CatalystCon West Sexuality Conference Called A Success

Over 350 attendees gathered in Los Angeles September 11-14 for the CatalystCon West sexuality conference. Created to inspire exceptional conversations about sexuality, the event featured 40 sessions and workshops on topics such as erotica, sex toy history and materials, sex work, and sex positive parenting, as well as live podcast recordings in the CatalystCon Studio. Described by founder and organizer Dee Dennis as a “melting pot of sexuality,” CatalystCon unites sex educators, sex workers, health advocates, writers, activists, and others with a passion for creating change. "I’m excited about the success of this conference and the continued growth and evolution of CatalystCon," said Dennis. "From the debut of the CatalystCon Film Series on Thursday night and the presence of a true catalyst like Kristin Beck and her film Lady Valor through to the emotional and inspiring reunion of Club 90 at the Closing Keynote, I believe that this weekend sparked exactly the kinds of conversations that I hoped for when I created CatalystCon." During the CatalystCon West Opening Reception, Joan Price was presented with the Catalyst Award by Dee Dennis. "I could not believe it when Dee announced me as the winner of the 2014 Catalyst Award ‘for inspiring exceptional conversations in sexuality'," said Price. "This extraordinary honor felt like the most valuable validation of my work to normalize, celebrate, and enrich older-age sexuality. I looked out over the audience of 300 people—many of whom are true pioneers and my role models—and I couldn’t believe that they were all standing and applauding me. Nine years ago, when I started talking out loud about senior sex, I felt like a lone voice. Now I’ve received the Catalyst award. I am honored and exhilarated." CatalystCon returns to the east coast March 27-29, 2015 at the Hilton Crystal City. CatalystCon East is accepting speaker submissions until November 4, 2014. The conference welcomes anyone who has something to share and the desire to spark conversations about sexuality, activism and acceptance. To apply to speak at CatalystCon East, click here. "Dee Dennis and the CatalystCon crew once again succeeded in bringing together a diverse group of sex-positive educators, activists, and academics from around the country for this one-of-a-kind conference,” said UNLV professor Lynn Comella, who spoke on the Opening Keynote Plenary as well as on panels on social media and feminist ethics and the past, present, and future of sex toys. "Highlights for me included a session on the experiences of black women in the sex industry and the closing keynote, the women of Club 90. But the best part of the weekend was seeing so many people genuinely excited to talk about sexual politics and culture, conversations that spilled into the hallways, continued over lunch, and kept people up late into the night. To me, that's the mark of a great conference."