Planned Parenthood Sponsors Inclusive Sexuality Workshops

GayRVA Staff
September 2, 2010

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Read More: Planned Parenthood, RVAsexuality

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Annie Brown of RVASexuality.org.

Today is the registration deadline for RVAsexuality, a series of sexuality workshops for women and couples in the Richmond area, is the latest educational program sponsored by The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood (VLPP). Those who attend these workshops are sure to walk away with a better understanding of sex, their bodies, their emotional and physical needs as well as the needs of their partners. RVAsexuality workshops will provide a safe space to receive accurate medical information, as well as discuss sex-related experiences and questions with local professionals and peers.

In 2008, VLPP conducted focus groups with a random sample of our patients, and they yielded fascinating results. Most relevant to this initiative was the feedback that many women find sex painful, unenjoyable, and often scary. When we got together with Dr. Juliana Mills, we found that our patients’ responses echoed many of the findings of her research, and we began a community-based initiative to develop a curriculum to address many of these common concerns.

The main issues we hope to address with this initiative are:

• Understanding the context. We will look at how pop-culture, religion, gender, class, and race interact to affect the ways that we all experience sexuality.
• Defining “healthy sexuality.” What is it? What does it look like? Do I have it? How can I get it?
• Clearing up the discussion of anatomy. Though it’s not rocket science, somehow the science of how our bodies work often gets distorted when it comes to sexuality. We find that unacceptable.
• Giving partners a common language.

Currently, RVAsexuality has two upcoming seminars available for online registration:

Restructuring Female Sexuality Workshop

Wednesdays, 6:30 – 8:30pm
September 8th to October 13th

Sorry guys, this one is for ladies only. In this six-week workshop, we will cut through the rhetoric and ideology surrounding female sexuality to help women understand the real anatomy and processes of their own sexuality in addition to the cultural messages that surround it. Each week, we will look at common misconceptions about female sexuality, answer/discuss commonly asked questions—like how do women know when they’ve had an orgasm? Why have so many women not had one? And can someone please explain the g-spot?—and identify ways to restructure commonly held prejudices about women’s bodies. Any person of any age over 18 who identifies as female is welcome.

Partners Workshop

Wednesdays, 6:30 – 8:30pm
October 20th to November 17th

This workshop is available for any individuals in committed relationships. From six weeks to sixty years, we believe that every partnership should be using a common language when it comes to their sexualities. During this five-week workshop, couples will delve into the cultural and psychological reasons that so many couples use different languages, and also develop some tools to help bridge that gap. All genders and all ages above 18 are welcome.

RVAsexuality is a collaborative project between The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and Dr. Juliana Mills, who will be leading many of our class discussions. Dr. Juliana Mills began her career as a therapist and currently teaches classes on female sexuality at both the College of William and Mary and Christopher Newport University. Workshops will be held in the VLPP classroom located at:

The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood
201 North Hamilton Street
Richmond, VA 23221

RVAsexuality is meant to discuss the issues that are important to YOU. The classes will revolve around central themes, but if there are specific issues that you would like to discuss, let us know and we will cover them. Workshops are designed for all kinds of people and partnerships, same-sex, heterosexual, transgender and queer.

To register, visit www.rvasexuality.org.  If you have any questions about RVAsexuality please send an email to annie@rvasexuality.org.