Annie Boheler

Humans are of & by nature and, our sexual/intimate relationship qualities relate directly to our interactions with ecosystems. This idea has been labeled as deep ecology, integrative spirituality, biophilia, etc.. Scientists such as Ken Wilber, Clemens Arvay, and E.O. Wilson have expanded on this idea and reality. It is by no random coincidence that the ecologically divorced situation that we as a human society are in is coinciding with the ever-expanding realization that our sexuality, responding to immediate culture, has been oppressed.

Our reductionist thinking has led to extreme discoveries in science that include sexuality and ecology however, western science is extremely limited in that many layers of reality are not able to be studied. This is due to the complexities of perceptions and normal responses to observation. It is imperative that in this quickly evolving culture we bridge fields of study related to holistic health, wellbeing, and environmental changes. When we oppress functions, such as sexuality, of our highly evolved animalistic nature, we outsource our needs violently (ref. Lysistrata). Co-creating de-shaming sexual spaces for expression and creativity is a key factor in our upcoming regeneratively oriented, diverse global culture.

Daniel Copulsky

Recent work on practitioners of Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadomasochism (BDSM) has moved away from the longstanding pathological model to consider other narratives of BDSM and formulations of BDSM as leisure, orientation, or both. While descriptions of BDSM as orientation have appeared in theoretical discussions, along with popular media, blogs, and qualitative articles, quantitative data supporting this perspective remains sparse.

The present analysis is based on data collected by Williams, Prior, Alvarado, Thomas & Christensen (2016). This prior study focused on BDSM as leisure, but participant responses also contribute to the conversation around BDSM as orientation, confirming that some BDSM practitioners do consider this a sexual orientation. Tensions also emerge in the data. While some BDSM practitioners present kink identities as a primary sexual orientation or a facet of orientation, expressing these interests in a few distinct ways, others actively reject the idea that BDSM should be thought of in these terms.

Dr. Zelaika Hepworth Clarke

This anti-erotiphobic, anti-racist presentation will highlight the African-centered sex-positive paradigm of the Osunality and African energy matrix associated with peacemaking. A simple translation of Ọ̀ṣunality is Ọ̀ṣun-sexuality or African sensuality-sexuality and eroticism (Nzegwu, 2011). Ọ̀ṣunality is an “empowering, post-colonial, sex-positive, African-centered paradigm” (Hepworth Clarke, 2015, p. 16). Ọ̀ṣunality “affirms the normality of sexual pleasure and the erotic” (Nzegwu, 2011, p. 256). Ọ̀ṣun or Oshun, also known as a peacemaker, will be highlighted along with other African orishas, associate with peace, sensuality, love, and joy. Learning about Osunality can provide sexuality professionals valuable insight into non-western sex-positive paradigms, an opportunity to unlearn negative effects of sexual colonialism (such as misogynoir, cissexism), increase sexual multiepistemic literacy and awareness of erotic sovereignty. This workshop will highlight African epistemic considerations of pain, pleasure, eroticism, empowerment, peace, and relationality with the aim of decreasing the distance toward sensual liberation.

Moshoula Capous-Desyllas, Art Ambartsumyan & Vanessa Myrie

This project illustrates the power of photovoice methodology to capture the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers. In collaboration with the LGBTQ+ Refugees Welcome Collective, we placed the power to create art & represent knowledge in the hands of the participants themselves. This process can serve to empower individuals and encourage peacemaking between cultures and communities while reaching a broader audience beyond academia. This project highlights the social, political, and economic challenges of displaced LGBTQ+ people from Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Cameroon, Pakistan, and Cuba, who hold intersecting identities related to race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, nationality, and citizenship status. The detrimental effects of homophobia and transphobia continued to manifest within the refugee camps by their own ethnic communities. This research illuminates the strength and resilience of LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers as they negotiate identity, express hope for a better life, identify needed resources, and grapple with physical, emotional, and symbolic notions of home through photography. Their images document their migration to Greece, the loved ones they left behind, and the new communities they formed along the way, as they affirm their identities, build solidarity, create peace within and among themselves, and celebrate their survival.

Karin Wandrei

Feeling safe is an important element of successful therapy. Sexual and gender minorities often experience bias in their therapy encounters. While the existence of online directories can be valuable for people seeking sex-positive therapists, there can also be unintended negative consequences. Since most directories allow therapists to check off their areas of expertise, a therapist can indicate an expertise that they don’t really have. This can result in clients not getting the help they need and even worsening their situation. This presentation provides recommendations as to how this can be addressed and recommendations for future research.

