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Day One: Wednesday, November 17, 2021
10:00 am – 11:30 am Plenary 1: Why it is so hard to talk about sex and why it is so important that we do so through a sex positive lens
Faculty: Adrienne Rowland
Description: Description: Talking about sex is probably one of the most difficult topics mental health professionals face. Many of us didn’t have great models of how to talk about sex growing up and we certainly didn’t get the training in our professional careers unless we specifically sought it out. What we have learned, the beliefs we have and the biases that we may or may not recognize have a direct impact on the work we do in the therapeutic setting. This workshop is designed to challenge participants to consider how what they believe about sex shows up in their interactions with group participants and the individual client. This workshop will challenge participants to examine their bias with regards to beliefs about sexuality, sexual preferences and sexual practices and consider how those biases impact the work they do within the context of batterer intervention. Further, this workshop will help dispel myths about sexual taboos, pornography, nonmonogamy and gender roles through a sex positive lens. You will not be asked to change your beliefs, but you will be encouraged to courageously examine lessons you have learned.
Session Materials:
Adrienne Rowland PowerPoint Presentation
Pre-Conference Video: https://youtu.be/_1Gz2aeI590
11:30 am – 11:45 am Break
11:45 am – 1:15 pm Plenary 2: Sex Education 201: Gaining Familiarity with the Unspoken
Faculty: Diana Groener
Description: Sexual issues are often discussed in negative terms: abuse, addiction, compulsion, etc. This sex positive seminar turns that discussion around and discusses sexuality from an enriching, pleasurable point of view. The modern sexual lexicon will be described, giving attendees both a vocabulary and a framework for understanding sexual behaviors. Desire, fantasy, attraction, sex drive, and use of sexually stimulating material will each be touched on, all while keeping in mind the intersectionality of gender and orientation.
Session Materials:
Gaining Familiarity with the Unspoken
Videos recommended by Diana Groener for use in group
A Call to Men, Tony Porter, Ted Talk 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td1PbsV6B80
Consent is Like a Cup of Tea, Youtube, Blue Seat Studios 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoWLWS4-kU
What Young Women Believe about their own Pleasure, Peggy Orenstein, Ted Talk 2016: https://www.ted.com/talks/peggy_orenstein_what_young_women_believe_about_their_own_sexual_pleasure?language=en
Let’s Talk About Sex: the reality of the sexual pleasure disparity, Grace Wetzl, Youtube, Tedx 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu4MbmDPwNQ
Sex Needs a New Metaphor, Al Vernacchio, Ted Talk 2012: https://www.ted.com/talks/al_vernacchio_sex_needs_a_new_metaphor_here_s_one?language=en
What’s Your Sexual Footprint? Al Vernacchio, Youtube, Tedx 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqQn7eG9es
The Truth About Unwanted Arousal, Emily Nagoski, Ted Talk 2018: https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_nagoski_the_truth_about_unwanted_arousal?language=en
Our Story of Rape and Reconciliation, Thordis Elva & Tom Stranger, Ted Talk 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyPoqFcvt9w
A Case for Cliteracy, Sophia Wallace, Ted Talk 2014: https://www.ted.com/talks/sophia_wallace_a_case_for_cliteracy?language=en
Everyday Sexism, Laura Bates, Ted Talk 2013: https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_bates_everyday_sexism?language=en
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm Lunch Buffet Provided
2:15 pm – 3:45 pm Plenary 3: Male Sexual Violence: A New and Transformative Definition
Faculty: Greg Loughlin
Description: How one defines sexual violence has significant implications for intervention and prevention efforts. Most definitions, while accomplishing their goal within the context they were created, are not suitable for educational settings designed to encourage behavioral change. This workshop will review and critique current definitions of sexual violence, and then present Men Stopping Violence’s definition of male sexual violence against women and how that definition is applied directly in Men Stopping Violence’s intervention program and, in the community at large.
Session Materials:
MSV Sexual Violence Definition PowerPoint Presentation – BISC-MI – 2021
MSV Definition of Male Sexual Violence – Springer 2020
Pre-Conference Video: https://youtu.be/ySwzwGCizE8
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm Break
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Plenary 4: Behind the Cloak of Darkness, the Impact of Pornography
Faculty: Myra Strand
Description: Contemporary humans live in a sexual paradox silently swimming in the long reach of the impact of porn- hardcore and very violent, male dominated porn. In 2015, the average age a person first viewed these images and/or videos was 11 years old, and some sources now say that this number is closer to 8 years. Because of this, porn is becoming a primary form of sex education and it is shifting the very definition of what sex is and how it is done. There are common pornographic themes and scripts that may lead to increased victimization, such as the normalization of strangulation, of BDSM (but without the typical and learned BDSM safety precautions), of revenge porn, or of child rape/torture. Further, much of porn is commonly uploaded onto the web by millions of individual users in addition to production companies. There are no checks and balances for consent or safe production practices. This presentation will examine the influence of pornography on the neurobiology of the developing and already developed brain and it will look at the correlation between porn and victimization. Finally, it will look at possible investigative practices that would integrate this growing influence.
Session Materials:
PowerPoint presentation not available
Pre-Conference Video: https://youtu.be/nGs8kmYE5UU
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Dinner on own
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Networking and Discussion Opportunities
Description: Join the evening discussion with faculty and conference attendees and enjoy late night snacks. Theme-based discussion tables will be set up based on the needs and interests of those attending.
