EROTICS: Sex, rights and the net - Part 2

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*GENDER CENTRED: A GenderIT.org thematic bulletin*
APC WNSP - GenderIT.org, 10 August 2011
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I. THOUGHTS AROUND...Erotica and the internet from the feminist perspective
II. FEMINIST TALKS: EROTICS snapshots by GenderIT.org bloggers
III. FEATURED RESOURCES
IV. FLASHBACK: Edition Part 1 - Articles and analysis
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What's the connection between sexuality and the internet? Why is internet censorship often accompanied by regulation of sexualities? How do people in different parts of the world use the internet in the exercise of sexual rights? After 3 years of interrogation into the politics of sexuality and the internet, the EROTICS research is out! Read the full study findings, commentaries & reflections on part 2 of the "EROTICS: Sex, rights and the net" GenderIT.org edition.

* EROTICS full research findings: www.genderit.org/resources/erotics-sex-rights-and-internet-research-study
* EROTICS: Sex, rights and the net - Part 1: www.genderit.org/edition/erotics-sex-rights-and-net-part-1
* More on the EROTICS project: http://erotics.apc.org

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I. THOUGHTS AROUND...*Erotica and the internet from the feminist perspective*
by Mabel Bianco, the president and founder of the Foundation for Study and Research on Women, Argentina

Mabel Bianco accounts what the experience of researching and examining issues of sexuality in the internet mean to her and her organization - the Foundation for Study and Research on Women (FEIM): " Personally, I have always worked, studied, researched and written on sexuality, especially in women from childhood to old age, but regarding the effect on their lives and reproduction. Never before had I personally explored the intersection between the form of communication enabled by internet and sexuality, how this affects and impacts the lives of women."
www.genderit.org/editorial/some-reflections-erotica-and-internet-feminis...

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II. FEMINIST TALKS: EROTICS snapshots by GenderIT.org bloggers

Get intimate with the EROTICS research findings through a series of posts by the GenderIT bloggers and the EROTICS team. They provide a window into the rich and complex universe of the 3-year EROTICS project.

*Brazil: An ethnographic approach - mapping sexuality on Orkut*
Flavia Fascendini explores two communities on the Orkut social networking site on sexuality: one is a forum for anti-lesbian prejudice, and the second is a community aimed at legitimising romantic relationships between adults and adolescents. Both groups were studied as the part of the Brazilian EROTICS research project that focused on mapping the dynamic and complex policy shifts on internet regulation debates in Brazil.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/brazil-ethnographic-approach-mapping-sexu...

*India: Government should get out of the way*
The net has often been portrayed by the media in India as "being a lair of sexual predators". Grady looks at some of the contradictions between policy and practice that were revealed by the EROTICS research in India, which explored the ways that young women negotiate risks online as they strategically use the internet to explore, define and challenge boundaries of gender and sexual norms.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/india-government-should-get-out-way

*USA: EROTICS responses to the Denver library*
Tapping the groundbreaking findings of the US EROTICS report that investigated the mandated internet filtering in publicly-funded libraries, Flavia Fascendini leads a fictional dialogue with the Denver Public Library FAQ on content regulation.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/usa-erotics-responses-denver-library-fict...

*Internet in South Africa is more than meets the eye*
Grady gives a glimpse into the final research of the EROTICS research in South Africa that explored lesbians and transgender people use of the Internet, and how content regulation measures can constrain the internet's democratising and empowering potential for LGBTI persons in the country.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/internet-south-africa-more-meets-eye

*Lebanon: Free speech is a gateway crime*
The recent controversy surrounding the Gay Girl in Damascus (who turned out to be anything but) has this blogger scratching his head. Why are we all so focused on how MacMaster misled us, and not on the real issue?
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/lebanon-free-speech-gateway-crime

*Thanks for All the Cash*
Maya Ganesh shares her experience at the VIII International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society Conference (IASSCS) at a presentation about sexual rights activism in the middle east.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/thanks-all-cash

