Godless Perverts

Sex, Atheism, and Other Heresies

Happy Birthday to Us: The Godless Perverts Social Club Turns One

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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 Café from Outside

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.

Juba Kalamka Reads “Jubilee Showcase (for Aaron Muhammad)”

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Juba Kalamka

Next in the lineup from the February, 2014 Godless Perverts Story Hour is bisexual artist and activist Juba Kalamka, best known for his work with the homohop group, Deep Dickollective. For our show, Juba performed his poem “Jubilee Showcase (For Aaron Muhammed), which is dedicated to the memory of a young man who was a member of the Nation of Islam, along with Juba in the late 1980s. In his introduction, Juba talks about how Aaron killed himself in 1992. “He was a sweet, sweet wonderful young man who died of shame, essentially,” Juba says. “Aaron’s smile is all through this.”

We wish that Aaron’s story was less common than it is, but very honored that Juba decided to read this poem for the first time at Godless Perverts.

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Simon Sheppard Reads “The Tibetan Book of the Fag”

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Due to some personal stuff, I’ve gotten a little behind on posting the remaining videos of the Godless Perverts Story Hour from earlier this month, but I’m back on track now.

Today’s video is the proudly damned-to-hell writer Simon Sheppard reading “The Tibetan Book of the Fag,” a story that brings togehter shackles, leather, whipping, and religion into one big, sweaty mess. It also includes a suggestion for the ideal safeword for atheists, just in case you ever find yourself needing it.

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Godless Perverts Story Hour: Virgie Tovar Reads “Brother David”

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This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series FTBCon2: Godless Perverts Story Hour

Our second reader at the February Godless Perverts Story Hour was Virgie Tovar, reading a wickedly blasphemous piece called “Brother David.” It really has to be heard to believed. Virgie describes herself as “a babely multi-racial femme and uppity apostate,” which really says it all. To see more of her work, check out her website and her anthology Hot & Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on Life, Love and Fashion, available from Seal Press.

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Godless Perverts Story Hour: Greta Christina, “To Give Itself Pleasure”

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This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series FTBCon2: Godless Perverts Story Hour

On February 1, we had our first Godless Perverts Story Hour of 2014, and it was really a great way to start out the new year.

Greta Christina

There is not even the slightest ambiguity about that. A little over a week later, all three of us are still a little bit exhausted, a little bit glowing, and maybe even a little bit bewildered that we managed to pull it off at all, but there is no doubt that it was a great experience, and we’re all a little more optimistic about what we can do with Godless Perverts.

What was so great about it? Not only did we have an exceptional lineup of readers, but for the first time ever, we broadcast it live over the Internet, as part of the online atheist conference FTBCon2, which was pretty remarkable in itself. I think I can speak for my colleagues in Godless Perverts, Greta Christina and Dave Fitzgerald, when I say that it was a real honor to be part of it.

FTBCon 2 Banner

For those of you who couldn’t join us either in person or virtually, or who just want to relive the glory of that evening, we’re going to be posting video of the performers doing their reading over the next week and a half. That’s seven readers, plus a Q&A at the very end. Thank you so much to everyone who helped us out in this. [Read more…]

Chris Hall

About Chris Hall

A somewhat nerdy pervert who looks (mostly) normal on the outside, Chris Hall is fascinated by the politics, culture, and art of sex. He has written for The Atlantic, Alternet, SF Weekly, Slixa, numerous anthologies, and a dog blog that will go discreetly unnamed here.

The Godless Perverts Holiday Fun Time Was a Roaring Success

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Last Saturday, Godless Perverts threw our first holiday party for the San Francisco atheist community, known puckishly as the Godless Perverts Holiday Fun Time. Like it says in that Other Book, we looked upon our work, and we saw that it was good. We all put a lot of effort into bringing the thing together, and at the end of the evening, it was worth every bit of it. Greta brought four amazing chocolate pies (she gives the recipe right here), Chris Hall baked pumpkin rolls with cream cheese fillings, and David Fitzgerald and his zombie-loving partner Dana Fredsti did an amazing job of bringing together all the other food and drink in the face of a lot of stress. We were also very generously given cupcakes by SolaceSF, a local support organization for sex workers. Thanks to Laura Lasky and SolaceSF for the cupcakes, and thanks, as always, to the Center for Sex and Culture.

As we say, it was a very fun and very satisfying evening, enough so that we feel confident that we want to do this again next year. With more cowbell, naturally.

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Saturday Night’s Story Hour Kicked Ass!

