Nov 1: Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders and Jackie Strano of Good Vibrations on Sex Out Loud

Oct 282013
 

EldersTaormino

Tristan Taormino welcomes Dr. Joycelyn Elders and Jackie Strano to Sex Out Loud on Friday, November 1, 2013 at 5:00 pm Pacfic time, 8:00 pm Eastern time on the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. Taormino interviewed Dr. Elders in person at CatalystCon West in Woodland Hills, California, where Elders gave the closing keynote talk last month.

During the interview, Dr. Elders recalled growing up in rural, segregated, poverty-stricken Schaal, Arkansas and how it ultimately impacted her lifelong dedication to public health. Dr. Elders talked about her appointment as U.S. Surgeon General by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and how she was forced to resign over a controversy about her public statements about safer sex, masturbation, and sex education. Elders and Taormino discussed abstinence-only sex education, the current state of HIV/AIDS, and how we can empower young people around their sexuality.

dr eldersDr. Joycelyn Elders, the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology, was the sixteenth Surgeon General of the United States, the first African American and only the second woman to head the U.S. Public Health Service. Long an outspoken advocate of public health, Elders was appointed Surgeon General by President Clinton in 1993. In 1995, she returned to her alma mater, the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, as a faculty researcher and professor of pediatric endocrinology at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. In 1996, she wrote her autobiography, Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America. Now retired from practice, Dr. Elders has teamed up with the University of Minnesota Medical School, which has created The Joycelyn Elders Chair in Sexual Health Education to advance the design, evaluation, and dissemination of essential sexual health curriculum for all individuals as well as training for allied health care providers and education professionals.

“It was an honor and a privilege to speak to Dr. Elders,” says Taormino. “She is such an inspiration to sex educators everywhere. She’s bold, unapologetic, and fearless about her commitment to comprehensive sex education in our country. Plus, she’s very feisty—I can’t believe some of the things she said!”

The second half of the show will feature Jackie Strano, Executive Vice President of Good Vibrations, the presenting sponsor of Sex Out Loud. Strano was at CatalystCon West for Dr. Elders’ keynote. “Dr. Elders is one of my personal sex positive icons for her bravery and for telling a simple and necessary truth during a climate of intense fear around sexuality in this country’s history,” says Strano. “For the last 19 years, Good Vibrations has dedicated the month of May as ‘Masturbation Month’ in homage to Elders’ bravery and commitment to pleasure, sex positivity and sex education.” In their interview, Taormino and Strano talk about the state of sex education in America, why sex-positive retail stores are so important, and how Good Vibrations has paired with various non-profit sex-positive organizations to raise money and awareness.

jackie stranoJackie Strano is the Executive Vice President of Good Vibrations the legendary feminist sex positive adult retailer founded in 1977. Strano is an award winning and best-selling adult filmmaker of explicit and non-explicit sex-ed movies, a sex educator for over 20 years, author, performer, producer, and has lectured at conferences, universities, and appeared on HBO, various documentaries, and featured in Cosmo, Playboy, Self Magazine, Salon, The Village Voice, and various independent newspapers throughout the country.

“Tristan continues to deliver high quality shows week after week on Sex Out Loud,” says Karen Dana, Executive Producer of the show at VoiceAmerica. “Not only does she have top-notch guests from a variety of fields, but her conversations with them are thoughtful, provocative, and inspirational. That’s what makes Sex Out Loud the highest-rated show on the entire VoiceAmerica Network.”

Sex Out Loud airs live on Fridays at 5 pm Pacific / 7 pm Central / 8 pm Eastern on The VoiceAmerica Variety Channel. All shows will be available in Tristan Taormino’s Content Library on The VoiceAmerica Variety Channel for on-demand and podcast download. It is sponsored by Good Vibrations, Astroglide, We-Vibe, and Sportsheets.

About Sex Out Loud®:

Sex Out Loud explores the world of sexuality from every angle with host Tristan Taormino®, who interviews leading authors, educators, artists and icons and gives listeners an uncensored, inside look at alternative sexual practices and communities. Guests have included Dan Savage, Susie Bright, Jessica Valenti, Kandi Burruss, and Margaret Cho. Sex Out Loud airs live on Fridays at 5 pm Pacific / 7 pm Central / 8 pm Eastern on The VoiceAmerica Variety Channel; it is the number one rated show across the entire VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. Tristan Taormino is an award winning author, sex educator, speaker, and filmmaker. She is the author of seven books and editor of twenty-five anthologies. She has appeared on Melissa Harris-Perry, Joy Behar: Say Anything, HBO’s Real Sex, Ricki Lake, and The Howard Stern Show. She lectures at top colleges and universities and teaches sex and relationship classes around the world.

