Call for guest blog, video, and graphic art submissions in preparation for Paradigm Shift’s next event:

“SEX WORK AND HUMAN RIGHTS: FEMINIST ADVOCACY STRATEGIES”

Panel Discussion & Screening Featuring:
SIENNA BASKIN, Esq., Staff Attorney, Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
CHRISTINA CICCHELLI, Columnist, $pread magazine
MARYSE MITCHELL-BRODY, NYC Anti-Violence Project & Founding Member at Sex Workers Action New York
AUDACIA RAY, International Women’s Health Coalition & co-founder of Sex Work Awareness
WILL ROCKWELL, Editor, $pread magazine

Screening of “Sangram: Sex Worker Organizing In India” a collaboration between the International Women’s Health Coalition and SANGRAM
When: TUES, March 30th
Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Buy tickets here!

Submission Deadline- March 28
Use these prompts as guidelines for submissions; essays, poetry, and artwork in all forms accepted:

- Discuss the empowering and/or disempowering aspects of sex work
- Positive or negative experiences as a sex worker or with sex workers
- The media’s image of sex workers
- The issue of choice and agency when performing sex work
- Human Rights issues of sex work and sex trafficking in poorer countries
- The pornography industry and its impact on women
- Feminist porn
- Response to books/media by sex workers
- Sex work and health
- Sex work & the law

Submit responses to blog@paradigmshiftnyc.com Please include how you would like to be credited (name, anonymous etc). Video submissions- please submit YouTube private link. Email subject line: Your Name- Blog post- 3/30 Event.

ParadigmShiftNYC.com content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Come think and discuss at Paradigm Shift’s event on March 30th:

SEX WORK & HUMAN RIGHTS: FEMINIST ADVOCACY STRATEGIES
Panel Discussion & Screening featuring:

SIENNA BASKIN, Esq.
Staff Attorney, Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
CHRISTINA CICCHELLI
Columnist, $pread magazine
MARYSE MITCHELL-BRODY
NYC Anti-Violence Project & Founding Member at Sex Workers Action New York
AUDACIA RAY
International Women’s Health Coalition & co-founder of Sex Work Awareness
WILL ROCKWELL
Editor, $pread magazine
Screening of “Sangram: Sex Worker Organizing In India” a collaboration between the International Women’s Health Coalition and SANGRAM

moderated by Melissa Gira Grant, External Relations Officer, Third Wave Foundation & freelance writer

Portion of the proceeds donated to Sex Workers’ Project

Buy Tickets Now- Limited Seating- This will sell-out- CLICK HERE
Network with your community before & after discussion

When: TUES, March 30th
Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
The Tank- 354 West 45th Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
Subway directions: Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street/Time Square. Walk West

Cost: $7 students/pre-paid, $10 at door
But Tickets Now- CLICK HERE- Limited Seating
OR Call The Tank directly for tx 212.563.6269

PARADIGM SHIFT: NYC’S FEMINIST COMMUNITY Proudly Presents

SEX WORK & HUMAN RIGHTS: FEMINIST ADVOCACY STRATEGIES
Panel Discussion & Screening Featuring:
SIENNA BASKIN, Esq.
Staff Attorney, Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
CHRISTINA CICCHELLI
Columnist, $pread magazine
MARYSE MITCHELL-BRODY
NYC Anti-Violence Project & Founding Member at Sex Workers Action New York
AUDACIA RAY
International Women’s Health Coalition & co-founder of Sex Work Awareness
WILL ROCKWELL
Editor, $pread magazine
Screening of “Sangram: Sex Worker Organizing In India” a collaboration between the International Women’s Health Coalition and SANGRAM

moderated by Melissa Gira Grant, External Relations Officer, Third Wave Foundation & freelance writer

Portion of the proceeds donated to Sex Workers’ Project
Buy Tickets Now- Limited Seating- This will sell-out- CLICK HERE
Network with your community before & after discussion

When: TUES, March 30th
Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
The Tank- 354 West 45th Street (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
Subway directions: Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street/Time Square. Walk West

