Center for Sex and Culture

[SSEX BBOX] [PREMIERE] ♥ [EPISODE #5 GENDER SPECTRUM &...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 15:43:00 -0700

[SSEX BBOX] [PREMIERE] ♥ [EPISODE #5 GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITY] Monday, June 4, 2012 - 7:30PM @ Center for Sex and Culture 1349 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
FILM SCREENING + DISCUSSION PANEL + DJ + DRINKS!

PANEL DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW, INCLUDING:

DR. CAROL QUEEN, Ph.D, Writer, Speaker, Educator, Activist, & Founder of the Center for Sex & Culture

THERESE NOËL ALLEN, MA, MFT, Psychotherapist & Expressive Arts Therapist and Consultant

KELLY DEZART SMITH, Writer, Dj & Sex Positive Activist

DANA MORRIGAN, Queer Performer, Humorist, & Writer

JACKSON BOWMAN, Sexual Health Educator & Community Organizer

http://www.facebook.com/events/374379445947810/

———————————

EPISODE 5: GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITY
Center for Sex and Culture 1349 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

»> 7:30-8:30 DJ, MINGLING & WINE

»> 8:30 FILM SCREENING ♥ (15min)

»> 8:45-9:45 PANEL DISCUSSION with the experts!

EPISODE 5: GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITY
Blast off into a journey through the gender spectrum in all its beautiful and at times flamboyant complexity.

Here [SSEX BBOX] examines:

***The difference between sex, gender roles, gender identity and sexual orientation.

***What it means to be a woman, a man, neither, or both.

PANEL DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW, INCLUDING:

DR. CAROL QUEEN, Ph.D, Writer, Speaker, Educator, Activist, & Founder of the Center for Sex & Culture http://www.carolqueen.com/

THERESE NOËL ALLEN, MA, MFT, Psychotherapist & Expressive Arts Therapist and Consultant http://thereseallenmft.com/

KELLY DEZART SMITH, Writer, Dj & Sex Positive Activist

DANA MORRIGAN, Queer Performer, Humorist, & Writer

JACKSON BOWMAN, Sexual Health Educator & Community Organizer

Meet the director and [SSEX BBOX] crew after the film!

[SSEX BBOX] is a social justice web series and documentary that aspires to create sexual awareness worldwide. We believe that sex should be discussed, explored, felt and consciously experienced more “outside of the box”. [SSEX BBOX] expands consciousness by examining and challenging two dimensional, archaic and obsolete understandings of sexuality and gender. WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, & DIALOGUE and DISMANTLING IGNORANCE, ISOLATION, & SHAME.

AMG Whizz-Bang! Athletic Model Guild 1968-1972 Film/Reception:...

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:24:00 -0700

AMG Whizz-Bang!

Athletic Model Guild 1968-1972

Film/Reception: June 3rd • $8 – $20 donation

Month-long Archival Exhibition: June 1st -30th

By appointment or during scheduled events at:

Center for Sex and Culture • 1349 Mission St. SF

Co-presented by Periwinkle Cinema and Queer Cultural Center for the 2012 Queer Arts Festival

BUY TICKETS to the ADULT ONLY film screening:

https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/246402

Proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to the Bob Mizer Foundation to help offset the cost of material used to archive the collection and preserve the films.

This exhibit showcases Athletic Model Guild’s output from 1968 through 1972. After the interpretation of laws regarding male frontal nudity were revised, AMG’s work provided the bridge between earlier non-nude physique films and the full hardcore films which found their way into adult theaters a few years later. L.A.’s Park Theatre became a haven for AMG films, and each weekend a new batch would feature there. The month-long exhibit includes vintage posters from Park Theatre, AMG movie scripts, rarely seen movie stills, as well as other ephemera. The exhibit is accompanied by a fundraiser/screening of rare hardcore AMG films at Center for Sex & Culture on June 3rd – an adults only event.

Curated by Dennis Bell – the current proprietor of the AMG estate and brand. The Athletic Model Guild was founded in 1945 by photographer-filmmaker-publisher Bob Mizer and over the years has been the primary vehicle of expression for Mizer’s photography and films – as well as an outlet for a variety of other artists, including: David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Bruce Weber, John Waters and others, most recently AMG Brasil and other productions.

Co-curated with Christopher Carroll (Periwinkle Cinema/Periwinkle Journal) – Photographer, video artist, and sometimes curator Christopher Carroll attempts to forge new narratives of queer identity through his collaborative work. With filmmaker Lorin Murphy, he currently oversees the queer film series Periwinkle Cinema, at Artists’ Television Access and other venues in SF.

