Center for Sex and Culture

Anatomy of Pleasure Intensive with Drs. Robert Lawrence and Carol Queen

Three separate and different lectures! 

Saturdays, July 14, 21 & 28, 10am-2pm at the Center for Sex and Culture — 1349 Mission St., San Francisco

Pay what you can — suggested cost is $40 per session.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR SEX EDUCATORS —  especially self-taught ones or those who have never had a formal anatomy class!

Want to know more about the senses? Who doesn’t? Find new combinations to make you and yours hotter, and learn the body’s many sensory secrets. Join us for a thoroughly eye (and flesh) opening tour of the body with way more area covered than just that enticing spot between your legs (though we will delve in there as well). Learn how nearly any sense can be a source of erotic inspiration! This is especially relevant for us kinky sorts who already think of the entire body as their canvas.  

Dr. Robert Lawrence has been lecturing about human anatomy and sexuality since 1980, and his knowledge has provided a proven, fact-based foundation for other writers and instructors in the fetish and SM community to build upon. Have you ever been told to take an aspirin or an antihistamine prior to being spanked? Dr. Lawrence first made the suggestion in 1980 (he still has his SFSI SM lecture notes). Have you ever heard of humans being shaped inside like a donut? How about proprioception and bondage? How many senses can you describe and play with individually? He can demonstrate at least 15 specific senses and can break them into more than 20 depending on how you split (or stroke) the hair. No matter your level of familiarity and comfort with the topic, this lecture is a must-experience for anyone committed to developing their sensual and sexual responsiveness. Demonstrations of reflex, dermatomes, sensory specificity and adaption will show you what you have been missing — and help you better understand arousal, BDSM enthusiasm, and orgasm!

Sex-Positive Parenting with Airial Clark

A series of 4, 90-minute interactive workshops with the overarching title of Sex-Positive Parenting; Strategies and Support for Families.

$25 each, or if you sign up for all 4 it’s $75 (buy 3, get 1 free).

Each workshop is stand alone with a specific focus, but taken together are a comprehensive curriculum.

Four workshops spanning August 25 and 26: 10:30am-Noon and 1:00pm-2:30pm, both days at the Center for Sex and Culture

1. Parenting with an alternative sexuality; Ending the silence of non-monogamous, kinky, or queer parents.

2. Coming out as a family; To reveal or not reveal is the question.

3. What to say and When to say it; Strategies for age-appropriate conversations about sexuality and desire.

4. Building Social Support Networks; How to build your sex-positive dream team of peers and professionals.

Airial Clark, M.A is the founder of The Sex-Positive Parent. She has a Master’s degree in Sexuality Studies from San Francisco State and is also the parent of two tweenage sons. Airial graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with a BA in English Literature and Anthropology. At Cal, she was the President of the Student Parent Association. She is a contributing writer for Good Vibrations Magazine, the Sex Positive Photo Project of the SF Bay Area and Shades Magazine. Airial presented her graduate level research on the intersections of race, non-monogamy and parenting at the Open SF conference. She was recently interviewed on the Sexploration with Monika radio show and featured on My Sex Professor.com. Based out of the SF Bay Area, Airial sees the mission of her work to provide strategies and support for sex-positive parenting; specializing in community building for parents with alternative sexualities.

Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets

This Is What YOU Want

5:00pm to 11:00 PM

The Center for Sex and Culture
1349 Mission Street, SF

Buy your tickets at Eventbrite

This piece is an invitation. For the audience of this is what you want 2012. An audience bombarded and inspired by the experience of other peoples work on desires over the week.

What is it that YOU want?  Do you know?  Does it matter?

What happens when you share it with others?

What sort of people do you want to share it with? (lover? friend? priest? teacher? student?)

What if you confessed a fake desire?  Or…someone else’s desire?

What is the value of speaking what you desire?

How valuable is your desire to you? Can you profit from speaking it?

What if you had to pay to say it to others?  Would you say it with passion? What if you said it indifferently?  What would you do if your desire could be fulfilled?

