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 At 1519 Mission St. San Francisco (In Between 11th and South Van Ness) Want to put an event on or use the space? [more info] Friday, August 1st, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, Women Like Me Presents: Dr. Carol Queen on Sexual Communication for Couples Women Like Me is proud to present Dr. Carol Queen, doctor, sex educator, activist, and author. Join us and learn valuable tools to achieve effective sexual communication with your partner. When: Friday, August 1st Monday, 8/4, 7 pm -- ADVANCED NUDE YOGAPLAY FOR MEN Advanced Nude YogaPlay is for men with yoga experience and is scheduled for Monday evenings in Room 1 at 7 pm at the CSC, 1519 Mission (at 11th) - MUNI/BART: Civic Center/Van Ness stations) in San Francisco the FIRST Monday of each month, holiday weekends excepted. Sessions last approximately 80 minutes, and feature classic partner-oriented yoga poses with a focus on kundalini breath and intention. Sessions are $20 each (NOTAFLOF), and mats are available for rental, as well ($5). RSVPs are ESSENTIAL to gain entry into this class: thom@tgpraxis.net or 415.505.8980 Additional programs and events are scheduled during the year, and will be posted here and elsewhere. Tuesday, 8/5, 4-6 pm -- SELF-DEFENSE FOR SEX WORKERS sponsored by St. James InfirmaryTuesdays 4pm-6pm, July 29th- September 2nd At the Center for Sex & Culture (room 2), 1519 Mission near 11th. Self Defense for Sex Workers is a six week course in personal and occupational safety designed to meet the needs of people who work in the sex industry. We'll be learning and practicing safety strategies, verbal and physical techniques that can help you prevent, resist, and escape violence. The class is open to current sex workers of all genders, ages, bodies, and abilities. Space is limited so please call 415-572-9414 to sign up or for more information. Wednesday, August 6 and 20, 7 pm -- SEX WORKERS' WRITING WORKSHOP This is a writing workshop for people who work or have worked in all areas of the sex industry to share their writing and get honest, non-judgemental feedback. Workshop participants are not obligated to write exclusively about sex work, but writing about work in the sex industry (as well as writing about other topics) will be welcomed. This will hopefully be a place where people can write and share about their sex work experiences without having to censor themselves, explain every detail, or endure stupid questions and moral judgements. Beginning writers are encouraged to attend along with more seasoned writers. We will write using a modified version of the Amherst method: A writing prompt will be given, people will write for 30-45 mins, and then we will share what we've written and get feedback if we want it. When?: The first and third Wednesday of every month, 7pm-9pm. Who's teaching this, anyway?: Gina de Vries is a queer femme writer, rabble-rouser, activist, sex worker, proud pervert, and Paisan. She co-edited (with Diane Anderson-Minshall) the queer youth anthology [Becoming]: young ideas on gender, identity, and sexuality, and her fiction, journalism, memoir, and smut have appeared dozens of places, including: Baby, Remember My Name: An Anthology of New Queer Girl Writing, Dirty Girls, More Five Minute Erotica, TransForming Community, That's Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation, Bound to Struggle: Where Kink & Radical Politics Meet, The Revolution Starts at Home, make/shift magazine, and Curve magazine (where she was a columnist from 1997-2004). Gina curates shows for long-running queer performance series San Francisco in Exile, blogs for national LGBT blog Bilerico.com, and teaches writing workshops wherever willing pupils will have her. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Sex & Culture, and the Board of Youth Trans & Intersex Education Services. She can be cruised online at ginadevries.com and queershoulder.livejournal.com. Friday, August 8, 5:30-8 pm -- SCARLETEEN RECEPTION: MEET HEATHER CORINNA
Join us in welcoming Heather Corinna, sex educator and activist, founder and editor of Scarleteen.com, and author of "S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College." Heather, via her superb website Scarleteen, serves tens of thousands of teens and young adults internationally every day, making sure they have a trusted place to ask questions they can't ask anyone else. Heather will catch us up on the history of Scarleteen and we'll give her some much-deserved love! if you've ever thought about volunteering for the site, come meet Heather and talk to her about it. Visit http://www.scarleteen.com/scarleteen_is to learn more about Heather's important website and http://www.scarleteen.com/article/read/all_about_s_e_x_the_scarleteen_book to see more about her book. Copies will be available for purchase. No charge, but we will gladly accept donations and split them between the Center for Sex & Culture and Scarleteen! CSC now accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, as well as personal checks. At the Center for Sex & Culture (room 1), 1519 Mission near 11th. Saturday, August 9th: Women Like Me Presents: Dr. Carol Queen "Hot Nights for Busy People. Scheduling Sex and keeping it Steamy" Does it sometimes feel like you never have time for the sweet stuff? Join this fun and informal conversation with Dr. Carol Queen, doctor, sex educator, activist, and author, on how to structure time for sex and still keep it steamy. When: Saturday, August 9th Sunday, August 10, 2-4 pm -- HEATHER CORINNA SPEAKS OUT! YOUTH, SEXUALITY, AND SEX ED