Robert Henry Mizer (1922 1992), known as Bob Mizer – was an American photographer and filmmaker known for pushing societal boundaries in his work. Bob Mizer’s earliest photographs appeared in 1942, in both color and black and white, but his career was catapulted into infamy in 1947 when he was convicted of the unlawful distribution of obscene material through the US mail. The material in question was a series of black and white photographs, taken by Mizer, of young bodybuilders wearing what were known as posing straps a precursor to the G-string. In spite of societal expectations and pressure from law enforcement, Mizer would go on to build a veritable empire on his beefcake photographs and films. Mizer established the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) in 1945 and published Physique Pictorial magazine to promote his work. With assistance from his mother, Delia, and his brother, Joe, he would go on to photograph thousands of men, building a collection that includes nearly one million different images and thousands of films and videotapes. Examples of his work are now held by esteemed educational and cultural institutions the world over, and can be found in various books, galleries, and private art collections.

Bob Mizer Foundation

Learn more about the exhibit and the 2012 Queer Arts Festival

Photos by Bob Mizer – courtesy of Athletic Model Guild LLC

masturbate2012: THE CENTER FOR SEX & CULTURE ANNOUNCES THE...

Sat, 26 May 2012 19:52:31 -0700

masturbate2012:

THE CENTER FOR SEX & CULTURE ANNOUNCES THE 2012 LIVE MASTURBATE-A-THON
Come for a Cause while supporting CSC’s operations and programs

San Francisco, May 8, 2012: The Center for Sex & Culture, San Francisco’s unique sexuality information resource, has scheduled this year’s Masturbate-a-Thon for Sunday, May 27, from 10am-midnight; participants must arrive by 9pm. All genders and all orientations are welcome to explore self-pleasure in a supportive group environment at this one-of-a-kind event. 18 and over only, please.

The Masturbate-a-Thon began as part of Good Vibrations’s National Masturbation Month. Started in 1995 after then-Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders was fired for saying that “masturbation… is perhaps something that should be taught” about in the context of sex education classes, NMM was intended to get people to talk about self-pleasure, which is so frequently a silent element in our sex lives. Every year Good Vibrations added something new to the mix: the Masturbation Hall of Fame, lists of favorite masturbation euphemisms and places to masturbate, and finally the Masturbate-a-Thon was born. In that context a private event (one person, or a couple would get pledges from appropriate people) in which money was raised based on how long people spent masturbating (comparable to the way a Walk-a-Thon is based on distance). Good Vibrations disbursed 100% of the money to its NMM charities, which focused on sex education and sexual health.

A few years later, after CSC director — and also Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist — Dr. Carol Queen had been doing morning drive-time radio interviews with shock jocks who all wanted to come be judges at the Masturbate-a-Thon, and having to protest that it was not a group event, she and Robert (her life partner and co-founder of the Center for Sex & Culture) looked at each other and said, “WE could hold one.” The live Masturbate-a-Thon, while not administered by Good Vibes, has the originating organization’s blessing, and has been an annual event since 2000.

Participants may sponsor themselves at a $40 minimum level, or bring a sponsorship form with pledges they have collected from others (form will be available soon on www.sexandculture.org). All funds go to support CSC, a non-profit which subsists on event fees, donations, and fundraising events. Participants are responsible for collecting and remitting all pledges.

Awards are given for longest duration spent masturbating and most orgasms (while CSC doesn’t think masturbation ought to be competitive, this has proved to be a real crowd-pleaser). Interested people who cannot attend will be able to follow to Masturbate-a-Thon via live-blog and Twitter; of course, they are urged to participate from home.

The Masturbate-a-Thon is a comfortable and good-humored event which attempts to create a safe and friendly space for self-pleasure. Co-founder Queen says, “We try not to take this event too seriously; I like to tell people that it’s like a walk-a-thon, except at the end your feet don’t hurt… unless you masturbate in a very unusual fashion! If so, we’d like to interview you about it. But we are utterly serious about the rights of people to masturbate and to feel comfortable about it.”

Part of the room blocked off for women only, another area for men only; the larger part of the room will have all genders. A stage at one side will feature entertainment off and on through the day. Most participants say they attend the Masturbate-a-Thon because they love to masturbate and want to be in a space that validates that; others say they are so nervous about doing it, that they realize it might really help them break through fears.

If space allows, a voyeur section may also be included. Please see CSC’s Twitter feed on May 27 for updates: @CentrSexCulture.

About the Center for Sex & Culture:

The Center for Sex & Culture is a three-time winner of the SF Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay award (Best Emerging Sex Non-profit, 2005, Best Erotic Resurrection for its Erotic Reading Circle, 2007, and Best Contest for Wankers, 2009) and was included in SF Weekly’s 2005 Best Of San Francisco listing as “Best Place to Watch Pornos (and Be Considered Intellectual)” and as its 2011 winner as “Best Palace of Self-Pleasure.” CSC hosts educational and cultural events having to do with sexuality for adults of every orientation and gender that span the continuum from didactic to experiential. It maintains a sexuality library, archive and gallery, and supports sex-related research projects. CSC is a 501(c)(3) educational organization; for more detail, to sign up for twice-monthly e-mailed event updates and/or its press list, please email carol@sexandculture.org. To peruse the events calendar or learn more about the Center for Sex & Culture- or visit our Tumblr.

