I’m sure I offended them with my aerosol spray of sunscreen, because the scent was “unnatural”, just like my hair color and my boobs. But whatever. I thought hippies were supposed to be non-judgmental. My bad. But in my own defense, I did not think the contents would end up in a cloud around me rather than spray directly on me. And I did apologize once I realized my faux pas. I’m sure our plastic bottles of artificially sweetened diet Pepsi also raised an eyebrow or two. No, we definitely didn’t fit in here. We’re too “city”, too unnatural, not granola enough. Yet what struck me as ironic was that they had posted a rule that really confused me in this clothing-optional hot springs retreat: No sexuality allowed. Apparently, “some people” complained that sexual activity in the area was disturbing to them. I want to know why the discomfort of one can override the enjoyment of another. Why do they always win? You know who, the complainers, the whiners, the perpetually offended... 

Okay, so I saw a guy holding his cock in the silent meditation pool. I didn’t care, it wasn’t my thing, so I looked away.  No big deal. So why couldn’t the people who complained...

April 15 was tax day, and believe it or not, there are many ways that sex and sexuality relate to taxes.  Here are two that made the headlines:

Maryland gives tax breaks to gay couples who own a house together. While the law is well intentioned, it only helps gay couples who are wealthy enough to buy a home; leaving the single gay person or gay couples with the least economic resources with the greatest tax burden.

Staging a Boston Tea Party style protest against tax increases = clever. Calling the protest 'teabagging' without the slightest clue to the sexual implications of that word = desperate need of sexual literacy.

Notice the awesome double entendre in this MSNBC video piece.

Paying taxes wasn’t the only painful thing that happened this week. The entire sexuality world is mourning the lost of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick to breast cancer. But Richard Kim’s obituary for her in The Nation reminds us that we can celebrate her indelible contribution to queer theory and that her intellectual contributions will live on her books, most notably Epistemology of the Closet and Between Men.

Also, April is Sexual Assault Awareness...

On December 13 a lesbian in Richmond, CA (near San Francisco) was about to enter her vehicle as she was approached by 4 young men who proceeded to beat, gang rape, rob and leave her completely naked and bleeding to death near the Richmond BART train station. 

This heinous crime shocked even the Richmond police-- who see some of the worse cases of violence in the country. 

The attack was "alleged" to be a hate crime as the survivor claims that the attackers targeted her and used anti gay language throughout her attack.

Horrifying attacks such as this one reinforce the need for a higher level of sexuality education in this country. If we can begin to imagine a world where true lifelong sexual literacy exists....which embraces sexual human diversity and rights....we can begin to heal.

NSRC is proud to work with organizations like Community United Against Violence (CUAV) who promote education, awareness, advocacy and healing for those affected by these crimes and others forms of violence. CUAV is the local agency responding to media calls and crisis calls related to this terrifying crime. 

I would like to take a moment to remind...

Today, sex workers and allies of sex workers will march on Washington D.C. and hold community vigils and rallies in cities across the globe for the 6th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

In 2003, sexologist Dr. Annie Sprinkle and SWOP or Sex Worker Outreach Project, created this annual day aimed at remembering sex workers who have been murdered, ending discrimination and stigma, hate crime and all forms of violence against sex workers internationally.

Every day sex workers face social stigma, arrest, and the sheer terror of never knowing when they will be brutally beaten, robbed, raped and/or murdered. 

Society tends to say that sex workers deserve whatever they have coming to them just because they choose to engage in the work they do. This ignores the fact that people have always in all times and cultures done sex work, often but not always due to coercion. The same sort of you-deserve-it mentality is often used to justify hate crimes against LGBT people and is also used to blame women rather than the men who rape them. Organizations like SWOP work to turn this distorted, immoral and dangerous way of thinking and acting around....