This page lists proposed themes of future meetings. As these become more fleshed out, dates and links to readings will be added.
NEXT MEETING: Consent Practices
A mostly practical session about the nuts and bolts of negotiating agreements for sex and kink. Rules of thumb for giving and getting consent. Why and how consent matters to us. What consent looks/feels like. The social and political implications suggested by consent practices in sex and interpersonal relationships.
Readings:
“Staying Safe and Happy” from The New Bottoming Book by Easton and Hardy
Thoughts on affirmative/enthusiastic consent
PROPOSED FUTURE SESSIONS
If you are interested in (co-)facilitating discussion on any of the topics listed below, if you have relevant reading suggestions, or if you’ve got an idea for a future session please send us an email at: polysexposdc@gmail.com
Sex, Reality, and Fantasy. How do we separate our fantasy sex lives from our real ones? What are the consequences of this separation? Special attention will be paid to online sexual identities and communities.
Sex Work. Issues of legality, prohibition, coercion, etc. and the consequences these have for all parties involved. What is it like to be a sex worker? What is it like to be a client? How does this particular context of human sexuality relate to others with which it is not commonly associated? What does a particular society’s form of sex work say about that society’s sexuality?
Queerness and Identity. Queerness as a political, aesthetic, and sexual identity. Queerness as category vs. as process. Are we queer yet? Can anyone be queer? Is anyone queer? How do other sorts of sexual minorities relate to queers and queerness? If one is not quite or not yet queer, what are the conditions under which one can be in solidarity with queers?
Outing. The different kinds and shapes of closets (e.g., queer closets, kink closets, poly closets, etc.). Different ways, forms, and strategies of coming out as these relate to particular identities and contexts. What coming out looks/feels like. What being in the closet looks/feels like. Who are you out to? Who are you not out to? Advantages and disadvantages of coming out.