Andrew Pari

Sexualized violence is a devastating lifetime trauma that occurs in high numbers, both in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to PTSD and Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS), anxiety, depression, self-harming behavior, suicidality, and disruptive relationship barriers are sequelae of sexualized violence. Victims often feel “damaged for life.”
One aspect not addressed clinically or in the literature is the concept of repetition compulsion for sexual assault victims. A well-documented area in general trauma, the field has left the drive towards repetition compulsion of the sexual trauma experience largely alone. Some survivors, consciously and unconsciously, seek relief of symptoms by replaying aspects of their experience.

The presenter will build upon their previous SexPosCon presentation, “From Rape to Rapture,” (understanding arousal in sexualized violence), by reviewing the expression of repetition compulsion in the kink world, based on qualitative interviews with women who play out these urges.

A highly controversial potential model for exposure treatment, rooted in current trauma-informed principles will be proposed and discussed. Healing trauma through kink is largely in its infancy as an acceptable treatment approach. This presenter will attempt to address and advance these concepts.

Ren Grabert

Over the last few years, the ethics of treating transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming youth have come into question in the public sphere. Many of these conversations include misinformation from publications aimed to discredit the professionals who provide gender-affirming care and limit life-saving healthcare to trans* youth populations. Sexuality professionals are in a unique position to help, having baseline knowledge about gender diversity and working in a social justice-focused field. This session aims to provide sexuality professionals with a starting point to advocate for trans* youth. We will cover myths and facts about trans* youth and their families, what medical transition for minors looks like under WPATH guidelines, social and systemic factors that affect health outcomes, and what we know about the outcomes of current treatment options.

Eliot M. Lev, Jules Vivid & Richard Sprott

Few studies have examined the relationship between kink behaviors and sexual behaviors, yet of these few studies, the relationship proves to be complex, with notable diversity in how people construct the boundaries of sex and kink and how these practices interact (Simula, 2019). As part of a grounded theory study of kink identity, the current study examined how 70 kink-identifying participants from Northern California discussed their experience and understanding of the relationship between kink and sex in interviews conducted in 2014 and 2015. The findings indicated seven themes. The themes are discussed through the lens of queer theory, noting how the boundary between kink and sex is fuzzy, and how kink and sex can be transgressive to sexual norms. This study is particularly relevant for enhancing the visibility of sexual and gender minorities while progressing sex-positive discourse that underscores the complex and diverse intersections of kink and sex.

Brianne McGuire

Altering the context and interface of explicit media has the power to influence perception, and in turn, behavior. People are uncomfortable speaking openly about sex, largely the result of segregated information consumption. While there is a wealth of sex in a myriad of formats available online, it is presented in a way that perpetuates the idea of separateness and subsequently shame, guilt and fear. There is untapped potential in the vast landscape of the internet; so many opportunities to transform the way sex-based media is seen and felt and understood. Changing sex online can change our experience in real life.

Jeremy N. Thomas, PhD, DJ Williams, PhD, Emily Prior, MA, Thea S. Alvarado, PhD

This panel will draw on the experiences and insights of professors who regularly teach courses on sexuality in order to consider how a pedagogy of peacemaking can help facilitate student learning and acceptance of positive sexuality. Classroom challenges and best practices will be considered, with a special focus on how instructors can help manage and leverage students’ often diverse (and sometimes oppositional) perspectives in order to create a positive, peaceful, and effective learning environment that brings students to deeper levels of understanding, compassion, and respect.

A former three-sport NCAA athlete and coach, Billy Strean earned a Ph.D. in sport and exercise psychology from the University of Illinois.

Dr. Strean is also a Master Somatic Coach (Strozzi Institute), Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500), a Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher, and a Certified Professional Co-active Coach. It is precisely this eclectic range of disciplines and fields of study — somatics, yoga, sport psychology, laughter and play, and his 30+ years of teaching experience — that is the foundation of Dr. Strean’s success both in the classroom as well as outside the classroom as keynote speaker and workshop facilitator.

In 2008, Dr. Strean received the University of Alberta’s Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In 2011, Dr. Strean was one of ten Canadians selected to join the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship. His current research is addressing mindfulness in schools for social and emotional wellness. His audiobook, Humor Me: Lighten Up and Love Life Laughing, explores the benefits of laughter and humour and how to apply them in daily life. His 2017 book, For Those Who Dare to Teach, takes an autobiographical approach to sharing insights and practical tips for teaching. His recently released book, Alive with Joy reveals how to move from disconnection to optimal living.  Through his former company, Exhilarated Performance, and currently as the Chief Joy Infuser at Adventures in Joy, Billy has provided over 500 dynamic presentations across North America to help people to Re-Charge. Re-Connect. Re-Discover.