About Good Vibrations:
Good Vibrations is a diverse, woman-focused retailer providing high-quality, sex-positive products and non-judgmental, accurate sex information through our clean and comfortable stores, catalog, web site, wholesale division, product and movie production lines in order to enhance our customers’ sex lives and promote healthy attitudes about sex. We recognize that sexuality touches on every aspect of our lives and that many people face challenges around positive sexual expression. Our goal is to help everyone we come into contact with to discover ways to experience sexual pleasure, health, and well-being. Since sexual diversity is a core component of the human experience and each person’s sexuality will change over the lifespan, we welcome all forms of consensual sexual expression, desire, and fantasy. Good Vibrations strives to be an agent for social change, through the lenses of sexuality, diversity and ethical business practices. Both within our organization, and throughout the communities we serve, we are committed to fostering respect, promoting supportive communication, providing access to educational resources and strongly advocating for women in leadership roles.

About VoiceAmerica/World Talk Radio, LLC:

World Talk Radio, LLC is the world leader in online media broadcasting and the largest producer and distributor of live internet based talk radio and TV, delivering more than 200 hosts broadcasting to eight niche community based channels and over 1,000 hours of programming weekly on its VoiceAmerica™ Network and WorldTalk Radio Network as well as live and on-demand video content on VoiceAmerica.TV. World Talk Radio, LLC is one of the pioneers in internet broadcasting, producing and syndicating online audio and video, offering an innovative, effective and comprehensive digital broadcast platform.

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Anal Advisor: Concerned Anal Citizen

Mar 272013
 

There has been a lot of talk about HPV recently with the release of the new vaccine. But most of what I read for women concerns HPV in the vagina and PAP smears. As a girl who’s way more into anal sex than vaginal sex, what do I need to know about HPV? Can a person get HPV in their ass, is there a test for it, and how is it treated?

–Concerned Anal Citizen

There are more than one hundred types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), and more than forty different strains can be sexually transmitted and affect these areas: the vulva, vagina, cervix, penis, scrotum, anus, and rectum. HPV is a virus most closely associated with genital warts, although not all forms of HPV cause warts. Some of the strains of HPV are low risk and resolve themselves without treatment. High-risk types of HPV can cause abnormal cell growth and cervical cancer. According to Planned Parenthood,

At any time about 20 million people in the U.S. have [genital HVP infections]. Between 10 and 15 million have high-risk types that are associated with cervical cancer. HPV is so common that about three out of four people have HPV at some point in their lives.

The most common way to spread HPV is through vaginal and anal intercourse, but it can also be spread through rubbing, fingering, oral sex, or sharing sex toys. Condoms protect against HPV, but HPV may be present in the skin not covered by a condom, which is why gloves and dental dams should also be used.

Yes, you can get HPV in your ass. If it is a kind of HPV that manifests as genital warts, they can appear in as little as three weeks or as long as six months after infection. The warts begin as small pink bumps that look like cauliflower florets in or around the anus and rectum; they tend to spread rapidly, forming clumps of bumps that may be itchy. The bumps could be painful if they are irritated. Their incubation period is usually one to six months, but they can grow more rapidly if you are pregnant or have a compromised immune system. Remember, in many cases, someone with HPV may have no visible symptoms at all; in these cases, a physician will be able to see them during a rectal exam with an anoscope. Genital warts can go away on their own; or, they can be removed from the skin by applying chemicals to them (usually acids), burning them with an electric needle (electrocautery), freezing them with liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy) or with laser treatment. Even after visible warts are removed, HPV remains in your body, and the warts can recur.

The strains of HPV that can cause precancerous lesions on the cervix can be detected through a pelvic exam and PAP test. If you have HPV in your ass, it’s less common to have treatable precancerous lesions present since there is no cervix or cervix-like place for them to develop, though it’s still possible to have pre-cancerous cells which precede rectal cancer. To test for the presence of HPV in the ass when there are no warts, a physician takes a swab of the rectum and sends it for laboratory analysis (similar to a vaginal PAP test). If you regularly engage in unprotected anal penetration and think you have been exposed to HPV, you can request a rectal exam and an anal papilloma screening (also known as an anal PAP test). If the PAP results come back abnormal, then you should have an HPV test which tests the cells for the HPV virus. If the HPV virus is detected, you can have a colposcopy where they take a biopsy and can look closer at the cells. You can spread HPV from your ass to your vagina and vice versa, so if it has been discovered in one place, it’s advisable to get the other place checked. People diagnosed with HPV should have regular exams to monitor recurrences and prevent complications.

