Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit 2016
Alexandria, Virginia
August 4-7, 2016
#SFS16 on Twitter

I didn’t get to attend nearly half of what I wanted due to reaching maximum flare-up state by Saturday. But I promised several people notes, so here’s the few notes that I took, verbatim.

Allison Moon’s Self-Publishing for Radicals

  • Inclusivity! We can choose to include or not, but we have to be willing to accept the ramifications of not being inclusive.
  • Standard royalty for commercial (non self-published) is 7% of the cover price. Self-published can be up to you depending on how many costs you cover in full before publishing.
  • If we want to get copyright permissions for quotes, lyrics, etc., it’s best to consult a lawyer or contact the artist directly.
  • The best way for a collective to publish their work is up to the collective regarding their needs, but recommended ways to go are through radical presses and to have a fundraiser for the costs of creation.
  • http://www.bowker.com/ is the only way to get an ISBN in the United States.
  • If your publication is not going to be sold in stores, an ISBN isn’t necessary.
  • Compensate people you interview for content or who write asides in your publication. Exposure is not compensation!
  • For Girl Sex 101, Allison spent $5,000 for graphic design (internal illustrations and the cover), $1,000 for editing, and $200 for proofreading.
  • Think about the following and what your preferences/goals/dreams are:
    • Entrepreneur vs employee
    • Going with the flow vs blazing a trail
    • How important is creative control to you?
    • What is your time frame?

Amber DiPietra/thebodypoetik’s Dis/Abling Sexuality to Expand Erotic Empowerment

Holy crap. I didn’t take actual notes on this other than to scribble down the contact information for the disabled sex workers that Amber interviewed for her work. This was my favorite of the few panels and workshops that I was able to attend. I was so excited to be in a room with the stories of others who are like me. It’s the only time during official conference events that I felt my voice/identity represented. Please check out Amber’s work at the body poetik.

WOCSHN’s From Slacktivism to Meaningful Activism

I really liked hearing about WOCSHN‘s growth as an organization. I think holding their experiences in mind will help as we grow our cripsex group. The only notes I took are about compensating others for their time. Tristan Taormino has been a great supporter of WOCSHN by having them on her podcast, featuring them in her bootcamps, etc. Some of the ways Tristan has offered compensation for their time has been via running ads for WOCSHN, offering coaching sessions equal to X value, and paying money on a scale that recognizing time and effort.

#sfsfamily Family Matters Roundtable

These are the notes I took during the discussion, which was opened with the subject of polyamory.

  1. Thank you for recognizing relationship structures other than monogamy. However, can we make an effort to call these relationships something other than polyamory (unless the participants themselves call it polyamory)? Many do not use the label polyamory for a variety of reasons (1,2,3 to start) and it can be highly alienating to those who don’t use that term. Let’s recognize the importance of all consensual nonmonogamous relationship styles.
  2. Hello, inclusion please!
    1. Zhana Vranglova’s 2014 research estimates that 4-5% of the heterosexual population in the Unites States are engaged in some form of consensual nonmonogamy. That’s 10-12 million heterosexual folks; numbers for LGBTQ+ appear to not be known?
    2. 1 out of 5 people (and growing!) in the United States are PWD (people with disabilities). We are the largest minority in the world. There are 7 billion people in the world and 324,347,174 people in the United States (as of August 2016).
    3. That means that 32,434,717 people in the United States are disabled.
    4. That’s three times as many people with disabilities in the United States as there are estimated to be consensual nonmonogamous people.
  3. Thank you to both Elizabeth Sheff, Carmen Vasquez, and Christopher Smith for calling attention to the importance of non-sexual relationships in families and chosen families.
  4. We need to recognize the many limitations to housing that non-blood relatives and chosen family face in situations such as assisted housing, public housing, supportive housing, etc. Yes, there’s still a fight for legal recognition and rights for hospital visitation, etc., but please don’t forget housing!
  5. Yes, yes, yes! People are losing their children because of being in relationships other than monogamy. But can we please also recognize other reasons people lose their children, such as other nonmonogamous structures, the disability/health of a parent/guardian, the disability/health of a child, parental/guardian work status, the type of work a parent/guardian does, sexual orientation, gender identity, so-called deviance, etc.
  6. Christopher Smith pointed out that “legality is a choice.” Very much so — great observation.
  7. Monica Raye Simpson and Diana Adams, Esq were originally supposed to be on this panel. Their perspectives were missed.
  8. No mention of disability. No trans inclusion.

There’s another post to come about the cripsex meeting and observations, thoughts, and feels regarding disability accessibility and inclusion at the conference.