We get a lot of inquiries about international submissions to the Sexies. Along with not finding it fair to change the stated rules mid stream (because some other international writers may have read the criteria and chosen not to submit), there are a few other rationales for not going global, and I wanted to share how one of our board members put them:
(1) Unless we could afford the huge expense of translation, it would privilege journalism in Anglophone countries or countries where upper-class people read stuff in English even if everyone else doesn't.
(2) As a group, our judges know a lot about problems in North American culture with how sex is handled in pop journalism. They aren't so familiar with how it works, or doesn't, in other cultures, making it hard to accurately judge them in context.
So, it's not that we don't know there's incredible work being done all over the world! But we don't think it makes sense for us to claim to be able to judge it in the same way.
(1) Unless we could afford the huge expense of translation, it would privilege journalism in Anglophone countries or countries where upper-class people read stuff in English even if everyone else doesn't.
(2) As a group, our judges know a lot about problems in North American culture with how sex is handled in pop journalism. They aren't so familiar with how it works, or doesn't, in other cultures, making it hard to accurately judge them in context.
So, it's not that we don't know there's incredible work being done all over the world! But we don't think it makes sense for us to claim to be able to judge it in the same way.
As you're thinking about what to submit to the 2009 Sexies, I wanted to make a specific call for well-done news stories about "negative sex news."
What do I mean? In short, when people hear "sex-positive journalism," they tend to think of things like sympathetic profiles of sexual subcultures, or coverage of good news about legal defense of our sexual freedom, or myth-dispelling coverage of good sex research.
All of these things are awesome and we want to see more of them.
But there's another place where we need better reporting about sex: when things do go wrong. We can't pretend that sex is always good or that news about it is always cheery. And when it's not, it gets in the news. Think about these scenarios:
- A beloved priest is accused of child abuse and those accusing him keep talking about "these gay priests."
- A sexual relationship ends up in court and one person is saying it was consensual kink and the other is saying it was abuse.
- Neighbors are complaining that people going to a private swingers party at a local inn are disruptive and loud—and immoral.
This is hard work to do, often thankless, done on short news deadlines rather than fun feature schedules, and yet it is crucial. We strongly encourage writers and readers to notice and submit stories on topics such as these that get it right, are accurate and fair, and increase understanding in their readers rather than hysteria.
Well, OK, not literally.
But one Sexies judge did say of runner-up Tom Johansmeyer's article "War Games: No WMDs But Military Police Find ‘Dangerous’ Dildos in Iraq," "This is the sort of story that ought to find its way into the mainstream, but is instead consigned to the adult press specifically because of the biases we've started the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards to address.”
So whether we can take any credit for it or not, we were quite pleased to see that it did so, in a Boston Magazine piece by Tom called "Operation Desert Porn."
The Sex-Positive Journalism Awards got a shoutout in the introduction to Cleis Press’s Best Sex Writing 2009, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (a Sexies judge for the 2009 awards), and three Sexies winners show up in its pages.
The anthology includes pieces from “blogs, magazines, newspapers and books” and with its blend of news, opinion, and essay is meant to stimulate “your biggest sex organ, your brain” rather than arouse (Cleis has other books for that!).
The Sexies runner up article "War Games” by Tom Johansmeyer is included the collection, as are pieces by Sexies first-place winners Debbie Nathan and Amanda Robb. In fact, Bussel says she discovered Robb through the Sexies!
Read the introduction and the table of contents here.
Debbie Nathan, author of the first-place winning "Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex" shares a little of what it was like to report:
"I made myself an apron after I found out I'd won, and I bought iron-on letters. The first thing I put on the apron was: "I wrote responsibly about sex and all I got was shingles." It's true: while working on my article I broke out in a flaming case of herpes zoster. I've never had a more nerve-wracking experience trying to report a piece and get it published.