In 2006, a vaccine for girls and women was released that can prevent four strains of HPV: two of the strains account for 90% of cases of genital warts and two account for 70% of cervical cancer cases. The vaccine, currently marketed under the name Gardasil is recommended by the FDA for girls and women aged 9-26. However, women over 26 who have never been exposed to one or more of the strains of HPV can also benefit from the vaccine. Researchers still know much less about HPV infection in boys and men, including its long term effects, risk of cancer, early detection, and potential treatments, although several drug companies are (including Merck, makers of Gardasil) are conducting clinical trials on the vaccination of boys and men.

Topping Not as Low Risk as Previously Thought?

Jan 022013
 

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A new study in Australia shows the risk of contracting HIV while engaged in the practice of topping or taking the “insertive role” in sex. This practice is thought by many to be a lower risk activity when engaging in unprotected sex, but the research is indicating otherwise. How is the virus being transmitted from the receiver to the person on top?

During anal sex, HIV can be transmitted to the insertive partner when a bodily fluid containing HIV from the receptive partner, such as anal mucus, enters the body of the insertive partner. This can occur through the foreskin and surrounding areas, the eye of the penis to the urethra (also a mucous membrane), or through tiny (often invisible) breaks in the skin of the penis.

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Anal mucus is increasingly being mentioned in Australian campaigns as the infectious body fluid potentially infecting the insertive partner during unprotected anal intercourse.

This is a significant piece of the puzzle which reminds us about how HIV can be transmitted during unprotected anal intercourse. I recommend everyone read it to stay informed about transmission and share it with your lovers, partners, and friends. Full article here: It’s Time To Talk Top: The Risk Of Insertive, Unprotected Anal Sex

 

Pushing the Boundaries of Feminist Porn with performer/director Bobbi Starr and Clarisse Thorn

Jul 232012
 

This week on Sex Out Loud, AVN’s 2012 Female Performer of the Year Bobbi Starr joins us to talk about her love of the oboe, her award winning performances in movies like Belladonna: No Warning 4, directing her own line of films for Evil Angel, why she loves to push sexual boundaries, and where she sees herself in relation to the feminist porn movement. She gives us the scoop on creating ElectroSluts.com, what kinky sex does for her, and why electricity play is so hot. We’ll also get her take on the current controversy around mandating condom use for all porn performers in California. Plus, pro-BDSM sex-positive feminist activist, blogger, and author Clarisse Thorn discusses her new book The S&M Feminist. She’ll breakdown BDSM, women’s submissive fantasies, and the tensions between kink and feminism. Plus, she’ll give us a glimpse of her years spent researching pick up artists (like those in Neil Strauss’s bestselling book The Game and VH1’s hit reality show The Pick-Up Artist), which became the basis for her book Confessions of a Pickup Artist Chaser.

Bobbi Starr is a very hardcore kind of performer and director. Her scenes have been shot for gonzo companies like Evil Angel, Jules Jordan Video and Red Light District and she won AVN Awards for Most Outrageous Sex Scene and Best Double Penetration Sex Scene as well as an XRCO Award for Most Orgasmic Oralist and two consecutive wins for Superslut. You may have seen her on Kink.com’s websites in many of their scenes, and she’s also in demand in Europe, having received an AVN nomination for Best Sex Scene in a Foreign-Shot Production for “Into the Dark” from Daring Media Group and a coveted Hot d’Or nomination for Female American Performer of the Year. She’s also a former nationally ranked swimmer and a trained professional concert oboist. Follow her on Twitter @BobbiStarr

Clarisse Thorn is a feminist, sex-positive educator who has delivered sexuality workshops and lectures to a variety of audiences, including museums and universities across the USA. In 2009, she created and curated the ongoing Sex+++ sex-positive documentary film series at Chicago’s historic feminist site, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. In 2010, she returned to the USA after working on HIV mitigation in southern Africa. She has also volunteered as an archivist, curator and fundraiser for that venerable S&M institution, the Leather Archives & Museum. Clarisse’s writing has appeared across the Internet in places like The Guardian, AlterNet, Feministe, Jezebel, The Good Men Project, Role/Reboot, and Time Out Chicago. Follow her on Twitter @ClarisseThorn