We’re happy to announce the winners of a free ticket to MOMENTUM, a $50 gift card from Fascinations and a gift basket full of goodies from Wet. So without further ado, the winners are KaiBoi and CristaAnne aka PinkSexGeek.
Here’s their winning entries (posted with permission):
Why I’m Choosing To Attend Momentum
Hey Momentum-building folks!
I have to admit that while I am semi-local to DC, I did not hear about the Momentum conference until my friend stated he “might be going” to it on FetLife. Firstly, the part of my sexual journey that I am most invested in is learning how to incorporate more sex positive practices into my life and try to find another people to help me grow mentally in the scene. I lived in New York for two years and was spoiled with conversations about the intersections of gender, sex, race, class, (dis)ability, etc that I could have face-to-face everyday. I seek events such as Momentum as a way to stimulate my mind and expand my way of thinking.
I think what sets Momentum apart from other events I wanted to take part in was its focus on sex work from the female point-of-view. As a transman, I find it difficult to learn how I could fit into the world of professional sex work. The session I am most looking forward to is Dylan Ryan’s presentation entitled “How New Media Has Changed The Way We Think About Porn“. I think this discussion will provide insight about how those of us who live far away from the epicenters of porn can begin to develop a sense of self as a sex worker. I also wanted to engage Dylan in conversation about what differences exist for porn targeted towards heterosexuals and those that are generally made for the LGBTQQ communities.
While I hope I’m picked for one of the scholarships, I just want to thank you ahead of time for providing a space where all genders can come and learn about media and its affect on our sexuality. I look forward to meeting you all in a matter of weeks.
Best,
Kai
This Sex Geek is Going to Momentum
One of my personal and professional achievements that I am most proud of is the fact that, even if it was only for a short period, I was able to create and nurture a sex positive environment in Texas.
Most of my career as a Sex Toy Shop Goddess was spent under the infamous Texas Sex Toy Ban and my career was illegal. Every day I went to work there was a bit of terror in the back of my mind that I’d be arrested for helping a woman buy her first vibrator or for giving a couple honest advice on cockrings. When not helping customers I was putting stickers on every single item we sold that stated the item was for novelty use only, and every time I did a part of my soul was crushed. I kept going to work because I knew then as I do now that what I was doing was important, that I was helping people in a profound manner.
Being sex-positive in that climate wasn’t easy. While there are and were vibrant sex-positive communities under the surface we knew better than to draw attention to ourselves. Most of the time I was a small island in a sea of hate and fear. Truth be told I was incredibly lonely. The hours I put into my job and my physical location meant that traveling to conferences and events wasn’t possible, so I’d read other people’s accounts with jealousy dripping from every pore.
Finally, years later, the stars have aligned for me and after much wrangling I’m going to be able to attend Momentum. I’d heard about it for a while, I knew many friends were attending/presenting, I read the website and looked over the sessions longingly but out of habit I didn’t realize that “Hey, this is in my backyard. I can actually ATTEND” until a few weeks ago. Since that dawning realization only a few days ago did I nail down the various details and now it is hitting me that I am actually, FINALLY, attending a sex-positive conference after so many years of longing. Two full days soaking up the positivity, meeting so many folks in the flesh, and really, honestly experiencing not being an island.
I cannot pick one session that I am most excited about, but I can narrow it down to two:
20) Sex Positive Interventions: The Feminist Sex Wars and Beyond Presenters
Lynn Comella
Carol QueenIn this session, Dr. Carol Queen, staff sexologist at Good Vibrations, and Dr. Lynn Comella, a women’s studies professor at UNLV, discuss the history of the feminist sex wars and the rise of sex positive feminism. More specifically, they will discuss the importance of sex positive feminist interventions – writing and blogging, media commentary, and other forms of cultural production, including pornography – in helping to mediate and reshape public discourses about sexuality, sex work, and sexual commerce.
25) Ethics and Responsibilities for Sex-Positive Writing
Moderator
Dr. Ruth (Dr. Ruthie) Neustifter
Panelists
Always Aroused Girl
Princess Kali
Shanna KatzWhat are the ethical responsibilities of sex-positive writers as our information becomes increasing accessible to a more diverse audience? This facilitated panel of writers will discuss considerations and ethics of personal sexual experience, blog profit and sponsorship, sex & disability, sex & survivors of sexual assault and gender and sexual diversity from a sex-positive feminist perspective.
Dr Ruthie? Carol Queen? Shanna Katz? AAG? I’m fanning myself in excitement already.
I’ll be easy to spot at the convention: I’m that pink haired woman who looks completely blissed out the entire time.
So, there you have it, our winners! And what awesome entries these are. It really makes all the hard work (yes, I know, we’ve been making it look easy, but I have news for you…) worthwhile when I see how appreciative and eager people are to have a safe and welcoming space to talk about all these issues so close to my heart. I’ll admit to tearing up a bit reading these, of course, I’m kind of a softie.
We welcome our two winners, Kai and ChristaAnne, and all the other attendees, presenters and volunteers to MOMENTUM and we thank you again for all your support. Keep spreading the word and let’s make this the can’t miss sexuality conference of the year!