One of the people I was writing critically about, the former New York Times reporter, was constantly threatening to sue any reporter or publication who covered his dicey journalism practices. Everyone was terrified to cross him, and it goes without saying that after he noisily announced he was suing me for $10 million, I had a hard time finding any place to run my work about him. But Counterpunch stepped up to the plate. Publisher and editor Alexander Cockburn felt that the story was important, and he paid over $10,000 in lawyers' fees to deal with unremitting threats of a lawsuit if Counterpunch were to run my article. It came out and I was not sued. Neither was Counterpunch. Even so, I was exhausted!
Then I won the award. I was so jazzed that I scratched out "shingles" on the apron and replaced it with "Sexies." I so appreciate the prize. It energized me to keep writing responsiby about sex, even if it raises some blisters."
Debbie gives shout outs to the following folks for helping her along the way:
Counterpunch publisher and editor Alexander Cockburn, who spent over $10,000 in legal fees, out of his own pocket, responding to unremitting but ultimately baseless threats by Kurt Eichenwald to sue me and Counterpunch if the piece were published.
Gabe Thompson, who volunteered to tag-team-report part of the story that took place in a Tennessee courtroom, when it appeared Eichenwald might have the proceedings closed and sealed if I were seen in the courtroom.
The board members of the National Center for Reason and Justice, who graciously endured threatening demands by Eichenwald that the organization turn over its records because I was on the board.
New York City media lawyer Victor Kovner, who provided me with pro bono representation when Eichenwald first threatened to sue me, and who encouraged me to forge ahead with the reporting that finally turned into the Counterpunch piece.
Lincoln Anderson, co-author of "Media, critics get whipped into a frenzy over Leatherfest" gives us some back story:
"I'm glad that The Villager's article about the Leather Festival received a Sex Positive award. It was a pretty divisive issue in the Village community. One would think Greenwich Village is totally open and liberal when it comes to sex and alternative lifestyles, but there are also pretty conservative people who live down here, and they have their opinions too. Some of them felt a Leather Festival was just inappropriate. I think why we received a Sex Positive award was probably because we didn't just write a sensationalistic article -- as some other local media did, mainly the daily papers -- but tried to simply, objectively lay out the arguments on both sides.
We probably didn't change anyone's views; those who don't like Leather Festivals probably will continue not to like them. But I think it was important that we accurately reported the community-review and -approval process for the fair, the free-speech issues involved, and then the actual happenings at the festival.
Really, it wasn't that "scary" or "evil" -- just your typical street fair, except some guys were wearing leather kilts and black PVC geek wear, a woman wore military garb, had a crew cut and threw lesbian parties, there were bull-whip and tying-up-on-the-rack demonstrations. ... I personally feel people should have a right to express themselves, and if they do it on a little, one-block, out-of-the-way street off of America's gayest street -- Christopher St. -- where no one even sees it, much less little kids, what's the big deal? I'm not sure if that came through in the article, which was intended to be an objective report, but that was my feeling.
[Co-author] Jefferson provided on-the-scene reporting and colorful quotes that added to the flavor of the event -- again showing that these are just real people with a sense of fun and humor. I did some on-the-scene reporting and also got the community board chairperson's position on the festival -- that he felt it was a free-speech issue and should not be banned."
"I'm glad that The Villager's article about the Leather Festival received a Sex Positive award. It was a pretty divisive issue in the Village community. One would think Greenwich Village is totally open and liberal when it comes to sex and alternative lifestyles, but there are also pretty conservative people who live down here, and they have their opinions too. Some of them felt a Leather Festival was just inappropriate. I think why we received a Sex Positive award was probably because we didn't just write a sensationalistic article -- as some other local media did, mainly the daily papers -- but tried to simply, objectively lay out the arguments on both sides.
We probably didn't change anyone's views; those who don't like Leather Festivals probably will continue not to like them. But I think it was important that we accurately reported the community-review and -approval process for the fair, the free-speech issues involved, and then the actual happenings at the festival.
Really, it wasn't that "scary" or "evil" -- just your typical street fair, except some guys were wearing leather kilts and black PVC geek wear, a woman wore military garb, had a crew cut and threw lesbian parties, there were bull-whip and tying-up-on-the-rack demonstrations. ... I personally feel people should have a right to express themselves, and if they do it on a little, one-block, out-of-the-way street off of America's gayest street -- Christopher St. -- where no one even sees it, much less little kids, what's the big deal? I'm not sure if that came through in the article, which was intended to be an objective report, but that was my feeling.
