Let Labor Unite Us
I've been looking back over past labor day posts and the one I wrote five years ago really struck me as touching on many of the themes I've been thinking about lately. I'm reposting it here in its entirety. Much…
Follow Up on “Senior Sex Is Not A Joke”: Adult Kids and Community Show Support
Yesterday I wrote about the sentencing of a Florida woman on charges of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct because she was caught having sex with a man in a public place, and about the media coverage surrounding that case. One…
Senior Sex Is Not A Joke
A Florida woman has just been sentenced to six months in jail for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure after being caught having sex in a public place. The sex itself took place in June. In a retirement community. The woman…
Sexual Power, “Other Powers,” and a Strange Saturday Coincidence
I’m neither superstitious nor religious, but a coincidence so strange occurred this morning that it definitely seemed like someone somewhere was telling me to stick my butt to my chair and do some writing today. My friend Claudia and I…
Still Harmful to Minors
In 2002, Judith Levine wrote a prize-winning critique of sex-related laws called Harmful To Minors (Thunders Mouth Press). It provides a very carefully researched, clearly written argument that the laws we make in the name of protecting kids often does more damage…
How To Help Young People For Real, Step One: Listen To Them
We are rather schizophrenic in our public policies related to kids in the US. From the sex laws documented by Judith Levine nearly 15 years ago in her classic book Harmful To Minors, to the mess we have made of…
Talking About A Revolution
In the US, July 4 is the day we celebrate the freedom and independence that stems from a revolution. We do this with fireworks, barbecues, parades and all manner of nationalistic displays. There are readings of the Declaration of Independence,…
91 Bad Words About Young People and Prostitution: The New York Times Edition
It’s only 11 lines and 91 words, but most of them are bad. If you are looking for a clear, concise example of the wrong way to write about young people and prostitution, the story below is perfect. I’d have…
Nothing About Youth Without Youth
“Nothing about us without us!” That’s an organizing principle that I first learned when I started doing sex worker rights advocacy years ago. Then, last week, at the Detroit Youth Passages Youth Sexuality Media Forum, I was invited think about…
Detroit Youth Passages convenes experts to tackle problematic representations of youth sexuality issues in the media. And they invited me!
I'm excited to be representing Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance in my capacity as their Senior Strategist at a convening of youth, media makers, advocacy workers, writers and researchers all brought together by Detroit Youth Passages, a coalition including the University of…