While I have two seconds, and am doing some more book promo work for my editor at the moment, so it’s on my mind, I’ve forgotten to mention that I am pleased as serious punch that the wonderful, awesome Anne Semans is doing the foreword for my book. (I honestly have always thought that the Good Vibes Guide Anne and Cathy do is probably the only sex book most grownups will ever need.)

This makes me happy not just because she’s brilliant and warm and seriously gets it in a way few do when it comes to both sex and sexuality education as a whole (and without age limits or barriers), the most wonderful part is that it really nicely brings things full circle for me.

When I first started working in sexuality, Anne and Cathy were SO fantastic to me, such helpful mentors when I needed an ear or an opinion, and have supported the work I do over the years really generously. It was just so cool to have these women in my coner who I respected and admired so much, and it’s so nice that even though the web is no longer in its infancy, and it’s much harder for all of us working in these arenas to connect than it was, that we’re still all connected. So, being able to have Anne effectively introduce it is just such a feel-good thing in terms of a recognition of the whole process that’s brought this to the point its at per my work.

Always nice to have a minute in the day for mutual admiration.

* * *
And on that note, Cheryl does (per usual) a fantastic job of chronicling the feminist women’s health movement here, and addressing how incredibly sad and (in my mind) scary it is, to see so many women’s clinics unable to scrape by right now.

When I moved here, I started using Aradia right away, got exactly the kind of care I know I can always expect to get from grassroots women’s healthcare (and have always gotten: coming of age poor, while I often had to go without general care or dental care, I have never had to be without quality sexual healthcare thanks to these clinics), and getting news of their closing really bummed me out. I always get all the more bummed when any clinics like Aradia close, being privy to way more crappy stories of poor gynecological care than most given what I do for my living. Some of the stories Scarleteen users tell about doctors and nurses who either clearly could give a rat’s ass about women’s health, or who haven’t bothered to do ANY continuing ed in sexual health or sexuality; who instill crazy levels of bodily or genital shame in their practice or who just give half-assed counsel about STIs or birth control to their young patients make me cringe. My queendom for every young woman to have truly woman-centered sexual healthcare.

For those of you who are flush — especially as tax time looms, and you perhaps discover that you could have benefitted from having made more charitable contributions — do consider giving to whatever local, private women’s health centers you’ve got, eh? Really, the legacy of this kind of care, and what women did (and still do) to radically change the landscape of our sexuality with it is beyond worth what we can give to safeguard and keep it.

filed under Heather Corinna | reproductive rights | bookish bits | s.e.x.
posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 3:27 pm

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