[Co-author] Jefferson provided on-the-scene reporting and colorful quotes that added to the flavor of the event -- again showing that these are just real people with a sense of fun and humor. I did some on-the-scene reporting and also got the community board chairperson's position on the festival -- that he felt it was a free-speech issue and should not be banned."
OK. Now we've got a full batch of photos up on Flickr. Check 'em out, leave a comment if you can identify people I couldn't, and feel free to use them in your blogs etc. if you want: They're all Creative Commons licensed. Just credit James as the photographer.
Last week I was interviewed by an intern, Allie Garcia, from my former place of employ, for this article, out today: "Better Journalism, Better Sex."
I'm not the best at strict, unwavering message discipline (if only because I feel the pain of a journalist faced with it), so it often feels after an interview like I've run at the mouth a little unwisely. I'm used to giving the soundbites on polyamory, but I haven't yet done too many full-fledged interviews on the Sexies.
Anyhow, this came out quite well. Aside from the requisite innuendo and a little unimportant confusion between our categories (feature, news, opinion, column) and divisions (publication type), it's really quite well done, and gets beyond our own press releases a bit in a fun way. I wish she'd gotten to speak with some of the winners or other folks involved, but I know what her space constraints were, so I'm not complaining.
If I may quote myself being quoted: “To me a news story that has sexual content isn’t particularly different. . . . You have to ask all the hard questions, find out what the motivations are and get past the sound bites. The point is that people’s own prejudices get in the way. If you’re covering the environment or housing, people tell you to go look it up and learn about it. But we don’t do that with sexuality."
I'm not the best at strict, unwavering message discipline (if only because I feel the pain of a journalist faced with it), so it often feels after an interview like I've run at the mouth a little unwisely. I'm used to giving the soundbites on polyamory, but I haven't yet done too many full-fledged interviews on the Sexies.
Anyhow, this came out quite well. Aside from the requisite innuendo and a little unimportant confusion between our categories (feature, news, opinion, column) and divisions (publication type), it's really quite well done, and gets beyond our own press releases a bit in a fun way. I wish she'd gotten to speak with some of the winners or other folks involved, but I know what her space constraints were, so I'm not complaining.
If I may quote myself being quoted: “To me a news story that has sexual content isn’t particularly different. . . . You have to ask all the hard questions, find out what the motivations are and get past the sound bites. The point is that people’s own prejudices get in the way. If you’re covering the environment or housing, people tell you to go look it up and learn about it. But we don’t do that with sexuality."
Though it wasn’t announced from the stage, the Sexies Award Party also involved some very good news for the awards themselves: The presentation of a $1,000 grant from the David Weinbaum Memorial Foundation to support the 2009 Sexies. The foundation, founded in 1994, provides grants to support projects that are of service to the SM-leather-fetish community and which further the rights, awareness, education, health or well-being of adults engaging in safe, sane and consensual sexual expression.
Along with the money raised by the party itself, this grant will go a long way to ensuring that the Sexies can continue to seek out, lift up, and celebrate journalism that reports responsibly about sex in all its manifestations.
Winning a Sex-Positive Journalism Award gave Omar Mouallem's story "Let's Talk About Sects" a much wider readership: It was reprinted, along with a brief article on the awards, in the national publication Canadian Arab News.
Mouallem says: "It was very profound to have Lets Talk About Sects republished in Canadian Arab News because of how conservative and community-based the paper is. I've been a monthly contributor to CANews for over two years, and I've pitched sexuality-related stories before – including one on gays in the Middle East and legal punishments they face – but they've been rejected by a neglect to respond. I understand why, of course, it's a very sensitive community. Nobody talks about sex in the Arab or Muslim worlds, not even the Arab and Muslims. It has for too long remained taboo, and that's why so many Sunnis have hostile reactions to the Shiites' tradition of mutah. Getting press was nice, but giving the readers a chance to learn about one another within the community was a great honour."
