“We look forward to a wonderful celebration honoring Dr. Queen, who has worked tirelessly for more than two decades to develop sex-positive programs and resources used not only here in the Bay Area, but throughout the U.S. and in other nations,” Good Vibrations President and CEO Theresa Sparks said.
Queen, who is a recognized sex educator, author and media personality in the field of human sexuality, is the second oldest employee of Good Vibrations, which opened its first store in San Francisco in 1977.
“It’s really exciting and gratifying to have had this long with Good Vibes because it’s been an extremely important place for me to have a home and be able to do my other work as well,” Queen told XBIZ. “I’ve been at Good Vibes now for a little over 17 years and I was nowhere near 50 when I started.”
An activist in the GLBT and alternative sexuality communities, Queen helped found the Center for Sex and Culture in San Francisco with her partner Robert Lawrence, also an author, activist and sex educator.
Queen and Lawrence appeared in an educational line of videos called the “Bend-Over Boyfriend” series, produced in 1998 by Fatale Films, which was considered pioneering in the area of erotic anal play for couples. She has written for numerous publications including Playboy, co-written several books and essays, and is the author of “Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture,” as well as several books which are currently used in human sexuality curriculums in universities across the U.S.
The Funky Birthday Bash will have a “Summer of Love” ‘70s disco theme, with DJ Justin Credible spinning, go-go boys and girls and surprise appearances by several Bay Area celebrities.
“The best part is going to be the roast and I’m afraid there are going to be people that will come out of the woodwork to tell all my secrets,” Queen said. “Even now, I walk up to people, thinking I’ve never seen them before and they treat me like they’ve known me very closely in the past, and I realize I just didn’t recognize them with their clothes on.”
Admission to the party is free. Donations will be accepted to benefit the Center for Sex and Culture and 10 percent of the sales in the store that night also will go to the Center.
“It’s so meaningful for me to have been able to have San Francisco as a base,” Queen said. “I’m completely sure that I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this anywhere else with the same kind of opportunities and ability to get my perspective out. I couldn’t have become myself in the way that I’ve become, so I really sound out to my adopted town.”