The Center for Sex & Culture has been selected as one of the charities to participate in the first national Give OUT Day, a new initiative that will engage hundreds of organizations and mobilize thousands of people on a single day to give in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer community. On Thursday, May 9th, between 12:00am and 11:59pm, the LGBTQ community and allies across the country will come together for 24 hours of generosity and the Center for Sex & Culture is thrilled to be a part of this historic event.

The CSC, founded in 2000 by Drs. Carol Queen and Robert Morgan Lawrence, is an archive, library, gallery and community space aimed at preserving and sharing information and artifacts of sexual identity, sexual products, and sexual ideas. It is a 501(c) (3) educational organization and it needs your help.

“The Center For Sex and Culture collects because every single sex-related item, in a society that is obsessed by and ashamed of sex, is vulnerable to extinction,” said Queen. “There’s less knowledge about sex informing our history than any other significant elements of life in different times and places.”

“There’s no other archive like this one,” said Metis Black, Founder and President of Tantus, Inc. “For those of us who make a living from the adult industry, this collection is particularly important. There are so few archives that collect sex-related materials, and even fewer that make it a sole focus as the CSC does. The cultural ideas around sexuality have changed so much in the last few decades, and this is a chance to preserve materials that relate to the ways the adult industry has transformed the way people think about sex.”

To support the Center for Sex and Culture for Give OUT Day, visit their fundraising page at: http://giveout.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Sex-And-Culture on May 9th and make a tax-deductible donation. The Horizons Foundation will be granting an additional $5,000 to the Bay Area organization that tallies the most individual contributions on Give OUT Day. “Any person’s donation — in any amount, even $10 — might be the gift that puts us over the top and allows us to raise another five grand,” said Queen. “We are so honored and excited to be involved in this project.”

Anyone who donates $10 or more to the CSC through their Razoo page will be given a $10 discount on registration for CatalystCon West, a conference focused on sparking communication in sexuality, activism, and acceptance. (Send the Razoo confirmation email to info@catalystcon.com to receive the discount code.) Anyone who donates $20 or more will also be given a discount code for 20% off any new product at TantusInc.com, good towards the purchase of any of Tantus’ 100% ultra-premium silicone sex toys. (Send the Razoo confirmation email to Support@tantusinc.com to receive the code.) In addition, anyone who donates $25 or more will be put into a raffle for two registration tickets to CatalystCon West.

Donations to the CSC will go towards helping to develop the archives, hiring their first paid staff member, and necessities such as hot water and insurance. It doesn’t take a miracle to do this work — it takes YOU. Please give a little and help on May 9th.

About Give OUT Day: Give OUT Day is a new national initiative that will engage hundreds of organizations and mobilize thousands of people on a single day across the country to give in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer community. It is a chance for LGBTQ groups large and small, to work across the wide range of issues and activities that matter to the LGBTQ community from sports to policy change, families to the arts. It is a chance for members of the LGBTQ community and our many allies to stand up and show our support for our community together on one day. It is a chance to make history. Give OUT Day is powered by Bolder Giving’s LGBTQ Equality Initiative. For more information visit www.giveoutday.org or contact Noris Chavarría at Noris@BolderGiving.org.

About the Center for Sex and Culture: The mission of the Center for Sex and Culture is to provide judgment-free education, cultural events, a library/media archive, and other resources to audiences across the sexual and gender spectrum; and to research and disseminate factual information, framing and informing issues of public policy and public health. The CSC aims to provide a community center for education, advocacy, research, and support to the widest range of people. Dr. Carol Queen is a writer and cultural sexologist with a Ph.D. in human sexuality. She is the staff sexologist and Chief Cultural Officer at Good Vibrations, the women-founded sex toy and bookstore in San Francisco, where she has worked since 1990. For more information visit: www.sexandculture.org or contact carol@sexandculture.org.

Donate to the CSC on Give OUT Day via www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Sex-And-Culture.

Those interested in sharing their talents with CatalystCon, should submit an Entertainment Proposal with the following information:

• Name
• Company name (if applicable)
• Email
• URL (if applicable)
• Twitter/Facebook URLs (if applicable)
• Photo(s) (300-500px wide)
• Description of entertainment (150 word max)
• Length (should be between 90 minutes and 2 hours)
• Special requirements

Proposals should be sent in plain text in the body of your email (no pdfs or word docs) and should be sent to catalystconsubmissions@gmail.com by June 10th.

Note: We do not offer compensation or cover travel. If chosen you will receive a complimentary full weekend ticket to the conference. 