This is What YOU Want is a piece that provides us with a framework to explore these and other questions around an economy of desire.

As the culmination of TIWIW2012, Center or Sex and Culture hosts a participatory exploration conceived by Tessa Wills and Directed by TT Baum, developed with assistance from artists and Bay Area luminaries:  Kirk Read, Cayenne, Pele, Syd Blaekovitch, Sadie Lune, Praney, Christraper, Brontez, Ariadne, Syd Nova, Elizabeth McSturdy,  SiouxsieQ, Ian Waisler, Minax, Annie Danger, Captain Snowden, and Carol Queen. 

Tickets are $15 – $25 (with “appointment times” attached) this exploration is an hour long, and it will be presented in three stages. You can say a desire to the charger of your choosing,  rememeber that if you ask, maybe you will get what you desire… or not.   And maybe it will answer some of the questions above. Or not. Make it risky, make it profound. Or not!

We are expecting it to be many things, especially fun.

For a five hour performance exploration in unchartered territory between sensual practices and art practices, between performance and happening, embodying the theme of “This Is What I Want 2012″, and making the site of that research of the economy of desire culminate in your personal experience.

Slow Sex Symposia
Queer exit-strategies from capitalist economies of attraction and performance

Presented as part of the
This is What I Want Festival

30th June 2012 12-4 PM
at the Center for Sex and Culture
1349 Mission Street, San Francisco

Free of Charge with reservation
reserve your seat at Eventbrite

Presented in collaboration with Center for Sex and Culture’s Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence and under rigorous curatorial direction by Los Angeles based London scholar and practicing performance maker Doran George, “Slow Sex” comprises two facilitated discussions about desire.

Over the course of a day, events will encourage the symposium audience to make a connection between their own desires and performance that is influenced by alternative participatory sexual-practice.

Panel 1: 12:00-1:50 pm

PERFORMING CRITICAL DESIRE
Jim Self, Tessa Wills, Sara Kraft, Mica Sigourney, Dia Dear, Rafa Esperza, Nick and JMY, Taisha Paggett

The first panel ”Performing Critical Desire,“ brings together the artists that have presented in the 2012 festival ”This Is What I Want,“ to discuss how their work does or doesn’t connect with the legacy of alternative sexual practice. Contributors will discuss how their critique of  dominant models of desire connects to their identity, lifestyle or artistic perspective, and how the festival theme provided them with a context to create new work or restage and bring a particular lens to an existing work. They will also reflect upon the influences on queer perspectives in their work more generally, and take questions that arise from the audience.

Panel 2: 2:10-4:00 pm

PRACTICING RADICAL PLEASURE
Carol Queen, Xandra Ibarra, Dossie Easton, Joseph Kramer

The second panel “Practicing Radical Pleasure” facilitated by Carol Queen of the Center for Sex and Culture, focuses on the alternative sexual practice movement to structure desire in a way that resists conventional models of attraction and play. With its richly diverse cultural make-up, and distinct history of sex and gender movements, San Francisco has historically been home to one of the strongest radical pleasure communities in the world. Joseph Kramer, Dossie Easton and Xandra Ibarra will present their respective work in the development of lifestyles and the synthesis of identities that have been part of the Bay Area milieu. Each of the panelists has either influenced or been directly involved in the world of performance, and San Francisco boasts a unique relationship between experimental sexual practice and art.

ANOTHER TALK BY JACK RINELLA!

Saturday, June 23: The Lusting Pervert’s Guide to Getting Laid with Jack Rinella

7:30-10PM

$10-30 sliding scale

Center for Sex & Culture

1349 Mission St., San Francisco, CA

Many of us come to kink because we are seeking a sexual partner, either for the thrill of scene or a long term relationship. Yet time after time, we fail to reach our social goals. How can we learn new ways to improve our chances of success? Whether you’re a wall-flower or a gigolo, here is Jack’s guide to getting the kind of scene or relationship that you seek, whether it includes getting laid or not.