Join Heather Corinna, sex educator and activist, founder and editor of Scarleteen.com, and author of "S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College" for an afternoon discussing young adult sexuality and inclusive, feminist, comprehensive sex education for teens and young adults. Find out about the current state of YA sexuality and sexual health trends, needs and issues from someone who serves tens of thousands of teens internationally every day, and discuss your own needs and concerns in addressing, parenting, mentoring and supporting this important population. Visit http://www.scarleteen.com/scarleteen_is to learn more about Heather's important website and http://www.scarleteen.com/article/read/all_about_s_e_x_the_scarleteen_book to see more about her book. Copies will be available for purchase. $5-20 sliding scale, and we will gladly accept donations and split them between the Center for Sex & Culture and Scarleteen! CSC now accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, as well as personal checks. At the Center for Sex & Culture (room 1), 1519 Mission near 11th. Monday, 8/11, 7:30-8:30 door -- the SF JACKS For more about this fellowship of men who like to j/o in the company of other like-minded men, visit http://www.sfjacks.com/ Held every second and fourth Monday. (Also 8/25!) Wednesday, 8/13, 7 pm -- TARTS AND CRAFTS! Art, Craft and Collage Night at CSC! Join us at CSC for an evening of making stuff, gossip and quasi-intellectual discussion! All small handicrafts are welcomed; collage, knitting, crocheting, quilting etc. We meet at 7 pm on the first Wednesday evening of the month starting March 5th. Chocolate, luscious yarn and witty repertoire are all encouraged. If you have particular collage or craft materials you wish to work with, please bring them; we don't yet have a big stash for you to play with. Thanks to Annie Sprinkle for our great new event name! She's the best! At the Center for Sex & Culture (room 1), 1519 Mission near 11th. $5 donation, no one turned away for lack of funds. FYI: From July onward, Tarts and Crafts Night will be the SECOND Wednesday of the month, not the first. Saturday, 8/16, 2-7 pm -- DRAG SWAP! Whether you're late for spring cleaning or just getting kitted out for Burning Man, you MUST join us for this very fabulous and fun afternoon -- with ample opportunities for cleaning out your closet and filling it up with new and sexy stuff. Load up with fresh stuff and discover a new you. Bring (clean) clothes, especially sexy stuff you've outgrown or gotten tired of or that never fit very well to begin with or whose associate persona bores you now. Trade it or leave it behind! (Left-behind clothes will allow us to beef up our sexy clothing stash or will be donated to the St. James Infirmary's clothing program.) At CSC, 1519 Mission near 11th St. $5-20 sliding scale; no one turned away for lack of funds. CSC can accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, plus personal checks. Saturday, 8/16, 8 pm -- EROTIC READING CIRCLE ANNIVERSARY READING
Last August we got the SF Bay Guardian's Best of the Bay Award for the Erotic Reading Circle -- this year we're bringing you many of the fabulous writers who patronize the Reading Circle. Come see for yourself why we get together every month! Hosted by Jen Cross and Carol Queen -- with Jeff Jacobson & Simone Corday & Dorian Katz & Marlo Gayle & Robert Morgan Lawrence & more! $5-50 sliding scale -- your donations support the Center for Sex & Culture and this great program. CSC can accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, plus personal checks. At CSC, 1519 Mission near 11th St. Monday, 8/18, 7:00 pm -- GROUP SEX THEN AND NOW: A Play Party Retrospective Panel Discussion Moderated by Reid Mihalko (PLEASE NOTE--this is an earlier time than we announced in our last newsletter!)
Play party. Orgy. Love-In. Group scene... Call it what you will, but have you ever been to a sex party? What about one that happened twenty-five years ago? Join New York City sex and relationship geek (and play party educator) Reid Mihalko as he moderates a second distinguished panel of Bay Area play party promoters and attendees (past and present) to discuss the rich history of San Francisco's sex parties, swap favorite stories and tips, share valuable lessons learned, and muse where they see play parties heading in the future... If you've ever wondered what group sex was like "way back when" (or now!), or how the people who attend play parties today differ from those twenty years ago, or how the rules surrounding group sexual dynamics have changed through the years... If you're curious who is throwing play parties today, what kinds of events are out there and for whom, where they happen, who attends, and if there is a play party for me and what I'm into... Please join us for a group of group-sex geeks talking about... What else?... group sex! Panelists:
$10 donation requested. CSC can accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, plus personal checks. Tuesday, 8/19 and 26, 4-6 pm -- SELF-DEFENSE FOR SEX WORKERS sponsored by St. James Infirmary Self Defense for Sex Workers is a six week course in personal and occupational safety designed to meet the needs of people who work in the sex industry. We'll be learning and practicing safety strategies, verbal and physical techniques that can help you prevent, resist, and escape violence. The class is open to current sex workers of all genders, ages, bodies, and abilities. Space is limited so please call 415-572-9414 to sign up or for more information. Wednesday, August 20, 7 pm -- SEX WORKERS' WRITING WORKSHOP with Gina de Vries This is a writing workshop for people who work or have worked in all areas of the sex industry to share their writing and get honest, non-judgemental feedback. Workshop participants are not obligated to write exclusively about sex work, but writing about work in the sex industry (as well as writing about other topics) will be welcomed. This will hopefully be a place where people can write and share about their sex work experiences without having to censor themselves, explain every detail, or endure stupid questions and moral judgements. Beginning writers are encouraged to attend along with more seasoned writers. We will write using a modified version of the Amherst method: A writing prompt will be given, people will write for 30-45 mins, and then we will share what we've written and get feedback if we want it. When?: The first and third Wednesday of every month, 7pm-9pm. Thursday, Aug 21st, 7:30-10 pm -- THE ART OF PARTNERSHIP: Creating Partnership within Relationship
