College Workshops
Amy Jo Goddard’s enthusiasm and warmth are infectious. As a student organizer at Princeton University, I hosted two workshops with Amy Jo, and both were great successes because of the eclectic crowd that she drew and the conversations that emerged. She can convince anyone to speak openly about challenging issues, and do so in a way that makes them forget that subjects like sex or body image are often uncomfortable. Given her ability to put people at ease, the honesty and depth that emerges in her workshops is extraordinary. She tackled hard issues with grace and humor, and I knew after our first workshop that we had to invite her for a second round.
–Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux, President of Sex Talk, Princeton University
The Roadmap to a Happy Vulva & Better Orgasms
What is a G-Spot and how do I find it? Is the clitoris more complex than the “pea-sized nub” we often hear about? What makes our vulvas healthy? What alternatives do we have for vaginal healthcare? In this workshop, we answer these questions and many others about female bodies and pleasure, demystifying women’s sexual anatomy and learning how our sexual organs work. We view fantastic illustrations from revolutionary works on women’s bodies and a Vulva puppet attends to help illustrate. Students get essential information for how to have orgasms or how to make them even better if you already do have them. This is an interactive exchange of information about women’s bodies, pleasure and sexuality.
Body Freedom!
Our relationship to our body is essential to our sexuality. What gets in the way of our fully accepting our own bodies? How can we recognize and address our patterns so that we can be more comfortable in and accepting of our bodies? In this workshop, participants will get tangible tools for recognizing and addressing body shame and harmful patterns of body-centered inadequacy so that they can increase their sensual pleasure and live more joyfully. Come engage in a thoughtful dialogue and create Body Freedom for yourself!
This is What Sexually Empowered Looks Like!
There are so many ways our culture, families, lovers and ourselves disempower our sexuality. Yet our culture pays a lot of lip service to a false and superficial idea of what sexual empowerment actually looks like. In this workshop, Amy Jo will talk about key factors she has found that disempower and disconnect men and women from their sexuality, preventing people from living more joyful and sexually connected lives. Come have a dynamic dialogue about sexual power, sexual choices, cultural expectations and how to tap into your sexual core so that it can be a source of sexual and creative sustenance for your magnificent life.
Saying Yes, Saying No: How to Create Solid and Healthy Sexual Boundaries
This workshop explores what it is to be empowered to say yes or to say no to sexual activity. Women and men will work to get in touch with what they want sexually, what they don’t want and how to communicate clearly so they get their needs met while developing a healthy sexuality and healthy relationships.
Men Explore Sexism
Men often get left out of the conversation about sexism. It is important to address young men directly and provide a safe venue for them to look at how sexism affects them, as well as the women in their lives. This workshop provides a forum for frank discussion for men who aim to become more aware of how sexism plays out in their lives and how they may unwittingly contribute to a sexist state. Utilizing media and interactive group exploration, participants have the opportunity to broaden their lens on how gender norms affect women and men in unhealthy ways and strategize about how to shift the norms in their own communities.
V-Day Workshop
What would the world look like if it were truly free of violence? How would our lives change? Exploring the tenets of V-Day, in this workshop we address the role of violence and physical or bodily occupation in our lives; how pleasure is important to our well-being, and, most importantly, we envision a world without violence in a powerful meditation. Looking closely at how pleasure and violence are interconnected, we can strategize on how to create a world free of violence that celebrates healthy expressions of sexuality.
My Vagina’s Monologue
Utilizing the concept of The Vagina Monologues, this is an interactive and experiential workshop that offers an opportunity for participants to explore the herstories of their own vaginas. Using movement and discussion of vaginas, birth, sex and gender as a stepping off point, participants will have the opportunity to write their stories and share in a safe context, only if they feel moved to. They will also be given an opportunity to perform their own monologue! This is an active, experiential workshop and participants do not need to have sexual experience in order to participate, but should have a vagina. This workshop provides an opportunity for women to check in with their own bodies and desires, pain and pleasure, to celebrate, heal and raise awareness for personal growth and a healthy and happy vagina.
