WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance has just released The State of Sexual Freedom in the United States, 2011 Report, an in-depth look at some of America’s sexual freedom, health, politics, identity and policy issues. The annual report is Woodhull’s capstone project, and was released during a daylong conference on Sexual Freedom Day (Sept. 23).
“America’s discussions about sexuality tend to focus on its risks and alleged dangers rather than on its benefits, advantages or opportunities for growth, intimacy and pleasure,” asserted psychologist Dr. Marty Klein, one of the report’s contributors. “Narratives that support the restriction of sexual rights, of course, undermine fundamental American freedoms—and are the ultimate targets of the work of the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance.”
Contributors include some of America’s best-known researchers, writers, activists, academics and legal experts—and AVN senior editor Mark Kernes. Reflecting Woodhull’s mission to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right, the report’s chapters cover relationships and family, sexual speech, sexuality education, sexual health, and the freedom of sexual expression.
“We are living in a very fluid time for personal rights and liberties.” said Ricci Levy, Woodhull’s executive director. “A broad range of observers suggest that America is in the grip of a ‘sex panic,’ not unusual when so many people are anxious about our country’s direction and their own future. This report is intended to inform discussions about sexual freedom from statehouses to houses of worship to the house next door. It is a clarion call for vigilance against invasion into the intimate lives of all of us, regardless of political position.”
