Update on Afr@Latin@ Sex Survey

This post should really be called “Bianca’s Thug Tears” because that’s what I experience when I “check in” to see how many folks have taken the survey thus far.

When we started I had thought “if we could get 30 folks by the end of May that would be fantastic!” By Tuesday evening almost 25 folks had participated. Then I thought “Ok, maybe 50 is a good number to hope for by the end of May.”

Today, 5 days into sharing the survey, almost 50 Afr@Latin@s have taken the survey! This is incredible! I think of all of the valuable time each of you shared in taking the survey, sharing it, and linking back to the survey so others can see and partake and am so overwhelmed by thanks and gratitude.  This is also a reminder that we are in need and desiring these conversations that include all of us; all parts of who we are; and that these are not occurring at this time. This reminder also brings me to tears: How have we been excluded for so long when we were here all along?!

We have only posted this on three spaces: tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook. I have yet to even send this out as an email to folks in my address book or to the listserves that I know about and where folks may be interested. As I think of how this number may grow, my adoration for Afr@Latin@s grows as well; the awareness of what needs to be done expands. I realize the urgency of this work.

I also recognize some of the “flaws” with this work: the survey is only online and there are more of us who may not be; the survey is currently only in English and we speak so many other languages; the survey asks only a few short questions; some of the definitions may not be clear, or may be too rigid. I take sole and complete responsibility for all of these (and the others that may arise). My hope is that folks recognize that the urgency, for me, was to acquire this information to begin to build and create what we need collectively. The urgency is in our ability to share, speak, and create and we have a challenge with the rates at which we are being hurt, harmed, murdered, deported, incarcerated, isolated, and erased. I am determined to begin this now and take all responsibility for any flaws as they come.

As part of the “next steps” we (Tasasha the “intern” who is working with me) are still keeping our July 2013 date to share publicly (while maintaining the identit(ies) of folks who participated as confidential) the findings in the most accessible way. I’d love if someone who believes their translation skills from English to another language Afr@Latin@s speak is strong to help with translation, reach out to possibly help us translate the survey and findings!

Please know this is an unpaid project. Tasasha and I are NOT getting paid for any of the effort or work. This work is not funded by any source. It is as independent and grassroots as it gets! What is being offered in exchange for help and support: strong recommendation letters and references, skills around this work, mentorship, and citation credit.

I’ll soon be sharing my vision of a communal citation so those who have participated can receive a publishing credit when the findings are shared. Please be on the look out for that post. If you took the survey and shared an email address you will receive this in your inbox when it is available. Others may look online to where this information will be shared and archived.

So many thanks to each of you and to Tasasha for all of your help and work and time and sharing of your needs. I see you and I witness our collective evolution and struggle, and I thank you for seeing me and witnessing my evolution too.

Bianca

Afr@Latin@ Sex Survey

To take the survey now click here!

Bianca Laureano is an award-winning fierce-haired Puerto Rican LatiNegra sexologist living in New York City. For over a decade Bianca has worked with communities of Color on various topics connected to sex and sexuality. She is co-founder of The LatiNegr@s Project and hosts LatinoSexuality.com. Bianca is an independent scholar, writer, and radical educator. She identifies as a radical woman of Color and you may read more about her at BiancaLaureano.com. She is joined by an unpaid intern, Tasasha Henderson who is helping with promotion and distribution. You may contact Bianca with any questions or suggestions at LatiNegraSexologist@gmail.com.

This project is an attempt to bring LatiNegr@s, Blaktin@s, Cariben@s, Afr@Latin@s, et. al. into conversations around sex/uality. Often we are not included completely, and only presented as either ethnically Latin@ or racially Black. The questions below center demographics, resources available and used by LatiNegr@s, and forms of sex/uality information from various people in our communities.

Responses to this survey are 100% confidential and your responses will not in any way be connected to your identit(ies) unless you agree to have Bianca contact you via email for additional survey questions. If you chose not to share your contact information your response will be anonymous. This information will help begin to shift conversations and begin to provide LatiNegr@s with the opportunity to share our own experiences. The findings will be made available by July 2013 at LatinoSexuality.com and folks are welcome to use the findings in their own work to bring awareness, inclusivity, and justice to conversations about LatiNegr@s and our sexuality needs, resources, and narratives. The citation will be a communal citation and not one solely attributed to Bianca as this is a communal effort.

This is phase one of a budding multi-layered project centering LatiNegr@s and sex/uality. Additional parts of the project includes media, workshops, and community building among LatiNegr@s. If you are interested in joining other parts/phases of this project please reach out to Bianca at LatiNegraSexologist@gmail.com.

Although each question is "required" with a red *, please note if you do not want to comment or do not have anything further to share please write any word you choose (i.e. n/a, see above, etc.)  to move through the survey.

Many thanks in advance for your time, input, and participation.

To take the survey click this link.

Update on Fundraising for Women of Color Sexual Health Network

Last week we updated our fundraising goal to reflect various donations from food, hotel, to frequent flyer miles. This update reduced the $7k we needed down to a little over $5k to get all 5 women of Color sexologist to the AASECT conference this year.

We are pleased to report another update to our fundraising goals: a new registration rate. We have been in communication with folks in leadership positions with AASECT. They reached out to us asking each member to submit an individual narrative of their financial need. As a result, the AASECT leadership has offered us an additional reduction in conference registration.

Upon our first fundraising efforts, as none of the 5 of us in need were members because of inability to afford the fees, we were originally expecting to pay the non-member fee of $660 per person. We then were given the speaker registration fee, as we are each presenting, of $370 per person. This resulted in a fundraising need of $1850 for registration alone. Monday afternoon we received confirmation that each of us have been extended the "early bird student registration fee" of $250 per person. This new fee results in a fundraising need of $1250 for registration.

This is an additional $600 reduction in funds needed. We have gone from $7k to $5k to now $4490! We have also raised $1260, an amount that will cover each of our registration fees and help us focus solely on transportation and flight needs of members which totals: $3270

We are going to get to this conference, present our original research and work, and build together!

Please help us reach this goal by sharing our fundraising needs, goals, and, if you can, donating whatever amount. Our fundraising page is: http://wocsexualhealthnetwork.tumblr.com and you may also send paypal donations directly to bianca_for_prez@yahoo.com. If you wish to mail a payment please reach out to us.

Many thanks again to each of you who have supported us in various capacities!