The Masturbation Gap

Reading Audre Lorde - Uses of the Erotic: Erotic as Power

In this episode, Anne Marie Gunn reads Audre Lorde's essay, "Uses of the Erotic: Erotic as Power [https://www.centraleurasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/audre_lorde_cool-beans.pdf]" (1978). This essay was first published in Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, was later published in 1982 as a pamphlet by Out & Out Books, and was most recently published in Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown.

Movement, Body Hair, and Spirituality w/ Parisa Shirazi Chavoya

This week, Anne Marie Gunn welcomes her friend Parisa Shirazi Chavoya to the podcast to discuss various movement practices and their impact on sexual health, the cultural impact of body hair in Iran and the U.S., The Vagina Monologues by V Ensler, and both Parisa and Anne Marie offer reflections on their spiritual journeys over the last decade or so. For folks sensitive to religious trauma, purity culture, and homophobia please listen with care. Parisa Shirazi Chavoya is a certified yoga, reiki energy healing, and sound therapy guide. She founded Parisa Yoga Shala in 2022 with the dream of supporting her community with their wellness and healing journey through accessible & trauma-informed embodiment practices. Parisa loves using the power of her voice, healing vibrations, and the sacred practices of yoga and reiki to guide people into deep meditative states to support nervous system regulation. She offers 1:1, couples, small group, and workplace wellness offerings throughout the Greater Milwaukee Area. You can learn more about her work at parisayogashala.com [http://parisayogashala.com/] and on her Instagram @parisayogashala.

Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll with Jane Thompson

Audio Disclaimer from Anne Marie: I am still learning how to record and edit with two live microphones and unfortunately in the transfer and editing process, I deleted the original file with the better audio quality. The episode you’ll hear is a result of this mistake (only my microphone became the driving audio of the playback track). I apologize for the unevenness in the quality, but sincerely hope you stick around for the content! It was an incredible conversation and I’m glad I can still share it in some capacity. Episode Summary: This week, Anne Marie Gunn welcomes her former high school history teacher, Jane Thompson, as a guest to talk about the American Sexual Revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The conversation begins with how World War II, Margaret Sanger/the (white) women’s suffrage movement and movement towards family limitations, and the 1950’s all led to an American Sexual Revolution. Jane and Anne Marie discuss the influence of culture on politics and vice versa (ie. through language about gender and sex changing over time). Their conversation highlights key figures in the Sexual Revolution including researcher Alfred Kinsey and author Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique). Other topics covered include: the Civil Rights Act of 1965, Roe v. Wade (1972) and its overturn (2022), Vietnam War protests, free love/drug culture of the hippie movement, Title IX and its impact on higher education, women’s sports & equal pay, and girls’ agency over their bodies, the Equal Rights Amendment not being signed, the LGBTQ+ movement, the AIDs crisis, the disability rights movement, the 80’s mirroring the 50’s, and the development of technology and the internet impacting American music and sex. Finally, Jane and Anne Marie discuss how the paradox of American individualism and idealism of unification impacts societal progress.

Pleasure Activism: Who taught you how to feel good?

In this episode, host Anne Marie Gunn highlights the book “Pleasure Activism” by adrienne maree brown [https://adriennemareebrown.net/] and shares her own lineage of who taught her how to feel good.  “Hot & Heavy Homework” Prompt from “Pleasure Activism”: “Write up your pleasure activism lineage! Who awakened your senses? Who politicized your experiences of body, identity, sensation, feeling good? If they are still living, have you thanked them properly? If yes, good, do it again. If not, reach out. If they are ancestors, honor them with a pleasure altar covered in sticky fruit, sweet smalls, sacred water, and thick earth, centered around fire. Gratitude is part of pleasure too.”  Additional sources mentioned/shared: PLEASURE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pleasure]  SENSUAL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensual]  The Tool Shed  [https://www.toolshedtoys.com/books/] “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver “Holy Hurt” by Hillary McBride “The Vagina Monologues” by V Ensler “Your Body is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor “Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde, specifically the essay “Uses of the Erotic” Other authors: Taylor Jenkins Reid and Patti Smith, Haley Jakobson, Jenny Slate, Cheryl Strayed Visual artists: Frida Kahlo, Hilma af Klint, Martha Jungwirth, Etel Adnan  Musical artists: Bon Iver, Dijon, Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Chappell Roan Queer Sex Therapy on Instagram (Casey Tanner)

Denise Sherer Jacobson: An Accessible Sexual Revolution

With a focus on how sex is for all bodies, Sex is Yours host, Anne Marie Gunn, explores media representation of sex plots for people with disabilities, a sex education resource guide for people with disabilities, the documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, and shares an expounded statement by author and educator, Denise Sherer Jacobson. You can also read Denise’s statement provided for this episode on the Sex is Yours Website [https://www.sexisyours.com/resources].  https://deniseshererjacobson.com/ [https://deniseshererjacobson.com/]  Denise’s Instagram account: @ deniseshererjacobson Bio from her website: Author and educator Denise Sherer Jacobson, M.A., is passionate about  “Weaving the Disability Experience into the Tapestry of Living.” She has worked as an activist, counselor, administrator, and oral historian in the Independent Living Movement for over 50 years, all the while keeping her sense of humor. Additional Sources: Glee: Season 1 Episode 4, Season 3 Episode 5, & Season 3 Episode 10 Love on the Spectrum Sex Education: Season 3 Episode 4 Blogpost: Further Exploring Disability and Sexuality in Netflix’s Crip Camp [https://blogs.dickinson.edu/lgbtqhistoryandliterature/2021/03/27/further-exploring-disability-and-sexuality-in-netflixs-crip-camp/] Exile and Pride by Eli Clare Our Sexuality, Our Health: A Disabled Advocate's Guide to Relationships, Romance, Sexuality and Sexual Health [https://odpc.ucsf.edu/content/our-sexuality-our-health-a-disabled-advocates-guide-to-relationships-romance-sexuality-and] made by Melissa Crisp-Cooper 2020 Netflix documentary CRIP CAMP: A Disability Revolution [https://cripcamp.com/], produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s company, Higher Ground.