CSC is also on Facebook and tweets at @ CentrSexCulture.

EVENT IN BRIEF:
THE 2012 LIVE MASTURBATE-A-THON
Sunday, May 27, 10am-midnight
Arrive by 9pm
$40 minimum self-sponsorship; or bring sponsorship form with pledges (form will be available soon at www.sexandculture.org).
All genders, all orientations welcome to explore self-pleasure in a supportive group environment. Come for a Cause! All donations and pledges support CSC’s operations and programs. Questions: mail@sexandculture.org

Queer/Butch/Stud/Trans Fashion Talk and POP-Up VINTAGE/Local...

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:38:20 -0700

Queer/Butch/Stud/Trans Fashion Talk and POP-Up VINTAGE/Local Designers CLOTHING SALE: Future Directions with Tania Hammidi and Stafford

LOCATION: CSC, 1349 Mission Street (at Grace Street between 9th and 10th streets) in San Francisco

DATE: Saturday May 26, 1:00 PM

Queer/Butch/Stud/Trans Masculine and Androgynous Vintage Clothing/Local Vendors Pop-Up Style SALE and Slideshow Presentation at the CSC. Come get your style on for the Queer High Holy Days of June and discuss the history and future of fashion.

Queerture: Queer + Couture director and scholar Tania Hammidi presents Queer/Butch/Stud/Trans Fashion: Future Directions from 2 - 3pm. This presentation covers queer/lesbian masculine styles and fashion designs from past eras; looks at the current moment of design and butch/trans/stud visibilty, and then opens up to a community discussion about hopes, plans, fashion design/style projects to push through to the next wave.

Tania Hammidi www.taniahammidi.com

Queerture https://www.facebook.com/pages/Queerture-Queer-Couture/226387940730549

Vendor spots still available, please contact erica_elena28@yahoo.com by May 22nd, if you would like to participate.

Internship Description: The Center for Sex & Culture (CSC)...

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:07:00 -0700

Internship Description:

The Center for Sex & Culture (CSC) welcomes interns from colleges around the country and the world throughout the year to work with us. There are several areas of focus that you can choose from in our internship program: Library and archival work, research and development, and events production and marketing.

Social Media and Event Promotion- learn and gain knowledge of the administrative operations of a Nonprofit organization.
Web and IT guru always wanted.
Library and Archive: You will work closely with our Librarian, Anissa Malady aka Library Vixen Projects for the library include cataloging, indexing, research, and processing donations and other items in the collection.
Gallery assistance- maintain open hours
Research and Development: You will work closely with our Executive Director, Carol Queen, PhD. Research and development projects include grant research and writing, assisting with administrative work such as data entry, mailings to our members and donors, and creating future programming and projects.
Events Production and Marketing: You will work closely with Carol Queen and other CSC staff. Events production and marketing projects include assisting in creating events, working with teachers & performers, developing marketing materials, writing press releases, researching new promotions and event possibilities.

We encourage interns who are interested in bringing new ideas to the table, a strong interest in collaboration and sex education experience. The internship program is a great educational experience for anyone interested in sex education, nonprofit development, library science and connecting with an amazing, diverse community of sex-positive people from all walks of life. Interns have the ability to staff and participate in educational and cultural events.

Skills Needed:

Ability to work individually and in a group
Show up for your shifts on time
Willingness to help out with unexpected projects that arise
Ability to communicate effectively, written and verbal
Comfort around sexual content, books, media, and other materials
Maturity, flexibility, good boundaries, sex-positive outlook all important!

Language Requirements:

None

Location:

1519 Mission Street in San Francisco is a central location close to the civic center, access to most major bus routes throughout the city and within 4 blocks of BART. To find out more about public transit in San Francisco go to: transit.511.org

A more detailed description and an intern application can be found here, or email us for more information- centersexculture@gmail.com

Erotic Reading CircleWed, May 23, 7:30pm – 9:30pmAt the Center...

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:02:00 -0700

Erotic Reading Circle
Wed, May 23, 7:30pm – 9:30pm

At the Center for Sex and Culture, 1349 Mission Street (at Grace Street between 9th and 10th streets) in San Francisco (map)

Description$5 suggested donation
Come share new or old work with us! We listen non-judgmentally and share our responses with any writer/reader who feels s/he/ze can benefit from peers’ feedback. And it’s great practice if you’ve been thinking about doing any public readings. We welcome writers of any experience level and every orientation.

A Best of the Bay award-winning event! 4th Wednesdays. Facilitated by Jen Cross (of Writing Ourselves Whole) and Carol Queen

SF D/s Discussion GroupLOCATION: CSC, 1349 Mission Street (at...

