From March 13 - 17, the internet’s going on spring break to Austin for South by Southwest. SXSWi, the Interactive festival, is a four or fiveish day blur of panels you meant to go to, people you hope you remember, and parties and parties and parties. The goto app last year for managing the mad dash of it all was Sched, which has yet to refresh itself with this year’s events. For now, I’ve gathered all the panels during Interactive that relate to sexuality, and will update as we get nearer. (And by all means post anything I’ve missed in the comments.)
- A History of Growing Up Online, moderated by Maria Diaz. Will certainly delve into what was considered “oversharing” on the web ten years ago — and the brave young women who pioneered blogging — and how that’s shifted since.
- Everything I Needed to Know About the Web I Learned from Feminism, moderated by Heather Gold. Not strictly about sex, but gender, sexual politics, queerness & activism. Plus Heather.
- Touching Me Touching You: How We Feel Technology, moderated by Cory Silverberg. Cory and I discussed this panel a bit last summer, and I’m especially looking forward to how touch technologies for sex aren’t just about the (failed) promise of teledildonics, but can impact the emotional side of our sexual development.
- Is Privacy Dead or Just Very Confused?, moderated by danah boyd. Again, further reaching than sex alone, but with direct implications. I’m hoping danah will talk some about the work she’s done investigating how youth express sexuality & identity online.
- Make it So (Sexy): Lustful Design in Mainstream Science Fiction, moderated by Chris Noessel and Nathan Shedroff. The most straight-shooting (though certainly not limited to straight sexual fantasy) of the sex/tech panels. Let’s see how the future didn’t happen.
- Brave New Dating, moderated by Ryan McMinn. “The pseudo-science of geek dating,” with a bit of a goof on “Getting Things Done” sex-style.
- Digital Dating: Are the Internets Killing Your Game?, moderated by Aubrey Sabala. Or: Twitter, Twitter, Twitter.
- Love in the Cloud: Online-Only Marriages, moderated by Todd Moy. I think it’s going to be about gaming, at least a little. I’m glad to be proven wrong.
- Queerosphere: Same Sex (Link) Love Interactive, moderated by Deb Rox. One of the only queer-focused panels, which means everything gay will end up there.
- Sex Ed Online: How Teens Self Savvy, moderated by Karen Kreps.
One of my ambitions fulfilled: Nikol Hasler from The Midwest Teen Sex Show and Heather Corinna of Scarleteen on the same panel.Updated 2009.01.18: sadness, the panel will go on without them. Karen Rayne will co-moderate. - Updated, 2009.1.18: Why Is Professional Blogging Bloodsport for Women?, moderated by Rebecca Fox. Expect the conversation to get back to sex — and how that gets back to us. Rachel Sklar writes to say she’s just been added to this panel.
- Updated, 2009.1.18: Therapy 2.0: Mental Health for Geeks, moderated by Keely Kolmes. Keely’s a sex-positive therapist based in San Francisco, and will be discussing in part dating & breaking up online. Prolific erotica author Thomas Roche will be one of the panelists.
- Sex Lives of the Microfamous, moderated by Melissa Gira Grant and Nick Douglas. And this one’s mine.
Also, smart sex writers I can’t leave off, even if they’ll be discussing mostly-not-sex:
- Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging, moderated by the fantastically orally fixated Rachel Kramer Bussel.
- How to Protect Your Brand Without Being a Jerk!, and moderating this sticky wicket with grace is Twanna A. Hines.
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[...] Sex @ SXSWi Interview #1 is Maria Diaz. Maria is a freelance writer living in San Francisco. She writes for bitchbuzz and is a television writer for b5media. Most of her blogging is currently confined to Tumblr. Here she gets into her panel, “A History of Growing Up Online,” so it is not oversharing to tell you that it used to be “Growing Up As An Internet Oversharer.” [...]
[...] Sex @ SXSWi, this time with Keely Kolmes, Psy.D. Keely is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San [...]
[...] Fox and Rachel Sklar are next in Sexerati’s Sex at SXSWi series — for their panel, “Why Professional Blogging is Bloodsport for Women.” [...]
[...] Sex @ SXSW is in its own full-swing: Sexerati has landed, been conservative for no decent reason about giving out promotional buttons (ask me for one!), and has had a chance to even bump into some of these fine panelists. Here’s the last in this interview series, a two-for-one with the co-presenters of Sex Ed Online: How Teens Self Savvy, Karen Kreps and Karen Rayne. [...]