In this workshop, we will explode the myths and fantasies around partnership and learn how to dance with and enhance both your individualism and togetherness. Whether you're in a relationship, or want to be, join relationship coach Marcia Baczynski as we explore the concept of partnership as a distinct relationship style. Discover what it means to be a partner to someone else, learn how to cultivate partnership in your life, and find out what successful partnerships have in common. Location: Center for Sex and Culture, 1519 Mission St at 11th St. About the presenter: Marcia Baczynski is a relationship coach and sex educator who specializes in helping people to communicate about what they want and to create mutually supportive, joyful, exciting relationships in all areas of life. She is best known as the co-creator of Cuddle Party, and has worked with thousands of people, teaching courses on boundary-setting, intimacy and effective interpersonal communication. Marcia has made numerous media appearances, including Montel Williams, Fox News, Penn & Teller's Bullshit, Sex TV, NPR, Marie Claire, GQ, People, and Newsweek. She currently lives in New York. Saturday, August 23, 2-5 pm -- ALL ABOUT T! A workshop about testosterone with John Otto
All About T is a workshop that provides an overview of the practical aspects of testosterone use for female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals. This workshop covers what every FTM - whether long-term transitioned or simply considering transitioning - should know about this powerful hormone. We will cover: types of T, social misconceptions of T, methods of testosterone administration, permanent and non-permanent changes to the body, physical risks of using T, potential emotional and sexual-outlook changes, dosing philosophies, and other topics of interest. Allies, sex educators, and health professionals who want a grounded and better understanding of FTM transition and testosterone use are encouraged to attend, too. Whatever level of knowledge you bring to the workshop, you are bound to learn something new. Bring note-talking materials - this is an information-packed workshop! Bring note-talking materials - this is an information-packed workshop! Instructor Bio: John Otto has been a trans activist from the grassroots to the national level, including working at the National Center for Transgender Equality and as a member of The Task Force's National LGBT Aging Roundtable. He has a Master of Library and Information Science degree and a BA in transgender studies, and is a frequent guest speaker on transgender issues. He recently moved from Washington DC to the San Francisco Bay area. Saturday, 8/23, 7:30 -- San Francisco in eXile presents REBEL GIRL: a riot grrrl nostalgia show Saturday, August 23rd Featuring: Curated by Gina de Vries. It's Revolution Grrrl-Style, Now! -- with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Past and present zinestars and grrrl revolutionaries will tell stories of old, and let you know what they've been up to recently. Zines and cupcakes will be available for purchase. Sunday, 8/24, 11 am -- NUDE YOGASHARE FOR MEN Open to all men interested in celebrating their bodies in yogic ritual clothing-free in respectful community. Sessions are usually scheduled the LAST Sunday of each month at 11 am (holiday weekends excluded) at the CSC, 1519 Mission (at 11th street) in San Francisco: OCT 26 is the next one on the calendar. Sessions last approximately 70 minutes, and combine aerobic and core conditioning, as well as yoga poses in the hatha and vinyasa traditions.. cost is $15 per session (NOTAFLOF), and mats are available for rental ($5). RSVPs are WELCOME for entry into class: thom@tgpraxis.net, or at 415.505.8980 Sunday, 8/24, 1 pm -- CSC PHOTO CLUB WITH PHYLLIS CHRISTOPHER
A sex-photo-geek-love-in (fun tips to make your digital images look dreamy and erotic)! Phyllis says: Are you ever dismayed at the rather cold and static feel of the images that you get using your digital camera? Be dismayed no longer, for I have survived the digital transition (screaming and kicking) and have come out of the other side just as much in love with digital imaging as I am with the classic film photography look I had developed. "Photo-geek" is a term applied to people who get a little too excited about new photo gadgets & technical details, and I'd like to lean towards giving some tips in these areas, in a very loving environment of course. This will not be a numbingly technical workshop, but I would like to emphasis some technical tricks I've learned and answer questions that participants might have about how to get the look they want. My main intention is to focus on sexy lighting tips, some lens secrets that I use, & I'll demonstrate photoshop techniques that I've learned to get the look I had developed with my traditional photography. In addition to their cameras, i would encourage participants to bring their own work and the work of other photographers that they admire so that I can understand the direction that they may want to head in. Of course, I would love to take the class in any direction that the group feels they want to go in, and discussions & questions will be very encouraged. If i could be provided a mac, that would be great and I will have my work on disc so I can project it. if there is photoshop on this computer that would be handy so that I can demonstrate some techniques, but this is not absolutely necessary. (in fact I could install photoshop onto it before class). I would like to project any work that the students have shot during class, and discuss their work/problems/solutions right then and there. (Class members -- anyone wanting to let Phyllis use your computer? Let me know, please!) Class segments:
