Luscious: Celebrating trans & genderqueer pornography

A Good For Her Feminist Porn Awards Fundraiser

Wednesday January 25, 8-10pm
Gladstone Melody Bar, 1214 Queen Street West

Hosted by Emmet Outlaw

Featuring Scenes with:
Buck Angel
Jiz Lee
Billy Castro
Drew Deveaux
Cyd Loverboy
Michelle Aston
Julie

With live Performances by:
Lucas Silveira
Olive OrOliver

And a chance to WIN a date with Buck Angel at the 2012 FPAs!!

Have you ever wanted to make a contribution to (social) science? If so, do we have the survey for you! Leah Shumka, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, is conducting research into women’s relationship to sex toys and she wants your input on that matter.

The survey is quick and dirty (in the best possible way!) and all information collected through the survey is anonymous and confidential. Best of all, everyone who participates will be entered into a random draw to win a $60 gift certificate to Good For Her!

To participate you must: 1) self-identify as a woman; 2) be 19 years of age or over; 3) live in Toronto or the surrounding area; and 4) use (or have used) sex toys. If interested in participating please visit www.anthrosexsurvey.com. The survey will be open December 15th through February 14th, 2012. The draw for the gift certificate will take place on February 15th, 2012. For more information contact: leah@anthrosexsurvey.com.

Good For Her

Friday December 9^th, 7-10pm

175 Harbord Street (at Bathurst)

Enjoy some warm apple cider (the naughty or nice kind!), other sweet treats and some great deals just in time for the holidays.

5% off when you spend $25 - $49.99

10% off when you spend $50 - $99.99

15% off when you spend over $100

We will have a sexy photo both where you can create your own holiday e-card, 15min acupuncture consultations where you can get your Qi on, and a certified chair massage practitioner who can help work out your holiday shopping kinks!

Photo booth - $10/photo

Sexy Qi – 15min appts/Free

Chair Massage - $1/min

There is limited space available at the booths so don’t forget to rsvp in advance at whats@goodforher.com or 416.588.0900.

Toronto Sex Workers Action Project

is celebrating 25 years as one of the oldest sex-worker-run organisations in the world & we want you with us at our big $exy bash!

Join us as we celebrate our activism, advocacy and successes. There will be door prizes, performers, cabaret and much more!

All proceeds from this event will go towards the legal costs of our joint fight, with other sex work activists for the total decriminalization of sex work in Canada.

WHEN: Sunday October 30, doors at 7.30 PM
WHERE: Filmore’s Gentlemen’s Club, 212 Dundas Street East
HOW: Advanced tickets are available now at Good For Her (175 Harbord St), Maggie’s Wednesdays Noon – 5pm, otherwise by emailing us for ticket purchase at pick up at  sexworkisrealwork@maggiestoronto.ca

Tickets: $5 for sex workers (no one turned away for lack of funds) | Allies: $15-20 sliding scale – Additional generosity welcomed from all!

We are recruiting volunteers for the event (including hostesses, postering crews, attendant care etc) as well as auction items.

If you are interested, please contact us. Priority will go to sex workers and items that are of practical use to sex workers.

ASL interpretation provided | Wheelchair accessible space but only partially accessible washrooms  | 19+ ID required by the club

For more information, to volunteer or if you want help getting ID, visit us at: www.maggiestoronto.ca email us at sexworkisrealwork@maggiestoronto.ca or call 416-964-0150

See you there!

~Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project

Have you ever wondered how other women feel about their ladyparts?  An amazing new book from Show Off Books in Vancouver delves deep into a subject that many women like to keep under wraps.  It’s called I’ll Show You Mine and it contains 120 photographs of 60 women’s genitalia.  All of the women are photographed from the same two angles and each photo is life size and unaltered.  The sheer amount of variety on display here is staggering.  Bushy, hairless, trimmed, dyed and ingrown are all represented in all the lovely colours of the rainbow.  Not to mention: pierced, natural, surgically constructed, spotted, smooth, long, short and many other variations besides - the diversity of vulvas is truly amazing to see!

Editor Wrenna Robertson conceived the book as a way to address the increased anxiety women are feeling over the aesthetic appearance of their vulvas.  In recent years, surgical procedures such as labioplasty have become much more commonplace and women everywhere are wondering whether or not their package is “normal” and how they compare to the mythical “perfect pussy”.  These sorts of comparisons are highly problematic and deeply upsetting for women.  I’ll Show You Mine celebrates the fact that no two pussies are alike and gives perspective on an issue that many of us are still afraid to openly discuss.

What we love most about this book is that each and every person photographed also writes a few paragraphs about their relationship to their genitalia.  Each story is fascinating and unique while remaining totally relatable.  We totally identified with feeling, at times, really proud of our vulvas and all the wondrous things they do and at other times fretting over the amount of hair down there, clit size, labia differential etc.. etc…

Another remarkable thing that sends this book to the top of our lists is the decision to include trans women and genderqueers who have a very different experience with their genitals than cis-women do.  Ashley and Emily, two transwomen included in the book who have surgically constructed vaginas both talk about how fulfilling it is for them to finally have the genitalia that matches their gender.  It’s a pretty eye-opening read for those of us who have never struggled with gender identity and the body-image issues it can bring up.  On the other end of the spectrum we have Joey who has a natural vagina but doesn’t particularly relate to it or to female identity in general.  To Joey the vagina is just there, incidental and a little bit alienating.

These diverse perspectives are what make I’ll Show You Mine such an illuminating read.  We’ve already been using it in the store and in our workshops to reassure women that their vulvas are beautiful and just fine thank you very much!  It’s a fabulous conversation starter between friends and lovers, mothers and daughters and just about anyone who’d like to be a little more educated about these amazing parts of our anatomy.  Leave it on your coffee table (It’s certainly pretty enough) and see who sneaks a peek.  With a title like I’ll Show You Mine, it’s impossible not to be curious!