Cake

Today marks the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade! While most of us were born after Roe v. Wade, its effect has been truly awe-inspiring for women and men alike. To honor this anniverary, we lay out the landmarks for sexual empowerment and equality.

- Define female sexuality in it's own right, not merely as the opposite of male sexuality. Female sexuality is not a black and white issue and we are just beginning to explore all of the wonderful nuances of women's sexual lives - what women want, what turns us on, what gives us pleasure, what do we want to see, hear, touch, explore and so on.

- Allow women to explore sexuality and decide for themselves what elements contribute to their own sexual evolution. Sexuality has historically been defined from the male perspective and much about sexuality is still thought of as inherently and exclusively male, thereby limiting women's options for sexual exploration.

- Create dialogue about the social context through which our sexuality is conditioned. "Nature vs. Nurture" aside, social conditioning rules much of our sexual behavior.

- Embrace sexuality as an evolving part of our entire life span. Before, throughout and after childbearing, women embody multitudes of what it means to be a sexual woman. Sexual desire does not end after a woman has children or turns forty.

- Give women the opportunity and choice to define themselves as sexual irrespective of their ability to live up to an unattainable image of fashion, wealth, and body. Women are pressured by unrealistic images of what it is supposed to mean to be a woman, which can constrict and constrain our ability to feel sexy and be sexual.

- Allow women the choice to be the object, or subject, or both, of sexual desire. Given an equal playing field, true sexual equality is rooted in choice and by personal definition - for men and women.

-Bridge the gap between the private and the public sexual spheres. Certain sexual experiences and worlds of possibility have been traditionally off limits to women in the public arena, but are paradoxically practiced by or fantasized about by many women in private. This contradiction impedes public dialogue and discourse for women about these sexual behaviors and restricts women’s experiences, exploration and expression.

To that end, female sexual exploration is confined to the private space, while men’s sexuality is publicly celebrated and exploited, thus maintaining the status quo unequal power dynamic.

- Send the message that an empowered sexuality improves the quality of women’s lives.