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Don’t be shy! Come talk about sex! Sex is often marginalized within our own community and even by the younger generation. Is that self-imposed marginalization a deliberate effort to maintain a "positive image" of the rich-white-lawyer-who-just-happens-to-love-other-men in the face of attacks from outside? Through this panel, we would like to discuss the importance of claiming our sex as part of our sexuality and celebrate the variety of sexualities in the queer community. We believe that being open about our sexuality is a vital part of the political project of being a progressive queer community and that truly *positive* images would include the diversity of our sexual community. Panelists include: * Lani Ka’ahumanu, founder of BiNet USA and the Safer Sex Sluts * Felicia Park-Rodgers, founder of COLAGE (Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere) * Tristan Taormino, editor of On Our Backs *Tony Valenzuela, HIV+ sex activist/actor/writer • Lani Ka'ahumanu is a feminist, activist, organizer, author, poet, HIV/safer-sex educator, and leturer. A founding organizer of both BiPOL in 1983, the first bisexual political action group, and BiNet USA in 1987, the first national bisexual organization, she was chosen to speak on behalf of bisexual people at the 1993 March on Washington. Lani is also co-editor of BI ANY OTHER NAME: Bisexual People Speak Out, and creator of the Safer Sex Sluts. She is currently working on her next titles: MY GRASSROOTS ARE SHOWING: stories, speeches and special affections 1975 – 2000, and PASSING FOR OTHER: primal creams and forbidden dreams poetry and prose 1975 – 2000. • Felicia Park-Rodgers is the first full-time paid Director of COLAGE (Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere), an international organization which works to support sons and daughters of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender parents as well as to fight the homophobia our families and communities face. Under Felicia's direction, COLAGE has developed into an independent nonprofit with a rapidly growing membership, and a diverse array of support and advocacy programs. Felicia was also a trainer and core trainer in the first two NGLTF National LGBT Youth Leadership Institutes. She has spoken as a plenary speaker at NGLTF's Creating Change conference, the UFMCC International Jubilee, BGLAD at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Rainbow Families conference in Minneapolis. Her leadership and vision were recently recognized by the Anderson Prize Foundation which awarded her The Stonewall Award for her achievements for the lgbt movement as a part of COLAGE. • Tristan Taormino is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women and director, producer and star of the video based on her book. She is editor of On Our Backs, a columnist for The Village Voice, and sex advice columnist for Taboo magazine. She is series editor of Best Lesbian Erotica and lives in cyberspace at www.puckerup.com. She recently finished a new sex guide which will be published in September 2001 (ReganBooks/HarperCollins) and her new sex talk show, "Sexology," premieres this spring on the Burly Bear Network, a college cable network (www.burlybear.com). • Tony Valenzuela, a Writer/Performer/sex worker/activist, is one of the gay community’s most controversial figures. As an HIV-positive gay man, Valenzuela broke from the rank and file of AIDS activism by publicly affirming the meaning and value of bareback sex--sex without condoms. Perhaps more than anyone else in America, Valenzuela has influenced the dialogue around sex and HIV prevention to include the full breadth and reality of gay male sexuality. Poz magazine calls Valenzuela "AIDS activism’s most misunderstood man." In 1998, in collaboration with performer/author Michael Kearns, he wrote his first solo work, The (Bad) Boy Next Door, which is an autobiographical one-man show. Valenzuela has been featured extensively in print, television, and radio, gay and non-gay media worldwide. |
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