After a successful, sold-out CatalystCon East conference in Arlington, VA, founder Dee Dennis is returning to the west coast to spark open communication about sexuality, activism and acceptance. CatalystCon West will be held September 27-29, 2013 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, CA.

Described by Dennis as a “melting pot of sexuality,” CatalystCon West will bring together hundreds of sex educators, sex workers, health advocates, writers, activists and more to attend 40 sessions and workshops on sexuality-based topics like “toxic toys”, polyamory, sex work, homophobia in communities of color and feminist porn.

CatalystCon is currently accepting proposals for sessions from anyone who has something to share and the desire to spark conversations in the realms of sexuality, activism and acceptance. Individuals, therapists, educators, media specialists, bloggers, activists, women’s rights advocates, health professionals, and anyone with a passion for creating change is encouraged to submit a proposal. To find out more about becoming a speaker at CatalystCon West please visit catalystcon.com/call-for-speakers. The deadline for speaker submissions is May 15, 2013.

“At CatalystCon, everyone is welcome, everyone is respected, and everyone is encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences,” said Dennis. “Everyone has something to offer, and the more participants, the better the experience — for everybody.”

Author, sex educator and radio host Tristan Taormino will be bringing her radio show, Sex Out Loud (sexoutloudradio.com), to CatalystCon West and will be recording interviews with speakers and attendees in front of a live audience. She will also be presenting a pre-conference workshop “Sex Educator Boot Camp” on Friday. Both events were met with rave reviews at CatalystCon East and Taormino said that she is thrilled to bring them to CatalystCon West.

“CatalystCon brings together a vibrant, active group of sex-positive people from all different communities and industries,” she said. “It’s an exciting event that I just can’t miss!”

The Closing Keynote “Afternoon Tea with Dr. Joycelyn Elders” will feature remarks from the former Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service under President Clinton, followed by an informal interview of Elders by Lynn Comella.

“Last year I attended the inaugural CatalystCon West as a speaker. I’m thrilled to not only attend again this year, but to host an ‘afternoon tea’ with one of my idols,” said Comella, a women’s studies professor at UNLV. “What I love most is that CatalystCon brings a diverse group of people together over the course of a weekend to discuss, debate and think about issues that matter deeply to many of us, from sex education and healthy relationships to sex worker rights and censorship.”

Four returning sponsors from CatalystCon East – Sportsheets International, Tantus Inc., Wet International and Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino – have already committed to sponsoring CatalystCon West.

“CatalystCon West 2013 will be our third CatalystCon sponsorship,” said Tantus President and Founder Metis Black. “Sponsorship at CatalystCon isn’t a vending opportunity; it’s a chance to talk with peers and experts, hear their voices and ideas and share common ground.” For information on how to become a sponsor of CatalystCon, visit catalystcon.com/sponsor.

Registration is now open at catalystcon.com/register. Early bird pricing is available until June 20, 2013.

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Over 350 attendees from around the U.S. and Canada – and as far as Sweden and the Netherlands – gathered in Arlington, VA March 15-17 for the sold-out CatalystCon East sexuality conference. Created to inspire exceptional conversations about sexuality, the event featured 40 sessions and workshops on sexuality-based topics such as erotic writing, “toxic toys”, body image and sexuality, homophobia in communities of color, and sex and disability. Described by founder and organizer Dee Dennis as a “melting pot of sexuality,” CatalystCon unites sex educators, sex workers, health advocates, writers, activists, and others with a passion for creating change.

CatalystCon continues to be such an important meeting of the minds for sex educators, thinkers, academics and community members,” said Carol Queen, staff sexologist at Good Vibrations and co-founder of The Center for Sex & Culture, who spoke at the Closing Keynote with her partner Dr. Robert Morgan Lawrence. “It was a real honor to bring some historical perspective to some of our colleagues who’ve recently gotten involved with sex community, sex ed and CatalystCon.”

The official hashtag #ccon was used so often that it became a trending topic on Twitter on Saturday evening. The conversation continued during and after the conference using the main hashtag and customized hashtags for each session and special event, and many of the best tweets from the conference were curated using Storify. For more information, visit catalystcon.com/press/live-tweets.

Dennis is also proud to announce that over $900 was raised for sexuality education organization Scarleteen (scarleteen.com) at CatalystCon East, thanks to fundraising efforts by conference staff and attendees and representatives from sponsors artpulp, Tantus and Sportsheets International. Other official sponsors of CatalystCon East included ANEROS, Pleasure Chest, Wet, EROS, the FC2 female condom, Good Vibrations, Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino, Sexquire and The Smitten Kitten. Find more info on the sponsors at catalystcon.com/sponsor/sponsors-east.