Girls’ Night Out
Perfect for campus G/L/B/T or Women’s History Month events, this workshop offers a safe and fun space for women and female-bodied transgender people to address same-sex sex. We will discuss women’s bodies, potential for pleasure, sexual practice and how to be safe in sexual exchanges with other women. We will discuss lesbian trends and questions from the participants will guide the conversation. “Girls’ Night Out” offers an appropriate and frank discussion to college students, answering the questions that are often difficult to ask.
Being Bi
Even with all of the work of the gay liberation movement and education about sexual pluralism, many myths and sometimes harsh judgments still exist about bisexuality. Yet a Kinsey 3 is just as valid as a 0 or a 6! Many bisexual people feel unsupported by heterosexuals and simultaneously outcast by their gay and lesbian peers. This workshop offers education and clarity about bisexuality and related social issues, and an opportunity for a frank discussion of bisexuality and sexual orientation. Come with your questions or just because you are curious! Bi curiosity is welcome here!
Gender and Pornography
In this workshop, participants have an opportunity to discuss pornography and examine how it affects our ideas about gender, relationships and sex. In looking at mainstream sexually explicit images, participants can make connections to sexism, violence and sexuality. The point of this workshop is not to present a certain view of pornography, but to offer participants a safe space in which to discuss it on a deeper level and look at how its pervasiveness in the culture might affect our lives, finally, thinking about how we might respond or take action based on the group discussion.
Viva la Vulvalution!
Young women need venues for exploring their own power as females who can have control over their decisions, their bodies and their lives. Young men need venues to be a part of the work towards gender equity. The vulvalution provides support and empowerment for women, and is a real way to envision and engage ourselves as feminists. The vulvalution is for people of all genders. In this workshop, we explore how we honor ourselves, the women in our lives, and our mentors, while creating new paths for living in harmony with our bodies, our femaleness and fighting sexism.
Radical GYN: Taking Your Sexual and Reproductive Health into Your Own Hands
The dreaded pelvic exam: it doesn’t have to be that way! But most women have had negative experiences with gynecology and don’t know what they can do to make it better. In this workshop, myths about the pelvic exam are debunked and participants are educated about how to get their needs met with their gynecologist, ways of advocating for themselves, and how to take care of themselves when situations get sticky. Central to this workshop is discussion about ethical and sensitive care and focus on self-empowerment. Women are taught how to do their own thorough breast exams and there’s lots of time for Q&A. Whether you’ve had pelvic exams for years, or are preparing for your first one, this workshop will open the door to see GYN exams as a potentially empowering and positive experience where women can learn about their own bodies.
At Your Cervix: A Workshop for Women Who are Ready to Look
This workshop brings back the radical self-help groups of the 1970s, giving women an opportunity to learn about their sexual and reproductive parts and take the speculum back into their own hands. They’ll get their own speculum and will use a mirror to look at their vulvas and cervixes.
What makes our vulvas healthy? What alternatives do we have for vaginal healthcare? What is a G-Spot and how do I find it? Is the clitoris more complex than the “pea-sized nub” we often hear about? In this workshop, we answer these questions and many others about female bodies and pleasure, demystifying women’s sexual anatomy and learning how our sexual organs work. We view fantastic illustrations from revolutionary works on women’s bodies and a Vulva puppet attends to help illustrate. This is an interactive exchange of information about women’s bodies, pleasure and sexuality.
Unstuck Your Sensual Self: Ignite Pleasure and Desire
What is holding you back from experiencing pleasure and desire in your life? How can you rekindle flames of desire that might be smothered right now? What are the things that make you feel most alive? How can you work to bring those aspects of your life into greater alignment with how you live on a day-to-day basis?
Water, and therefore, flow, lives in the second chakra, the home of our sexuality, our sensual selves, our desire. When we get stuck in our attachments we dam the flow of pleasure in our lives. In this workshop we will use movement, meditation, reflection and group exercise to “unstuck” ourselves, create clarity in healthy boundaries, and open the second chakra as we embrace pleasure and desire.
