On Thursday, September 29th, 2016 Stanford University welcomed North America’s fourth annual celebration of World Sexual Health Day. The event was our most successful thus far with more than 200 professionals as well as enthusiasts in attendance. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive: “Informative", “insightful", "blew my mind”, “I want to be involved”, “Interactive”, “so much to absorb”,
“so much fun for a change”….
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The evening started with a medley of sex positive songs that were arranged by the powerful singer and pianist, Michelle Musgrove. The musical introduction was followed by our esteemed panel of experts including: Inge Hansen, Karli June Cerankowski, Hida Viloria, Emily Nagoski, Donnovan Somera Yisrael, August McLaughlin and Sara Nasserzadeh. The panel discussion concluded with an insightful Q and A session. The evening closed with an energetic performance by the Wobbly World band, an international band that represents 9 nationalities!
Event Highlights:
Our panel featured 6 speakers representing varying fields including sexual and gender diversities and intersex and asexuality. The topic of focus was to address sexual myths around the world, unspoken myths, myths about intersexuality, asexuality, misconceptions about sexual assault, women’s' sexual pleasure and misconceptions about masculinity and vulnerability.
We raised donations for WAS through ticket sales which will support its global mission in making sexual health and rights a reality for more people around the world. In addition to opening conversations and connecting communities we hope that this type of fundraising during WSHD events will continue and become a widespread practice among other organizing committees. To learn more and receive support for your 2017 strategic planning from the Global Committee please write to worldsexualhealthday@gmail.com
WSHD is a brilliant way to connect with a wider audience and spread the message that together we can make a solid and global representation for sexual health and well-being for all to join and be inspired by.
Speakers
Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD DipPST
Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, PhD is a world-renowned Social Psychologist and Sex and Relationship specialist. She is an award-winning author and host of the BBC World Service show on sexuality and relationship issues. With her unique combination of background and extensive international experience Dr. Nasserzadeh is a sought after keynote speaker and media commentator and has been hosted by governments and organizations across 29 countries. Her international works in the area of professional development and sexuality education has been granted the World Association for Sexual Health award for Excellence and Innovation. She serves at the Board of various professional organizations including the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), chair of the Middle East Sexual Health Committee and the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).
Inge Hansen, PsyD
Dr. Hansen is a clinical psychologist at Stanford University, where she is the co-founder and manager of the Weiland Health Initiative. This initiative is dedicated to promoting mental health and wellness across all genders and sexualities, and it has generated a number of innovative clinical and educational programs, including an annual conference. Dr. Hansen also teaches several Stanford courses in the realm of gender and sexualities, including Challenging Sex & Gender Dichotomies in Medicine, Human Sexual Diversity in Medical Practice, and Transgender Studies. She has given numerous lectures and papers on clinical and cultural competence working with gender and sexual minority individuals.
Karli June Cerankowski
Karli June Cerankowski teaches in the Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stanford University. Karli's research focuses on asexuality, trans identity, trauma and healing, and queer culture. Karli is the co-editor of the book, Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives (Routledge, 2014), and has published articles in the journals Feminist Studies and Women’s Studies Quarterly.
Hida Viloria
Hida Viloria is a Latinx intersex writer and activist who uses “s/he” and he/r” pronouns. S/he is the founder and Executive Director of the Intersex Campaign for Equality (a.k.a. OII-USA), and Chairperson of OII International, and has advocated extensively for equal rights for intersex and non-binary people as a frequent lecturer, consultant, television and radio guest (Oprah, Aljazeera, BBC, HuffpostLive, 20/20...), and as the first openly intersex person invited to speak at the United Nations. Hida has also written about intersex issues in publications such as The Advocate, Ms., the American Journal of Bioethics, CNN.com, and many others, and he/r upcoming memoir, Born Both (Hatchette Book Group, March, 2017), is available for pre-order on Amazon.
Dr. Emily Nagoski
Emily Nagoski is the New York Times bestselling author of Come As You Are: the surprising new science that will transform your sex life. She has a PhD in Health Behavior with a doctoral concentration in human sexuality from Indiana University (IU), and a master’s degree (also from IU) in Counseling, with a clinical internship at the Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic. She has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in human sexuality, relationships and communication, stress management, and sex education. For eight years, she was the inaugural Director of Wellness Education at Smith College, before transitioning to fulltime sex nerd, traveling the country, teaching college students, training professionals, and learning every day.
