SAN FRANCISCO — The Center for Sex & Culture (CSC) has announced two August panel discussions created entirely by its summer interns.
According to the Center, Emilie Friedman, visiting from CUNY, has curated a panel on feminist porn, while Smith College intern Sarah chose to develop a panel about kink and disability. Both panels are offered to the public.
“We are so fortunate to have talented, sex-positive students work with us on a regular basis,” CSC founding director Dr. Carol Queen, PhD, explains. “We know that interns come to CSC to further their own knowledge about sexuality and culture, but it’s also great that we can provide opportunities to hone or develop skills that will serve them in other contexts."
The first of these two events, “Images of the Feminist Future: a Panel on Feminist Porn,” will be held on Saturday, August 9. Doors will open at 8 p.m., with clips starting at 8:30 p.m., followed by a two-hour panel discussion from 9-11 p.m. There is a sliding scale $12-$20 admission fee.
Panelists will include Princess Donna of Kink.com, Tobi Hill-Meyer of Handbasket Productions, Courtney Trouble of TROUBLEfilms, along with Cinnamon Maxxine and Chelsea Poe, who will discuss feminist praxis-in-action, queer world building, the politics of representation and more.
Attendees can RSVP via Facebook.
Next up will be “Disabled Pride/Disabled Pain: Stories of Kink and Disability,” set for Saturday, August 23, from 6-8:30 p.m. There is a sliding scale suggested donation of $7-15, with no one turned away for lack of funds.
Panelists will include Lyric Seal, Carrie Wade and Corey Alexander, who will discuss coming into a sexual and kinky identity as a disabled person, relationships between experiences of oppression and kink play, access intimacy in kinky play and more.
While the Center for Sex & Culture warns that it is not ADA accessible, wheelchair access is available through the front door and chairs have fit in the bathroom with relative ease. An automatic door opener sometimes works, with the event’s promoters saying they will update attendees closer to the event.
The promoters also ask that attendees come scent-free, and note that there is no smoking outside the door and to be aware of chemicals they may come in contact with throughout the day, due to the health concerns of other attendees.
The Center is seeking an ASL interpreter, and once confirmed, will update its Facebook page.
Attendees can RSVP via Facebook.
The Center for Sex and Culture was founded 10 years ago by essayist, erotic writer, sexologist, educational porn star and lecturer Dr. Carol Queen and by Dr. Robert Morgan Lawrence, a sex educator who holds double PhDs in Human Sexuality and has been in the field for 38 years.
The space itself is a non-profit community center that hosts events, classes and parties ranging across topics related to sexuality, gender and sex education, making sex educational resources available outside of an academic or specialized institution. The Center is also home to a gallery, archive and library of sex-related materials.
The Center for Sex & Culture is located at 1349 Mission Street in San Francisco.
For more information on the events, e-mail emilierfriedman@gmail.com.
