Fucking with Gender

Sinclair’s signature class. Presented at Drew University (NJ), Brown University (RI), Northwestern University (Chicago), Smith College (Northampton, MA), Swarthmore University (Philadelphia), Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), and more.

Let’s explore gender expression, identities, labels, transcending the mutually exclusive binaries, queer culture, and hot sweaty sex. Academics love deconstructing gender—and yet, we still have to navigate this gendered world. How do you build your gender intentionally? Are there ways gender can “hurt” less? And how do you develop your gender in ways that enhance and sustain a satisfying sex life? (‘Cause really, don’t we all want better sex?)

Developed explicitly for students of gender studies, sexuality studies, and queer studies who want to put their theory into practice, this workshop covers Sinclair’s Best Sex Secrets and Gender Tenets and an interactive Q&A to discuss your burning questions.

No Limits: Why People Play With Edgy Sex

For as long as we’ve got human history, we’ve got evidence of kinky, “perverted” sex acts and people who enjoyed them. But why? Why do people play with pain, bold sensation, potentially dangerous acts? Why do people push their bodies to the limit? Why do people find pleasure in unusual objects or desires? As kink is becoming more and more mainstream, there is still much to explore within the kinky communities and the myriad skills they have developed.

Queer Erotics: Writing Workshop & Spoken Word Performance

2-hour interactive writing workshop where participants practice writing through prompts, share work, and receive writing and performance feedback. Perfect as a joint event with the spoken word club or English department! Performance includes a 30 minute set of erotica, poetry, spoken word, essays, and radical queer politics titled “Do Not Speak the Truth So Loudly,” and a 45 minute open mic for the workshop participants (and other students, if there is room), hosted by Mr. Sexsmith.

Identities in a Label-Free World

“But I’m so much more than just one thing!” “Labels are for jars.” “I’m just me, you know?” “I like people, not genders.”

Do you hear folks struggling with labeling their own identities? Either out-right rejecting the idea of labels, or using one but qualifying it extensively? So do I, and there are a lot of real reasons to resist labels. We are so much more than one thing! But what part of identity creation and theories are valuable as we understand the ways that our marginalizations and privileges move through and fit in the world? We’ll discuss what the difference is between labels and identities, and pose the radical idea that words can be liberating and not just limiting.

The Sexual Politics of Topping

In some ways, it’s easier as a feminist to justify bottoming or submitting than it is to reconcile topping or domination. Consent and agency are key issues in feminism, and they translate well to justifying the exploration of receiving pleasure through bold sensation or temporarily giving over power and authority over one’s body. But the craving to dominate someone else, to find pleasure in someone else’s pain, to grin like a fool and get off on making someone cry—the politics of topping are difficult and multi-faceted. In this workshop we’ll explore power theory, consent, and agency, as key issues to comprehend in topping; we’ll discuss different kinds of topping and stages to enhance your skills as a top.

The Sexual Politics of BDSM

We all have some ideas about what it means to be a top or a masochist, but what does it mean to be a feminist dominant or an empowered submissive? And why do we assume that submissives are unempowered, anyway? What’s the difference between BDSM and abuse? Is it healthy to engage in kinky sex play? Sinclair thinks so. BDSM is the pursuit of giving and receiving pleasure through bold sensation, the consensual exchange of temporarily giving up power or taking on authority over another. In this workshop we’ll explore how consent and agency are key issues in feminism, and how they work in the exploration of BDSM. We’ll discuss different kinds of topping and bottoming, as well as theories to to enhance your personal BDSM skills.

Non-Binary In Theory and Practice

“Non-binary” is a noun, label, and identity, sure—but it’s also a subset of skills and awarenesses that queers can harness and use as tools for liberation. In insular communities like radical college campuses or small queer groups, it’s possible to create and have our non-binary identities validated. But when we get out into the “real world,” it’s often totally different. In this workshop, we’ll dive into pronoun usage, coming out as genderqueer to friends, family, and institutions, navigating legal forms, arguing with the reality of the gender binary system, and day to day microagressions (like groups of AFAB genderqueer folks being called “ladies” in every restaurant cafe ever). Everyone can queer up the gender binary system—let’s use it for liberation, elevating intersectional activism, and deep acceptance of ourselves and others.

Custom workshops are possible, but depend on the timeframe and subject. Please query Mx. Sexsmith.