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:26:00 -0700

SF D/s Discussion Group
LOCATION: CSC, 1349 Mission Street (at Grace Street between 9th and 10th streets) in San Francisco
DATE: Monday May 21, 7:30 PM

A $5-$10 donation to our host, the CSC, is requested.
Generally meets on the third Monday of each month, from 7:30 to 9:30pm. Doors open at 7:00pm; meeting starts at 7:30pm.

For a directed discussion—held in a spirit of fellowship and mutual respect, on matters pertaining to Mastery, slavery, Dominance and submission, with an emphasis on our M/s and D/s lives—among persons of a variety of backgrounds, views, sensibilities, and philosophies.

The meeting is open to adults having a sincere, positive, personal interest in M/s or D/s, and who agree to keep confidential, within their own dynamic, what transpires at the meeting. All roles, gender identifications, and orientations are welcome.
Please RSVVEP(*) in the week preceding the meeting to either of these addresses: Eric Arkouda < EArkouda@mailworks.org> SF D/s Discussion Group mailing list < SFDsDG@yahoogroups.com> 

* RSVVEP: Repondez si vous voudriez être présente, “respond if you’d like to attend”, a statement of desire to attend. Please send this in if there’s a 50% chance of your being able to attend; for my gathering of rough numbers, and saying hello.

image by Library Vixen

ssexbbox: EPISODE 5: GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITYCenter for...

Sun, 20 May 2012 23:52:15 -0700

ssexbbox:

EPISODE 5: GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITY
Center for Sex and Culture 1349 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

https://www.facebook.com/events/374379445947810/

»> 7:30-8:30 DJ, MINGLING & WINE

»> 8:30 FILM SCREENING ♥ (15min)

»> 8:45-9:45 PANEL DISCUSSION with the experts!

EPISODE 5: GENDER SPECTRUM & IDENTITY
Blast off into a journey through the gender spectrum in all its beautiful and at times flamboyant complexity.

Here [SSEX BBOX] examines:

***The difference between sex, gender roles, gender identity and sexual orientation.

***What it means to be a woman, a man, neither, or both.

PANEL DISCUSSION TO FOLLOW, INCLUDING:

DR. CAROL QUEEN, Ph.D, Writer, Speaker, Educator, Activist, & Founder of the Center for Sex & Culture http://www.carolqueen.com/

THERESE NOËL ALLEN, MA, MFT, Psychotherapist, Expressive Arts Therapist and Consultant http://thereseallenmft.com/

KELLY DEZART SMITH, Writer, Dj and Sex Positive Activist

DANA MORRIGAN, Queer Performer, Humorist, & Writer

JACKSON BOWMAN, Sexual Health Educator and Community Organizer

Meet the director and [SSEX BBOX] crew after the film!

[SSEX BBOX] is a social justice web series and documentary that aspires to create sexual awareness worldwide. We believe that sex should be discussed, explored, felt and consciously experienced more “outside of the box”. [SSEX BBOX] expands consciousness by examining and challenging two dimensional, archaic and obsolete understandings of sexuality and gender. WE ARE COMMITTED TO CONSTRUCTING COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, & DIALOGUE and DISMANTLING IGNORANCE, ISOLATION, & SHAME.

Time to get your dates set, start that serious training—...

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:58:39 -0700

Time to get your dates set, start that serious training— Come for a Cause!

For full detail vist the Masturbate-a-Thon Tumblr and follow our tweets the days up until and the of.

Sunday, May 27, 10am-midnight

$40 minimum self-sponsorship; or bring sponsorship form with pledges (form will be available soon).

All genders, all orientations welcome to explore self-pleasure in a supportive group environment. Check the next newsletter for more detail about this year’s Thon, and join us to Come for a Cause! All donations and pledges support CSC’s operations and programs. Location : CSC, 1349 Mission Street (at Grace Street between 9th and 10th streets) in San Francisco

Read About past events.

Diane Torr weekend workshop – Man for a Day Saturday and Sunday,...

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:05:46 -0700

Diane Torr weekend workshop – Man for a Day

Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, 10am-6pm

$300 – RSVP to carol@sexandculture.org

(We will be able to take credit cards for this one!)

About DIANE TORR’S MAN FOR A DAY WORKSHOP

The Man for a Day Workshop is a unique experience. Diane has been teaching it since 1990 in a variety of venues throughout N. America, Europe and Asia. Since its inception, the workshop gathered much media attention, and brought Diane’s work into the public eye. The workshop also pioneered a drag king performance culture in theaters and clubs in several of the cities in which it was taught. Women have taken it for many reasons, according to their situation.

