Audacia Ray's Blog, page 79

Sexual Rights Online and IRL: The International Scene

I’ve been spending Sunday and Monday in San Francisco at the second annual Sex::Tech - Focus on Youth conference, which attracts non-profit, advocacy, youth rights, reproductive health and tech folks from all over the place.

This year I gave a talk about the online work that IWHC is doing and supporting to foster sexuality rights and reproductive health for people offline (IRL = in real life). I spoke about IWHC’s new media projects: videos, our Flickr account, our Facebook causes page, and this

Links and Learning: Sex Worker Rights and Youth Organizing

At the end of February, the International Women’s Health Coalition did an Advocacy in Practice training for fourteen youth sexual rights activists from around the world, in which we gave them tools and strategies to lobby at the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women (watch a video of three assessments of the experiences here. I was really impressed with this group, and also hit really hard by the powerful ideas expressed within the youth movement. First of all, it’s impress

Sex::Tech, Prevention Technologies, and San Francisco

I’m going to be in San Francisco for just shy of a week starting tonight! (yay for last minute madness).

I’m in town for business though I will be doing a little bit of socializing too.

On Sunday and Monday I’ll be attending the second annual Sex::Tech - Focus on Youth conference. I’m presenting a talk called “Sexuality Rights Online and IRL: the International Scene” at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. In the talk, I’ll be featuring the online programs of The YP Foundation from India and Sonke Gender Justice

Female Condoms: Demand and Distribution (Video)

This is cross-posted from Akimbo, the International Women’s Health Coalition blog, where I’ve been blogging (and videoing) up a storm.

Here in the United States, female condoms have kind of gotten a bad rap: They are not readily available in many places. They cost up to $4 each. They squeak. They look like plastic bags. They are made of an unfamiliar material (polyurethane).

The FDA just announced its approval of the new and improved FC2, which is made of of the thinner and lighter material n

Video from Kink For All

I only shot video of two of the presentations at Kink for All on Sunday, but they’re interesting ones, and very representative of what kind of things were happening at the event.

Maymay on Gender, Technology, and the Idea Behind Kink for All from Audacia Ray on Vimeo.

Cindy and Justen of Poly NYC Speak at Kink for All NYC from Audacia Ray on Vimeo.

Spitzer-versary: Reflections on a Sex Work Scandal

I’m mentioning this at both the beginning of this post and the end: Tuesday, March 10th is the deadline for the Sex Work Awareness workshop Speak Up! Media Training for the Empowered Sex Worker. If you’re a current or former sex worker in the NYC area (or can get here) and are interested in a day-long training that’s part media self-defense course and part tool kit for media making awesomeness, you should apply. The workshop takes place Saturday, April 18th - we’ll provide stipends, food, and fl

Kink For All NYC Liveblog

Kink for All NYC Liveblog

Tides: What a Difference a Few Months Makes

The combination of waking up and realizing that I’m actually thoroughly happy and then reading Maymay’s post about how things for him are so so jumbled has gotten me reflecting on just how much things have shifted in the past six months.

Back in December and January I wrote a few posts about my sadness, my sense of loss and confusion, and my hopes for things not sucking in the future: Growing Up in Public, Liabilities and Assets, and Self Aware. It’s kind of cliche, but time has really been doing