Sex, Atheism, and Other Heresies
For December’s Topical Thursday, the Godless Perverts Social Club is going to discuss secular meditation and sexuality.
Meditation and mindfulness techniques have been taught in religious settings for thousands of years. But
now they’re being researched and taught in entirely secular, evidence-based settings. How can meditation and mindfulness work for atheists? And how can these techniques and philosophies be applied to sex?
Greta Christina will be moderating the discussion.
Just a quick reminder as we enter the new month and try to get used to the world getting dark an hour earlier than it used to: Join us for the Godless Perverts Social Club this coming Tuesday (November 4) and Thursday, November 20.
As usual, our meetup on the First Tuesday is more or less open-form: We start out by with a simple “check-in” question that everyone’s free to answer or not as they choose, and then proceed with open discussion, moderated lightly to make sure that everyone has a chance to speak. We try to be as inclusive as possible, so any bullying, racism, sexism, transphobia, etc. will be shut down.
On the Third Thursday, we’re going to lean more towards structured events where we ask individuals to come in as guest hosts and present a topic that will be announced beforehand. We haven’t picked out this month’s topic yet, but feel free to offer suggestions via the comments or our email form.
As you may remember, the monthly Social Clubs that we’ve been having at Wicked Grounds have been so successful, that we decided to go for two a month. This Thursday, June 19, represents the first time that we’re doing a twice-monthly schedule, and we’ve got a great topic:
We’re going to have a guest facilitator come in to lead the group on a conversation about promoting sex-positive sex education, supporting non-religious youth, ending peer-to-peer and institutionalized slut-shaming in schools, and anything else related to secularism, sexuality and education. For the record, this isn’t just about “sex education,” but a wide range of possibilities. We hope that you can join us.
As usual, the Godless Perverts Social Club will be at Wicked Grounds, from 7pm to approximately 9 or 9:30. Admission is free, but Wicked Grounds is very hospitable with their space, and we request that you spend and tip generously at the counter. We don’t want to leave people with the idea that atheists are cheap.
Wicked Grounds: 289 8th Street, San Francsico, CA 94103
First, the tl;dr version of what’s happening with Godless Perverts in the next month:
[/media-credit] Wicked Grounds Kink Café, by Lynn Friedman (Creative Commons)
I’m a little bit stunned to be writing this, but as of next Tuesday, we will have been holding the Godless Perverts Social Club for one whole year.
What is the Godless Perverts Social Club? It’s the other regular event that we’ve been doing to build community among atheists who are sex-positive, queer, kinky, or otherwise just don’t want to have to keep their sexuality or gender in the closet.
Whereas the Story Hours are evenings of performance and art, the Social Clubs are exactly what they sound like: an occasion for people to get together, socialize, and talk. Greta and I have been running it primarily, and the evening’s structure is a pretty loose one: We start off with a topic or question to prime the conversational pump, and then we’re off and running.
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and haven’t been to any of the Social Clubs yet, Tuesday, April 1 is the perfect opportunity to try it out. Like it says above, it’s our first birthday. Like all birthdays, it comes as a little bit of a surprise; it’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since we started doing this. To celebrate, Greta is going to bring a grab bag of porn, and there may be silly hats. But there will be porn, for those who want to take some home.
Wicked Grounds Kink Café, by Lynn Friedman (Flickr, with Creative Commons)
The Godless Perverts Social Club happens every first Tuesday at Wicked Grounds, San Francisco’s one and only kink-themed coffee house and café. We’d really like to thank the owner, Ryan, and his staff for being such great hosts to us for the last year. Wicked Grounds is kind of like the kinky community’s living room in San Francisco, and even if you can’t make it there for the Godless Perverts Social Club, it’s well worth a visit.
We’re open to and welcome people of all sexualities, genders, orientations, and ethnicities. If you do come, and feel uncomfortable because of racism, sexism, transphobia, harassment, or other issues, please let the hosts know (usually Chris and Greta) and we’ll do our best to handle the problem.
For more info, or to RSVP, you can check our event link here on the site, or on Meetup.com.
