Conversio Virium

Pleasure Salon: September is for Sexual Freedom

September’s Pleasure Salon is dedicated to Sexual Freedom. From the public invitation:

Sexual Freedom is a human right, and our rights are in jeopardy. [...] We’ve decided to dedicate September’s Pleasure Salon to Sexual Freedom, highlighting our desire to build community and create a sex-positive world.

(Do you know of an event that you don’t see on our calendar and want to share? Please send it in!)

NCSF: Survey of Violence & Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities

From an email sent by NCSF today:

Stand Up and Be Counted!

Participate in the Survey of Violence & Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities

September 19, 2007 b New York, NY – Susan Wright and Larry Iannotti would like to announce the launch of the second national Survey of Violence & Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities, being conducted in cooperation with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. This survey includes all of the questions asked on NCSF‘s ground-breaking 1998 Violence & Discrimination Against Sexual Minorities survey, and includes new questions on personal, business, and Internet discrimination experienced by BDSM-leather-fetish practitioners.

The link to the survey is on NCSF‘s website: www.ncsfreedom.org

Please take a minute to fill out this anonymous survey even if you have not been a victim of violence or discrimination. Demographic data and information about participation in a variety of BDSM-leather-fetish activities are also being gathered. This survey will be distributed for one year, and the results will be
released in early 2009.

The results of this survey will be analyzed and compared to the 1998 survey, which found significant discrimination and violence occurring against BDSM-leather-fetish practitioners. The data may be used in court obscenity cases to prove that sexual minorities have been chilled on the Internet because of fear of prosecution. The survey also includes space for individuals to write about the discrimination they have faced, which will be helpful in illustrating the consequences of the negative stereotypes about BDSM-leather-fetish activities.

The survey is available on Survey Monkey (a secured survey hosting website that is used by the professional community) and can be accessed through the NCSF website: www.ncsfreedom.org.

Larry Iannotti, LCSW, is a professional social scientist and practicing therapist getting his doctoral degree through the City University of NY. Susan Wright is the Media Spokesperson for NCSF, and is accredited as a research assistant affiliated with CUNY.