Maybe during a lifetime of observing men in your neighborhood, on the subway, in the office, in cars, in your home, etc., you have a curiosity about how men “get away” with certain behaviors that would be considered undesirable or socially unacceptable in women. You might want to experience the transformation from female to male as a way to intercept your so-called “normal” behavior as a woman, and discover new responses. Other women have attended the workshop and then met with a lover (male or female) for a night of role-play thrills. Some participants are actresses and opera singers who had “trouser” roles and wanted to make their characters more authentic. Occasionally, a woman has attended the workshop who wanted to explore a desire to become a man permanently, and then the workshop was a catalyst for making that decision.

For most participants, the reason to commit to being a man for a day was to have fun, to be outrageous. By exploring familiar situations, like going to a bar or restaurant and interacting with others in a new identity, there’s a chance to play with ideas that are taken seriously on a daily basis. Of course, women have cross-dressed throughout history and used the guise to their advantage. An important distinction to the workshop is that the intention is not to “pass”, but rather to question what is considered a given. In the course of constructing another identity, one instantly sees other possibilities of being. In becoming a man you learn how to “walk the walk” and “talk the talk” without having to wear a testosterone patch! This is a chance to escape for one day from the social construction of the identity of “woman” and to literally discover a new YOU!!

During the workshop, either Diane or a make-up artist will give each person an individual makeover and will provide facial hair, 5 o’clock shadow, etc. Each person is responsible for the male clothes they will need for their male identity. Please also bring: a wide elasticised bandage (6inches minimum) to bind breasts, and a fake penis (condom stuffed with cotton wool, for example). We will learn how to take up space, walk, eat, drink, pick up objects, smile, etc. as men. We will interact with each other, in scene studies and in character development exercises, and create our new identities. Then we will make a visit to a public place such as café, restaurant, bar, strip club, pool hall, dance club, where we will test out our new identities.

The beginning of the following day is spent in a feedback session and then each participant learns to do their make-up by themselves. We continue to develop our characters and we have the opportunity to go out to a new location. We each take from the workshop what is useful to us, but we all leave with the shared experience (and the kick) of going beyond our “regular” selves and expanding our gender repertoire. The workshop culminates in a feedback session.

Video

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:30:32 -0700

NEW! The Dick Show evening performance a benefit for the Center...

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:14:07 -0700

NEW! The Dick Show evening performance

a benefit for the Center for Sex & Culture!

Friday, May 18, 2012

door and pre-show 7:30 pm

show 8:00 pm

$10.00 - $40.00 sliding scale

spoken word, story telling, performance, video, installation

performers include among others

Logan Knight

The Dick Show

Curated by Jack Davis

jackd_gv@yahoo.com

What better place to explore the mystique of penises than The Center for Sex & Culture?

And what better way than with a visual art show and a performance that benefits the CSC?

The Dick Show art exhibit opens

Friday, May 4, 2012

6:00-9:00 pm

through May 26

free

participating artists include

Michael Rosen

Mariah Carle

Mark Garrett

Katie Gilmartin

Justin Time

Mitcho

Dwoo

Jesse Williams

Jack Davis

Diane Torr spoke tonight about her book- Sex, Drag, and Male...

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:40:15 -0700

Diane Torr spoke tonight about her book- Sex, Drag, and Male Roles: Investigating Gender as Performance- and about “drag king” culture at lit event at CSC. It was great a great discussion.

She will be conduction her famed “Man for a Day” Workshop. NOT TO MISS!

An groundbreaking artist all the way.

Diane Torr is an artist, director, writer and educator working...

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:45:30 -0700

Diane Torr is an artist, director, writer and educator working in performance, film and installation. She has been making performances in New York for over 25 years. In 2003, Diane re-situated her art practice in Glasgow, where she has a studio at WASPS (Workshop and Studio Provision Scotland) Studios and is a Visiting Lecturer at Glasgow School of Art. Her performance work explores notions of gender and the erotic, and focuses on strategies to reinvent the narratives of sex and gender. Her solo drag performances have been seen around New York since 1982. Diane’s art performances and installations are presented in galleries, performance venues and festivals throughout N. America, Europe, and Eurasia. She has taught Man for a Day Workshops in over 20 cities, including London, Istanbul, Helsinki, Berlin, Lisbon, Zurich, New York and Chicago. In Feb/March 2006, Diane brought her unique workshop to India for the first time in a residency at Khoj Arts Workshop in New Delhi. In February 2011, Diane taught her first Man for a Day workshop in Brasilia at the Novadanca Festival. Her work has been the subject of profiles on BBC2 Q.E.D., HBO’s Reel Sex, in the Washington Post, Village Voice, London Independent, El Pais, German Vogue, etc. She was also one of the protagonists in Gabriel Baur’s feature film, Venus Boyz (2002). Diane’s book, Sex, Drag and Male Roles; Investigating Gender as Performanceand co-authored by Stephen Bottoms has been released by University of Michigan Press. A feature film on her work, Man for a Day, by Berlin filmmaker, Katarina Peters, premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival on February 10, 2012.