The CAN story is here.
Mouallem's winning story can be read here.
Does anyone have contact information for Jon Mooallem, who wrote the 2nd-place Sexies winning NY Times Magazine article on Kink.com? I want to send him his certificate, but as far as I can tell, the Times won't pass my messages along (or, you know, they're all getting trashed as spam for having the word sex in them somewhere). I can find a million things he's written online, but no e-mail address.
10/12: Edit: Found him. (Or rather, he found me.)
10/12: Edit: Found him. (Or rather, he found me.)
This detailed and razor-sharp take down by Petra Boynton of a quiz commonly used in clinical settings to measure "sex addiction" makes me want to immediately expand the Sexies (1) outside North America and (2) to blogs. Which are both things that would be great to do anyway—if and when we can afford it (it would require more awards and lots more time on the part of entry coordinators and judges), which I'm not sure will be this year. Sigh.
Anyhow, depending how I answer the quiz, from trying to describe how my life actually is to strictly literally, covering anytime in my life when it says "have you ...," I range from a 4 (totally fine) to an 11 (more addicted than either Boynton or Cory Silverberg!) on a scale of 0 to 20. Cory Silverberg's got great things to say about the use of the term sex addiction too.
(L to r front row) Alysha Rooks, Jill Bauer, Liz Highleyman, Carol Queen, Debbie Nathan, Judith Levine, Tristan Taormino, Rebecca Lehman, Miriam Axel-Lute, Susan Wright
(L to r back row) Omar Mouallem, Amanda Robb, Daneil Engber, Lincoln Anderson, Richard Buskin, Lolita Wolf, Claire Cavanah, Doug Henwood, Liza Featherstone.
A few more photos are located here. Lots more to come. Do you have photos you took yourself? Post a link in the comments, or e-mail them to info at sexies dot org so we can add them to the set.
We'll have our photos ready soon, but in the meantime, you can check out a few over at DeBauCheri's article on the event.
I just got home from my trip to New York for the first ever Sex-Positive Journalism awards party, and it was marvelous!
We had about 100 people there, including winners Amanda Robb (New York Times), Alysha Rooks (Res Gestae), Rebecca Lehman (Univ. of Cincinnati News Record), Liz Highleyman (Bay Area Reporter), Tristan Taormino (Village Voice), Omar Mouallen (Vue Weekly), Daniel Engber (Slate), Bill Andriette (The Guide), Tom Johansmeyer (AVN), Richard Buskin (Playboy), Debbie Nathan (Counterpunch), Lincoln Anderson (The Villager) and Jill Bauer (Miami Herald). Judges Liza Featherstone, Doug Henwood, Claire Cavangh, Judith Levine, and Carol Queen were there along with the incredible Susan Wright of National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, and we were also graced by the presences of Bill Dobbs (Sex Panic/Queerwatch), legendary domme Belle De Jour, Poly NYC founder Justen Michael, Cuddle Party founder Reid Mihalko, Elizabeth Wood of Sex in the Public Square and probably tons of other notable activists, writers and sex-positive folks whom I just didn't manage to get introduced to.
Carol Queen gave a rousing introduction talking about the importance of sex-positive journalism even in the age of ubiquitous blogs, and I talked a little bit about the reporting I'd done that had led me to wonder if such awards existed and to decide that since they didn't, they should. (And I relayed that my two-year-old, upon being told that mommy was going to go say "good job" to some people for writing important things, said "I say 'good job' too.")
Judith Levine spoke about the media and sexuality from the perspective of the pre-press "coverage" of her book Harmful to Minors. (Best line: Responding to someone who compared the as-yet-unreleased book to Mein Kampf: "I had not at this time yet invaded Poland.") Lolita Wolf talentedly kept us on track as MC despite an e-mail snafu that meant she hadn't gotten the script ahead of time.
