My friend, Larry Iannotti, is writing an academic paper justifying the reasons for the recent Survey of Violence and Discrimination against Sexual Minorities and he is seeking stories:

Come and celebrate the awarding of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards! The awards will be MCed by Lolita Wolf.

The first 100 attendees will get a gift bag of goodies from the Sexies sponsors. There will also be a silent auction and raffle to support the awards, which will include fabulous prizes including original art by Julio Aguilera, Sophy Naess, and David Steinberg; signed copies of books by winners, judges, and supporters; sex toys; gift certificates for sexy pleasures; and more!

Meet the judges and the winners. Judith Levine will talk about her experiences with media coverage of sexual topics when Harmful to Minors was released. Carol Queen will be there. See a full list of winners, judges and more.

The party will be Saturday October. 4, 6:30-9:30pm, in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, NYC. $5 cover.

Would you like to volunteer and get in free and be guaranteed a goodie bag? Volunteer shifts are only one hour. Contact Susan Wright at wrightnyc at aol dot com

The University Consortium for Sexuality Research and Training (UCSRT) – housed at the National Sexuality Resource Center and Department of Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University – is funding student leaders (graduate and undergrad) to lead a UCSRT campus chapter.  Apply here.  E-mail application to ucsrtat [at] sfsu [.] edu by May 21.

Students will receive a $1,000 stipend, $2,500 in programming funds, and a scholarship to attend the National Sexuality Resource Center’s 2008 Summer Institute on Politics, Sexuality, and Education.

UCSRT campus chapters – part of a pilot initiative – will build networks and provide interdisciplinary, policy-relevant training to students and faculty on sexuality research, education, and training issues.  Chapters will provide a vibrant community where students, faculty, and community-based organizations exchange innovative ideas and advance the field of sexuality studies. 

National Student Interns will play a leadership role in starting and developing a UCSRT campus group, with the support of UCSRT staff, for the 2008-2009 academic year.  Four National Student Interns/pilot campus groups will be selected.

Hey sex bloggers – put those posts about sexuality to work in support of a great causes, plus the opportunity to win awesome prizes.

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and it’s a big month for the Rape and Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization’s goal is to raise enough money to be able to offer victims of sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape an online hotline offering counseling and assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. RAINN’s Chelsea Bowers, Kevin Apgar and Sexography author Carly Milne have banded together to launch a one-of-a-kind online fundraising event to help RAINN reach that goal… but they need your help! All you have to do is do what you already do – blog, but with a twist.

The Deal:
Carly’s book, Sexography, is both a tragic and comedic memoirs about her journey of sexual self-discovery. And now, it’s your turn to blog your own version of Sexography. Even if you’re not a “sex writer” per se, we want to encourage you to explore the comedy, fear, silliness, scariness, million-and-one emotions and million-and-one experiences that are mental, physical, emotional and spiritual, all of which make up the rich tapestry of sexuality. So if you want to write about how your dog watches you masturbate or how you can’t stand porn or about your first time or what you think of sex in the media and how it affects you personally, you should. What you write about is up to you, just as long as it falls under the “sexuality” header. Personal stories about survival are strongly encouraged.

For each Sexography blog entry you post, you’ll be soliciting donations for RAINN from the readers you entertain and engage with your commentary. But the best part? Not only will you be helping an incredible cause, but the bloggers who come in first, second and third place for most funds raised will nab fabulous prizes. Simply place a link to the RAINN Donation Page (https://donate.rainn.org – that “s” at the end of “http” is important!) either at the top or bottom of each GBBMC-related post. Also make sure to tell your readers to put “GBBMC2008″ and your name in the more information box when they donate. It’s the only way we’ll know that the donation was made because of what you wrote.

Also, since the contest period spans a month during which you can write as many or as few entries as you like, we will be awarding weekly prizes to the entries we deem to be “best” based on our personal judgments.

Tell them what they can win, Bob! (seriously, the prizes are sweet)

Remember – you only have until Sunday, March 30th to sign up as a blogger/fundraising sponsor! Sign up by e-mailing gbbmc2008[at]gmail.com. Please help us raise funds for an incredibly worthy charity and cause!

What You Need To Do:

* Sign up (if you’re from the United States of America and Canada).
* Place one of the two available GBBMC2008/Sexography/RAINN icons (at right, 150px wide, and above, 350 px wide) on your blog for the duration of the contest, April 1-30, 2008.
* Blog about sexuality as it relates to your life as many times as you like between April 1 and April 30, 2008.
* On each of these posts, link to the RAINN donation page.
* Make sure to tell people to reference the GBBMC2008 and include your name with their donation so you receive credit.
* If you’d like and know how, trackback to the original post about this on Kevin Apgar’s site so we and other visitors know where to find your posts and can read them as well.

Important Links:

* Sign Up Now (e-mail link) – gbbmc2008[at]gmail.com
* RAINN Donation Page
* Contest Prizes
* Full Contest Rules and Regulations
* GBBMC2008 Sponsors (please visit their sites)

About RAINN:
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline with a nationwide partnership of more than 1,100 local rape treatment hotlines, providing victims of sexual assault with free, confidential services around the clock. The hotline helped 137,039 sexual assault victims in 2005 and has helped more than one million since it began in 1994. RAINN’s goal is to expand its hotline services with the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline, which will be the nation’s first secure web-based hotline that provides live, secure and completely confidential help to victims 24/7 through an interface as intuitive as instant messaging. RAINN educates more than 120 million Americans each year about sexual assault. RAINN also publicizes the hotline’s free, confidential services; educates the public about sexual assault; and leads national efforts to improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice. RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization and has been ranked as one of America’s 100 Best Charities by Worth Magazine.

About Sexography:
By turns serious and playful, Sexography maps the coming of age, tragedy and rebirth of one woman’s sexual self. From “making out” with imaginary Hollywood stars in her closet (and getting busted) to coming to terms with abuse, assault and rape, from embracing her curiosity enough to become a sex toy tester to accepting and dealing with her tumultuous past, Carly Milne paints a brutally honest – and, at times, amusing – picture of what it’s like to learn about and experience sex in every sense of the word. From the earliest experiences in her childhood homes in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta to present day Los Angeles, Milne guides readers through the sometimes troubled waters of female sexuality with a mixture of candidness and humor. Whether you’ve been through similar experiences or just know someone who has, Sexography will change your mind about why and how survivors survive.

Here’s my (old school Live Girl Review style!) review of Sexography:

An Action Alert from NCSF

October 12, 2007 – The Catholic League, Concerned Women for America and Americans for Truth have called for a boycott of Miller Brewing Company because they are one of the sponsors of Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. “Miller is sponsoring an incredibly outrageous and palpably anti-Christian event,” said Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League.

Miller is feeling the heat, and we need you to email Miller Brewing Company and thank them for their continued support of the Folsom Street Fair. Please congratulate them for not caving in to pressure to cancel their sponsorship of the Fair. And please tell them you’re glad to buy their products in appreciation for their support of the largest SM-Leather-Fetish event in America!

NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF strongly encourage you to support Miller Brewing and Folsom Street Fair by emailing:

Julian Green
Miller Spokesman

Sample letter:

Dear Mr. Green,

I wanted to write and commend you for your continued support of the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. I understand you’ve been the target of religious extremists who have attacked you, and I wanted to tell you that I will proudly continue to purchase Miller Brewing products because of your support for diversity and freedom of expression.

signed,
your name

###

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
917-848-6544
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org