“Tantus Inc has always been an education based company,” said Tantus President and Founder Metis Black. “We were the first business to educate the industry about material safety and silicone sex toys, and when a sex positive conference that reached out to sex toy bloggers, sex educators, health workers and sex workers came we were one of the first to jump on board. Sponsorship at Catalyst isn’t a vending opportunity; it’s a chance to talk with peers and experts, hear their voices and ideas and share common ground.  We get one on one time with store affiliates, meeting the movers and shakers and social media’s who’s who. I feel so energized and full of ideas each show. Really, there are other educational conventions around but there’s only one CatalystCon.” CatalystCon West 2013 will be the third CatalystCon Sponsorship for Tantus.

CatalystCon returns to the west coast September 27-29, 2013 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, CA. Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service under President Clinton, is already confirmed as the Closing Keynote Speaker.

CatalystCon West is accepting speaker submissions until May 15, 2013. The conference welcomes anyone who has something to share and the desire to spark conversations in the realms of sexuality, activism and acceptance. To apply to speak at CatalystCon West, visit catalystcon.com/call-for-speakers.

“At CatalystCon, everyone is welcome, everyone is respected, and everyone is encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences,” Dennis said. “Everyone has something to offer, and the more participants, the better the experience — for everybody.”

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Keep the conversation going!

We want to thank everyone for all their comments and praise! We are working hard to round up all of the best tweets using the hashtag #ccon and curate them on Storify to tell the stories of CatalystCon. (We’re also working on creating stories for individual sessions, keynotes and special events.) This is taking a little longer than we expected because there are just so many amazing tweets! In fact, the hashtag #ccon was actually a trending topic on Twitter on Saturday! We owe this to everyone who live tweeted this event – without you there would be no stories to tell here. Some of the Storify stories are already on the site and we’ll be adding new ones as soon as they’re ready, so check back often! Thank you for your patience.

We’re also compiling links to articles and blogs about CatalystCon on our Press page. If you have written about CatalystCon, please let us know! We will be posting photos from our official photographer, Tyler Keegan Grigsby, to our website soon. If you have photos from CatalystCon East send them to us and we can share them on our Facebook page. (Please double check your photos to maek sure there are no “No Photos” people anywhere in them before posting.)

Did you complete the post-ccon survey?

We’d love your feedback about the conference to assist in better planning of future CatalystCon events. Please take our survey and let us know what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you’d like to see more of in the future. Your feedback can help shape the future of CatalystCon! Check your email (the email that is connected to your Eventbrite account) to find the survey.

 Announcing CatalystCon West

We are thrilled to announce that CatalystCon West will take place on September 27-29, 2013 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, CA. We are so excited that Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former Surgeon General of the United States under President Clinton, has already signed on as our Closing Keynote Speaker with Lynn Comella as moderator.

The Call for Speakers for CatalystCon West is now open. We urge anyone who has something to share that will spark conversations in sexuality to submit a proposal. Whether you are an individual, therapist, sexuality educator, media specialist, blogger or activist, you have a voice to be heard. The submission deadline is May 15, 2013.

Fundraisers to Support Scarleteen

We are proud to announce that over $900 was raised for Scarleteen at CatalystCon East!

One lucky attendee won two tickets to a future CatalystCon conference! We also would like to thank both Tantus and Sportsheets, who so generously donated items for their own raffles.

And a special thank you to Artpulp.net who sponsored a special “masquerade” art project to raise money for Scarleteen. All the finished masks were photographed and viewable in an exclusive gallery here.

Thank you to everyone who donated. It’s not too late to continue to support Scarleteen. You can still donate now: here.

Thank you so much for being a part of CatalystCon East!

Thank you so much to our sponsors – ANEROS, Sportsheets, Tantus, Pleasure Chest, Wet, artpulp, EROS, the FC2 female condom, Good Vibrations, Sex Out Loud with Tristan Taormino, Sexquire and The Smitten Kitten. (Find more info on our sponsors here.)

Thank you to everyone who was a part of CatalystCon East – the attendees, speakers, volunteers, and everyone who followed along at home via social media. And a special thank you to my staff and the “girl gang” who helped make the weekend run so smoothly. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Hope to see everyone at CatalystCon West…

Please check in on this post throughout the weekend as we will be adding more speakers to the schedule as we confirm them.

Saturday, March 16:

10:15am-11:15am    Dr. Tammy Nelson

1:30pm-2:30pm    Tristan Taormino, Constance Penley, Dylan Ryan, Sinnamon Love, Mireille Miller-Young

2:00pm-3:00pm    jessica drake

Sunday, March  17:

11:45am-12:45pm    Minister L. Renair Amin Covington

1:15pm-1:45    Joan Price

*Schedule is subject to change!