In the 1970s Diane Torr studied and explored new dance and the work of Susan Sontag, Yvonne Rainer, and John Cage, among others. Political analysis and action entwined with her artmaking — working for feminist newspaper Majority Report, she met leading feminist/activists such as Kate Millet, Shere Hite, Susan Brownmiller and Valerie Solanas – and she developed her performance work at the same time. Torr joined all-girl art band, DISBAND, which had a core group of members, Martha Wilson (Director of Franklin Furnace Art Archives), Ingrid Sischy (editor of Interview Magazine), Donna Henes (self-proclaimed urban shaman), Ilona Granet (painter), and others who visited and contributed songs, such as visual artist, Barbara Kruger.

While working as a go-go dancer from 1979-81 Torr created a performance with other go-go dancers called WOW-a-Go-Go, for the WOW (Women of the World) Theatre Festival in New York in 1981, the first time that “exotic dancers” had been seen at a Women’s Festival — this caused a certain amount of outrage, especially from Women Against Pornography.

Torr began performance in drag in the early 1980s with a dance commission from Dansspace, New York, working together with visual artist Bradley Wester on a piece called Arousing Reconstructions (1982), in which each cross-dressed. Within the performance, they showed the results of research in developing an androgynous movement vocabulary in the form of a dance tableau which contained the archetypal male and female gestures, such as Rodin’s “The Thinker” image, Marilyn Monroe’s hand-over-mouth sexy gasp, and so on, aided conceptually by the writings of Deleuze, Guattari and Michel Foucault.

Torr began teaching Drag King Workshops in New York in 1990 with make-up artist and FTM transsexual, Johnny Science. These workshops became very popular and were documented by BBC TV, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, London Independent, der Spiegel, and other publications. Her performance, Drag Kings and Subjects, became her signature piece, shown in venues and festivals throughout the US, Europe, and Brazil. Another popular work dealing with cross-dressing is an installation, Ideal Homo (1999), which is a series of photographs of Torr and Diva editor, Jane Czyzselska, dressed as a gay male couple, accompanied by a text and soundscore. Ideal Homo has been shown in galleries all over the world. In October 2010, her book, Sex, Drag and Male Roles; Investigating Gender as Performance, co-authored by Stephen Bottoms and published by University of Michigan Press, was released. A feature film, Man for a Day, based on Torr’s workshop and performance work, premiered at the 62nd Berlinale Film Festival in February 10 this year.

**********************************************************

The Center for Sex and Culture is proud to host—

Diane Torr — 25 Years of Sex and Drag

Sunday, May 13, 5pm

At the Center for Sex & Culture – 1349 Mission btw 9^th & 10^th

$5-25 sliding scale, NOTAFLOF

Annie Sprinkle hosts her old friend Diane Torr, whose history as a performance artist, workshop leader and activist stretches back to the 1970s and through many contexts, from performative to activist, academic to street.

Diane Torr weekend workshop – Man for a Day

Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, 10am-6pm

$300 – RSVP to carol@sexandculture.org

(We will be able to take credit cards for this one!)

About DIANE TORR’S MAN FOR A DAY WORKSHOP

Conspiracy of Beards with opening acts Erin Brazill and Fancy...

Sat, 05 May 2012 22:57:52 -0700

Conspiracy of Beards with opening acts Erin Brazill and Fancy Dan

Friday, May 11, 8 p.m.

Center for Sex and Culture

1349 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94103

A benefit for AIDS/Lifecycle and the Center for Sex and Culture

(75% of all door donations go to ALC; 25% to CSC)

Admission: $10-$25 sliding scale. Those who donate $25 or more get a limited edition Conspiracy of Beards CD as a thank you.

The Conspiracy of Beards is a 30-member male choir from San Francisco that performs gritty, original arrangements of the songs of Leonard Cohen. The group has won acclaim for its performances at Bay Area venues like the Cafe du Nord, the Great American Music Hall, and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The group’s debut at the 2011 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass earned a mention in Rolling Stone.

Transforming Cohen’s simple melodies into complex 4- and 5-part harmonies, the group achieves a sound that is both robust and tender, bringing rock, jazz, gospel, and doo-wop influences into their unique arrangements. Using the genius of Cohen’s words, the Beards inspire audiences to ponder longing, politics, sex and spirituality, all amid laughter and cheers.

The choir has performed at the Highline Ballroom, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Bowery Poetry Club in New York, as well at The Mint and Echoplex in Los Angeles. The’ve been featured on National Public Radio’s “West Coast Live,” on KFOG, KPFA, WFMU and on KQED-TV.

Conspiracy of Beards in the press:

”Like its inspiration, the group is deeply sincere, humble and humorous.”

—Las Vegas Sun

”Chelsea Hotel #2,” as performed by the somber San Francisco all-male

choir, is perfect in every way.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

”…the troupe breaks Cohen’s haunting warbles into multi-part

harmonies, exploring the dark edges with complex, expertly rendered

vocal interpretations.”