Cost: $7 students/pre-paid, $10 at door
But Tickets Now- CLICK HERE- Limited Seating
OR Call The Tank directly for tx 212.563.6269

PARTNERS INCLUDE:
The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
Sex Workers’ Project
Manhattan Young Democrats
The Women’s Mosaic

PARTICIPATE & PARTNER!
Calling all progressives! Promote this event and we’ll promote your organization as a marketing partner.
Email: JWeis@paradigmshiftnyc.com

Facebook Invite

ABOUT

SIENNA BASKIN & SEX WORKERS’ PROJECT: http://www.sexworkersproject.org
CHRISTINA CICCHELLI, WILL ROCKWELL & $PREAD MAGAZINE: http://www.spreadmagazine.org
MARYSE MITCHELL-BRODY & NYC AVP & Sex Workers Action NY: http://www.avp.org, http://swop-nyc.org
AUDACIA RAY, IWHC & SWA: http://www.audaciaray.com, http://www.iwhc.org
MELISSA GIRA GRANT: http://www.melissagira.com

This series of posts from the community is in preparation for Paradigm
Shift’s next event, “The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women”
A Discussion with JESSICA VALENTI, Author & Feministing.com
Founder/Editor on TUES, FEB. 23rd, 7pm, NYC. We want to hear your
stories. View call for submissions- deadline 2/19- Click here!

by Miriam Rabinovich

- Imagine a world without the concept of virginity and “purity”- what would that look like?

It would be a world without white wedding dresses, and wedding nights without blood-stained sheets, crimson marks that prove purity only through loss. It would be a world without Eve and her daughters, women who can bring the world to its knees by seducing men on theirs; a world without Mary and the cult of female guilt that surrounds the ideal woman – a son’s mother who has never slept with his father. A world without the narrative of children’s innocence might well be a place without pedophiles. A world without “good girls” is a world without snuff films, as the myth of purity perpetuates apathy and aggression toward “loose women.” It would be a world far less invested in the policing of symbolic and embodied boundaries, a world without homophobia, honor killings, eating disorders, and clitorectomies. It would be a world without the sexual hysteria that created the fantasy of the hypersexual black predator out to hunt white virgins cowering in every corner. A world without the concept of virginity and purity is a world without hate.

But perhaps most importantly, it is a world without Edward Cullen. Yes, the un-dead, devastatingly dreamy, adolescent vampire extraordinaire of the Twilight series. Others have noted that the supernatural thriller espouses quotidian views of female purity and encourages abstinence. Bella’s blood is central to the text, it is what Edward and his pale pals sniff for and run from; every look of longing drips with its promise. It’s a story even older than 104 year old Edward, the eternal saga of female “purity,” and the masculine desire to both destroy and preserve. We know this story well and all little girls learn to cross their legs when they play. What interests me, however, is the less explored twin of female purity – male prurience. Fundamentally, what makes a woman sexually pure is her lack of contact with a penis. This is perhaps an obvious point but worth thinking of – for all of the anxiety generally attributed to men when it comes to female sexuality and women’s bodies, how much ambivalence must they have about their own sexuality when it is contact with them that makes women unclean?

Edward’s fear of his impulses is evident in the first film. He warns Bella that he might not be able to control himself around her, evinced early when Bella notices that Edward’s eyes changed color. Uncharacteristically flustered, Edward mumbles something incoherent and rapidly stumbles away from her, ashamed by his lack of control over his body, foreshadowing the constant tension between his dangerous desire for her and his love for her, as though the two can never merge.

The second film is even more apparent in its handling of male sexuality. We now have Jacob vying for Bella’s body as well, but just like Edward he forces her away, fearful of what he might do to her. Jacob is a boy transitioning into a werewolf, coming into his paternalistic legacy, clearly a parable for puberty. He too possesses little control over his bodily impulses. An older werewolf in the film who ripped into his wife’s face in a moment of passion, forever scarring her, acts as the warning of what men can do to women if they aren’t careful.