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The consensus here at Godless Perverts is that we’re feeling pretty damn proud of ourselves for Saturday night’s Story Hour.

At the Center for Sex and Culture. From left: Jen Cross, David Fitzgerald, Virgie Tovar, Greta Christina, Chris Hall

At first, we were a little bit anxious about how things would turn out. We were expecting a low turnout because of it being Labor Day weekend, which means that half of the Bay Area has fled out to the Playa to do the Burning Man thing. In addition, the Bay Bridge is closed until early Tuesday morning. If riding BART is a pain in the ass under normal circumstances, it’s even worse when half the train is marvelling at this strange new experience of using public transit. So, we showed up at the Center for Sex and Culture a little pessimistic about how many people would show.

Boy, were we wrong. Not only did we have a large and enthusiastic audience, but the reading was one of the best we’ve ever done. We all went home glowing with satisfaction. Not only were all the pieces hot, moving, thoughtful, and honest, but they covered a really broad span of genres and voices. More than anything, we were pleased at how well-balanced the topics were, from critical essays to poetry to shameless smut. If you couldn’t make it to this one, we really hope you’ll make it to the next one. And tonight, you’re invited to hang out with us at Wicked Grounds Café for the Godless Perverts Social Club, an evening of informal socializing and snacking.

Here’s a quick summary of what our performers read on Saturday:

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New Monthly Event: The Godless Perverts Social Club

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Wicked GroundsLast month’s meetup at Wicked Grounds was a great success. We had a great time, and it was even more well-attended than we had hoped. It was so successful that we’ve decided to make it a regular thing. From now on, we’ll be meeting at Wicked Grounds on the third Tuesday of every month to talk sex, atheism, and everything in between. People of all orientations, genders, and preferences are encouraged to join us. The next one is on Tuesday, May 21, at 7pm.

Despite the (only slightly) portentous name of the group, we intend it to be a pretty laid-back affair where people can come, get to know each other, and talk about whatever comes to mind.

For those of you who don’t know the venue, Wicked Grounds is a BDSM-themed café in the South of Market district of San Francisco. They don’t serve alcohol, and the place is open to anyone 17 or older. If you’re not used to this kind of environment, please note that the art on the walls (and the occasional patron) is often R-rated or above. It is one of the friendliest and most laid-back places in the city, and the coffee, waffles, milkshakes, and other goods are truly top-notch. Since the café is being very kind in letting us use their space, we encourage you to buy as much stuff at the counter as possible.

We look forward to seeing you there, and if you can’t make it, we’re going to be doing this every month for the foreseeable future.

Places to RSVP:

Upcoming Events: San Francisco (4/13 & 4/16) and Reasonfest (4/21)

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Although it might not always look like it from what’s happening online, we’ve been very busy the last couple of months, and we have some great events coming up in April. We’ll be posting a lot more information as we get closer, but here’s the basics so that you can mark your calendars and clear any other social obligations.

San Francisco:

Saturday, April 13, 7pm:  Take a break from filing your taxes to join us again at the Center for Sex and Culture for another Godless Perverts Story Hour. The last one was a great success, and we’ve got some new names performing, as well as some favorites from our first event.   As of this writing, our list of confirmed readers includes Greta Christina, David Fitzgerald, Chris Hall, Heina, Liberty N. Justice, Victor Harris, and Kate Sirls.

Tuesday, April 16, 7pm: Okay, so the tax thing is over and you can start to relax a bit. Join us for coffee and conversation at the Godless Perverts Munch. For those not familiar with the term, a “munch” is a term developed by BDSM communities for an informal get-together of people at a restaurant or café. We’ll be gathering at Wicked Grounds, San Francisco’s famous kink-themed coffee house. Godless Perverts isn’t just about holding readings; a big part of it is building community so that people can talk openly about sexuality and atheism. This is the first time that we’ve held a munch, and if it goes off well, we hope to have lots more.

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Reasonfest; Lawrence, KA:

ReasonFest 2013: Modern Morality Making Ethical Decisions in a Secular SocietySunday, April 21, 6pm: For the first time, we’re going to be venturing out of the Bay Area. The folks at Reasonfest have agreed to let us do a Godless Perverts Story Hour at the conference, so if you’re attending, please join us.  In addition to co-founders and co-hosts Greta Christina and David Fitzgerald, Amanda Brown, Bridget Gaudette, and Keith Lowell Jensen are going to share their insights on religion, godlessness, and fucking. There’s no admission price—Reasonfest is a completely free event—so if you’re in the area, or have any way of getting there, be sure to check it out.