Phyllis Christopher's prolific body of erotic work has been published internationally in periodicals such as Blue, Cupido, On Our Backs Magazine, and appears in the books: "Nothing But The Girl – The Blatant Lesbian Image," "I Am My Lover – Women Pleasure Themselves," and the anthology "Photo Sex: Fine Art Sexual Photography Comes of Age." In 2005, she released the DVD "Sextrospective: A Decade with San Francisco's Sexiest Lesbians," a collection of 280 photographs documenting the lesbian sexual revolution of the 1990's. She has been featured on HBO's "Sexbites," Canadian television's "Sex TV," and the documentary film, "Erotica – A Journey into Female Sexuality." In 2007, cable network "HERE TV" aired a 6 part documentary, "Lesbian Sex and Sexuality." with a segment on Phyllis and her work on the"Fulfilling Fantasy" night. What some writers have said about "Sextrospective: A Decade with San Francisco's Sexiest Lesbian's":
"Phyllis Christopher's photography defined my generation's sexual revolution in San Francisco. Her images capture the women who turned the world upside down about dykes. Her artistry made us the superstars that we really were, but didn't know it. Who needs Warhol when we had Phyllis?" "Phyllis Christopher's clear-sighted and original vision has made her one of the most talented photographers working today. Her work is challenging, erotic, ambiguous, and fresh. This is a book to savor, to think about, and dream over." "Phylis Christopher's photos are as imaginative as sex itself. Consider her subjects: punky San Francisco dykes, women peeing on the kitchen floor, flamboyant femmes, garish glamazons, and butches from basic to baroque. What could end up seeming merely bawdy or rebellious in another camera becomes, in Christopher's hands, daringly fresh, stunningly exotic. Even in her straightforward portraits you glimpse a touch of wickedness. Her work has the power to change your ideas about women, sex, reality and art. As a dvd, it can heat up a room or inspire conversation like nothing else." "A collection of 300 breathtaking stills of butch and femme, kink and glamour, rebellion, art, and erotica. Frat houses might pan this collection for its artfulness alone, not to mention the multiple piercings, butch action, genuine strap-ons, and wickedly dreamy yet true-to-life situations - and air-brushed Barbies clearly knew better than to apply. Which is exactly what makes this celebration of talent a powerful magnet for a real dyke audience." "A personal collection that doubles as a document of the era, with images ranging from the erotic to the bizarre to the incredibly moving." this is my site so that people can get an idea of my work: At the Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission near 11th. CSC can accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover, plus personal checks. PLEASE NOTE: If we have room, we'll let people in for Phyllis's slideshow/discussion and they can skip the teaching segment. $10-20 sliding scale for that segment. RSVP, please! Monday, 8/25, 7:30-8:30 door -- the SF JACKS For more about this fellowship of men who like to j/o in the company of other like-minded men, visit http://www.sfjacks.com/ Held every second and fourth Monday. Tuesday, 8/26, 1-2:30 (and following Tuesdays) -- YOGA FOR SEXWORKERS with Selina Raven Sex work, in all of its wonderful incarnations, can be stressful to the body. Come join a community of fellow sex workers and rejuvenate, tone, and restore your body with a yoga practice designed specifically for your needs! Bring a yoga mat, a hand towel, your favorite pair of stripper heels, and any other yoga props you require. Classes are an hour and a half; Tuesdays, 1-2:30, and Thursdays, 5-6:30. Bring along a $15 donation, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Come give your hard working body some much needed love! At the Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission near 11th. Wednesday, 8/27, 7:30 pm -- EROTIC READING CIRCLE Join Jen Cross, Carol Queen, and your fierce, fabulous community of erotic writers the fourth Wednesday of every month, as we gather to share our creative erotic endeavors! Bring whatever you're working on, or whatever you'd like to be working on. Share your words, new or older, with other erotic writers in this lovely, sexy & supportive community! Non-judgmental listening guaranteed, all orientations and levels of writing experience welcome. $5-up sliding scale suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds (donations support the Center for Sex and Culture). At 1519 Mission. Thursday, 8/28, 5-6:30 (and following Thursdays) -- YOGA FOR SEXWORKERS with Selina Raven Sex work, in all of its wonderful incarnations, can be stressful to the body. Come join a community of fellow sex workers and rejuvenate, tone, and restore your body with a yoga practice designed specifically for your needs! Bring a yoga mat, a hand towel, your favorite pair of stripper heels, and any other yoga props you require. Classes are an hour and a half; Tuesdays, 1-2:30, and Thursdays, 5-6:30. Bring along a $15 donation, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Come give your hard working body some much needed love! At the Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission near 11th. Thursday, 8/28, 8 pm Performances follow on 8/31 and 9/1) -- Lauren LoGiudice in SKINNY GIRL: a new work in progress