Donnovan Somera Yisrael
Donnovan began his career as a sexual health educator in 1992 with the San Mateo County AIDS Program and then with the YWCA, serving middle and high schools on the peninsula. In 1998, he officially joined the staff at Stanford’s Vaden Health Center (Formerly Cowell Student Health Service), where he has been involved as a teacher, presenter and consultant on health issues since 1993. As the Manager of Emotional and Sexual Health Programs Donnovan addresses a wide variety of health issues that affect young people, including: alcohol abuse, sexual health, sexuality/sexual identity, sexual assault, healthy relationships, relationship abuse, healthy body image, emotional health/intelligence and grief/loss. A self-proclaimed "Health and Happiness Educator", Donnovan helps students survive by posing the question: “Why do we do risky things?” as well as thrive in life by helping them become aware of and utilize their emotional and spiritual selves to cope with difficulties and maximize their participation and enjoyment in life.
Master of Ceremonies (MC)
August McLaughlin
August McLaughlin is an award-winning, nationally recognized health and sexuality writer and host and creator of Girl Boner®. Her work appears in Cosmopolitan, DAME Magazine, the Huffington Post, LIVESTRONG.com and more. Kirkus Reviews called her first novel, In Her Shadow, “an engaging story with an inventive structure and an intriguing focus on body-image issues.” Her latest book, Embraceable: Empowering Facts and True Stories About Women’s Sexuality, is a celebration of women’s sexual empowerment. Each week on Girl Boner® Radio, she interviews relationship experts, celebrity entertainers and more, exploring women’s lives and sexuality “like no one else.” Known for melding personal passion, artistry and activism, August uses her skills as a public speaker and journalist to inspire women to embrace their bodies and selves, making way for fuller, more authentic lives.
Performances
Michelle Musgrove
"Right now you think I'm endearing. But oh, my Lord. You've been warned." - Lotta Woman
Bay Area, CA, native Michelle Musgrove spent much of her childhood at the family piano bench, performing songs for grade school and church audiences that she'd write late nights after homework. Her father's Led Zeppelin and Neil Young lullabies led to a discovery of classic rock, soul and blues - sounds which electrified her and which help guide her voice today. With sand on her lips and a tiger in her belly, she pounds out the sounds of her own internal monologue. She has performed at Summit, The World Health Organization (Geneva), Sean Stephenson's 10K Speeches, and The Great American Music Hall. She is an Artist in Residence at San Francisco's premiere member's only club, The Battery.
Wobbly World Band
Wobbly World is a group of internationally recognized musicians in a powerful and unique collaboration. Founded by guitarist Freddy Clarke, the music is an ethno-layering of melodic, rhythmic and poetic ideas from several very different musical traditions that fit powerfully into a brilliant new sound and a joy-filled celebration of international musical synergy. The music is a refreshing mix where each player brings a contrasting musical tradition, yet the music flows and soars with a deep sense of cohesion. We all know that our environment is tenuous, international politics are fragile; it's a Wobbly World out there. But these musicians have made something strong, dynamic and beautiful in response. The Eastern and Western scales have rarely sounded so natural together.
Special Thank You
Rayka Kumru - Communications Design
Rayka Kumru is a sexologist, sexuality educator and author of a children's and parents book set based in Istanbul, Turkey. She received her BA in Sociology and Critical Studies in Sexuality from The University of British Columbia and holds a Master of Sexology from Curtin University’s School of Public Health in Australia. Her thesis topic was “Attitudes towards and experiences of contraception use amongst young people in Turkey”. As a former consultant to the Turkish Ministry of Justice’s Reproductive Health Program, Kumru is currently an instructor at Yıldız Technical University and Istanbul Kultur University teaching Sexual Health Education and Gender in Society. She is an educator and consultant working with individuals and schools around healthy relationships, parent-child sexuality education, and sex-positivity. Currently enrolled in a Master of Marketing Communication program at Istanbul Bilgi University, she is a member of the European Federation of Sexology’s Youth Committee, and The World Association for Sexual Health.