So we have two adolescent boys in physical flux and for both of them adult male sexuality means lack of physical control and (possible) violence against women. They pass on to Bella what has been taught to them and insist that she be scared of what they can do to her, of the beast that emerges when a kiss lingers a moment too long, of the loss of control when she comes a shade too close, of the danger when she dare desire as much as they. With Twilight we have not only the reinforcement of the female virginity and purity myth, but also the criminalization of male sexuality, both of which work symbiotically to perpetuate distorted views of gender and eroticism. Though much has been made of Bella’s body, critics have been more reticent about the construction of male sexuality – the arguments rarely evolve past the danger these boys pose to Bella’s sanctity. We have to move past this allegedly natural sinister male sexuality and explore the cultural investments in constructing male sexuality as dangerous, impulsive, and ultimately – in Twilight literally - disfiguring to both men and women.

The mutability of the disobedient body, its spontaneous shape-shifting and surprising fluidity, most pronounced during adolescence, seems to me to be a paradigm of the way female bodies have been constructed and described through all of their phases. It is plausible that adolescent boys on the cusp of puberty come closest to the culturally constructed descriptions of female embodiment. While this small space of flux is a site of massive potential for empathy and communal experiences, it currently functions as precisely the opposite. It becomes a time of delineating your borders, summoning your troops to the front line, and defining the male body as hard, strong, stable, and in control. And when it isn’t in control, it must be blamed on the female body that causes his defenses to crumble and rapidly consolidated into sexual aggression. So long as we refuse to create paradigms for the lack of self control that are not negative and weak, instead of say playful, productive, and transformative, men will always hold women culpable for their “weakness,” and thus project on to her the dirt he discovers in himself.

If masculine sexuality were not about possession, then female bodies would not be commodities, decreasing in value as soon as they have been opened. So long as male desire is constructed as criminal and something that – at its most intense – has the power to destroy, eroticism between men and women will always hinge on the palpable possibility of violence, and so a woman who wants is so often a woman who is asking for it.

We must defang male desire and provide adolescent boys with different constructions of masculinity, one that isn’t gnarled with skewed visions of strength and power. If we begin to deconstruct cultural criminalization of male sexuality, we will begin to unsettle the pure/impure dichotomy that has haunted the desiring female body since the time of antiquity. So long as male desire is viewed as a crouching creature always about to pounce, there will always be two types of women in the world – the one who helps him overcome himself and the one to whom he flees when the moon is full and his body howls.

Ultimately, this construction of masculinity is about reaffirming the heterosexual imperative and “traditional” values – the angel in the house will cleanse his sins after he confesses to depravity. Internal strife, inevitable sin, perpetual longing, crippling guilt, cherubic absolution - Edward’s desire for Bella is a biblical anachronism. So many of the distortions and anxieties around sexuality, female purity, and male aggression find their birth in Genesis, and loyally continue their evolution throughout the bible. A world without the concept of virginity and purity is a godless world. Amen to that.

presents

From Turbulence to Transformation

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 3:00 – 5:00 pm
At Goldman Sachs, 32 Old Slip, 2^nd Floor Auditorium, New York, NY
Sponsored by

At this critical yet promising moment in history, join our panel of visionary leaders for an in-depth exploration of the most pressing issues of our time.  What are the challenges and opportunities for advancing real and substantive social change that creates a better world for women and girls? Panelists will share their vision, strategies, and the action steps needed to promote more equitable and inclusive societies locally, nationally and globally

Welcome:
Linda Basch, President, National Council for Research on Women
Featured Speakers Include:
Melanne Verveer, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Edith Cooper, Managing Director, Global Head of Human Capital Management at Goldman Sachs
Letty Chiwara, Manager, UNIFEM Cross Regional Programmes (invited)
Jacki Zehner, Founding Partner, Circle Financial Group (moderator)

Co-sponsors: Paradigm Shift: New York City’s Feminist Community, Americans for UNFPA; Center for Women in Government & Civil Society at SUNY Albany; Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action; Gender Studies Program, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY; Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Columbia University; New York Women Social Entrepreneurs; US National Committee for UNIFEM; The White House Project; Women of Color Policy Network, NYU Wagner;  Equal Pay Coalition; New York Women’s Agenda;  Wolf Means Business; Women’s Forum, Inc.