Kate Bornstein wrote us recently to say: "I saw Lauren LoGiudice's workshopped show Skinny Girl the other night, and found Lauren and her show completely enjoyable. It's an autobiographical piece, the story arc is terrific, and Lauren is about to workshop it in San Francisco. Want to host her performances?" What Kate says, goes! Of course we do! So, SF, all the way from New York, introducing Lauren LoGiudice in Skinny Girl! ... NYC stage impresario Lauren LoGiudice, whom The New York Times calls "fierce... beautiful," comes to San Francisco to perform her one-person show entitled "Skinny Girl", a cutting-edge look at how to fit in with you family while maintaining your identity. Theatric chameleon LoGiudice takes on the characters near and dear to her heart: her mother, sister, grandparents and those neighborhood folks you wish you never knew, to show you that sometimes the best way to fit in is to... shave you head? wear a moustache? Well, isn't it just all hair, after all? Lauren LoGiudice started performing as early as age five when she choreographed routines in her living room. A NYC native, she found her way to San Francisco, lighting up the drag king stage with the infamous Transformers and other groups of her own devising. Before making her way back to her hometown she made a pit stop in Bangalore, India where she studied classical dance and made the decision to jump into show biz full time. Lauren now lives in New York City working as an actor, model and stage impresario. Ever since she has been back she has been working in a wide array of media--from wacky zombie movies to LOGO Promos to conceptual art photography to playing Hannah Arendt at The Medicine Show Theater. She was recently named as one of Go Magazine's 100 Women We Love. Catch up with her at: laurenlogiudice.com Skinny Girl will show 8/28 and again on 8/31 and 9/1. Doors at 7:30, shows at 8. Sliding scale $10-20; CSC can take VISA, MasterCard and Discover. (If $ is a problem let us know, we have some work-trade available!) At CSC, 1519 Mission near 11th. Saturday, 8/30, 7 pm -- The French-American queer connection presents: THE ORIGINAL SIN
A night of lascivious and scintillating readings, screenings and performances at the Center for Sex and Culture Featuring hot local stars and sexy imported babes: Lynn Breedlove Hosted by Carol Queen Show starts at 7pm 1519 Mission St. San Francisco (Between 11th and South Van Ness) Doors 8-15$ sliding scale. CSC can take VISA, MasterCard, and Discover. SEPT Thursday, 9/4, 10 pm (other show dates below) -- PEG-ASS-US: a presentation with the SF Fringe Festival A tale of boy-meets-girl, but the whole involves much more than the sum of their parts! In a no-holes-barred sexploration of "pegging," these lovers sing, dance and tease along the delicious line between fetish/preference, queer/straight, wrong and oh-so right...Sex-Ed through burlesque, song, puppetry and, of course, mythical creatures! Created and performed by John Leo & Sophie Nimmannit. **Peg - Ass - Us contains nudity and sexually explicit content. Tix $9 -- purchase here: http://www.sffringe.org/fringe08/08plays/peg.html also playing THURSDAY 4 10:00 PM SAVE THE DATE! More detail soon. Anal ForeclosureFetish Lexicons - exhibition of fetish drawings from the men of Hot Draw! Good Vibrations Staff Art Show Reiki at MCC from Flesh & Spirit -- every 1st Wednesday This Is the Thing by Kirk Read 8/7-9, 14-16 Subrosa-Subliminal Joy, the Ego Outted! Cleo Dubois Intensives 8/15-17 "Sleeping Around Craigslist" Vote for At Your Cervix on Idea Blob! "Sexography" Reading and Signing by Carly Milne The Full Body Project bookparty Flesh and Spirit Women's Community presents The Peaceful Warrior First Crescent Temple Whore Healing Ritual GettoNoir Productions is looking for talent!! plus staff for new performance club We're hosting great events all through Leather Week, including Cleo and Fakir on Tuesday, 9/23, and Annie Sprinkle on Thursday, 9/25! Wednesday, August 20 "Sexography" Reading and Signing with Carly Milne special book signing event In his provocative new book, photographer and actor Leonard Nimoy captures images of full-bodied women, some of whom are involved in what is known as the "fat acceptance" movement. "The average American woman," Nimoy writes, "weighs 25 percent more than the models selling the clothes. There is a huge industry built up around selling women ways to get their bodies closer to the fantasy ideal. Pills, diets, surgery, workout programs. . . . The message is You don't look right. If you buy our product, you can get there.'" ‘They are fleshy and proud, celebrating their girth, reveling in it. ‘Society has agreed what beautiful is: ‘"The Full Body Project," is an arresting collection of black-and-white nude photographs featuring full-bodied women who stare into the camera, practically daring us to judge them on their nakedness or their size.' The Full Body Project has received a multitude of media coverage, including recent television programming: Suite Jesus! is a monthly party presented by ArtNowSF and Juxtapoz magazine. Suite Jesus! http://www.myspace.com/fullbodyproject Flesh and Spirit Women's Community presents the PEACEFUL WARRIOR An experiential body oriented workshop When: Saturday, August 23 2008 Touching Skin Opening Hearts Raising Spirits The Peaceful Warrior is the first archetype workshop offered by the Flesh and Spirit Women's community. A Peaceful Warrior is an archetypal image of power and compassion. Buddhism defines the Peaceful Warrior as "one who seeks unity of mind, body and spirit" and "one who sees the truth within herself, within her adversaries, within the world." Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Molly Ivans, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and locally, Kate Kendell and Penny Nixon are women who embody characteristics of a peaceful warrior. You may have a model of a peaceful warrior in your own life. Perhaps YOU have already claimed yourself as a peaceful warrior. In this workshop, we will explore the Peaceful Warrior through our bodies, our hearts and our interactions with one another. With experiential exercises in groups, pairs and solo, we will expand our own authority, passion, boundaries and desires. We will encounter places in our bodies where we hold old stories that may no longer serve us. As we become more aware of these "body stories", we find that "walking our talk," integrity and congruence with our self flows with greater ease. We will live more authentically in our "yes" and "no" and find ways to ask for help with both power and compassion. Touch will be an important vehicle for our learning. This will be a clothes-on workshop. Cost is $125 per person. $ 99 if paid in full by August 13th For further information or to register, contact FACILITATORS: Barb Hargrave expresses her spirituality in community as a shaman and healer. She is deeply connected to her body and spirit and lives out loud her commitment to erotic spirituality. Barb has been surprised to find herself an active member of MCCSF, and even more surprised to be welcomed to the pulpit there on several occasions. She is most passionate about creating intimacy and freedom in relationship and is married to her beloved, Barbara Buckley. About Flesh and Spirit With the support of Flesh and Spirit's Men's community, founded for queer men in 1992 by Dr Kirk Prine, we are trying new vehicles and venues for queer women to continue to grow in their own power and to experience embodied, erotic, spirituality. We are creating community which supports women in celebrating all of who we are and especially in the integration of Spirit and the Erotic. We invite you to join us in envisioning formal and informal ways of growing community: more archetype workshops (including Lover, Elder, Sacred Prostitute, Prophet, Mystic) potlucks, Reiki, rituals, drumming circles, massage and self pleasuring workshops and rituals, and other activities yet to be dreamed. Flesh and Spirit website: http://www.fleshandspirit.org First Crescent Temple Whore Healing Ritual The first crescent Innana Temple Whore Healing Ritual is a night provided for healing and safety. Recreating the practice of the Sumerian temple whore's ritual of closing the temple for one night on the first crescent of each moon to bring healing to each other. Drummers will be provided and space will be held for individuals to seek the healing they need among a family of peers. Open to sex workers of all avenues and people of all sexual persuasions and identities who seek healing and honoring of their sexual selves. (sponsored by the Fellowship of the Spiral Path) This is the Thing, a multimedia performance by Kirk Read 
August 7-9, 8pm Thursday-Saturday Thursdays are pay what you can Shotwell Studios Tickets: Writer/performer Kirk Read presents this midnight movie-style evening of stories and performances about sex work, hallucinations and the apocalypse. Read learned to perform in a touring Virginia evangelical youth group, with some in his hometown expecting him to become a preacher. Instead, Read became an escort and an avowed fan of magic mushrooms. Read is a different sort of preacher. Read's stories weave in and out of multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Alphonsus Mooney's live music soundscape, creating an atmosphere of magical trance. Read's humor and acute observation, together with Mooney's trippy, layered music will take you to church. Liz Singer's gorgeous videos will make your ass tremble. Doug Hansen made a beautiful and surprising sculpture out of stuffed animal skins. Lights by Joe Landini, whose venue the Garage was the place where the show started. About the show's initial run, Hiya Swanhuyser of SF Weekly said "the word 'pray' bubbles up from somewhere deep within Kirk Read, and it's genius." The Bay Area Reporter called it "hilarious and moving." During the development process of this show, Kirk was obsessed with memories of a 400 pound sex work client, the Brady Bunch, learning to use a serger machine to make the costumes, pennies and touring through rural Alabama with strippers and praying in public. Kirk Read is the author of "How I Learned to Snap," a comedic memoir about growing up in Virginia which was named an Honor Book by the American Library Association. Upcoming books include "This is the Thing" and "Fannie Floyd and the Book of Life." He is a regular performer at Porchlight and Litquake, as well as a cohost of the open mics Smack Dab and K'vetsh. He has toured nationally as a performer a number of times, most recently to 35 cities with the Sex Workers Art Show. He worked as an HIV counselor at St. James Infirmary, a free clinic for sex workers. He's the director of Army of Lovers, a project of Queer Cultural Center which Read founded in order to instigate new performance work by queer men. He can be reached at www.kirkread.com The 13th Annual SF Drag King Contest 8/16 