Bio:

Jack Rinella, author of The Master’s Manual, The Compleat Slave, Partners In Power, The Toy Bag Guide to Clips and Clamps, Becoming a Slave, Philosophy in the Dungeon, The Dictionary of Scene-Friendly Terms, More from the Master, and The Dionysian Alliance is a free-lance writer, computer professional, and college instructor. A sought-after lecturer, Jack has presented across the country, including the Leather Leadership Conference, Black Rose, Bash at the Beach, The Leather Archives and Museum, Beat Me in St. Louis, Master’s Retreat, TES, Headspace in Bloomington, IN, PEER in Cincinnati, and Menamore Leather/Levi Club in Wilmington, NC, South Plains LeatherFest, and many, many more.

Born in upstate New York of Italian-American parents, he’s been a high school and college teacher, a drug rehabilitation counselor, a cook, a computer salesman, a Catholic seminarian, a Pentecostal minister, an advertising copy writer, a graphic designer, and has done stints at printing, publishing, telemarketing, head-hunting, and computer consulting.

He has been active in the Leather scene since 1983, is a founding member of MAsT-Chicago, an associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club, and has written extensively about our lifestyle for nearly eleven years. He is a weekly columnist for Gay Chicago Magazine and his writing has also appeared in Drummer, in The (San Francisco) Sentinel, and in Philadelphia Gay News.

He lives on the North side of Chicago where he passes the time writing, cruising, and falling in love whenever he can. You can contact Jack at mrjackr@Leathermail.com or visit his web site at www.LeatherViews.com.

Saturday, June 23: An Historical Perspective of Kinky Sex with Jack Rinella

2-4:30PM

$10-30 sliding scale

Center for Sex & Culture

1349 Mission St., San Francisco, CA

We have an extensive, if hidden and often forgotten, History. There is more to the idea of the “Old Guard” than we think. This slide show / seminar will talk about our past and what it tells us about our present and our future. We will debunk myths and legends so that we are free to create a community as lively and exciting as the ones that created our present lifestyle. — note this is a rather long presentation, so plan about 1.5 to 2 hrs — but people love it.

Bio:

Jack Rinella, author of The Master’s Manual, The Compleat Slave, Partners In Power, The Toy Bag Guide to Clips and Clamps, Becoming a Slave, Philosophy in the Dungeon, The Dictionary of Scene-Friendly Terms, More from the Master, and The Dionysian Alliance is a free-lance writer, computer professional, and college instructor. A sought-after lecturer, Jack has presented across the country, including the Leather Leadership Conference, Black Rose, Bash at the Beach, The Leather Archives and Museum, Beat Me in St. Louis, Master’s Retreat, TES, Headspace in Bloomington, IN, PEER in Cincinnati, and Menamore Leather/Levi Club in Wilmington, NC, South Plains LeatherFest, and many, many more.

Born in upstate New York of Italian-American parents, he’s been a high school and college teacher, a drug rehabilitation counselor, a cook, a computer salesman, a Catholic seminarian, a Pentecostal minister, an advertising copy writer, a graphic designer, and has done stints at printing, publishing, telemarketing, head-hunting, and computer consulting.

He has been active in the Leather scene since 1983, is a founding member of MAsT-Chicago, an associate member of the Chicago Hellfire Club, and has written extensively about our lifestyle for nearly eleven years. He is a weekly columnist for Gay Chicago Magazine and his writing has also appeared in Drummer, in The (San Francisco) Sentinel, and in Philadelphia Gay News.

He lives on the North side of Chicago where he passes the time writing, cruising, and falling in love whenever he can. You can contact Jack at mrjackr@Leathermail.com or visit his web site at www.LeatherViews.com.

June 20: Traversing the Cutting Edge of Spiritual Sexual Shamanism with Baba Dez Nichols

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

7-10PM

$20

Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission St.

