Liberate Your Ass: Why Sexual Freedom is Key to Fighting the Right

Liberate Your Ass: Why Sexual Freedom is Key to Fighting the Right

Session Type(s): Panel

Training Tag(s): Women, Arts & Culture

Starts: Thursday, Jun. 7 3:00 PM (Eastern)

Ends: Thursday, Jun. 7 4:15 PM (Eastern)

From birth control to same-sex marriage, it’s clear that the right is reinvigorating a culture war on sex and sexual freedom ahead of the 2012 election. We need to fight back with language—and movements—that include and accept a diversity of sexual practices and identities instead of reproducing the casual shaming and marginalization offered by the right. Panelists, ranging from polyamorous organizers to famous sex writers and activists, will lead a raucous and fun discussion of why the progressive movement can only benefit from fully embracing of people who live, love, and—yes—have sex, in radical defiance of existing norms of gender, family and sexual practice.

Watch live streaming video from freespeechtv at livestream.com

Liberate Your Ass: Why Sexual Freedom is Key to Fighting the Right

Miss this panel? No problem! Here’s what happened.

Storified by Netroots Nation · Thu, Jun 07 2012 17:50:25

There’s something wrong with how we’re talking about sex.
"The women’s mvmt really isn’t a safe place, we have to make space"-Kierra Johnson from @ChoiceUSA #nn12 #nnsexCLRJ
"When we stigmatize young ppl sex and when we stigmatize sex ed, we are putting young ppl at risk"-Kierra from @ChoiceUSA #nn12 #nnsexCLRJ
Abstinence-only education is BS.
It’s not abstinence-only "education", if you have to lie to people so they listen, it’s propaganda – @charlieglickman #nn12sex #nn12Katie Byron
We’ve got to take a new approach to this conversation.
"We cannot just have these conversations about sex w/ only young wmn, young men need to be involved as well"- Kierra @ChoiceUSA #nn12 #nnsexCLRJ
"We have to continue to find different frames to push sex positivity"- Kierra @ChoiceUSA, also gave shout-out to @FwdTogether #nn12 #nnsexCLRJ
Summing things up nicely.
"If I can’t fuck, I dont want to be part of your organizing" – @charlieglickman (prefaced by apologizing to his parents here) #nn12 #nn12sexMichelle Weiser

Moderator

Jenifer Fernandez Ancona

Jenifer Fernandez Ancona

Jenifer Fernandez Ancona is Vice President of Strategy & Member Engagement at Women Donors Network, and has a wide range of experience in communications, donor organizing, strategy development, grassroots organizing, and multi-racial coalition building. She was Director of Strategic Communications at Citizen Engagement Laboratory, where she helped to launch and grow progressive online organizing initiatives focused on communities of color, including Presente.org and ColorOfChange.org. Previously, Jenifer served as a Senior Advisor to Steve Phillips and Susan Sandler, as a consultant to the Democracy Alliance, as a top legislative aide in the California State Assembly, and as a news reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She serves on the Boards of Netroots Nation Education Foundation, CEL, and National People’s Action.

Other sessions: Ignite @ Netroots Nation, Beyond Occupy: What Does a New Economic System Look Like?


Panelists

Charlie Glickman

Charlie Glickman

Charlie Glickman is the Education Program Manager at Good Vibrations, the premiere resource for accurate information and high-quality sex toys, books, and movies, and the editor of Good Vibrations Magazine.

Charlie also writes, blogs, teaches workshops and university courses, presents at conferences, and trains sexuality educators. He’s certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, and loves geeking out about sex, relationships, sex-positivity, love and shame, communities of erotic affiliation, and sexual practices and techniques of all varieties. Follow him online, on Twitter at @charlieglickman, or on Facebook.

my website


Kierra Johnson

kierra.johnson

Kierra Johnson is the Executive Director of Choice USA, the leading pro-choice organization working to mobilize and provide support for the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders. Kierra has bolstered the conversation around youth and reproductive justice through her contribution to print, radio, television and online media, including the New York Times, RH Reality Check, Feministing.com, Newsweek,Fox News and National Public Radio.

Haling from the great state of Georgia, Kierra’s journey with Choice USA started when she was awarded the Maxine Waters Reproductive Freedom Fellowship in 2000. Kierra is the 2002 recipient of the Young Women of Achievement Award from the Women’s Information Network (WIN) and now sits on the advisory council for WIN. Ms. Johnson served as a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention and currently serves on the boards of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Center for Community Change.

my website


Favianna Rodriguez

Favianna Rodriguez

Favianna Rodriguez is an interdisciplinary artist, cultural organizer, and political activist based in Oakland, California. Her art and collaborative projects address migration, global politics, economic equality, gender justice, and ecology. Favianna lectures globally on the power of art, cultural organizing and technology to inspire social change, and leads art workshops at schools around the country. Rodriguez partners with social movement groups around the world to create art that’s visionary and transformational. She is the Executive Director of CultureStrike, a national arts organization that engages artists, writers and performers in migrant rights. She was recently featured in a documentary series titled Migration is Beautiful which addressed how artists responded to failed immigrant policy in the United States. In 2009, she co-founded Presente.org, a national online organizing network dedicated to the political empowerment of Latino communities.

Other sessions: The Worst Immigration Law in the United States, Agitation and Inspiration: The Power of Art and Cultural Organizing

my website


William Winters

william.winters

William Winters helps to create events and experiences for polyamorous communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives with his partner and their three stupid cats. William currently serves as a senior campaigner for Change.org, the nation’s fastest growing platform for social change.