Another highlight was when Debbie Nathan had one of Splash's bartenders model the apron she had had made that read "I wrote responsibly about sex, and all I got was
Too bad someone spilled a drink on the gift certificates that were among the raffle prizes — but at least it wasn't the books! I'm sure our gracious donors will still honor the soggy certificates.
A million thank yous to the other organizers and all the volunteers. Photos and more news to come shortly.
Join us in New York City to celebrate the awarding of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards.
The party will be Sat. Oct. 4, 6:30-9:30pm,
in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, New York.
(www.splashbar.com)
$5 cover
Mingle with your favorite sex-positive writers and advocates, and support the mission of Sexies awards so they can continue into 2009! The first 100 attendees will get a gift bag of goodies from the Sexies sponsors.
Meet first-place winners Amanda Robb ("Abstinence 1, S-CHIP O," New York Times), Debbie Nathan ("Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex," Counterpunch), Jill Bauer ("Never Too Old for Sex," Miami Herald), Daniel Engber ("Naughty Nursing Homes," Slate), and Alysha Rooks ("Between the Briefs," Res Gestae, University of Michigan Law School), as well as many of our other fabulous winners.
Meet the stellar Sexies judges! Attending the award ceremony will be: Carol Queen, PhD, writer, speaker, educator, and activist with a doctorate in sexology; Liza Featherstone, journalist and author of "Sex, Lies, and Womenís Magazines" (Columbia Journalism Review); Judith Levine, journalist and author of the award-winning Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex; and Doug Henwood, contributing editor to The Nation. Judith Levine will talk about her experiences with the media when Harmful to Minors was released.
There will also be a silent auction and raffle to support the awards. The fabulous prizes include:
* original art by Julio Aguilera and Sophy Naess;
* signed copies of books by winners, judges, and supporters;
* sex toys;
* gift certificates for sexy pleasures; and more!
Don’t miss out on this chance to support the sex-positive journalism and take home something you’ve always wanted. Prize donations are still being accepted. Contact Miriam at info@sexies.org or comment if you have a donation.
Also, make a weekend of it! For those who are interested, Oct. 3-5 is also Polyamorous Pride weekend in New York City, and PolyNYC has planned a packed schedule (none of which overlaps with the Sexies party!). There is a cuddle party Friday night, a rally and picnic Saturday afternoon featuring Sexies winner Tristan Taormino as keynote, an afterparty, and a reading and book signing on Sunday. More information here.
--
The Sexies are the brainchild of journalist Miriam Axel-Lute, and were brought about in collaboration with writers, readers, and activists from The Center for Sex & Culture and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. Corporate sponsors include Babeland, The Playboy Foundation, Xbiz, UltraVirgo Creative, and Splash.
Remember to send in your entries for next year's awards whenever you read something sex-positive.
The party will be Sat. Oct. 4, 6:30-9:30pm,
in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, New York.
(www.splashbar.com)
$5 cover
Mingle with your favorite sex-positive writers and advocates, and support the mission of Sexies awards so they can continue into 2009! The first 100 attendees will get a gift bag of goodies from the Sexies sponsors.
Meet first-place winners Amanda Robb ("Abstinence 1, S-CHIP O," New York Times), Debbie Nathan ("Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex," Counterpunch), Jill Bauer ("Never Too Old for Sex," Miami Herald), Daniel Engber ("Naughty Nursing Homes," Slate), and Alysha Rooks ("Between the Briefs," Res Gestae, University of Michigan Law School), as well as many of our other fabulous winners.
Meet the stellar Sexies judges! Attending the award ceremony will be: Carol Queen, PhD, writer, speaker, educator, and activist with a doctorate in sexology; Liza Featherstone, journalist and author of "Sex, Lies, and Womenís Magazines" (Columbia Journalism Review); Judith Levine, journalist and author of the award-winning Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex; and Doug Henwood, contributing editor to The Nation. Judith Levine will talk about her experiences with the media when Harmful to Minors was released.
There will also be a silent auction and raffle to support the awards. The fabulous prizes include:
* original art by Julio Aguilera and Sophy Naess;
* signed copies of books by winners, judges, and supporters;
* sex toys;
* gift certificates for sexy pleasures; and more!
