My Hopes

Feminism is the idea that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights equal to those of men

Yesterday I read Amber Rhea's post about her thoughts and concerns on the upcoming Sex 2.0 unconference in DC on May 9th. I personally have been having some of my own thoughts about this years Sex 2.0 and rather than leave a long comment there I decided I would write my own post.

It is only recently that the word feminist has been part of my life. I lived an old fashioned 1950's marriage for many years and I don't think I have to explain to anyone that in my married life the word feminism was a dirty word.

I don't know if I fully understand yet what the true meaning of that word is or if I just feel as if I haven't earned calling myself one after all these years. I do know that I have surrounded myself this past year with new friends who all just happen to be feminists. Which is a really awesome thing for me.

Last fall I wrote a post about how my interests were changing and one of them was my quest for more knowledge. I talked about wanting to attend Sex 2.0 this year after reading about it last year. I felt that this was the type of event that was in my interest unlike the many kink/sex related events in this CommUNITY.

I spent some time this past winter working with Match on planning promotions for Sex 2.0 and obtaining Sextoy.com as the main sponsor. I then backed out of doing anymore work when I realized I would more than likely not be able to attend because it was on Mother's Day Weekend. After much thought and some careful planning I will be able to attend this year because it was that important to me.

This is something very new for me and other than work related conferences I have never attended something just for the simple fact that it interests me. This was also the first time I was ever part of a Google Group or heard the word "unconference" before.

I'm not quite sure exactly what I expected but I have questioned if this uncon is the same this year as the one held last year. I was confused by the google group at times because it seemed to only talk about events that were happening that weekend other than the actual conference. As I have said this is all new for me and I'm not quite sure what to expect but it just did not seem the same as last year's appeared to be.

I fully understand Amber's concerns and the concerns of others I have spoken with for this year's conference. It seems to be almost going in two different directions at times and I'm not sure if that is just what happens at events or if it is just this particular one. I personally don't think just because something becomes bigger the basic ideas have to change with it.

I can read between the lines in some of the things that Amber wrote and fully understand what her motivation is behind it. Her concerns of the reasons people are attending this year. I personally think it is good that Amber posted her thoughts on this and gave others a chance to also give their opinions.

I have arranged for space in the vending area for both the NCSF and SWA. Two organizations that I donate my time to in both a Quid Pro Quo capacity and a personal one. These are both organizations which I think are important to both the community overall and those attending Sex 2.0.

My hopes this year are to learn more about social media, sex, feminism and how it all interacts. For me that doesn't mean I need to have actual sex at this event but more to meet some of the many people who will be there and learn more from them.

My hopes are to walk away from this with a better understanding of sex worker issues than I have now and maybe be inspired with a few more ideas. Several of the 2009 and the new 2010 calendar models will also be there and I am looking forward to getting together with all of them. This week the PSA "I am a sex worker" was released to an overwhelming response.

My hope is to come away with the feeling that this was exactly what I was looking for when I decided last fall that I wanted to attend Sex 2.0. While I fully understand the concerns of myself and others and the issues behind them I am hoping that they can be avoided and if not then learn from them for the next year.

So I guess what I am trying to say here is yes I have had some concerns that this year's unconference seems to be taking a different direction than last years but I am attending with the hope that in the end that is not what I will find. There are some really awesome sessions I plan on attending that day and many people I want to see.

My hopes are to come home saying "that was totally awesome and I can't wait for next year" and it is up to me and the people I will be with there this year to make sure that happens for us.