A Pill for Promiscuity: Gay Sex in an Age of Pharmaceuticals
The Second Tuesday Series at The LGBT Center is thrilled to present on Saturday, February 18, at 7:00 pm editor Andrew Spieldenner in conversation with contributors Justice Jamal Jones and Theodore (Ted) Kerr for the launch of the book A Pill for Promiscuity: Gay Sex in an Age of Pharmaceuticals.
The book brings together artists, academics, and artists from various disciplines to reflect on how gay sex has changed in a post-PrEP era. (Rather than meet on Valentine’s Day, the Second Tuesday presentation for February will take place on a Saturday.)
Register here for this LIVE presentation at The LGBT Center in NYC.
About the Book
A Pill for Promiscuity (Rutgers University Press 2023) brings together academics, artists, and activists from different generations, countries, ethnic backgrounds, and HIV statuses to reflect on how gay sex has changed in a post-PrEP era. Some contributors offer personal perspectives on the value of promiscuity and the sexual communities it fosters, while others critique unequal access to PrEP, and the increased role Big Pharma now plays in gay life.
With a diverse group of contributors that includes novelist Andrew Holleran, trans scholar Lore/tta LeMaster, cartoonist Steve MacIsaac, and pornographic film director Mister Pam, this book asks provocative questions about how we might reimagine queer sex and sexuality in the 21st century.
About the Editor
Andrew Spieldenner is the Executive Director of MPact: Global Action for Gay Rights and associate professor of communication at California State University San Marcos. Openly living with HIV, he writes about LGBTQ community, HIV, and disability, while serving as co-editor for the collections Intercultural Health Communication and Post-AIDS.
About the Contributors
Justice Jamal Jones (she/he/they) is a filmmaker, actor, and writer based in NYC. As a Black Queer Alchemist, they integrate Black Feminist Queer theory alongside Black diasporic spirituality, such as Vodou (Voodoo) into their work. Their internationally recognized debut film “How To Raise a Black Boy” was a reimagining of Jones’ childhood linking their boyhood to their identity as a nonbinary artist. Justice is a 2021 Sundance Ignite Fellow and in 2022 was a commissioned director for MTV and Calvin Klein. Jones was also a guest on Good Morning America’s Hulu special “A Conversation Between Black Men.”
Canadian-born Theodore (Ted) Kerr is a Brooklyn-based writer and organizer whose work focuses on HIV/AIDS, community, and culture. In 2022, his book “We Are Having This Conversation Now: The Times of AIDS Cultural Production,” with co-author, Alexandra Juhasz, was published by Duke University Press. His writing has also appeared in Women’s Studies Quarterly, The New Inquiry, BOMB, CBC (Canada), Lambda Literary, POZ Magazine, The Advocate, Cineaste, The St. Louis American, IndieWire, and HyperAllergic.
WHEN
Saturday, February 18, 2023 (A special Saturday night, rather than the usual second Tuesday)
Presentation at 7:00 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
WHERE
The LGBT Community Center
208 W 13 St (near Seventh Avenue), New York, NY 10011
phone 212-620-7310
ABOUT THE SECOND TUESDAY SERIES
At 37 years, the Second Tuesday Series is the longest running program at The LGBT Center. Since 1985, more than 400 speakers have made presentations in the arts, academia, and politics. Speakers representing every major cultural award, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Grammy Award, the Academy Award (The Oscars), Broadway’s Tony Awards, the Lambda Literary Award, the National Book Award, and the UK Booker Literary Award, have made presentations. Through this program, Larry Kramer spoke about the plight of the AIDS Crisis in March 1987, thus beginning ACT-UP, the largest direct action AIDS organization in the world.
ABOUT THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER
Established in 1983, the LGBT Community Center is at the heart of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in New York City, providing quality health and wellness programs in a welcoming space that fosters connections and celebrates our cultural contributions. The Center serves the community with a full-service approach to programming, from hosting arts and entertainment events and advocacy groups to offering youth and overall wellness programs. Before temporarily closing for the Covid lockdown, the Center welcomed more than 300,000 visits each year to their building in the West Village. The Center has a long history as a cultural hub, with ongoing presentations that showcase the work of both emerging and established artists.