Don’t miss out on this chance to support the sex-positive journalism and take home something you’ve always wanted. Prize donations are still being accepted. Contact Miriam at info@sexies.org or comment if you have a donation.
Also, make a weekend of it! For those who are interested, Oct. 3-5 is also Polyamorous Pride weekend in New York City, and PolyNYC has planned a packed schedule (none of which overlaps with the Sexies party!). There is a cuddle party Friday night, a rally and picnic Saturday afternoon featuring Sexies winner Tristan Taormino as keynote, an afterparty, and a reading and book signing on Sunday. More information here.
--
The Sexies are the brainchild of journalist Miriam Axel-Lute, and were brought about in collaboration with writers, readers, and activists from The Center for Sex & Culture and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. Corporate sponsors include Babeland, The Playboy Foundation, Xbiz, UltraVirgo Creative, and Splash.
Remember to send in your entries for next year's awards whenever you read something sex-positive.
2008 Sexies Award Ceremony
Join us in New York City to celebrate the awarding of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards.
Sat. Oct. 4, 6:30-9:30pm
in the downstairs lounge of Splash
50 W. 17th Street, New York
(www.splashbar.com)
$5 cover
Mingle with your favorite sex-positive writers and advocates, and support the mission of Sexies so they can continue into 2009!
There will be a raffle for which we are currently accepting offers of prizes: let Miriam know at info@sexies.org if you have an idea of something we could raffle off.
Thank you all for all your support and enthusiasm! Remember to send in your entries for next year's awards whenever you read something sex-positive: www.sexies.org/submit.php.
Join us in New York City to celebrate the awarding of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards.
Sat. Oct. 4, 6:30-9:30pm
in the downstairs lounge of Splash
50 W. 17th Street, New York
(www.splashbar.com)
$5 cover
Mingle with your favorite sex-positive writers and advocates, and support the mission of Sexies so they can continue into 2009!
There will be a raffle for which we are currently accepting offers of prizes: let Miriam know at info@sexies.org if you have an idea of something we could raffle off.
Thank you all for all your support and enthusiasm! Remember to send in your entries for next year's awards whenever you read something sex-positive: www.sexies.org/submit.php.
Winners of the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards (“Sexies”) Announced!
For immediate release: June 16, 2008
Contact: Susan Wright, 917-848-6544 or Miriam Axel-Lute, info@sexies.org
For more details: www.sexies.org
The board and judges of the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards are proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Sexies. Selected from over 100 entries submitted by both writers and readers, the winning entries cover subjects from sex in nursing homes, prostitution, and sex in Iran to Kink.com and panics over Internet sex. The winning articles were published in a dozen states in all corners of the United States (and one Canadian province), and represent a range of genres, from news to advice columns.
What they all have in common, however, is that they succeed in embodying the Sexies criteria for sex-positive journalism far better than the vast majority of their counterparts, helping to improve the quality of dialogue around sex and create a more well-informed reading public.
"Too many mentions of sex in the media recapitulate our culture's biases about sexuality and sexual diversity, especially as far as 'controversial' topics are concerned," says Sexies judge (and writer, Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist, and Center for Sex & Culture founding director) Carol Queen, Ph.D. "Publications' editors are too often afraid to let their writers show all sides, and certainly the sex-positive side, of a story. The Sexies give us a forum to highlight the exceptions, and hopefully shine a light by which all journalists can see more clearly."
The first-place winners are:
- News or feature (daily newspapers):
“Never Too Old for Sex,” by Jill Bauer, Miami Herald
- News story (other general-topic news publications*):
“Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex,” by Debbie Nathan, Counterpunch
- Feature (other general-topic news publications*):
“Naughty Nursing Homes,” by Daniel Engber, Slate
- News or feature (sex-themed news publications):
“Sex in Iran,” by Pari Esfandiari and Richard Buskin, Playboy
- Opinion (all news publications):
“Abstinence 1, S-CHIP 0,” by Amanda Robb, New York Times
- Column (all news publications):
Between the Briefs, by Alysha Rooks, Res Gestae, University of Michigan Law School
A list of all the winners, with links to online versions of their stories where available, and comments from the judges, can be viewed at www.sexies.org/news/winners08.html. (It's really worth a viewing—the variety is tremendous.)