PLEASE RSVP via e-mail to rsvp@ncrw.org, or call 212-785-7335, ext. 100.

This program will precede the Council’s Making a Difference for Women Awards Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street on March 3, 2010.  For more information, please contact the NCRW Benefit Office, c/o Production Collective at 914-628-0330, ncrw@productioncollective.com, or visit our website athttp://www.ncrw.org/events/events.htm#awards.

This series of posts from the Paradigm Shift community is in honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week Feb. 21-27, 2010. View call for submissions- deadline 3/5- Click here!

by Elisa Kreisinger

Created by mashing corporate media’s oversexualized depiction of women with a trailer for a misogynistic horror movie, “Captivity” illustrates that our society’s standards of beauty hold women captive.

Paradigm Shift: NYC’s Feminist Community Proudly Present

“The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women”
A Discussion with

JESSICA VALENTI, Author & Feministing.com Founder/Editor

CRITICS’ PICK- PARADIGM SHIFT HONORED FOR 5TH TIME!

UPDATE- AS OF 2/18- tickets are almost sold out- please buy now!

BUY TICKETS NOW- CLICK HERE

Portion of the proceeds donated to Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls
Buy Tickets Now- this event will sell out!
Network with your community before & after discussion

“This book is solidly researched, candidly personal, and smartly political. Valenti skewers sexism from abstinence campaigns to pop culture. Every young woman should read The Purity Myth – and it sure as hell would help if every young man read it as well!”
- Robin Morgan, Author and Activist

“It’s hard not to love Jessica Valenti. The Brooklyn-based founder of Feministing.com–the uncompromising, balls-out, feminist blog–is brilliant, beautiful, and not even 30 years old.”
-BUST magazine

When: TUES, FEB. 23rd
Time: 7:00-10:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
The Tank- 354 West 45th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues).
Subway directions:
Take the A,C,E to 42nd Street/Time Square. Walk West.

Cost: $7 students/pre-paid, $10 at door
BUY TICKETS NOW- CLICK HERE

Partners include

Therese Shechter, Director of “How to Lose Your Virginity”
The American Virgin blog
The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
Chicks Rock, a program of The Women’s Mosaic
NARAL Pro-Choice New York
Planned Parenthood of New York City Activist Council
Bluestockings
NOW NYS YFTF
Manhattan Young Democrats
New Yorkers Against Religion-Based Bigotry
WomenAndHollywood.com

ABOUT JESSICA VALENTI:
http://jessicavalenti.com

BUY “The Purity Myth”- now out in paperback:
Click here to buy

ABOUT “THE PURITY MYTH”:
The United States is obsessed with virginity from the media to schools to government agencies. The Purity Myth is an important and timely critique of about why this is so, and why it’s problematic for girls and women. Analyzing cultural stereotypes and media messages, Jessica Valenti reveals the overt and hidden ways our society links a woman’s worth to her sexuality rather than to values like honesty, kindness, and altruism. Valenti takes on issues ranging from abstinence-only education to pornography and exposes the legal and social punishments that women who dare to have sex endure. Importantly, she also offers solutions that pave the way for a future without a damaging emphasis on virginity, including a call to rethink male sexuality and reframe the idea of “losing it.” With Valenti’s usual balance of intelligence and wit, The Purity Myth presents a powerful and revolutionary argument that valuing girls and women for their sexuality needs to stop–and outlines a new vision for how it can happen.

