Archive for the 'Events' Category

International Ms. Leather conference 2010

March 17, 2010 | Events

I’ve known about the San Francisco International Ms. Leather conference, or IMSL, for a number of years now, but somehow I’ve never made it. It’s always just bad timing. One year I even had a friend die on the first day of the con, so I had to totally blow my volunteer work. I’m hoping maybe possibly hopefully to go for at least one day. There is a huge play space, and of course lots of women have their hotel rooms, there are parties for every kink and fetish, competitions, workshops, vendors and of course plenty of hookup and/or dating opportunities.

I’m hoping this year to be able to do at least one day at the con. I haven’t bought tickets yet because my schedule is so booked that I’m not sure when I will be able to escape. Let me know if you might be there, I’d love to meet!!

Fisting Class TONIGHT!!!!

February 26, 2010 | Events, Health

Tonight!! February 26, our friend Essin’ Em is teaching a fisting class and it looks like I’ll be the fisted! I was planning on going to this class anyway, because you can never get enough practice, info and oogling of fisting. This morning I heard that her original volunteer is MIA, so yay me!

If you are anywhere near San Francisco and have a little spare time tonight please come out to the fisting class at the Center for Sex and Culture! All genders and all orientations are welcome!

Vaginal Fisting for One and All! with Shanna Katz, a.k.a. Essin’Em
Friday, 2/26, 7pm
At CSC, 1519 Mission
$20-30 sliding scale

Event: Supporting our Sisters and Brothers in the Sex Industry

January 29, 2010 | Events

I’m not much of an activist myself but I am a huge supporter of sex work activism. I’m not a prostitute myself, but sex is sex is sex and I’m still taking money in exchange for sexual acts. It is crucial for all sex workers to support all other forms of sex work, because when they come after one group it won’t be long before they come after the rest of us.

Why are the police spending time going after sex workers and non-violent clients and not catching rapists and other violent men?

“Stand-In” Against the Arrest of Sex Workers
When: Thursday, February 4, 12 noon
Where: Corner of Polk and Sutter in San Francisco

Did you know that since January 1, 36 women and 15 men have been arrested for soliciting? Are you concerned about the impact on sex workers’ safety of police crackdowns like this? Come hear how stepped up arrests push sex workers into more isolated and dangerous areas, and make it harder for people to report violence for fear of arrest.

Politicians blame sex workers for an increase in prostitution. Have they forgotten the economic recession? 70% are sex workers are mothers trying to support their loved ones. If the $11.4 million (or more!) currently spent on prostitution enforcement went to provide housing, welfare and other resources, if there were jobs that paid a living wage, then women, young people and men, wouldn’t be pushed out on the street to survive,

Let the new Chief of Police know that we don’t want mug shots of clients posted online. What a waste of police resources to go after men for consenting sex when rapists go free. Speak out against the racism in prostitution arrests: 40% of men arrested are men of color; Black women are seven times more likely to be arrested; immigrant women are routinely targeted for arrest and deportation using the pretext of trafficking.

Stand with San Franciscans who call for the safety and protection of sex workers to come first. New Zealand has decriminalized prostitution and sex workers are safer and more able to leave prostitution. We want to know, why not here?

For info: US PROStitutes Collective: uspros@allwomencount.net 415-626-4114

Fisting Class in Denver

January 6, 2010 | Around the World, Events

One of our friends, Essin’ Em, will be presenting a fisting class in Denver on Jan 14th. This looks like a great class for anyone who likes pussy and has hands. Its going to be an amazing class, and I wish she would come to the studio for a personal one-on-one demonstration!

A Benefit for FabledAsp: Fabulous Activist Bay Area Lesbians Living with Disability

November 21, 2008 | Events

I’ll be there! This sounds like a really fabulous event.

Crip2Nite is a queer crip performance salon featuring LGBTQ artists living with disability.

Come celebrate with our first Crip2Nite salon at Femina Potens. This month’s theme is “The Power of Definition.” Enjoy an afternoon of cutting-edge slam poetry, music and comedy hosted by the fabulous, funny Karen Ripley.

Perform at our open mic by contacting crip2nite at fabledasp dot com, or sign up at the door.

WHAT: Crip2Nite
WHERE: Femina Potens at 2199 Market St., San Francisco
WHEN: Sunday, November 23, from 3-5:30 p.m.
COST: Sliding scale $5-$20 (or more). No one turned away.

BENEFIT FOR: Fabled ASP (Fabulous Activist Bay Area Lesbians Living with Disability: A Storytelling Project) whose mission is to celebrate disabled lesbian activism, art and culture and continue the disability arts revolution in the Bay Area. Learn more at www.fabledasp.com

Femina Potens is wheelchair accessible. Please do not wear scents or scented products. Thank you.

Crip2Nite: Conceived by: Joy Taylor, Crip2Nite coined by Joy Taylor and Patty Overland.
Produced by: Joy Taylor, Patty Overland, Jill Lessing, and Laura Rifkin

Enjoy an afternoon of cutting-edge slam poetry, music and comedy hosted by Karen Ripley.
Karen Ripley has been performing comedy and improvisation for the GLBT community for over 30 years. Recently featured on Logo TV “wisecracks.”

Other performers include:
Jenni Mork, who has been outing Buck Deerborn stories with Mothertounge Feminist theatre and has proudly stroked his antlers and told his story in Sex diaries at the Dark room. Buck stories resonate with the greater truth that one sometimes has no choice but to be themselves.

Susan Kay Gilbert is the executive producer and host of “The Inappropriate Show” TV for Lesbians, and she is a Lynch-Syndrome cancer thriver and author of the song “Fuck You Cancer.”