*Online pornography and sex education*
Kevicha Echols reflects on porn literary and sex education for young people at a IASSCS session, comparing the sharings with what she discovered through the EROTICS research in the US.
www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/online-pornography-and-sex-education

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III. FEATURED RESOURCES

*EROTICS: Sex, rights and the internet - an exploratory research study*
How is the internet a key public sphere for the struggle for sexual citizenship and the exercise of sexual rights? What is its value to a diversity of users, especially those most marginalised or discriminated against because of their sexual, gender or other forms of social identity? Why do arguments for the regulation of the internet anchor on the moral imperative to regulate sexuality? Who are the key actors influencing processes of decision making, and what are the ways in which the potentially liberatory impact of the internet is being constricted and narrowed? The 3 year EROTICS research project delves into the complex world of sexuality and internet regulation, and uncovers interesting insights to these questions from Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa and the US. The full research findings and a synthesis chapter is presented in this report.
www.genderit.org/resources/erotics-sex-rights-and-internet-research-study

Check out other EROTICS publications:

*EROTICS Summary Report*, Jac sm Kee, 2011
www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/APC_WNSP_EROTICS__IssuePaper.pdf

*EROTICS Policy Review*, Mabel Bianco and Andrea Mariño, 2009
www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/APCEROTICS_PolicyReview.pdf

*EROTICS Literature Review*, Manjima Bhattacharjya and Maya Indira Ganesh, 2009
www.genderit.org/sites/default/upload/APCEROTICS_LiteratureReview.pdf

*Media Brief: Censorship, sexuality and the internet*, 2010
www.apc.org/en/system/files/EroTICsBriefingEN_0.pdf

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IV. FLASHBACK: EROTICS Edition Part 1 - Articles and analysis

*Sex and the net - It starts with rights* (editorial)
Jac sm Kee introduces the context of internet regulation in the face of gender and sexual inequality and discrimination, and the existing key gaps in evidence-based policy development that is grounded on the perspective of a diversity of users who turn to the internet in the exercise of their sexual rights that EROTICS aims to meet.
www.genderit.org/editorial/sex-and-net-it-starts-rights

*Lebanon and USA*: Where is the line for sex on the internet?
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza speaks with EROTICS researchers Melissa Hope Ditmore and Kevicha Echols as well as LGBT activist Nadine Moawad about the effect that filtering and censorship have on sexual expression and access to information, particularly for youth and LGBT persons.
www.genderit.org/articles/lebanon-and-usa-where-line-sex-internet

*EROTICS raises fascinating new questions*
As the EROTICS project comes to a close, Grady Johnson asked sexual rights activists and academics to share their thoughts about the research findings and its potential impact.
www.genderit.org/articles/erotics-raises-fascinating-new-questions

*EROTICS in Brazil: The complex universe of sexuality on the internet*
In this interview with Flavia Fascendini, the EROTICS Brazil team talked about their participation as an opportunity to address the nuanced impact of new internet legislation on sexuality in the country.
www.genderit.org/articles/erotics-brazil-complex-universe-sexuality-inte...

*India and South Africa: The hidden story of sex on the internet*
The EROTICS research in India revealed that sex on the internet includes a vibrant ecosystem of individuals sharing and discovering their sexuality online, and a space for sexual and identity rights activists to organise and advocate for change. Esther Nasikye speaks to Manjima Bhattacharjya (EROTICS India) and Prof. Jeanne Prinsloo and Nyx McLean (EROTICS South Africa) on their experiences and findings.
www.genderit.org/articles/india-and-south-africa-hidden-story-sex-internet

*New research on sexuality and the internet is an 'eye-opener'*
Gus Hossein of Privacy International speaks candidly on this video interview with Karen Higgs of APC on his take on EROTICS, and its value and impact to advocacy work on privacy rights. Republished from apc.org
www.genderit.org/articles/new-research-sexuality-and-internet-eye-opener

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