Join us for this fascinating evening presentation on Spiritual Sexual Shamanism! We will explore tools for mastery of our ‘emotional energy body’ and engage in exercises for presencing, activation, and integration of Spiritual Sexual Energy. We will also explore tools to clear ingrained cultural guilt, shame & fear, and understand how beliefs, judgments, and telepathic agreements can limit & control our power and influence our lives. Through integrating these understandings in our emotional and physical bodies, it’s possible to experience a conscious clear connection with our nervous system that can bring us all the way into living freedom and bliss. Through integrating this material, we will deepen our ability to support ourselves, our people, and all humanity in conscious evolution. These teachings provide the foundation to becoming a Spiritual Sexual Shamanic Practitioner. $20 for the evening.

BABA DEZ NICHOLS is a Internationally renowned speaker and teacher, Daka, author, singer-songwriter, and transformational guide, trained in the Sacred Temple Arts to share, inspire, and support others in their integration of the divine masculine and feminine (Shiva/Shakti) energies within. He is the founder of the Sedona Temple and School of Temple Arts and the Annual Daka-Dakini Conferences for sacred sexual healers, Tantra teachers and practitioners. He has studied, assisted, and been blessed with the presence and wisdom of many masters around the world for over 30 years. His path is to travel worldwide and help others deepen in their truth and power, find healing & enjoyment in transformation, and manifest grounded results. He is currently on tour promoting the release of his documentary Sex Magic, his book Sacred Sexual Healing: The Shaman Method of Sex Magic.

Society of Janus Presents: self-ish Submission: Why your Needs Should be Nourished - presented by Mollena

Sunday, June 17, 2012

6:00 PM –8:00 PM

Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission Street, San Francisco

Doors open at 5:00 pm

Please note: you do not need to be a member to attend. Janus programs are open to all attendees 18 years of age and older who have a personal, positive interest in BDSM.

The program runs from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, but come early for a mixer and social event!

About Our Program

This exciting and timely program is presented for the Society of Janus by Mollena.

As submissives and slaves, we often approach our relationships from the viewpoint that the ultimate goal is to meet the needs of our partners, and in that way, have our own needs met. While this seems a lofty goal, fully abandoning one’s own needs and wants may not bring the blissful surrender you seek. Sometimes? We need more. Feedback, affection, focus, attention. In power exchange relationships (Hey, they’re called ”exchange” for a reason!) there needs to be an ebb and flow, a give and take that fulfills all parties involved. Knowing what you need, what it takes to achieve your needs, and expressing them clearly can help you be present and fulfilled in your relationships.

We will discuss ways to handle questions such as determining:

How do I know what I want?

What would happen if I have my needs met?

What would happen if I do not have my needs met?

When does serving another become compromising myself?

How do I know when I’ve gone too far?

This discussion will revolve around assessing, categorizing prioritizing and supporting your needs and your wants, and discovering what you are…or are not…willing to do to have these met.

About our Presenter, Mollena Williams

This “Delicate, Trembling Flower of Submission” © is a NYC born and raised writer, actress, BDSM Educator, Storyteller and an Award-Winning Executive Pervert. She is extremely proud to have served as International Ms Leather 2010. She is also thrilled to have been named Ms. San Francisco Leather 2009 after that contest’s decade long slumber.

Exploring kink since 1993, active in BDSM and the Leather Community since 1996, and presenting classes since 1998, she speaks at Leather, BDSM and Kink events across the US, Europe and Canada on many Leather and BDSM focused topics.

Godless Perverts: Atheism and Alternative Sexualities

What’s it like to be a queer or kinky atheist? Alt-sex communities might favor calling the goddess or tantric rituals instead of a church revival, but the belief that a spiritual life makes you a better person is as common as in Middle America. The reality is that for nonbelievers, dungeons and Pride Parades can be as unwelcoming as the neighborhoods they grew up in.

