Yes Means Yes Is A Book Of The Year!

Our little book is a Publishers’ Weekly Book Of The Year. I’ve said before and I’ll say again that I am very impressed with the essays my co-contributors wrote for the book, and with the tireless work of Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti, without whom none of it would have made it onto the bookstore shelves.

h/t Jill.

Yes Means Yes: The Class

Our own Miriam Zoila Perez conveys the following very exciting
news: Colgate University will have a sex education class based on Yes Means Yes.

I’ve said before and I’ll say again that I am so very impressed with the quality of my colleagues’ essays and with the book as a whole. Jaclyn and Jessica worked very hard to bring the whole thing together, and the contributors brought great ideas and engaging styles to the table. I am more pleased than I can articulate to see this book in the flow of ideas going forward.

Starred Review in Publishers Weekly

Amazing YMY news – we’ve just received a starred review on Publishers Weekly! Check it out:

Yes Means Yes! : Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape
Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti. Seal, $15.95 (256p) ISBN 9781580052573
Activists and writers Friedman and Valenti (He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut) deliver an extraordinary essay compilation focusing on the struggle to stop rape in the U.S. and the importance of sexual identity and ownership. Early on, Thomas MacAulay Millar and Rachel Kramer Bussel explain how the “no means no” concept (sexual consent equals the absence of no) must be rejected in favor of a “yes means yes” mentality: the idea that consent means affirmative participation in the act itself, a broader definition that better protects women while encouraging power over—not fear of—personal sexual identity. Other topics include body image and self-esteem issues as well as incest, the dangers faced by female immigrants and the public perception of rape; in “Trial by Media,” Samhita Mukhopadhyay looks at the Duke Lacrosse rape case and finds the media acting in the tradition of slavery by commodifying the young, female African-American body. Though surprisingly entertaining throughout, with no shortage of wit or humor, unexpected topics (Friedman on enjoying sex, transsexual writer Julia Serano on the mixed cultural messages that lead “nice guys” to sexual aggression) keep the book dynamic. Sure to empower and inform, this is an important and inspiring read for assault survivors, educators, activists, experts and those on a path to self discovery. (Starred)

(Want to know more about Publishers Weekly and why it matters? Click here.)

It’s so hopeful to see that our message is crossing over into the mainstream. Thanks to EVERYONE who’s been supporting the book.

Great Event at KGB

KGB is a place with a great history and a real reputation for interesting events, though I wish the physical space was better. It is both too small for well-attended events and accessible only by very steep steps (which kept one friend of mine from attending).

I was there, reading from my piece and from Lee Jacobs Riggs’s. We also had Brad Perry, Rachel Kramer Bussel, and Anastasia Higginbotham (each of whom I met for the first time), Jill Filipovic, and the editors. I was pleased to find that every one of them knows their way around the podium; all the readings were delivered very well.

The audience was absolutely amazing. The place was packed all the way back, into the hall and onto those near-vertical steps. People really wanted to hear what we had to say. I was moved. Thank you folks for a great event.

How Does The Change Happen?

I was listening to Jaclyn on the radio after my little ones woke me last night. Her long interview with Tamrika Khvtisiashvil on KCRL in Utah is available here. They had the following exchange at about 20:43 (and I transcribed it myself, so accuracy may be imperfect):

YMY Live & On Air

The tour starts tonight! Yippeee!!! Can’t wait to get into this discussion live with some of you.

For those who can’t make it to Bluestockings tonight, here are a few clips of some recent radio appearances we’ve done for the book:

Feminist Magazine in LA
RadioActive in Utah
RealityCast on RH Reality Check

Latoya Peterson on ColorsNW

Latoya Peterson, one of my favorite bloggers, is profiled in ColorsNW. Check it out — it’s a great overview of the work Latoya has done at Racialicious and elsewhere, and she gives a shout-out to Feministe, where she was a super-star guest-blogger this past summer.

Latoya is also a contributor to Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, the inspiration and namesake for this blog. Her essay is incredible, and I’d encourage you all to check it out.

Congrats, Latoya, on the profile. But more importantly, thank you for all the work that you do.

It’s a book!

I was going to write “It’s a girl!,” but I resisted the temptation, because this book is for and about everyone. Sure, it says “female sexual power” right there in the subtitle, but what we’re working toward is a world where we all have the right to enjoy our bodies in our own authentic ways, completely free from violence, coercion, pressure, commodification or shame.

OK, soapbox over (for now). We’ll be getting into all of this right here in this very blog. The big news at YMY headquarters is that the books have arrived! Amazon has them in stock, and they should be in your local bookstore any minute now. In fact, why don’t you pop your head in and ask for it this weekend? And if it’s not on the way, be sure to encourage your local bookseller to order it.