How do you see yourself as a catalyst for change?

I educate and inspire people who are open to seeing the world a new way. Through TheIntimacyDojo.com and ThrivingNow.com we offer new perspectives and practical approaches to build confidence and allow more self-expression and power.

Who or what was a catalyst for you?

There are many sparks in everyone’s lives. For me, I’ve had several people who believed in me and helped me find a new way of being. So many people who paved the trail we’re all following.Reid Mihalko has helped me change my trajectory through life in profound ways, which is a big reason I’m his affiliate manager. I love to share the voices that inspire me and help the world find what they’ve been searching for.

What do you feel are some of the biggest challenges or concerns facing us in the field of sexuality right now?

A lot of people (I was one of them for decades) don’t know what they don’t know. They think the myths, stories and incomplete and sometimes false information they learned as children is all there is. They struggle with an incomplete puzzle and don’t realize that life would be so much easier and delicious if they found the rest of the pieces…or started playing a new game.

What do you feel are some of the most important/valuable positive changes that have been made in the world of sexuality in the past year?

I love that more mainstream information about poly is getting out there, like Showtimes Polyamory: Married and Dating. And gay marriage being more accepted and supported.

Why do you feel it is important to bring the topic of your session, Does This Panel Make Me Look Fat?: Body Image and Sexuality, to CatalystCon East?

Does This Panel Make Me Look Fat? Body Image and Sexuality is close to my heart because I was single for 14 years, thinking that I had to be slender to date. I spent so many years lonely and stuck because I bought the media’s view that I was disgusting and undatable. Discovering that I let a lie control me and isolate me for so long was humbling and eye opening. I want to do whatever I can to help others find the freedom and truth- that they are absolutely acceptable and can have a beautiful life, where ever they are in their life- so they can get out there and live.

Share one unknown (or little known) fact about yourself.

I can’t sing at all. My cat once slapped me when I sang to him. But I still sing in the shower sometimes.

Learn more about all our amazing speakers here. Register for CatalystCon East here.

How do you see yourself as a catalyst for change?

Sharing what has motivated and moved me to make a difference in my own life. 80% of success (ie, being a catalyst for change) is just showing up (Woody Allen). The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. (Wikipedia). How does this apply to being a catalyst for change? It means that 80% of success in making change is just showing up, but only 20% of the people do it (probably even less). Folks at CatalystCon East are in that 20% and ready to make change, especially as that change applies to the diverse field of sexuality.

Who or what was a catalyst for you?

One of my favorite quotes that inspires me as a catalyst is from Howard Thuman, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. “Don’t ask what the world needs; ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”

What do you feel are some of the biggest challenges or concerns facing us in the field of sexuality right now?

The societal values and norms that permeate our culture, media, policies, and laws that view sexuality as a narrow, heterosexist construct. Sexuality is a social construction and as such reflects the judgments of society. For example, our society assumes that older adults are asexual and without sexual desires, thus impacting their access to information about pleasure, intimacy, and safer sex. For those of us who identify other than male/female/heterosexual, we are often subjected to discrimination, prejudice, and numerous encounters of homo/bi/trans phobia. Our society has little tolerance and understanding of the variances within sexuality.

What do you feel are some of the most important/valuable positive changes that have been made in the world of sexuality in the past year?

CatalystCon East! Creating Change Conference (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force). Marriage equality cases being heard by the Supreme Court.

Why do you feel it is important to bring the topic of your session, The Silver Rainbow: Working with LGBT Seniors, to CatalystCon East?

Long overlooked and invisible in society at large, older LGBT people are beginning to emerge as a distinct community. 2012 is the first year our baby boomers are turning 65—our society is going to see dramatic growth of this age demographic and with that, growth in the number of LGBT folks. While LGBT seniors share many of the same aging related issues as their hetero counterparts, they also confront special challenges as well. LGBT seniors may face social discrimination due to their age as well as their sexual orientation or gender identity. Older LGBT people often experience homophobia, biphobia and/or transphobia when trying to access healthcare or elder care services. They may also confront age discrimination within LGBT community organizations.

Why do you feel it is important to bring the topic of your session, What’s Your “Bi-Q”?., to CatalystCon East?

Bisexual individuals are in many ways a hidden population. When recognized, bisexuality is often viewed as being part gay and part straight, rather than being its own unique identity. Further, bisexual individuals face not only discrimination confronting the LGT community because of their non-heterosexuality, but also resistance from the LGT community. Participants will increase their understanding of bisexuality and become savvy when working with the diversity of our sexuality.