—Andrew Phillips, Flavorpill NYC

Information on ALC:

The AIDS/Lifecycle is a 7-day, 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco

to Los Angeles that raises money and awareness for the HIV and AIDS services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. This year, Conspiracy of Beards member Christopher Pepper will be riding, and this concert will help support him on his ride.

More info:

www.conspiracyofbeards.com
www.youtube.com/conspiracyofbeards
www.facebook.com/Conspiracy.O.Beards

ERIN BRAZILL
Erin Brazill is a singer-songwriter from San Francisco who writes lovely, darkly vintage music with noir-ish themes, complicated rhythms and back alley chord progressions. Erin has recently written an entire suite of songs based on Alfred Hitchcock movies, paying homage to the master of suspense with songs that wind through themes of victimhood, villainy, love and horror all in 20 minutes of lush composition. She and her band have toured Europe, California and have played in San Francisco at Yoshi’s, Cafe Du Nord, Amnesia, The Rickshaw Stop and The Noir City Film Festival.

More info:
www.erinbrazill.com
www.facebook.com/erinbrazillandthebrazillionaires

FANCY DAN
The son of a preacher and a teacher, Fancy Dan Nordheim got his start in the Michigan garage rock band The Blanks. Now based in San Francisco, he’s released two albums with the Fancy Dan Band. Dan plays a combination of rock & roll, blues, country, soul and gospel to make an original sound that is undeniably American. The San Francisco Chronicle says “The Fancy Dan Band’s sound feels like you’re pushing the girl you love on a swing. She’s barefoot and wearing a summer dress and all you can do is smile because you know you’re going to get to kiss her on those sweet lips when she’s done swinging.”

More info:
www.fancydanband.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can’t attend but still want to support? You can make donations directly: here: http://tinyurl.com/PepperALC

Femmes Go Dirty South! Smart new words from dirty grrls This...

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:49:00 -0700

Femmes Go Dirty South!

Smart new words from dirty grrls

This Sunday! May 6, 2012 7pm

Come on down to the Center for Sex and Culture (1349 Mission St, San Francisco) for a much needed influx of dirty femme words!

This reading features our guest star, the very ferocious Alysia Angel, who brings the dirty South here to us in the Bay. We’ve also got a phenomenal lineup of local femme wordslingers Cherry Poppins, Gina de Vries, Daphne Gottlieb, Renee Garcia, Blyth Barnow, Nomy Lamm, Virgie Tovar, Carol Queen and Jen Cross, all of whom will bring you the very sharpest and most filthily-lipsticked writing you’ve been privileged to let shove into your body.

Don’t miss this one.

$7-15, NOTAFLOF.

photo by Dante Mandala

The Dick Show: What’s the Big Deal about Penises? What...

Tue, 01 May 2012 22:37:00 -0700

The Dick Show: What’s the Big Deal about Penises?

What better place to explore the mystique of penises than The Center for Sex & Culture? And what better way than with a visual art show and a performance that benefits the CSC?

An art exhibit and an evening of performance addressing questions like… Why is it essential that a man have a penis? Do you have to have a penis to be important, successful?

How do you have sex if a penis is not involved? Why do cisgendered gay men feel betrayed by trans gay men? Is everything we have learned about penises wrong? Are penises ugly? Are penises beautiful? Are penises fun? Is a penis in the pants worth two in the drawer?

Free participating artists include: Michael Rosen,Mariah Carle, Mark Garrett, Katie Gilmartin Justin Time, Mitcho Dwoo, Jesse Williams, Jack Davis.

For more information: jackd_gv@yahoo.com 415-515-0047

Opening: Friday, May 4, 2012 6:00-9:00 pm.

Exhibit Dates: May 4-26, 2012

Viewings by appointment and at other CSC Events.

Yay! Masturbation Month!! The Center for Sex and Culture is...

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:32:00 -0700

Yay! Masturbation Month!!

The Center for Sex and Culture is proud to announce Masturbate-A-Thon 2012— MAY 27th!!

Stay tuned on our official Masturbate-A-Thon Tumblr for more information and logistics in the coming days and weeks!

Re-Post: "National Masturbation Month Reaches Climax On May 28."

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:26:36 -0700

Re-Post: "National Masturbation Month Reaches Climax On May 28.":

“May is National Masturbation Month? No wonder I subconsciously bought ‘Personal Gel’ at Rainbow.” —Tess, Library Intern

About.com Article by Cory Silverberg: http://sexuality.about.com/b/2006/05/01/may-is-national-masturbation-month.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Abby...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 13:09:15 -0700

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:

Abby Ehmann

646-309-1309

editrixabby@gmail.com

Event Contact:

Anna Quinones

510-692-1498

trilliansf@yahoo.com

On Monday, April 30, Center for Sex & Culture, in conjunction with EditrixAbby, will present “Sex & Absurdity,” an evening of scandalous entertainment in a variety show format.

