Pleasure Mechanics

Coming Out, For Us All

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Coming out is a process of allowing yourself to be seen more fully, and to experience more belonging and celebration for who you are as a unique erotic being. Coming out is for ALL of us – and is a process we can all engage with again and again, as an act of personal and political freedom.

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Gay brothers and sisters, you must come out. Come out to your parents. I know that it is hard and will hurt them, but think about how they will hurt you in the voting booth! Come out to your relatives. Come out to your friends, if indeed they are your friends. Come out to your neighbors, to your fellow workers, to the people who work where you eat and shop. Come out only to the people you know, and who know you, not to anyone else. But once and for all, break down the myths. Destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake. For their sake.

Harvey Milk, 1978

No matter how you identify, the queer liberation movement offers you more breathing room to be who you are. As we expand (destroy?) the boxes that limit us – gender roles, identity binaries, social hierarchies – we create more space for all of us to be more HUMAN.

Let’s work towards a world where we can all be complex, nuanced and radiantly erotic humans. Queer Pride month is not about fitting in – it is about coming home to ourselves as erotic human beings, in all of our mysterious and wondrous beauty.

It’s about creating a world where ALL bodies are loved and respected. A world with more rainbows, yes, but also with nothing short of erotic liberation for us all!

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Seeking Sexual Freedom with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation

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If you are concerned about the state of sexual freedom, reproductive rights, access to health care and wondering how you can still get horny when the world is on fire, you are not alone!

Join us in conversation with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation about how we can all step up and take action to generate more freedom, pleasure and connection for us all.

Then, come out for the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit! Immerse yourself in community and join us as we come together for three days of stimulating education and celebrating our hard-earned erotic freedom! The event is Aug 4-7, 2022 in Alexandria, VA – join us!

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The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit brings together people from every corner of the sexuality advocacy world – educators, activists, advocates, and lawyers – to be in conversation with one another, strategize and learn together, troubleshoot challenges, and celebrate successes. Attendees come to the Sexual Freedom Summit each year to get inspired, develop new skills, gain access to resources, and recharge among other sexual freedom advocates. When they return home attendees are ready to take action to advance sexual rights in their communities. Register now!

Connect year round with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation for resources, local connections and ways you can step into being a Pleasure Activist in your daily life and home communities.

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Releasing Erotic Judgment

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Practicing non-judgment is at the core of mindfulness and our approach to Mindful Sex. Learning how to recognize and release judgment serves to bring us deeper into our present reality, align us with our values and create connection with others.

But like so many essential skills, developing the attitude of non-judgment takes time and practice.

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Cultivating Non-Judgment With Mindful Sex Practices

In this podcast episode we explore how we can befriend our own judgment to create more freedom within us and relationally by practicing the attitudes of non-judgement and discernment instead.

To explore this practice and process:

  • We become aware of our own judgment 
  • We explore where this judgment comes from
  • We ask ourselves, is this judgemental thought your own, or is it from intergenerational sources, like family, religion or capitalism? 
  • Do you agree with this thought or does this thought align with your current values?
  • We ask what is right for me, right now?

Through these inquiries we can choose a different response to our judgemental thoughts. 

We explore swapping judgment for the slower process of discernment. Discernment is a practice of perceiving the present moment without judgment. Discernment encourages a little more space between our thoughts and actions than our reactive judgmental thoughts. In the practice of discerning, we can pause and choose to get curious, and ask the question: what is right for me right now?

If we can release even a little bit of our own judgment we can make space to experience our lives with less suffering and more freedom, pleasure, joy and connection, for ourselves and those around us.

Reclaiming Pleasure with Dr. Holly Richmond

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Join us in conversation with the ever wise somatic psychotherapist Dr. Holly Richmond, author of Reclaiming Pleasure: A Sex-Positive Guide for Moving Past Sexual Trauma and Living a Passionate Life.

We all can practice reclaiming pleasure, in big and small ways, throughout our daily lives. In this interview, Dr. Holly Richmond guides us in understanding the ongoing process of reclaiming (or discovering for the first time!) our own authentic eroticism, agency and embodied joy.

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Pleasure Praxis Resources

This resource has been compiled by Chris Maxwell Rose as a freely shared resource for students, therapists, counselors, educators, bodyworkers and other care professionals. 

It is a living, emergent collection, in conversation with the community that it serves.

All links and resources are offered as threads into vast territories of knowledge on an ever changing internet, we apologize for broken links and welcome community contributions to maintaining this resource page.

All resources offered as starting points, enjoy being active in your own educational process and where that takes you!

Foundational Theory

The Nervous System

Frameworks

Practicing Towards Liberation

Somatic Sex Education: Our Lineage

Interoception Research

Research on Pleasure, Touch & Connection