Considered "One of the most boisterous parties of the year," by the San Francisco Chronicle, it's also "Sexy, campy, dragalicious, professionally executed and full of talent," espouses the San Francisco Bay Times, and "Impressive, varied, and wild," advocates The Onion. The San Francisco Bay Guardian affirms: "Prepare to be amazed by the variety, astounded by the veracity, and properly impressed by the figurative and literal balls on display." Virile Virtuoso, Fudgie Frottage, "The Man with The Biggest Balls in Show Business," and Internationally Renowned Burlesque Chanteuse, Comic and Siren, The Indra, as "The Indro vs. The Indra," a bi-sexual, bi-polar, half male, half female character, return to preside over the festivities as Masters (and 1/2 Mistress) of Ceremonies. According to last year's revues, "Both were on fire all evening," and the SF Bay Times also stated, "Fudgie and Indra possess a magical chemistry and timing that ranks with the likes of George Burns and Gracie Allen meets Sonny and Cher with a bit of Three Stooges and Marx Brothers thrown in." The star-studded event will showcase Fakin' Aiken, reigning 2007 Solo King for his impeccable Clay Aiken impersonation, The Pacmen, 2007 troupe winners for their flawlessly dazzling choreography, Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, glamorous aerialist burlesque troupe, and special guest, Electro, The Pop n' lock King, SF Drag King 2000 titleholder (when the contest was only 5 years old). In addition, What-the-F*ckabilly Band, The Mighty Slim Pickins, will also perform, and - as always - the gender bending contestants will be the center of attention. Contestants are judged on talent, creativity, studliness, sex appeal, originality, humor, make-up/facial hair and fashion by the illustrious panel of nationally known celebrity judges, including 2006 Drag King Titleholder, Buck Naked, Simone DeLaGetto of Harlem Shake Burlesque, and Sister Roma of The Tim and Roma Show and Hot House Video. Jay Walker, SF Drag King 2005 and Mr. Trannyshack 2004, adds, "If you can get the audience going and people are really engaged by your number, that says so much more than facial hair, or passing ability, or any of that stuff. Creativity, good production, and pushing the edge of what we've already seen, that's what makes this the best show in San Francisco." WHEN: Saturday, August 16, 2008, doors 8 pm, show at 9 pm. WHERE: DNA Lounge, 375 11th Street, SF. BENEFITS: Pets Are Wonderful Support, www.pawssf.org TICKETS: $20.00 and up. $20.00 in advance and $25.00 at the door. Very limited show seating will be auctioned online. Advance tickets are also available at Retro Fit Vintage, 910 Valencia, San Francisco, Madame S, 385 8th Street, San Francisco and www.dnalounge.com DRESS CODE: DRAG: King, Queen, Faux, Fetish, Formal, High Femme, and Festive. INFO: 415.282.2363 or visit: Co-sponsored by the Center for Sex and Culture. Erotic Dominance Weekend Intensive, Professionals' Course August 15-17, 2008 in San Francisco Hands on Training! Class limited to 9 The techniques, fetishes and business of Professional Dominance Teachers: Cleo Dubois , Eve Minax and Selina Raven http://www.sm-arts.com/intensives/pros.html http://www.sm-arts.com/intensives/form-pros.html Anal Foreclosure is part demolition part exorcism. From below ground up we've built a space through which the audience will tour, much like a model home. After excavating the multitudes of sentiment surrounding legalized gay marriage in California, we have found the following: foreclosure party games, sequenced anal ghosts, the master's bedroom, bathroom dances and anal divinations. We speak through games; committing our selves to win, fail or simply walk away. Through this we've found new possibilities for addressing the mundane failures of everyday relationships as well as the not-yet languaged. Anal Foreclosure utilizes counter-ergonomics such as piles, messes and aggregation to flesh out our relationship to space and to re-imagine the family house for those families not-yet but soon imagined. Ryan Tacata collaborates with friends and strangers to devise performances and is looking for different types of space. He works with lists, broken stages, tinsel and games. He talks about the anus as a site to excavate shame, pleasure, families, space and futurity. He graduated from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago BFA 2007.
Thursday-Sat July 31, Aug 1 and 2 and Aug: 7, 8, 9 and 15, 16, 17 at 8PM ---Aug 10 and 17 at 1PM Fetish Lexicons - an exhibition of fetish drawings from the men of Hot Draw! Every year Hot Draw! does an art exhibition to coincide with the Up Your Alley Fair. The focus of the exhibition this year is fetish and gear. Participating artists include Dan Becker, Mark I Chester, Steve Davis, Rae Douglass, Joe Norton, Mark Powers, Michael Ross, William Ulrich and David Wright. The exhibition is free and will be open for viewing Sat and Sun Aug 2nd and 3rd, from noon-6pm. 1229 Folsom St./SF. The exhibition will be open by appointment thru Aug. 24th by calling Mark at 415-621-6294. To check out sample galleries and additional information go to http://markichester.com/fetish As a special event in conjunction with the exhibition, San Francisco gay radical sex photographer Mark I Chester will be doing free digital pix, as he does every Up Your Alley and Folsom fairs, during the show's open viewing hours. This offer is open to adult men and women of all genders and sexual orientations. For full information on this offer and samples of Mark's work go to http://markichester.com/digital Good Vibrations Staff Art Show We are proud to feature the visual arts of GV employees. Come on by and discover the many hidden talents of GV staff! When: Thursday, July 31st thru August. Where: Good Vibrations Polk Street Store 1620 Polk Street @ Sacramento San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 345-0400 FREE! website: http://www.goodvibes.com Note: Carol and Robert have a few pieces of collage on display! Reiki at MCC Starting Wednesday July 2nd 2008, Flesh & Spirit Community will host a Reiki clinic at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco. The first Wednesday of every month is a healing Taize service from 7 to 8 PM. A brief guided meditation or visualization to support ones healing and wholeness will be included in these services by Dr. Kirk Prine and other MCC members. A Reiki clinic will immediately follow the Taize service from 8 to 9 PM by Reiki practitioners trained (or acknowledged) by Flesh & Spirit Community. Donny Lobree and/or Ilyas Iliya will accompany the Reiki clinics with channeled/improvisational music. REGISTRATION REQUIRED: INVESTIGATIVE PEFORMANCE SHINES LIGHT ON THE GAY