I’d like to let you know a little about Momentum Conference 2011 — a conference discussing sexuality, feminism, new media and much more. Created by Tied Up Events and the community at large, [...]]]> For any of you interested in gender, sexuality, social/new media, identity, society, sociology, kink, LGBTQ, non-monogamy, diversity, education, sex ed, counseling, therapy, etc…read this!

I’d like to let you know a little about Momentum Conference 2011 — a conference discussing sexuality, feminism, new media and much more. Created by Tied Up Events and the community at large, and sponsored by Fascinations, it’s taking place in Washington, DC, April 1-3 2011 and should be absolutely wonderful!

Interested? Read below and check out MomentumCon.com for more information, to apply to present, and much more! I’ve already submitted my application, and I know others have too; it’s going to be an AMAZING conference!

-Shanna

The phenomenal growth of online communication has given rise to an amazing amount of sharing, learning and experimenting with different expressions of sexuality, relationships and feminism. MOMENTUM provides a safe place to listen, discuss and learn about the ways the web has impacted our sexuality without the fear of reprisal or shaming. It is a space for acceptance and appreciation of diversity, including for those in the LGBTQ, sex-work, BDSM and non-monogamous communities.

During MOMENTUM we will discuss ways to bridge the baffling dichotomies our culture creates around sexuality. While on one hand we have unprecedented sexual freedom, on the other we continue to police sexuality with a frightening vigor. Abortion laws, restrictions on gay marriage, abstinence programs, medicalization of sex, fear of pornography and prosecutions for teenage sexting are examples of one side of the spectrum. The discomfort that strives to make us keep our sexuality hidden conflicts with the use of sex — especially the female body — to sell everything from food to cars to “performance enhancing” products.

Each participant will leave the conference with new perspectives, new connections, and a plan to carry the MOMENTUM forward into 2011 and beyond.

This post, The Momentum Conference 2011, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on July 29, 2010.

Today (July 4th), every thing at Fascinations and FunLove.com is 25% off today; toys, lubes, books, DVDs, massage oils, condoms, etc. If you’ve been waiting to get a Jimmy Jane Form 6, or a Vixskin dildo, or a Spareparts Harness, or some Maximus lube, or a Good Releasing DVD…now is [...]]]> Hey folks –

Today (July 4th), every thing at Fascinations and FunLove.com is 25% off today; toys, lubes, books, DVDs, massage oils, condoms, etc. If you’ve been waiting to get a Jimmy Jane Form 6, or a Vixskin dildo, or a Spareparts Harness, or some Maximus lube, or a Good Releasing DVD…now is the time. Enjoy!

Fascinations 4th of July Sale

This post, Fascinations Toys 25% Off, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on July 4, 2010.

Do you want to make your D/s relationship the best it can be for you and your partners?

http://www.fhp-inc.com/passionatebonds.html

Instructed by Midori & Laura Antoniou Join Marketplace series author Laura Antoniou and educator Midori for a special weekend intensive designed for people who enjoy authentic power dynamics and D/s, who want to consciously create [...]]]> Passionate Bonds: Creating EmPowered D/s Relationships

Do you want to make your D/s relationship the best it can be for you and your partners?

http://www.fhp-inc.com/passionatebonds.html

Instructed by Midori & Laura Antoniou
Join Marketplace series author Laura Antoniou and educator Midori for a special weekend intensive designed for people who enjoy authentic power dynamics and D/s, who want to consciously create quality relationships that suit their personal hungers & needs in the context of the real world

Event Dates: July 30th through August 1, 2010.
Location: Private Location, Downtown Toronto
Registration now open!
Cost: $450 first person in the order, $400 for each additional individual.
Class size will be strictly limited to allow for a unique quality experience emphasizing individualized attention. Through the unique curriculum and its innovative tools, each individual or relationship unit will create their own customized manual of effective protocol, rules, etiquette and codes of conduct.

Tired of searching for the ultimate guide to your D/s or SM relationship? Do you want to make your BDSM relationship the best it can be for you and your partners?

Join Marketplace series author Laura Antoniou and internationally acclaimed educator Midori for a special weekend intensive designed for real people who enjoy power dynamics and want bring a level of authenticity and quality to their relationships.

Students will learn about the many styles of relationships we enjoy, and, through guided lessons and exercises, will discover their own unique relationship needs and systems. The instructors work closely with each student to help them learn and explore, and there is plenty of time throughout the weekend for personal reflection as well as pure fun!