Godless perverts of all stripes are encouraged to join us at the Center for Sex and Culture on Thursday, April 26 to explore the role of atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in alternative sexuality. The panel features Greta Christina, Charlie Glickman, Chris Hall, and Maggie Mayhem speaking about how to be a good perv without God(dess), community attitudes that privilege religious and spiritual beliefs, how science can be ecstatic, what atheists call out when they come, and much more.

$10-20 sliding scale

The Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission Street between 9th and 10th Streets

If you’ve been thinking about coming to Linda Montano’s Art/Life Sessions this afternoon, please do—and pay what you can! We want her to have as many people to work with as possible, so please do not let cash be an impediment – and if you can throw in extra, of course that is always welcome and helps grease the wheels of Sex & Culture!

Please become a member this month! Members come FREE to Peep Show on Friday next week, have an opportunity to win a Good Vibes gift basket, and will get access to the Preview Night at our Library 

Sale next month!

Don’t forget that next Saturday Penny Slinger teaches photoshop collage techniques – learn from one of the global masters of this art form! Midori will be with us on Thursday (advance tix purchase link below—that’s her looking awesome in her suit); M.Christian is coming, as is Hanne Blank; and we’re booking new great stuff all the time!

Please share this newsletter with anyone you think would enjoy it. Your friends can get on our e-list via our website, sexandculture.org.

xoxox!

CQ and the whole CSC gang

CSC EVENTS (and events we loan Carol and Robert out to):

You can see our full calendar by going to: http://sexandculture.org/events/week.listevents/   (See below the list for descriptions of events with a * next to them)

Events that have been added since our last mailing have NEW! written next to them.

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, AT CSC’S NEW ADDRESS: 1349 Mission Street (between 9th & 10th)

In the Gallery in March: various artists from the Larry Townsend collection

In the Gallery in April: Pretending To Be Free Of Time

Recent photographic work by Phyllis Christopher

*NEW! Beer bust at Pilsner Inn benefits CSC!

    Sunday, March 18, 3-7pm

*SF D/s Discussion Group

    Monday, 3/19, 7:30-9:30

*NEW! Midori’s Pink Japan slideshow 

    Thursday, 3/22

*NEW! Peep Show (Members FREE!)

    Friday, March 23, 8pm

*Penny Slinger teaches photoshop collage techniques at CSC 

    Saturday, 3/ 24, 2-6pm

*NEW! Magic Words: Using Erotic Writing To Explore Your Hidden Sexuality And Spirituality with M. Christian

    Tuesday, March 27, 7:30 

*Erotic Reading Circle

    Wednesday, 3/28, 7:30-9:30 

*IN BURNING - IN BASHING BACK - IN BLOOMING - A SPOKEN WORD AND PERFORMANCE ART-MUSICAL BY ALEXANDER ALVINA CHAMBERLAND

     Thursday, March 29, 7:30 doors, show 8pm

*NEW! First Friday art reception with Phyllis Christopher

    Friday, April 6, 6-9pm

*Sex Workers’ Writing Workshop

    Saturday, April 14

Writers with Drinks at The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St. 

    Saturday, April 14, 7:30pm

NEW! 4/15 – CSC Photo Club Spring Photo Shoot and meeting!

    Sunday, April 15

*NEW! Sex Sells: How To Write & Sell Erotica with M. Christian

    Tuesday,  April 24, 7:30pm 

*NEW! Godless perverts: Atheism and alternative sexualities – a panel discussion

    Thursday, April 26, 7:00-9:00 pm

SAVE THE DATE: 

4/7 Writing Ourselves Whole Intensive!

4/21 – Hanne Blank!! 

4/27 and 28 – CSC Library Sale!!

4/30 – A special evening with Abby Ehmann!

5/12 – Perverts Put Out, Spring Edition!

5/27 – THE MASTURBATE-A-THON!!

FOLSOM STREET FAIR 2012:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

(SF Leather Week starts on Sunday, September 16th) – please note this is a week earlier than it would ordinarily be—please tell your out-of-town friends so they don’t book tickets for the wrong weekend!)

MUCH MORE! Tell your friends to join our email list!