All entries were read by at least two members of the Sexies judges panel, including at least one with a journalism background. Copies of those winning stories not available online can be provided to the media upon request.
The Sexies board thanks all the writers and readers who sent in entries, and encourages all of the writers who entered or were nominated to keep up their crucial work. Submissions for the 2009 Sexies are open and they will be accepted through March 2009 at www.sexies.org/submit.php.
Awards will be presented at a cocktail party open to the public in New York City in October. Details will be announced shortly. The Sexies are seeking volunteers to help with the event and donors for a raffle to be held there. Raffle proceeds will help defray the costs of starting and maintaining the awards, the only journalism awards to exclusively address sex-positive coverage. For more info, contact us by replying to this e-mail.
The Sexies are the brainchild of journalist Miriam Axel-Lute, and were brought about in collaboration with writers, readers, and activists from The Center for Sex & Culture and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.
The Sexies would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Babeland (founding sponsor), Alt Life Films, The Playboy Foundation, and XBIZ, and all of our individual donors. It’s not too late to become part of that sex-positive number: www.sexies.org/support.html.
###
For immediate release: June 16, 2008
Contact: Susan Wright, 917-848-6544 or Miriam Axel-Lute, info@sexies.org
For more details: www.sexies.org
The board and judges of the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards are proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Sexies. Selected from over 100 entries submitted by both writers and readers, the winning entries cover subjects from sex in nursing homes, prostitution, and sex in Iran to Kink.com and panics over Internet sex. The winning articles were published in a dozen states in all corners of the United States (and one Canadian province), and represent a range of genres, from news to advice columns.
What they all have in common, however, is that they succeed in embodying the Sexies criteria for sex-positive journalism far better than the vast majority of their counterparts, helping to improve the quality of dialogue around sex and create a more well-informed reading public.
"Too many mentions of sex in the media recapitulate our culture's biases about sexuality and sexual diversity, especially as far as 'controversial' topics are concerned," says Sexies judge (and writer, Good Vibrations Staff Sexologist, and Center for Sex & Culture founding director) Carol Queen, Ph.D. "Publications' editors are too often afraid to let their writers show all sides, and certainly the sex-positive side, of a story. The Sexies give us a forum to highlight the exceptions, and hopefully shine a light by which all journalists can see more clearly."
The first-place winners are:
- News or feature (daily newspapers):
“Never Too Old for Sex,” by Jill Bauer, Miami Herald
- News story (other general-topic news publications*):
“Hysteria, Exploitation, and Witch Hunting in the Age of Internet Sex,” by Debbie Nathan, Counterpunch
- Feature (other general-topic news publications*):
“Naughty Nursing Homes,” by Daniel Engber, Slate
- News or feature (sex-themed news publications):
“Sex in Iran,” by Pari Esfandiari and Richard Buskin, Playboy
- Opinion (all news publications):
“Abstinence 1, S-CHIP 0,” by Amanda Robb, New York Times
- Column (all news publications):
Between the Briefs, by Alysha Rooks, Res Gestae, University of Michigan Law School
A list of all the winners, with links to online versions of their stories where available, and comments from the judges, can be viewed at www.sexies.org/news/winners08.html. (It's really worth a viewing—the variety is tremendous.)
All entries were read by at least two members of the Sexies judges panel, including at least one with a journalism background. Copies of those winning stories not available online can be provided to the media upon request.
The Sexies board thanks all the writers and readers who sent in entries, and encourages all of the writers who entered or were nominated to keep up their crucial work. Submissions for the 2009 Sexies are open and they will be accepted through March 2009 at www.sexies.org/submit.php.