Share one unknown (or little known) fact about yourself.

I am an avid cyclist and used to spend my summers leading bicycle tours. Highlights include riding from Maine to Florida and cycling 800 miles in 8 days throughout central Florida. I also enjoy hiking and climbed three CO “14-teeners” in three days.

Learn more about all our amazing speakers here. Register for CatalystCon East here.

How do you see yourself as a catalyst for change?

I see myself as being able to help people protect the property they worked hard to create.  Content creators are a minority entitled to the same rights as everyone else.  I hope that through me, those artists can stand up for those rights.

Who or what was a catalyst for you?

I won’t say who, but a studio owner dismissed me during a contentious debate about piracy.  His words were something to the effect of “Do you really think YOU can make a difference?” – I was determined from that date to not only make a difference but to go above and beyond what any doubter would ever think possible.

What do you feel are some of the biggest challenges or concerns facing us in the field of sexuality right now?

There’s obviously huge issues like gay marriage, human trafficking, reproductive rights, etc., which trump most everything else.  But speaking to my little area of expertise, educating consumers to not see adult content creators as unworthy of basic human rights is a huge challenge, as well as educating consumers to understand why it is important to protect intellectual property and not treat the producers and performers as disposable.

What do you feel are some of the most important/valuable positive changes that have been made in the world of sexuality in the past year?

Seeing the overwhelming tide of support for marriage equality.  Knowing I will see a time in my lifetime when gay marriage is recognized across the United States.  I grew up in a small town where you would have been taking a risk by coming out.  To go from that to seeing the strides the LGBT community has made in acceptance – that is amazing.

Why do you feel it is important to bring the topic of your session, The Piracy of Sex, to CatalystCon East?

It is important for people to know there are things they can do to protect their intellectual property that won’t break their budget.  I also want to reach out to those bloggers and/or educators who may be of the opinion that somehow anti-piracy equals censorship.  I want them to know who the people are they are supporting.  I want them to see how pirates are exploiting sex workers and artists.  There is a lot of misinformation out there, and I hope to counter that with actual first-hand experience and facts.

Share one unknown (or little known) fact about yourself.

I could tell you that, but I’d have to kill you.

Learn more about all our amazing speakers here. Register for CatalystCon East here.

How do you see yourself as a catalyst for change?

When I look around, when I introduce myself and chat with random people, I hear a lot of people with hopes, dreams, desires, and preferences, and I hear a lot of people who aren’t confident, educated enough, or feel free enough to explore and pursue what or who they want.

The thing is, it doesn’t always take a lot to convince people to go for what they want and be who they want to be.

So I like being that person, the troubleshooter, the one that takes the time to find out everything that’s going on and find a path that makes everyone just a little more happy, or respectful, or open.

I see myself as a catalyst for change, a few people at a time.

Who or what was a catalyst for you?

I’d been unhappy with my given religion for a long time. Working through that process also allowed me to examine my political belief system and made me realize that I’d been brought up by my religion and my politics for years to be someone I’m not. It’s motivated me to solidify and make consistent my own internal beliefs, and to explore how they effect other people and in my estimation almost everyone’s been poorly served. So, I don’t necessarily pursue one party, one agenda, but I pursue equal rights for every consenting adult and either bring different people together to talk, or aggressively call out those unwilling to.  My own upbringing makes me want to work to make it ok for others to dissent where I couldn’t.

What do you feel are some of the biggest challenges or concerns facing us in the field of sexuality right now?

I don’t know what the answer is, but for the moment my push is constant engagement and publicly exposing hate.

Why do you feel it is important to bring the topic of your session, Sex With Benefits: Progressive Swinging, to CatalystCon East?

We’re speaking about progressive swinging.

I’ve never been a fan of labels, I started out not even wanting to call myself a swinger, but I found that labels don’t have to necessarily define or separate people, they can just be useful pieces of information and give people an idea of where you’re coming from. Some labels are terribly unhelpful, but we decided attaching “progressive” to the swinging label was useful.

When I identify as a progressive swinger, I want it to mean that I enjoy sex, no-strings attached, with an ongoing friendship, or regular deep connections with someone. I”ve made a decision not to separate emotions from my sexuality, but I’m ok if you do. I may identify as other things on occasion, but my identifying as progressive swinger feels like an expansion of  what a swinger is and can be and not a subset of what it currently is. It’s just another way to tell people I’m likely open to who and what you are, without having to explain myself  for a half hour., and a way to build a community around that.

Share one unknown (or little known) fact about yourself.

I’m a -HUGE- fan of Roller Derby!

Learn more about all our amazing speakers here. Register for CatalystCon East here.