Featuring: Miss Roach, The MegaFlame Duo, DJ Ace “Reality Check TV” and more! Beverages will be available so the audience can rub elbows with the performers. More acts added up to the night of!

Doors at 8pm

CSC 1349 Mission St.

$5 cover to benefit both CSC and your performers!

Free tickets to Red Hots Burlesque: SF’s only weekly BurlyQ El Rio 3158 Mission 7:30 Sharp. New and different show every Wednesday and Friday.

FEATURING

Miss Roach

Is an aspiring slut who’s cis and single (wink - hello boys!)

When she’s not playing in the backyards of the Bay Area at the weekly event Jerk Church

she’s on the road looking for adventure updating her photohunt blog Where’s Roachie

Whether she’s playing accordion, ukulele or your heartstrings — she hopes you’re entertained!

The MegaFlame Duo

Angela LaFlamme and Meghan Rutigliano have been performing together in the Bay Area for three years. Deeply influenced by the sights, sounds, and feeling of the 1920s, MegaFlame performances involve old timey music from the Golden Age, vintage-style burlesque, schtick, and plenty of costume changes! MegaFlame is a step back in time with a modern twist.

Angela and Meghan are excited to perform in “Sex and Absurdity” and debut new material for a new audience!

DJ Ace

DJ Ace is best known as the co-host/producer of the long-running, Award-winning underground TV program Reality Check TV, which has over 500 episodes to its credit. The show documents Hard/Heavy Music, Pop Culture, Entertainment, and Art in a video magazine format, filtered through the sensibilities of its four host/interviewers. Ace is also a reknowned club DJ, with a quarter-century of experience spinning records in clubs and venues from NYC to San Francisco. He also dabbles as an MC at Events large and small, including the Haight Ashbury Street Fair, which attracts upwards of 100k people to its annual festivities. Find out more at Reality Check TV

Fudgie Frottage

The Man with “The Biggest Balls in Show Business.” Fudgie was discovered quite accidentally by Versace in 1996 while felching Donatella in a K-Hole, afterhours in his Miami showroom. Heavily influenced by the late 60’s (free love) and early 70’s (free drugs) Fudgie dreams of bringing the Fudgie Frottage Revue to Vegas with the help of his brilliant manager, Lu Read.

Dr. Notorious & Princess Cream Pie

Dr. Notorious has been singing and songwriting for more than 20 years. Up until recently, his performances were largely confined to living rooms. In 2009 he started to move into the public arena, sitting in with friends’ bands and playing the occasional public cameo performance. In 2011, Dr. Notorious took it up a notch. His solo debut was January 8, 2011 at the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco. He’s since performed at the Trickster Arts Salon at Mission Control, recurring gigs at the Bazaar Cafe, at Center Camp Cafe Stage at Burning Man, at SF Decompression and more.

Princess Cream Pie delights audiences throughout the Bay Area with charming song parodies about Cleveland Steamers and South Korean gonorrhea, and usually has candy stowed up her skirt. She is most at home in burlesque and Vaudeville venues, although she does encourage parents to book her for children’s birthdays. The princess is always happy to explain the baffling process of puberty to tender young minds.

Tizzy Wall

Tizzy Wall is a pro-domme, sex blogger, theatre rat, and otherwise irreverent lady of all trades. She strives to help create a sex and body positive world, preach radical compassion and speak her mind without fear. When she isn’t delightfully flogging someone, or writing for the Playpen Report, she spends her time playing the ukulele, cuddling her drooling cat, or falling down the blackhole of the internet.

Red Hots Burlesque Star Laika Fox

A sexy soviet space cadet with a heart of platinum, Laika Fox has been charming hearts and minds around the Bay Area to the moon and back for over two years. Laika has a penchant for the strange, absurd, and hilarious flavors of Burlesque and isn’t afraid to fly her nerd flag high! To read more about her interstellar adventures or find out about upcoming shows.

Austintatious

Austin hails from the South, and a long lineage of storytellers. Austin is an adrenaline junky in every way and has been fervently collecting experiences since she was able to sneak out of her parent’s house. She has an irreverent sense of humor and a loud mouth, but still packs a southern charm. She may be the South’s black sheep, but she still has a pair of high heels next to her steel toed boots and can set a proper table that would make Emily Post proud. Austin is a writer, tour guide, EMT and a carpenter/rigger/welder for large art sculpture. She’s a Jill of all trades who seriously needs a job.

EditrixAbby

Your hostess and emcee, EditrixAbby is a blogger, barmaid, storyteller and experience junkie. She has been published in dozens of porn magazines and web sites, produced weekly fetish events for over seven years, given away loads of free porn and generally made her mark in naughty nightlife from Manhattan to the Bay Area.