Yoni is a TED speaker at TEDxSoMa 2019, and the author of www.thebookofcuddles.com which is an instructional on cuddling that teaches how to better your touch. He is also the creator of www.elementsofsexuality.com; a playful, geeky, and educational site about the elements that contribute to our sexuality. Dr. Yoni Alkan is a global speaker on various Human Sexuality issues since 2011. His expertise includes alternative relationships, improving our dating landscape, and touch and consent advocacy.

She completed her Ed.D. through UC Davis’ Capital Area North Doctorate in Educational Leadership (CANDEL) Program. Currently a Sociology professor at Pasadena City College, she has over a decade of experience teaching community college students about theory, methods, culture, socialization, deviance, institutions, and social change.

As an artist, she developed the Graphic Sex Project as a way for people to understand their sexual scripts, and use the devices of the art of storytelling to shape meaning in their sexual lives. The Graphically Yours therapy kit is a powerful tool in sex therapy sessions for opening up conversations and helping clients explore their values and desires. Her live interactive installation is being used in universities all over the country in their sexual health and wellness programs, and as a featured event in Sex Week, to promote good sexual communication and consent culture. Check out a gallery of graphs made at her installations at GraphicSexProject.com, and make your own!

She enjoys working with diverse communities and empowering unique erotic embodiment fuels Annie’s work. She helps you discover and soften your growth-edges – in turn enabling increased desire and sensual celebration to emerge.

Annie has been studying with The Somatica® Institute since 2017 and provided faculty support in 2019 for the core training. She recently acquired a Permaculture Design Certificate through Starhawk, has been working with the land since 2011, and holds a BS in Biology and Environmental Science from CSUMB. Her passions draw from Tantra, deep ecology, psychedelia, horse training, dance, communalism and understands that sexual positivity is an integral factor in creating a regenerative and peace-oriented society.

His research focuses on LGBTQIA+ and non-monogamous identities. Daniel also serves on the board of directors for the Center for Positive Sexuality.

Ren’s passion is supporting marginalized sexual communities and teaching healthcare providers the information and skills to facilitate patient-centered, affirming dialogue so that they are better prepared to discuss sexual health with their patients. Ren holds a B.S. in Public Health from Temple University and an M.Ed. in Human Sexuality Education from Widener University. In the very little spare time they have, Ren is a knitter and devoted dog parent.

Dr. Clarke is the first Jamerican (Jamaican-American) to receive three degrees in Human Sexuality from accredited Universities in the United States: Bachelors of Arts from NYU in Sexuality, Culture and Oppression (2007); Masters of Education in Human Sexuality (2012) and Doctorate of Philosophy in Human Sexuality (2015) from the Center for Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University. Dr. Clarke is also a graduate of the International School of Transnational Decolonial Black Feminism in Cachoeira, Brazil, & from Decolonizing Knowledge and Power Summer School in Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Dr. Clarke co-founded an anti-racist sexuality studies program at Goddard College in Vermont. Dr. Clarke provides therapeutic, educational and consulting services through the Pluriversity.

She is primarily interested in researching alternative sexualities, particularly the BDSM community. During her years at UNH, she held the position of Undergraduate Research Assistant at the UNH Carsey School of Public Policy, using both qualitative and quantitative methods for various evaluation projects. Sonja was also recently awarded a 2019 Undergraduate Research Conference Award of Excellence for her presentation, “Making Meaning of Consent: A Content Analysis.” She is now continuing her work on consent through her senior honors thesis, a qualitative exploratory study of the New England BDSM community. She hopes to build off of this research in graduate school and continue exploring the complexities and intricacies of the larger BDSM community.

She is the author of two books, The Power of Pause: Simple Meditations for Complicated Lives, and Ignite Your Vitality using Human Design, and presents her signature programs in the US and abroad.

Linda created the Wellness Sexuality Practice for individuals and couples who want to revitalize intimacy and connection. She is also a Tantrica and member of Sex Positive Los Angeles.

