When I decided on the theme of Race, Gender, and Sexuality for the 2009 NSRC Summer Institute, I was basing my decision on feedback from recent and past participants in the Institute, suggestions from current graduate students, and advice from my colleagues at San Francisco State University and the NSRC.  And of course, there were cultural and political events that contributed to what I perceived as a real need to select this theme and consequently the classes and faculty to address these issues.  However, I do not think that I knew the intensity with which I, my staff, the faculty, and the participants would have such an authentic experience including real conversations about race, gender, and sexuality over the past four or five weeks.  Upon reflection, I feel as though I am continuing from this journey with many more questions than answers while also having a much deeper understanding of myself and a greater desire to interpret my experiences in the positions that I hold and the spaces that I occupy throughout my life. 

As we sat in our classes (and the bars, cafes, restaurants, dorms, and apartments after) discussing the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, we also watched and sometimes (usually) commented on events unfolding on the national stage regarding many of these same issues.  We observed a dark-skinned president with an odd sounding name who just happens to be multi-racial (or mixed race if you prefer) struggle...

This summer, as well as this Summer Institute, is flying by. It seems only yesterday I was teaching my last class in Everett, MA and packing for San Francisco. As a community health educator, I seek to bridge the space between research and practice.

Inevitably when meeting someone, I am asked, “what do you do?” and often my condensed answer is “I teach sex ed.” The range of responses I’ve received have been from the bewildered – “How can you do THAT?” – to joyous – “I’m so glad YOU’RE the one teaching them” and everywhere in between. Sexuality, as well as the teaching of anything sex-related, evokes a strong emotional response. I wonder, if chefs receive the same questioning: “How many years of ‘training’ – wink wink – did you have to get?” and “Do you teach Kindergarteners how to put on condoms?” Food, like sex, is a natural, human need. Studying sexuality, in my mind, is similar to studying food or sleep. Yet unlike our sociocultural relationship to food, sex has become taboo, almost a fetish.Explaining my role to people working on sexual and reproductive health involves some jargon: “I direct a DPH-funded, evidence-based, school-based, teen pregnancy prevention program combining class discussions with service learning.” What does this mean? To parse that sentence: I’m the only one working on this...

This summer, Dr. Héctor Carrillo joins the 2009 Summer Institute as featured faculty.

The majority of research that discusses HIV risk, sexuality, and race seems to follow a linear formula that connects one’s sexuality and race to risky behaviors and subsequent vulnerability to HIV. Dr. Héctor Carrillo’s research however, adds an understanding of cultural context with regards to sexuality in Mexico that complicates the idea of what labels like ‘gay’ or ‘risk’ mean in different environments. What happens when men who have sex with other men, and because they are not gay or bisexual, do not believe themselves to be at risk for HIV because they do not claim a gay identity? One of Dr. Carrillo’s recent studies ‘Trayectos’, which means trajectory or path, follows the ever-changing context of sexuality as individuals move across the Mexican-US border in what he and others call...

When I think back on my favorite teachers, I realize they all share one trait in common – they listen. Summer Institute featured lecturer Cathy Cohen has made listening a radical methodology for studying sexual attitudes and behaviors, so know doubt she will be a great teacher who you won’t want to miss this summer at the Summer Institute on Race, Gender, and Sexuality! Dr. Cohen is perhaps most famous for her books The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics and Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Reader, but her research illustrates that she will be an excellent teacher because she listens, and most importantly she listens to youth and young adults of color.

Dissatisfied with popular perceptions of Black youth and concerned by they way those perceptions were employed in outreach programs, Dr. Cohen tried something radical. She started the Black Youth Project and set out to listen to young adults, allowing them to express their own opinions. She wanted to understand young adults’ attitudes, their experiences, and learn how they understand the world around them.  By asking youtn of multiple racial identities about their beliefs she shattered myths about Black youth and empowered young adult voices to drown out the stereotypes.

In past summers, we've had participants attend our annual Summer Institute from just about every state in the U.S. and from a number of countries around the globe. And every year, we hear all sorts of stories about why they decided to attend, and we hear even more stories about what they got out of the experience once they've returned to their homes.  We decided to put together a compilation of the top ten reasons you should consider attending this year's Summer Institute on Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the United States.   

10. Spend a month in San Francisco! Often touted as one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S., San Francisco is a cosmopolitan city with never a dull moment.  From the world-class restaurants, incredible museums, eclectic and diverse neighborhoods, walking tours, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, Golden Gate Park (and all the smaller parks throughout the city!), lectures, screenings, and the infamous club and nightlife scene, you'll never have a hard time finding something to do anytime of day or week.

9. If you do find yourself bored with life in the City, the rest of the Bay Area will surely have plenty to offer to keep you occupied.  Scout a tech job in Silicon...

As the deadline for the NSRC Summer Institute approaches, NSRC staff and interns are going to write about our featured Summer Institute lectures each week and tell you why you want to spend a portion of your summer in a classroom with these talented scholars. To kick off the series, I’m pulling out all of the stops and throwing down this ever-convincing gambit – if you love Oprah, you should come to the Summer Institute.

No, Oprah is not one of our featured scholars, but Lisa Diamond is and on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 she will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show discussing her research on women’s sexual fluidity. So if you want to know more about Oprah and what she is really like in person, the NSRC summer institute with Dr. Lisa Diamond is the place to be! But seriously, Oprah may have revolutionized daytime television, but she's got nothing on Lisa Diamond when it comes to revolutionizing the way we think about sexuality.

Students interested in identity, attraction, and sexuality must meet Dr. Diamond because she is doing some of the most innovative research in the field. Her book, Sexuality Fluidity, takes a critical look at gender, sexual attraction, and systems of categorizing sexual...

Of course, I mean no disrespect to anyone who engages in sex work; I strongly support anyone who chooses to do so.  The only problem I have with any kind of sex work is the lack of rights that go along with this career that those of us who work in other areas enjoy such as insurance, nondiscrimination, and not getting arrested when we go to work.  You know, little things...In fact, we can all do our part in helping sex workers by supporting organizations such as St. James Infirmary here in San Francisco that are in danger of losing much needed funding.

So you want to work in the field of sexuality but you don't really like taking off your clothes in front of strangers or strangers with cameras...there are other options.  In fact, one of the questions that I am often asked by our students at SF State is "how do I get your job?"  Well...my job isn't vacant, so you'll have to wait until I decide to leave or have me knocked off.  Instead of plotting my death or hiring a hitman, I have some suggestions for all of you who hope to one day be gainfully...