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Barbecue, Tex-Mex, South by Southwest (live music in general), wildflowers, margaritas, technology, the Longhorns, and George W. Bush (unfortunately) are just a few of the things that most people think about when they think about Austin. It's a bustling, growing city nestled up to the Hill Country on the west and to rolling plains on the east. Ask anyone about Austin and they'll tell you that it's a liberal oasis in the middle of a conservative wasteland. If they're from there, they'll probably tell you it's the only place in Texas they would live (but they might give San Antonio a chance). If they've never been, they'll tell you it's some place that they'd like to visit and have heard it's a pretty great place. It never fails when I've been with someone on their first visit, they always say that they're surprised at how green it is (too many Wile E. Coyotes and Westerns have given a false generalization to a very large and diverse - demographically and geographically - state). It's also the place that I'm most likely to identify as home when anyone asks me where I'm from.
I'm traveling to Austin this week for the first time ever for work rather than to visit family and friends and to eat some long over due Tex-Mex (don't worry, queso, enchiladas, migas, and beer with my friends is on the to do list, as well). The NSRC and the University of Texas chapter of the Campus Coalition for Sexual Literacy (CCSL) are hosting our first regional training/conference on sexuality education and research (ever!) on the UT campus this week. Cati Connell, the chapter leader, has organized an excellent program; for a full listing, check out the schedule here. I'm proud of Cati and am excited to see how things play out over the next few days. FYI, we're recording the entire event and will have it up on our website for your viewing pleasure in the weeks to come.
Preparing for this training and conference over the last few weeks has gotten me thinking about my own experiences growing up in Texas and later as a young academic at the University of Texas. Like much of the U.S., Texas can be quite a contradiction when it comes to sex and sexuality. It's home to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders; yet, legislators tried to outlaw "sexy cheerleading outfits" a few years ago. It has a wild west history and flavor where "live and let live" is the law of the land; yet, it was the place where the arrest of two adults engaging in consensual sex in their own home eventually led to the demise of sodomy laws across the U.S. Dolly Parton sang to us that "there's nothin' dirty goin' on" in the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; yet, today it is still illegal to sell dildos and sex toys (watch out if you ever have more than five in your possession!). And if I hadn't attended the University of Texas and gotten involved as a peer sexual health educator, I might not have ever embarked on a career in sexuality studies; yet, I felt a great deal of isolation and lack of support while studying sexuality and sexual health for my doctoral research.
While I'm "home" over the next few days, I'm going to be spending a lot of time thinking about sex and sexuality in the context of a place like Texas - not really the South but not really the Southwest; conservative but with some growing pockets of liberalism in the major cities (and with more major cities than any other state); and dominated by white culture with a mostly Latino population in a large part of the state. And in Austin - a white progressive (and all that goes along with that), highly educated center of government with major disparities along race and class lines. There's going to be lots to ponder and debate over a cold one, so check back later this week for my thoughts on sexuality in Austin, Texas, as well as for updates and reports from Sex in Public: How sexuality shapes the public sphere.
Now, I'm off for some chile con queso and a margarita!
