MasterZChicago
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Susan Wright or Miriam Axel-Lute,
For more details: www.sexies.org
2008 Sex-Positive Journalism Awards Now Seeking Entries
Nationally known journalists and sex-positive advocates to
judge "Sexies"
November 5, 2007 - To hear some people tell it, all of "the
media" is a degenerate, sex-drenched affair. But although there's
plenty of talk about the sex lives of celebrities and a
willingness to use a scandal to sell a paper, when you get into
the content of actual news stories, things often take a turn for
the Puritanical: Soccer moms' fabricated allegations about kids
being exposed to nudity in a hotel hosting a swingers conference
get printed as fact and never retracted. Religious minorities are
assumed to speak for all religious Americans, or even all
Americans, when it comes to whether "abstinence" should be the
teen sex-ed gold standard. Usual standards of fairness and
objectivity fall prey to reporters and editors' squeamishness.
In response to this state of affairs, the National Coalition for
Sexual Freedom, the Center for Sex and Culture, Babeland, and
journalist Miriam Axel-Lute are launching the 2008 Sex-Positive
Journalism Awards (the "Sexies") to promote fair, accurate, and
non-sensationalized coverage of sexual topics. The awards are
currently accepting entries that meet both high journalistic
standards and the Sexies awards criteria (attached below).
"For the past decade, the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
has dealt with media reports that include sensationalized and
false information about sexual issues," says Susan Wright, NCSF
spokesperson. "These articles cause harm by encouraging
discrimination and persecution of adults who engage in consensual
sexual expression. NCSF is proud to support the Sexies and sex-
positive journalism in America."
"The media's frequent failure to apply balanced journalistic
standards to sex-related topics affects real people's lives,"
says Carol Queen, PhD, co-founder of the Center for Sex and
Culture. "A sensationalistic perspective can turn neighbors
against each other or make it hard for someone accused of a sex-
related offense to get a fair trial. It also means that too many
of us worry about whether we're 'normal,' and don't realize there
are sex-positive communities, sources of information, and
professionals out there. Just as in the political arena, when the
press does not do its job, there is real fallout."
The winners of the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards will be chosen
by an outstanding panel of judges, who have expertise in both
journalism and sex-positive advocacy: Dan Savage, author of the
popular sex-advice column "Savage Love"; Carol Queen, PhD,
writer, speaker, educator, and activist with a doctorate in
sexology; Liza Featherstone, journalist and author of "Sex, Lies,
and Womenbs Magazines" (COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW); Jack
Hafferkamp, a former journalist and journalism professor and co-
editor/publisher of LIBIDO: The Journal of Sex and Sensibility;
Judith Levine, journalist and author of the award-winning HARMFUL
TO MINORS: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex; Doug
Henwood, contributing editor to THE NATION; Marty Klein, PhD,
certified sex therapist, therapist trainer, and author of
AMERICA'S WAR ON SEX; and Claire Cavanah, an activist, writer,
speaker, and educator in the field of human sexuality and a
founder of babeland.com.
"All but the most confident and self-assured among us are
affected by the messages we receive about sex," says Claire
Cavanah, co-founder of Babeland.com, a founding sponsor of the
Sexies. "It's freeing to read an article that assumes that most
people want a pleasurable, vibrant sex life. Sex-positive media
creates space for readers to think about sex in a way that goes
against some of the damaging messages that our culture
perpetuates."
"There are journalism awards rewarding good coverage of
everything from private aviation to colon cancer," says Axel-
Lute, "but there was nothing out there to reward writers who went
the extra mile to be fair and accurate about something as
essential to human identity as sexual expression. The Sexies fill
that gap."
The Sexies will be given in four categories: news, feature,
opinion, and "unsexy" (the most egregious violation of the
Sexies' criteria). The first three categories have three
divisions each: daily general-audience newspaper, weekly or
biweekly general-audience newspaper, and online general-audience
news publication. The Unsexy award has no divisions. Articles
must have been published in 2007. Article series must have
started or ended in 2007. Submissions are due by March 23, 2008.
Both writers and readers can submit articles for consideration.
For full guidelines and to make entries, see
www.sexies.org/criteria.html Winners will receive a cash prize
and a plaque.
The Sexies are seeking corporate sponsors and individual
donations to support our mission. Donations can be made at
www.sexies.org/support.html
###
The Sex-Positive Journalism Awards Criteria
We are seeking pieces of journalism that:
* touch on sexbsexual practice, health, or behavior--in some
manner (stories just about sexual orientation do not qualify)
* are intended for a general audience
* meet high overall standards of reporting, fact-checking, and
writing
AND do at least one of the following:
* show evidence of fairness in seeking sex-positive sources to
respond to sex-negative ones
* ask hard questions about the motivation and background of
sources who rely on sex-negative soundbites
* avoid biased or sensationalistic language
* cover newsworthy topics, events, or issues that might tend to
be swept under the rug because of controversial sexual content
* report accurately, respectfully and with nuance on sex research
results
* contain fair, accurate, and non-sensational portrayals of
sexual subcultures
* keep a clear separation between sex crimes, such as sexual
assault or pedophilia, and things that merely make people
uncomfortable, such as consensual kink, teen sexuality or gay
priests; and help readers who may not be familiar with the issues
make the distinction
* specifically challenge sex-negative assumptions or practices in
society at large or in a specific community
* educate the public as to the diversity of sexual behavior
without sensationalizing
* celebrate sexuality as a positive force in human lives
We are not looking for racy or sensationalistic stories. The
awards will be something any traditional journalist should be
proud to hang on his or her wallba testament to journalistic
standards of fairness and accuracy about a charged and
controversial subject.
[Mod Note: email address and telephone number removed]
< Message edited by ModeratorEleven -- 11/5/2007 10:04:03 PM >
_____________________________
Master Z
Master Z's BDSM Resource Guide
http://www.masterzchicago.com
Master Z's Bio
http://www.masterzchicago.com/bio1.html
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
Coalition Partner Representative
http://www.ncsfreedom.org
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