CULTURE San Francisco's new Burning Monk Collective is proud to present a work in progress "Subrosa-Subliminal Joy, the Ego Outted!" A new work of queer theory, human consciousness, and self-identity Directed by Peter Griggs, performs Thurs - Sun, August 7th -August 17th, at 8 pm at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory at 1519 Mission Street in San Francisco. (Press preview is Thursday August 7th at 8pm.) Griggs, founder of the Burning Monk Collective, along with other cast members, creatively report findings from their Subrosa, an investigation, gathered from personal writings, experiences, and an on-going intensive workshop process. Collectively queer in sexual identity and thought, through their fresh and emotive perspective, Griggs and Burning Monk take a stimulating look at gay identity, culture, and shame from top to bottom, inspiring audiences to challenge their own limitations to beings one's own true self. A new, non-profit queer theater collective, Burning Monk is in residency at Mama Calizo's Voice Factory (www.voicefactorysf.org). Its mission is to creatively acknowledge the enemies amidst our human experiences of intolerance, fanaticism, dictatorship, cupidity, hatred (self inclusive), and discrimination, which lie within the heart of man. Performers and musicians of the Burning Monk Collective include Dennis Dentoni, Matt Welch, Patrick Barresi, Simon Warner, Jennifer Cedar-Kraft, Steven Slatten, Peter Griggs, Frederick Gaudette, Robin Kurland, Walter Earl (www.walterearlmusic.com) and Adrian Gromley (www.theambassadoroftrouts.com). Please purchase tickets ($20). WHEN: Opens Thursday, August 7 at 8 PM. Closes Sunday, August 17 at 1 PM SHOWTIMES: August 7, 8, 9,10 -August 14,15,16,17: Thurs-Sat 8PM. Sundays @ 1pm WHERE: Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, 1519 Mission St (at South Van Ness Ave.) in San Francisco. TICKETS: $15-$20.00. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/39458 Or at the Door (no one is turned away for lack of funds) INFO: burningmonkcollective@yahoo.com August 8: Getting Through the Blue: Writing About Sex! This 6-week online writing course is for anyone who's ever read through an erotic short story and thought, "I could do that!" as well as for the fiction writer or essayist with some blocks regarding the "sexy bits" in her/his work. Getting Through the Blue: Writing About Sex provides a fun and safe opportunity to delve into the more adventurous side of writing! Through writing exercises that are playful, thought-provoking, and inspiring, this class will encourage you to generate exciting new erotic writing. In addition, our discussions and readings will address some of the more common concerns of the erotic writer. Each week's lesson will include two writing prompts and a suggested reading. We will have the opportunity to discuss readings/topics on the Absolute Write forum. The cost for this course is $175. For more information, visit http://www.absoluteclasses.com/Cross/getting_through_the_blue.htm! As always, if you've got any questions, please send them to me at jennifer (at) writingourselveswhole (dot) org. Queer Open Mic presents the Oakland-based erotica writer Marlo Gayle San Francisco, CA, August 8th, 2008 Queer Open Mic is proud to present Featured Performer Marlo Gayle. This witty and sexy Oakland-based writer churns out the kind of erotica that makes you drop to your knees in laughter. QOM was founded and exists to help bring people and community in San Francisco together around art. All queers of all kinds welcome. Links to available images: http://sarahdopp.com/images/IMG_3338.JPG About the Performer: Ever since he slid out from between his mother's nether lips 40 years ago in Cincinnati, Marlo Gayle has been obsessed with the ol' in and out. He loves to write little smart ass bios that never mention his actual publications because he's not a sell out. He also likes to cover his very real vulnerability and sensitivity about his work with smart ass comments like the previous line. So for this very special first time ever solo feature he'll expose himself just a little for this very special time. You can find his stories in Sex Toy Tales (the book and the website), 5 Minute Erotica, Suspect Thoughts, and Fucking Daphne. His photos have appeared on his Flickr. As Guy, he can be seen in Familiar Men, and Orgasm: Faces of Ecstasy. As Marlo Davis he can be seen performing in Cubbyholes: Transmen in Action, and the upcoming Couchsurfers 2. Queer Open Mic **About Queer Open Mic** Queer Open Mic is a twice monthly gathering of poets, performers, writers and artists of all types to come together and share art. Proto-feminist and genderqueer in scope, QOM aims to combine raunchy enthusiasm, warmth and community, unapologetic queer, radical politics and sweet rhythms to create a space for spoken word, poetry and performance that is multi cultural, multi gendered, completely inclusive and dynamic. QOM is hosted by Sarah Dopp and Mollena Williams. Saturday, August 16th: Anna Reed discusses "Sleeping Around Craigslist" The author of the explosively popular article, "Sleeping Around Craigslist" discusses her adventures as a middle-aged woman exploring casual sex on craigslist. Humorous, touching, and informative, Anna discovers what works - and what doesn't - when looking for a no-strings-attached romp, and maybe even love. When: Saturday, August 16th Click here to see a list of our previous events! |
When it comes to relationships, the word "Partner" gets tossed around all the time… We talk about our partners, whether we want a partner, what we want from our partner and so on, but rarely do we take the time to examine what partner actually means within the context of relationships.
At the Center for Sex & Culture, 1519 Mission at 11th St., SF. $5-30 sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds.
