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Presented by:
Jenn Mason and Josefina Mora
Audience: Adults-Community Workshop capacity: 10
While our sex-negative culture puts us at odds with our sexual selves, sexual self-mastery can lead to personal, relational, and societal transformation. Healing from shame around sex and embracing sex-positivity can create powerful change that reaches far beyond our bedrooms. What, and who, is your sexual self? How can the relationship with our sexual selves impact who we are in our day-to-day lives? Explore the impacts of both sexual shame and sexual liberation, with tools and ideas to continue exploring this part of your self-identity.
Those who have been historically denied rights and space have been those in the margins of race, class, ability, gender, and labor. This includes sex workers, and other workers who rely on sex as a part of their job. Talking about their struggles, and talking about sex in general, is seen as taboo and as extremism in many traditional settings. What many who preach anti-sex worker and sex-negative rherotic fail to realize is that those most affected by this rhetoric are those that are supposed to be the most protected: Black, Brown and Indigenous people, especially those who belong to the LGBTQ community.
Dr. King’s beliefs around racial equity were centered around the idea of autonomy. Autonomy for Black people, for people of color, all of those that were physically constrained and controlled by the laws of segregation and white supremacy. Sex positivity is an element of reproductive justice, which is founded on the idea that autonomy is essential. Autonomy is at the core of our presentation, and we intend to center the experiences and ideas of the most important thinkers: those of the BIPOC and LGBTQ community.
This presentation will give community members the tools and resources that many don’t know where to go to look for. As sex and sex-positivity is still a new phenomenon, there are many in our community, especially those that are shamed and looked down upon for exploring how these issues play into our everyday lives more than we expect. This presentation will leave participants with a better idea of how to explore this part of their identity, and give tools and resources that not only can help outside the workshop, but also start conversations amongst their communities that can benefit more people than those that participate in our workshop.
Jenn Mason [She/hers] is the owner and founder of WinkWink, an identity-inclusive, all-ages, “not creepy” sex shop in downtown Bellingham, Washington. With Pleasure is our Revolution emblazoned across the storefront, WinkWink is unapologetically political, focusing on sexual pleasure as a social justice issue.
Prior to opening WinkWink, Jenn worked at Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County for nearly ten years overseeing the development and education program. During her tenure, she developed an original violence prevention curriculum and delivered workshops and trauma counseling to nearly 10,000 students in every public middle and high school in Whatcom County. She also worked as an event planning and communications consultant for various nonprofit organizations and government entities. In addition to own WinkWink, she is also a freelance communication specialist, specializing in projects related to community health.
Jenn earned her sex coaching certification through Sexology Institute and is a certified sex educator through the American College of Sexologists. She also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Seattle University and a B. A. from Western Washington University. Outside the shop, Jenn is the parent of a sweet 7-year-old who has developmental disabilities. Jenn has served on the Bellingham Public Schools board of directors since 2017.
Josefina Mora [She/they] is the assistant retail, education and outreach manager of WinkWink, where she has served as staff since its opening in 2018, and has worked as manager since 2019. They have proudly helped cultivate WinkWink as a welcoming and safe environment which serves not only as a retail store, but an education space for community members of Bellingham and beyond.
Josefina is a graduate from Western Washington University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in American Cultural Studies. Outside of WinkWink, Josefina is an active member of La Resistencia, an immigrant led group working to end deportations and detention, as well as an active skater with the Bellingham Roller Betties.