Eliot’s research interests include mental health of sexual and gender minority individuals, intersectional and multicultural identities, strength-based approaches, and advocacy work for SGM communities. He is also a peer counselor with the Alliance Health Project serving HIV+ and LGBT+ people and the National LGBT Help Center. In his previous career, Eliot was a tenured violinist with the San Francisco Symphony and is proud to have been the first openly transgender musician in a major American orchestra.

She is the owner of Jaali Co., a company specializing in comprehensive, pleasure-based sex education for adults. Her research has been presented at several national conferences. She is an HIV/AIDS activist and conducts community workshops nationwide on subjects from safer sex practices to sexual assault.

She is the founder of GRAPHICPAINT, a platform for uncensored, crowdsourced materials, and host of SEX COMMUNICATION, a podcast of real sex audio recordings and explicit personal histories. Her work centers around the belief that if we change the way sexual content is presented, we can change the way people behave and think.

Brianne’s projects are built using both design and behavior theory; her years of experience studying human interaction with various media have informed her innovative ideas. She is committed to normalizing the taboo and creating a cultural shift towards the free expression of sexuality. Through provocative presentations of authentic experiences, she inspires her audience to challenge their preconceived notions and practice radical self-acceptance.

Prior to launching GRAPHICPAINT, Brianne spent two decades working as a graphic designer and brand strategist for clients ranging from public corporations to independent startups. She studied Industrial Design at Pratt Institute before shifting to print and web-based work as a professional.

Brianne is based in New York City where she documents sex, develops original media, and writes regularly for OVEE Health.

In her research, she is currently focused on the Philosophy of Love and Sexualities. Anna graduated in Philosophy, English, and German as a teaching profession with a thesis on the question »Is there an Aesthetic Pleasure?«, in 2014. She was committed to university policy for many years and she founded the undergraduate conference Dia: logos in 2015. Her PhD project »On the Capability to Love« aims at understanding the role that so-called deficient loving has for the concept of love. She is working on an integrative concept of love that is capable of explaining how far loving always implies both options of success and deficit as well as demands the cultivation of personal capabilities. In her second research project »Sex Speech. Problems of Tabooed Talk and the Potential of a Sex-positive Discourse and Sex-positive Spaces«, Anna analyses the role that language and concepts have for different aspects of sexualities, sexual experiences, and sexual identity. She locates this matter within the examination of a sex-negative socio-political climate and an emerging sex-positive subculture.

He focuses on the controversial & taboo that most in the field won’t address, including specialized populations in the sex trade and human trafficking. He’s been honored with national leadership designation as an expert in trauma, sexualized violence, and disaster response. He’s conducted the largest ever international discussions on rape and developed a national policy on the sex trade. In 2018, Andrew led the Start By Believing Campaign, a program dedicated to believing sexual assault survivors, to its largest regional designation in CA. He trains forensics and mental health professionals nationally and internationally and is writing the first book on the arousal experience in sexual assault to help rape victims and therapists understand this response.

She is the senior training coordinator for a residential treatment center in Westchester County, NY. There she works with leadership to design and facilitate training for staff that enhances their skill set in working with traumatized youth & their families. Ms. Payne has 10+ years of social work experience working in foster-care, prevention, teaching parenting skills, and as a Community School Director. She earned her BA in Sociology from the University of Hartford, and her MSW from the University of Connecticut. Outside of her full-time work, Ms. Payne is a Certified Sexuality Coach, Relationship workshop facilitator, Certified Breastfeeding Counselor, Childbirth Educator, future doula, femme domme practitioner, and a sexual health & wellness educator with Bedroom Kandi Boutique Parties. As “Mom’s Sex Coach”, she focuses on supporting mothers to reclaim & embrace their sexuality as a means of better connecting to and taking care of themselves. With her experience working with traumatized youth & families, she is particularly interested in working with and empowering this population and those with traumatic sexual history/beginnings. She currently provides workshops, parties, and coaching in the NY metropolitan area, and is developing a book on sexuality development.

She received a Master’s degree in Psychology / Marriage and Family Therapy from Brandman University, and a Master’s degree in Human Sexuality from San Francisco State University. As part of her Master’s Thesis, she conducted original research based on more than 1,500 women from the kink community, which has been published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Jennifer is the founder and owner of Affirming Therapy Center (ATC), a group private practice with a team of sex-positive clinicians who are all committed to serving communities of Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity (GSRD), including LGBTQ, kink, BDSM, sex work/adult industry, and consensual non-monogamy. At ATC, Jennifer offers individual therapy and couples counseling, helping adults with anxiety, depression, relationships, sexual health, life transitions, personal growth, and to increase intimacy and sexual satisfaction.

