sex), what we’re doing is denying responsibility for our sexual and romantic decisions. That can feel pretty appealing, especially if you’re not comfortable with your sexuality or don’t believe you deserve pleasure and safety. If we imagine that sex and relationships “just happen” to us, that they’re really beyond our control, then we can’t be blamed for anything that goes wrong, or shamed for being the sexual people we are, or feel embarrassed for wanting satisfaction.

More Presenter News for the 6th of November

Nov 062011

Want to know how to fight fair in a marriage and if you can maintain privacy within your relationship? Over at AOL, closing keynote plenary presenter, marriage and family therapist and author of Mating in Captivity, Esther Perel, shares her thoughts.

Presenter News – November 6th

Nov 062011

Awesome and ever so sweet presenter, Francisco Ramirez, joins VJ Fixx and takes part in MTV’s Vox Pop talking to the people where they are, in the street, about one night stands. Stay tuned till the end to see Francisco getting his glorious groove on. Don’t be shy, Francisco, what New Yorker hasn’t had sex at The St. Marks Hotel?