Rethinking Virginity Conference - May 3, 2010

Hey New England feminists! Check out this awesome event this Monday at Harvard:

The Harvard College Queer Students & Allies Present ...


RETHINKING VIRGINITY
May 3, 2010
@ the Student Organization Center at Hilles, Radcliffe Quadrangle, Harvard University (NEW LOCATION)

*PLEASE REFER TO WEBSITE FOR NEW DIRECTIONS AND INFO. ON SUNDAY PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT*
RSVP ON FACEBOOK // FOR FULL SCHEDULE AND SPEAKER LINE-UP, VISIT WWW.RETHINKINGVIRGINITY.TUMBLR.COM

Brought to you by the Harvard College Queer Students & Allies.

Is there a sex-positive way to teach abstinence? Where do our ideas about virginity come from? How does a queer person lose their virginity? Does anyone even know what virginity really is?

From debunking myths to defying norms, the Rethinking Virginity Conference will feature scholars and experts speaking about gender, sexuality, and the elusive concept of virginity. For a sneak preview, check out our tentative panels, read about the speakers, and register for FREE. Come for one panel or stay all day! Chat with speakers while grabbing FREE BURRITOS at the Boloco-sponsored lunch, and get information from tabling organizations between panels!

CAN'T MAKE THE CONFERENCE?
Join us the night before in Harvard Square for a "tweet-up" and meet the speakers!
Sunday, May 2nd from 8 to 10pm
Daedalus Restaurant (Roof Deck)
45 1/2 Mount Auburn Street // Cambridge, MA 02138-5053 // (617) 349-0071

Conference speakers include:

Lori Adelman, Assistant Program Associate, International Women’s Health Coalition, Contributor, Feministing.com
Lux Alptraum, Editor In Chief, Fleshbot
Chloe Angyal, Contributor, Feministing.com
Megara Bell, Founder, Partners In Sex Education
Sady Doyle, Editor In Chief, TigerBeatdown.com; Contributor, Feministe.us
Dr. R. Marie Griffith, Harvard Divinity School
Christian Garland, Chair, Harvard College Queer Students & Allies; Editor In Chief, H-Bomb Magazine
Elizabeth Janaik, Sexual Health Educator, Center for Wellness, Harvard University Health Services
Dr. Kathleen Kelly, Department of English, Northeastern University
Therese Shechter, Documentary Filmmaker, “I Was A Teenage Feminist”, “How To Lose Your Virginity”
Shelby Knox, Documentary Film Subject & Feminist Activist, “The Education of Shelby Knox”
Ellyn Ruthstrom, President, Bisexual Resource Center
Eva Rosenberg, Chair, Trans Task Force; FemSex
Aida Manduley, Chair, Brown University Queer Alliance; Chair, Sexual Health Education & Empowerment Council
Sarah Morton, Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund
Gavi Wolfe, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Massachusetts
Lena Chen, Women's Events & Outreach Chair, Harvard College Queer Students & Allies; Blogger, Sex and the Ivy

Tabling organizations include: Fenway Health, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, Students For Choice (Harvard College), Peer Contraceptive Counselors (Harvard College), Radcliffe Union of Students (Harvard College), & Trans Task Force (Harvard College)

Sponsored by the Harvard College Women's Center and Boloco with support from the ACLU of Massachusetts, Fenway Health, Queer Women of Color & Friends, Feminist Majority Foundation Choices Campus Program, Bisexual Resource Center, and the Harvard College student organizations: Trans Task Force, Radcliffe Union of Students, & Students For Choice.

Rethinking Virginity Conference
Full Schedule

May 3rd, 2010, 10am-5:30pm
The Penthouse @ the Student Organization Center at Hilles
Radcliffe Quadrangle, Harvard University (NEW LOCATION)
Free and open to the public.

9:45-10:15 a.m.
Conference Check-In & Registration


10:15-10:30 a.m.
Opening Remarks

10:30-11:30 a.m.
Virginity: A Historical and Cultural Primer

11:45-12:45 p.m.
Debunking The Virginity Ideal: The Feminist Response To Slut-Shaming & Sexual Scare Tactics

12:45-01:30 p.m.
Lunch Break (Sponsored by Boloco)
Enjoy free burritos from Boloco, meet our conference speakers and organizers, and pick up information and contraception from groups tabling.


01:45-02:45 p.m.
Healthy Sexuality: A Workshop

03:00-04:00 p.m.
Popping The Queer Cherry: Virginity Loss, Marriage Norms, & LGBT Identity

04:15-05:15 p.m.
Toward A Sex-Positive Vision of Abstinence

05:15-05:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks

RSVP NOW ON FACEBOOK
FOR FULL SCHEDULE AND SPEAKER LINE-UP, VISIT WWW.RETHINKINGVIRGINITY.TUMBLR.COM

Interested in becoming a publicity partner or tabling at the conference? Email lenachen@fas.harvard.edu.

Sexual Harassment Given Priority it Deserves!

Salt Water Taffy, "Dirty Watah," civil unions, the Chess Man of Harvard Square, the great debate between Mike's and Modern Pastry (Modern all the way): all things that make me proud to say I'm from Boston.

And now there's more: the city's push to get pervs off the T (that's our public transportation system or "metro," for all of you non-locals)...

With the help of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (about whom I can't say enough good things (Bostonians can volunteer with BARCC by clicking here!)) there will now be ads on the T deterring suspicious behavior, while informing the public that there is a zero tolerance for sexual harassment and how to go to reporting witnessed incidents.

Not only do the ads raise awareness for riders to pay attention to protect themselves/others, the ads also make known the new undercover cop policy. Attacking the issue on both fronts with hidden police ensures that nothing will go unnoticed. Check it out here, as shown in this clip on Boston's FOX News (yes, I went there; apologies all around.)

The fact that Boston has put this issue at high priority makes me so happy, as it happens far too often (and mostly goes unreported.) Sexual Harassment like this is not committed by socials aberrations, but by terrorists using sex as a scare tactic to oppress and maintain undeserved privilege. To see groups like BARCC and the Boston police department working together like this is great progress and a model other cities should copy.



Oh, and Yankees suck.