ABOUT WILLIE MAE ROCK CAMP FOR GIRLS:
http://www.williemaerockcamp.org
Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is a non-profit music and mentoring program that empowers girls and women through music education and activities that foster self-respect, leadership skills, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Paradigm Shift: NYC’s Feminist Community & SAFER Proudly Present

THE LINE, documentary screening
&
Panel discussion featuring:

NANCY SCHWARTZMAN, Filmmaker

ERIN BURROWS, Students Active For Ending Rape

JOSEPH SAMALIN, Men Can Stop Rape, Campus Strength Coordinator

IGNACIO RIVERA, Sex educator, Organizer & Performance Artist

TIMEOUT NY RATED CRITICS’ PICK!  PARADIGM SHIFT HONORED FOR 4TH TIME!

http://newyork.timeout.com/events/city-picks/314715/sex-consent-power-pleasure

Endorsed by WBAI-FM 99.5

Join our special honored guests including former Paradigm Shift event
speakers, feminist authors, activists, and thought leaders

Support by Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, Feministing.com, Hunter Women’s Rights Coalition, Identity House, NOW NYS YFTF, Amy Mitten Photography, TimeOut NY, WBAI-FM 99.5

Attendees are welcome to discuss & document their thoughts on consent
for the “Where is Your Line?” campaign

When: TUES, DEC. 1st
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
Gallery Bar
120 Orchard Street, between Delancey St. and Rivington St.
Subway: Delancey-Essex Sts (F, J, M, Z), Grand St (B, D), 2nd
Ave-Houston St (F, V)

Cost: $7 if you RSVP before Dec. 1st, 12:00 noon / Students FREE / $10
at door
RSVP (include full name and guests): rsvp@paradigmshiftnyc.com

PARTICIPATE:

Calling all progressives! Promote this event and we’ll help
promote your organization!
Email: JWeis@paradigmshiftnyc.com

THE LINE Synopsis:

http://thelinemovie.org
A one night stand far from home goes terribly wrong. As the filmmaker
unravels her experience, she decides to confront her attacker. Told
through a “sex-positive” lens, THE LINE is a 24 minute
documentary about a young woman – the filmmaker- who is raped,
but her story isn’t cut and dry. Not a “perfect
victim,” the filmmaker confronts her attacker, recording the
conversation with a hidden camera. Sex workers, survivors and
activists discuss justice, accountability and today’s
“rape culture.” The film asks the question: where is the
line defining consent? THE LINE was completed in July 2009.

ABOUT NANCY SCHWARTZMAN:

Nancy Schwartzman is a filmmaker, writer and activist working for over
thirteen years to create community solutions to combat sexual violence
and promote public debate. THE LINE is a personal documentary that
explores consent from a sex-positive point of view. With an emphasis
on interactivity and dialogue, she launched the accompanying
“where is your line?” campaign. Prior to THE LINE, she
produced the award-winning short film OCEAN AVENUE.

Nancy is the founder of NYC-Safestreets.org an online initiative noted
by The New York Times, Gawker, The Village Voice and The Daily News to
engage community organizations and businesses to create safer routes
for pedestrians, especially women. From 2002- 2005 she was a founding
editor and Creative Director of HEEB Magazine. For six years Nancy was
the Program Officer at the Fund for Jewish Documentary Film. She has
curated short film festivals at the Pioneer Theater, Berlin, London
and Tel Aviv. Her essays have been featured in The Independent, HEEB,
Sh’ma and Plenty Magazine.

Nancy lectures extensively on college campuses on the topic of consent
and healthy sexual boundaries. She is a graduate of Columbia
University with a degree in Art History and Film. She has lived in
Paris and Jerusalem, and currently resides in Brooklyn. She recently
married Isaac Mathes, her cameraman.

ABOUT ERIN BURROWS:

Erin Burrows, M.A., completed her Fifth Year MA in Women’s
History at Sarah Lawrence in 2009. She was a leader in the successful
campaign at Sarah Lawrence College to rewrite the Sexual Harassment
and Sexual Assault Policy and improve sexual assault services on
campus. Erin was heavily involved with feminist and queer organizing
on campus, leading to numerous changes in programming and policy
including mandatory anti-oppression training for student senators.
Erin was awarded the Senior Appreciation Award for recognition of her
undergraduate leadership in 2008. She has been working for SAFER since
August, 2008 and joined the board in May, 2009. She currently works as
a Community Educator in the Domestic Violence Education and Prevention
Program at My Sisters’ Place, based in Yonkers, NY.