She works within a spectrum of touch and connection as a Cuddlist® Certified Practitioner and an IMBT Trained Surrogate Partner. Michelle is also a Certified Cuddle Party® Facilitator and facilitates female sexual empowerment workshops. Based in San Diego, California, she is an active member of both GSRD (Gender, Sexuality, and Relationship Diversity) Affirming Therapists and STEM (Sex Therapy Education Medicine). Michelle feels honored to be able to work inside the complete spectrum of connection from platonic to sensual to sexual.

As APAC Chair, Riley continues the organization’s legacy of political advocacy, performer outreach, and community support. Raised in a family of educators, Riley believes that information is the greatest source of power. She seeks to provide resources for adult performers, and to make them accessible to talent of all types and abilities, even to models outside of the Los Angeles mainstream industry. She also chairs the APAC Fundraising Subcommittee, on which she organizes fundraising events designed to build community and raise awareness on important issues affecting the adult performer population.

Riley is committed to uniting the diverse sectors of adult entertainment, and uplifting the voices of those in need. She knows the importance of solidarity to accomplish APAC’s goals and fights every day to build a better tomorrow for adult performers everywhere.

With a PhD in Sociology and certification as a Sexuality Educator from AASECT, Dr. Sheff specializes in gender and sexual minority families, consensual non-monogamy, and kink/BDSM. Sheff is the foremost academic expert on polyamorous families with children, and her 20+ year Polyamorous Family Study is the only longitudinal study of poly families with children to date.

Sheff’s first book, The Polyamorists Next Door (2014), details the findings of the first 15 years of her research on polyamorous families with children. Her second book, Stories from the Polycule (2015), is an edited anthology of writings by polyamorous folks. When Someone You Love is Polyamorous (2016) is Sheff’s shortest book that guides family members and significant others who are trying to understand a polyamorous loved one. Sheff blogs for Psychology Today at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-polyamorists-next-door

She earned her PhD. In Applied Social Psychology from Claremont Graduate University and has been a sexuality researcher for over 20 years. She writes a column in Psychology Today called Up Close and Personal and is the co-author of the recent book Bisexuality: Theories, Research, and Recommendations for the Invisible Sexuality.

He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University and is currently Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies and Associate Professor of Sociology at Idaho State University. His research addresses sexuality, deviance, and the body, and he is especially interested in experiences, meanings, and identities related to pornography and sex work; BDSM, kink, and fetish sexuality; sexual consent, abuse, trauma, and assault; and body modification, ritual violence, and self-injury.

Jules received her B.A. in Art History from UCLA and will be finishing her M.A. in Sociology at The New School this spring. Her research interests span gender and sexuality, performative aesthetics, and music subcultures.

She identifies as cis-female, solo polyamorous, and pansexual. She has been a licensed psychotherapist since 1981 and currently specializes in work with individuals and relationships with members of the LGBTQ and open relationships communities. Karin has an MSW and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare. She is currently a core adjunct at the undergraduate online psychology program at National University in La Jolla. She has also taught at the undergraduate and graduate level in social work, psychology, and gender studies at Humboldt State University, California State University, East Bay, San Francisco State University, Mendocino College, the University of California, Berkeley, and at Western New Mexico University. She presented a paper on the experiences of lesbian-feminists who came out in the 1970s who now are involved in romantic/sexual relationships with all genders and who are polyamorous at the first and second Non-Monogamies and Contemporary Intimacies conferences in Lisbon and in Vienna and this paper was published in Sexualities in 2019. She recently published a paper on the unintended consequences for clients who use online therapy directories to find sex-positive therapists in the Journal of Positive Sexuality.

Using qualitative research methods, he explores the identities and experiences of non-heterosexual individuals related to: kink, BDSM, and fetishes; pup play; pornography consumption; drag subcultures; non-exclusive sexualities; and sexual consent. He draws on theories from psychology, sociology, and cultural studies, focusing on the impact of the internet and the role of community participation for these kinky individuals. He is a research affiliate for the Center for Positive Sexuality, a member of the International Academy of Sex Researchers, and serves on the British Psychological Society’s Psychology of Sexualities committee.

Tim is also a BDSM lifestyler and teaches classes for BDSM lifestylers and adult entertainment professionals in bondage, whipping, roleplay, and assorted other fetish skills. He volunteers for APAC and for the Center for Positive Sexuality and is passionate about feminism, women’s rights, and sex worker advocacy.