Tag: national coalition for sexual freedom

2013 in Review: SAA’s Top 5

saa12302013(12/30/13)  It’s been a fast and furious year at Sex Across America and our parent company, Fallen Angel.  We’ve really enjoyed bringing you a weekly look at sex trends and breaking news this year and we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the wonderful encouragement we’ve received throughout.

It’s truly a labor of love for us and, since we would like to keep this a free resource for all, the only viable way to grow is through the generosity of readers who take a few moments to pass along our quirky banter and help spread the word throughout their circles.  We deeply appreciate the tremendous support we’ve received in that regard and hope that everyone has gotten something useful from our coverage.

With 2013 drawing to a close and as we plan our editorial calendar for next year, we thought it might be nice to review which topics trended highest during the year so that we can better focus our upcoming coverage.  Since it’s been said that there are, “…three kinds of lies:  Lies, bold-faced lies and statistics,” we really didn’t want to over think this little exercise, but rather have it result in more of a “Hmm.  Maybe I missed something that others thought was interesting” kind of thing for you while helping us to refine our planning.

(Actually, and against our better judgment, we were forced to feed our statmonkeys in order to get them to crunch the numbers for us.  Fortunately we had some cookies left over from the holidays so here’s what the now-happy bunch came up with.)

SAA’s 2013 Top 5 Trending Topics (in reverse order):

# 5:  Kickin’ a Sex Bucket

# 4 (tied):  SAA’s Salute to Nelson Mandela and SAA’s Salute to the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom

# 3:  The Millenial Generation

# 2:  The Swinger Scene

And (drumroll please)–coming in at # 1:  SAA’s Recommended Reading List

While we try to ensure that all of our topics are as timely and pertinent as those that trended to the top, it’s also extremely important to us that our coverage includes subjects that have a personal connection to you–our readers.  Towards that end, we hope you’ll let us know if there’s something you’d like us to cover or events for your organization that we can help publicize and we’ll do our best to add it to our upcoming schedule.  Just drop us an email and we’ll take it from there.

Once again, thank you for all of the encouragement and support this past year and please accept our best, heartfelt wishes for good health, much happiness and great success in 2014.

Happy New Year, everyone,

Luc & Alexandra

Sex Across America Salutes: The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom

(12/9/13)  Last week, we featured a piece on Kink Aware Professionals, a directory of medical, legal, therapeutic and administrative professionals who understand and support various sexuality concerns and lifestyle choices.  In that article, we noted that this program is managed by the non-profit National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) and, accordingly, we thought it important to expand our coverage to include a little more about this unique organization.

Founded in 1997, the NCSF’s purpose is straightforward:  They champion sexual freedom and privacy rights.  They accomplish this through direct action as well as by affiliating with social organizations, academic institutions, businesses and synergistic political action groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  Through their activism, advocacy and educational programs, they seek to improve the political landscape as it relates to equal rights for consenting adults who enjoy alternative forms of sexuality, particularly in kink/fetish, swingers and polyamory communities.

Unlike other activist organizations who only respond to crisis situations as they arise, the NCSF has developed an ongoing, proactive platform geared towards educating communities, legal systems and media outlets at local, state and national levels.  For example, the group recently sponsored an interactive event at the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago featuring legal experts (including a sitting District Court judge) that provided an overview of issues related to federal and state laws used to prosecute consensual sexual activity among adults.  Through activities like this, they help to prevent potentially adverse situations through better understanding of facts instead of knee-jerk reactions to common myths or biased groupthink.  By building a stronger knowledge foundation along with well-informed public opinion on a widespread basis, the organization has successfully shifted both the response to and coverage of several high-profile cases regarding sexual freedom in recent years and diluted the efforts of many organizations who seek to restrict adult rights.

In short, the NCSF is an organization that’s not nearly as well known as it should be, but has had–and is having–a solid impact when it counts.  If you would like to get a better idea of some of their ongoing projects, we recommend a visit to their official website along with a quick stop at their YouTube channel where you’ll find some brief videos.  Additionally, to help increase the support and attention they both need and deserve, please take a moment to share this article throughout your circles.

Sex Across America Salutes: Kink Aware Professionals

(12/2/13)  We’ve come a long way in bringing about more candid and open conversations regarding sexuality, but the unintended irony is that we might actually have too much of a good thing in some cases.  While the quantity and quality of available resources is significantly better today than it was just a few years ago, we’re now facing a period of information overload.  This is to say that there are so many resources that it’s difficult at times to distinguish between what might be useful or not.  When you don’t really know where to start, fear being judged or are concerned about misinformation, where should you turn?

One place to start is Kink Aware Professionals (KAP), a non-profit directory of medical, legal, therapeutic and administrative professionals who understand and support various sexuality concerns and lifestyle choices.  Conceptualized by psychotherapist Guy Baldwin in the mid-80s and further developed by sex educator-activist Race Bannon, KAP has been managed by the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) since about 2005 and focuses on professional service providers in the U.S. and Canada with limited listings for other areas.  Additionally, some providers offer their services either electronically or by telephone.  Professionals appearing in KAP listings volunteer to be listed and are not routinely vetted by the NSCF, however, most are verifiably credentialed in their particular field of expertise and are usually classified by experience level.

Although the name implies that the services covered are limited to professionals with an understanding of kink-oriented lifestyles only, KAP is actually much more diverse in scope, offering a wide array of resources to help regardless of particular interest.  The basic categories offered include:

  • Accounting and finance professionals
  • Counselors and therapists
  • Medical doctors
  • Health and wellness practitioners
  • Lawyers
  • Businesses that provide service primarily by internet
  • Life coaches
  • Miscellaneous (e.g., mediators, investigators, etc.)
  • Psychologists
  • Spiritual advisors and wedding officiators
  • Web design and information technologies

The bottom line is to be of service to people wanting to find professionals who are sensitive to their specific needs regardless of their sexuality–and to not have their sexuality factor in prejudicially.  KAP has been meeting that goal head on for over 25 years and, thanks to the growing crop of professionals adding their voices, is getting even better.  It’s certainly one solid method for cutting through the cacophony these days when a professional ally is needed.

If you have had experience with a service provider listed in KAP, we’d like to hear from you.  Additionally, if you know someone who might be able to benefit from this program, please pass this article along to them (a ‘share’ button is below for your convenience).