ABOUT JOSEPH SAMALIN:

http://www.mencanstoprape.org
Prior to joining Men Can Stop Rape as Campus Strength Coordinator,
Joseph was co-president of Columbia University’s men’s group, Columbia
Men Against Violence. He has been working on rape prevention and
anti-violence work with young men in New York and other areas for 15
years.

ABOUT IGNACIO RIVERA:

http://www.ignaciorivera.com
Ignacio Rivera is a Queer, gender fluid, Trans- Entity, Black Boricua
performance artist, currently performing skits, spoken word,
one-person shows and story-telling internationally. Ignacio is a
lecturer/trainer, activist, new filmmaker and self-proclaimed sex
educator. As a lecturer/ trainer, Ignacio has spoken at home and
abroad on such topics of racism, sexism, homo/transphobia, transgender
issues, sexual liberation, anti-oppression, anti-violence, multi-issue
organizing and more. Ignacio currently consultants with various
organizations in New York City conducting professional development
trainings for NYC high school staff.

ABOUT SAFER:

http://www.safercampus.org
Started by Columbia University students in 2000, Students Active for
Ending Rape (SAFER) is the only organization that fights sexual
violence and rape culture by empowering student-led campaigns to
reform college sexual assault policies. An all-volunteer collective,
SAFER facilitates student organizing through a comprehensive training
manual; in-person workshops and trainings; free follow-up mentoring;
our Campus Sexual Assault Policies Database; and a growing online
resource library and network for student organizers. SAFER firmly
believes that sexual violence is both influenced by and contributes to
multiple forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, and
homo/transphobia, and view our anti-sexual violence work through a
broader anti-oppression lens.

PARTNERS:

Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership

http://www.woodhull.org/

Feministing.com

http://www.feministing.com/

Identity House
http://www.identityhouse.org

Hunter Women’s Rights Coalition

http://hunterequality.blogspot.com/

NOW NYS Young Feminist Task Force

http://youngfeministtaskforce.blogspot.com/

Amy Mitten Photography

amittensphoto@aol.com

Paradigm Shift:  NYC’s Feminist Community Proudly Presents:

PROGRESSIVE SINGLE MINGLE:

A cocktail party for the left-leaning

Supported by the Planned Parenthood of New York City Activist Council, NARAL Pro-Choice NY, NOW NYS Young Feminist Task Force, The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership

Find a lover, mate, date, partner, soul mate, friend, fling….or all of the above!

Singles of all orientations and committed friends welcome!
Hang with special honored guests and past event speakers!

Color coded name tags can identify your orientation & relationship status

Win a Free Paradigm Shift event admission for a year & Raffle prizes from:

Rubin Museum: http://www.rmanyc.org
Jivamukti yoga school: http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com
Brooklyn Museum: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org
Bluestockings: http://bluestockings.com
Tastee Vegan: http://www.tasteevegan.com

Music provided by Katie Camosy of TRASHBAT

When: Thursday, NOV. 19th
Time: 7:00 pm
Where: In the heart of the Feminist District
People Lounge, 163 Allen Street, NYC
(Between Stanton and Rivington, F or V Train to 2nd Ave)
HopStop.com Directions
http://www.hopstop.com/route?zip2=10002&address2=163+ALLEN+ST&mode=s

Cost: $7 if you RSVP before 12:00 pm 11/19, $10 at door

Buy DISCOUNT Tickets:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=s-xclick&hosted_buttonid=9144587

Email: RSVP@ParadigmShiftNYC.com with full name & guests

Participate:
Promote this event and we’ll promote your organization!
Email: JWeis@paradigmshiftnyc.com

PARTNERS:
Planned Parenthood of New York City Activist Council

NARAL Pro-Choice NY

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