Awards will be presented at a cocktail party open to the public in New York City in October. Details will be announced shortly. The Sexies are seeking volunteers to help with the event and donors for a raffle to be held there. Raffle proceeds will help defray the costs of starting and maintaining the awards, the only journalism awards to exclusively address sex-positive coverage. For more info, contact us by replying to this e-mail.
The Sexies are the brainchild of journalist Miriam Axel-Lute, and were brought about in collaboration with writers, readers, and activists from The Center for Sex & Culture and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom.
The Sexies would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Babeland (founding sponsor), Alt Life Films, The Playboy Foundation, and XBIZ, and all of our individual donors. It’s not too late to become part of that sex-positive number: www.sexies.org/support.html.
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We're just having our judges do a second pass to break some ties, but the winners will be announced within a week. Plans are also shaping up for an award ceremony and party to be held in New York City, probably the first weekend in October. We'll get you all the details soon.
In the meantime, check out this thought-provoking item on assumptions journalists make about sex, disability, and consent.
In the meantime, check out this thought-provoking item on assumptions journalists make about sex, disability, and consent.
Submission Period for 2008 Sexies Closed; Entries for 2009 Being
Accepted Now!
As of the March 23 deadline, the 2008 Sex-Positive Journalism Awards
received more than 100 entries from publications all over the United
States and Canada. The judges are eager to get to work reviewing all the
entries. Winners will be announced in late May, and awards officially
presented this fall. Thanks to all the writers and readers who took the
time to send in submissions.
But in the meantime, sex-positive readers don’t have to twiddle their
thumbs! Because the Sexies are unusual in accepting reader-submitted
entries, the board has decided that rolling submissions throughout the
year make more sense than a limited submission period. Who wants to have
to bookmark an article they read in April to remember to submit it in
the fall?
So, although the details for next year’s awards are still be worked out,
submissions for the 2009 Sexies are being accepted, at our website. Lay it on us!
The Sexies would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Babeland
(founding sponsor), Alt Life Films, Playboy, and Xbiz, and all of our
individual donors. It’s not too late to become part of that sex-positive
number: Donate now!
Accepted Now!
As of the March 23 deadline, the 2008 Sex-Positive Journalism Awards
received more than 100 entries from publications all over the United
States and Canada. The judges are eager to get to work reviewing all the
entries. Winners will be announced in late May, and awards officially
presented this fall. Thanks to all the writers and readers who took the
time to send in submissions.
But in the meantime, sex-positive readers don’t have to twiddle their
thumbs! Because the Sexies are unusual in accepting reader-submitted
entries, the board has decided that rolling submissions throughout the
year make more sense than a limited submission period. Who wants to have
to bookmark an article they read in April to remember to submit it in
the fall?
So, although the details for next year’s awards are still be worked out,
submissions for the 2009 Sexies are being accepted, at our website. Lay it on us!
The Sexies would also like to thank our corporate sponsors, Babeland
(founding sponsor), Alt Life Films, Playboy, and Xbiz, and all of our
individual donors. It’s not too late to become part of that sex-positive
number: Donate now!
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Page Summary
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miriamjoyce : Why the Sexies are sticking to the U.S. and Canada for now [+0] - miriamjoyce : Sex-Positive Coverage of Negative Sex News [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Boston Mag Takes Sexies Judges Advice [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Sexies Winners Included in Best Sex Writing 2009 [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Stories Behind the Sexies: Debbie Nathan [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Stories Behind the Sexies: Lincoln Anderson [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Party Photos! [+0]
- miriamjoyce : On the other side of the microphone [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Grant! [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Stories Behind the Sexies: Omar Mouallem [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Give me a hand? [+0]
- miriamjoyce : on "sex addiction" [+0]
- miriamjoyce : (Some of the) Sexies Winners, Judges, and Organizers [+1]
- miriamjoyce : sneak preview [+0]
- miriamjoyce : part-ay round up [+1]
- miriamjoyce : Party details! Check out our raffle prizes... [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Party! Mark your calendars now... [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Winners!!!! [+0]
- miriamjoyce : I know you're all waiting with bated breath... [+0]
- miriamjoyce : Don't let 2008's sex-pos stories get away... [+0]
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