There are no requirements for experience or expertise; anyone who desires or engages in relationships in which dominance and submission or the expression of power exchange is welcome. Full engagement and participation in the workshop is required; communication and a willingness to fully explore the work is of vital importance. This weekend is excellent for those already involved in such relationships or households of 2 or more people; it’s also ideal for the individual who wishes to gain a clearer concept of their own needs and desires on a solo basis.

This post, Intensive Weekend: Passionate Bonds, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on June 29, 2010.

Now, while of course there are unexplored areas, or even lesser known ones, this map is a great example of the HUGE spectrum that is sexuality, including everything from fisting to shoe fetish, love of slash fiction, furries, imagination, dating, gender, orientation, impact play, sex machines, [...]]]> Thanks to Babeland for pointing out this brilliant map to me!

Now, while of course there are unexplored areas, or even lesser known ones, this map is a great example of the HUGE spectrum that is sexuality, including everything from fisting to shoe fetish, love of slash fiction, furries, imagination, dating, gender, orientation, impact play, sex machines, sex toys, and so much more. The field of sexuality is sooooo incredibly wide, and this map does a fairly good job of covering it all. It’s a bit hard to read in this size, so click on it to make it bigger.  Enjoy!

-Shanna

The Map of Sex(uality)

This post, The Map of Sex, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on June 24, 2010.

Why? It is a bit similar to the idea behind Queer Eye Candy, in that they both are striving to create more queer visibility in this world. Reclaiming our bodies, and celebrating our bodies, and not apologizing for who [...]]]> I found this project from a reader for my other blog. What project?  This project. It’s freaking brilliant.

Why? It is a bit similar to the idea behind Queer Eye Candy, in that they both are striving to create more queer visibility in this world. Reclaiming our bodies, and celebrating our bodies, and not apologizing for who we are, what we look like, and more. This project is a huge step in the right direction.

Who? This rocking project about queer bodies is being created by a undergrad student in Arizona named James, who is doing this project to get a large variety of pictures of queer bodies, whoever and however they may be or may identify; different abilities, different sizes, different gender presentations, butch, femme, boi, grrl, , etc. Here is a little from the info page about this queer bodies project:

Queer communities counter, reject, and reinvent ideas of family, home, love and beauty. We try to make spaces for ourselves: for bodies and desires and lives other than those we were taught. Our bodies become our stories of assimilation and resistance and redemption and gender and love. They bear the scars and stretch marks and laugh lines of lives in progress, and I feel such love and pride for each of us, these queer bodies, these people who are so marked.

I want to document the variation and ferocity of queer experience. I don’t want to situate queers in opposition to straight people. This isn’t about them. We do not need to justify our existence. We are people, and that is enough. I want to paint people who are making and working and loving and becoming whole, happy, and healthy. I chose portraits because I know that there is no one person or image that shows the whole of queer experience, it is different for each person. There are only small snippets, pieces of the greater picture, that can be found in each individual queer life.

I’m collecting images of queer people to paint so that I can document some part of queer experience.

Honestly, this is such an amazing concept, and I really suggest that everyone who feels comfortable enough participate and bring more visibility to queer bodies.

-Shanna

This post, What Are Queer Bodies?, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on June 12, 2010.

According to this recent study done by Dr. Nanette Gartrell and published in the Journal Of Pediatrics purports that children of lesbian parents are better behaved.

Now, one would think that they’d be fairly on par with straight parents, or single parents, but according to this research, using Child Behavior Checklist, and going on for [...]]]> Who’d have thunk?

According to this recent study done by Dr. Nanette Gartrell and published in the Journal Of Pediatrics purports that children of lesbian parents are better behaved.

Now, one would think that they’d be fairly on par with straight parents, or single parents, but according to this research, using Child Behavior Checklist, and going on for 25 years, the children of lesbian parents were better adapted, and behaved better than those of other oriented parents.

I wonder what this study would look like in another 25 years?  I mean, 25 years ago, how many lesbians were parenting, and how “unusual” was it for kids to grow up with two moms (or two dads)? As someone who is in her mid 20s, I remember that my private elementary/middle school was one of the few in my area that welcomed LGBTQ families.  I wonder if lesbian parents were over-trying on their kids, encouraging model behavior even more, because of the immense scrutiny on them. Perhaps the study, redone with today’s parents, would show all kids to be more in the middle of the behvior. Or maybe there really is something to be said for lesbian parenting — who knows?

I can say that our cats, growing up with queer parents, are pretty much in the middle; sometimes, they’re little angels, and sometimes, the destroyers of cities (well, not that bad).

Thoughts?

-Shanna

This post, Lesbians Raise Better Behaved Kids, originally appeared on Shanna Katz M.Ed -- Sexuality Educator on June 8, 2010.