Lesile Gordon, a Jewish Disabled woman, who is always getting into something.

Melodie Morgan Frances, a bay area writer and lesbian with an invisible to the naked eye disability

Patty Overland was one of three founders of Wry Crips Reader’s Theater.

Caera Aislingea is a singer, harper, teacher, and writer, and sings in all three Gaelic languages (Irish, Scottish, and Manx) as well as other languages.

Morningstar doing a butch drag king bit.

Barbara Ruth is a poet going for total immersion into disabled women’s culture.
She is the author of the poem, “The Fabled Asp”- written for the project.

Judy Andreas will be reading one of Pandoura Carpenter’s (may her memory be for a blessing) taxi tales.

AND OTHER SPECIAL SURPRISES!

The Future of American Marriage

October 22, 2008 | Events

I recently attended my first real legal California same sex wedding. It was amazing and really redefined what marriage means to me. I had never liked weddings or marriage. Long before I ever knew that there was such a thing as being queer I picked up on the patriarchal and anti-feminist overtones of traditional marriage. As a child I never wanted to dress up as a bride, play with bride dolls or role play weddings. I thought it was absurd that I would have to change my last name when I grew up and married. I must have been about fourteen when my mother began to talk about my wedding. I knew several women who were married while in high school. I didn’t know to call myself queer yet, but I knew marriage wasn’t for me.

I know several couples that got married recently under the new laws, but none of them had weddings. They were all well established couples that had been partnered for many years, so the marriage was a legal confirmation of their already existing relationship. It seems that straight weddings are traditionally a ceremony for the beginning of a new relationship. Same sex couples have not had this luxury, and seem to need to prove their commitments over time in order to be accepted. When you’re straight you can wear a ring and that’s all you need to prove your commitment. My friend’s wedding ceremony was about acknowledging a relationship that had been committed for nine years. The minister spoke about how she could not sanctify the marriage because they already sanctified it for themselves in their hearts. It was a revolution. I would have a wedding if I could have a ceremony just like that.

I think it’s really very sad that more queer couples aren’t having big weddings while they’re young, but legal marriage is still very new. I can’t imagine ever having a white wedding or spending a lot of money on a wedding, but when I find THE ONE I want everyone on earth to know. Marriage is not just about love and sex. It is truly about partnership in the journey of life, and building family. To be included in family holidays as wife rather than just as girlfriend is a dream come true.

On the ballot in California this November there is a constitutional amendment to deny same sex couples equal marriage rights. I was in a domestic partnership for seven years, and I was constantly worried about what would happen if one of us died or there was some other emergency. Who has power of attorney in a dire situation? In San Francisco people seem to be more understanding of non-traditional relationships, but who knows what the courts might decide if a homophobic family member wants to take control. There are so many questions and holes in the domestic partnership program. Marriage is really a necessity for same sex couples, just as it was a necessity for mixed race couples when the Supreme Court struck down miscegenation laws in 1967.

Eight lesbian bloggers have come together as “8 against 8” to raise money for the No on Prop. 8 campaign. California is more of a battle ground than people realize. In 2000 there was a proposition on the ballot to legally define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. It passed. This was challenged in the California Supreme court and found to be unconstitutional. Now these conservative patriarchal types want to change the California constitution to suit their agenda. It won’t be long before same sex marriage makes it to the Supreme Court. “8 Against 8” is collecting donations for eight days, October 20-27. Donate or see what they have to say HERE

Roxxie Twittergasms

May 14, 2008 | Events, Health

In honor of Masturbation Month, the San Francisco Masturbate-a-thon is using the Twitter service to follow live updates of individual orgasms. Fleshbot reported on all the details.

I’m going to be participating in Twittergasm, and you can follow me with an RSS feed reader or sign up for the twitter.com service and receive my updates as text messages on your phone.

If I had planned ahead and stayed on top of the news, I would be participating in Masturbate-a-thon, but I just now learned about the event. If you would like to sponsor me the $75 sign-up fee I can still get in!

Dial M for Masturbation- Oakland, CA

May 6, 2008 | Events

Thursday, May 15, 2008
9:15pm
Babeland celebrates Masturbation Month with DIAL M FOR MASTURBATION
a festival of short films about self-pleasure, hosting by local drag legends The East Bay Kings

$9 at Parkway Speakeasy Theater
1834 Park Blvd., Oakland CA www.speakeasytheaters.com

Bang4theBuck- San Francisco April 25th

April 15, 2008 | Events

Midori and Kelly B are hosting their annual AIDSLifecycle fundraiser party for women and transfolk Bang4theBuck on Friday April 25th at The Citadel. The first part of the evening is a Strip-o-rama and later in the evening the party becomes a kinky sex and play party.

I would love to be there, but like all good red blooded Americans, I paid taxes this week. I paid a whole lot more than I expected to pay this year, which totally blew my budget for the month. No extra money for fun events this week, but at least I have fun working!

Blogs and Events

April 6, 2008 | Cool Links, Events

I’m following a new blog, Sex Work 101, edied by Audacia Ray. I’m really excited to see sex workers published educational material about the adult industry.

There are some really great events coming up!

If I had known about it sooner I would be out at Sex 2.0, the intersection of social media, feminism and sexuality. Too bad plane tickets would cost an arm and a leg a week before the event!

I will be at International Ms. Leather this year, volunteering and doing lapdances at the Thursday night Seduction event. I think that N’tali will be there as well, but I haven’t heard definite confirmation of that rumor.

And I am also planning on attending Arse Electronica again this year. Their 2008 theme is, “Do Androids Sleep with Electric Sheep?”