SFSU Public Affairs Press Release Published by the Public Affairs Office at San Francisco State University, Diag Center.

#088--March 16, 2000: MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Ted DeAdwyler
phone: 415/338-1665
e-mail: pubcom@sfsu.edu

WHAT: More than 100 scholars on sexuality and disability research, and Bay Area disability advocates will gather at San Francisco State University to examine the latest research in the field and its impact on culture during the Disability, Sexuality and Culture: Societal and Experiential Perspectives on Multiple Identities Conference, sponsored by S.F. State's Human Sexuality Studies Program, the World Institute on Disability in Oakland and S.F. State's Institute on Disability.

WHY: To focus importance on sexuality research for gays, lesbians, women and people of color who are disabled, an area many scholars and disability advocates say has been overshadowed by research on white heterosexual males with late-onset disabilities.

WHO: Researchers from throughout the country as well as from Canada and Europe. Featured speaker will be Tom Shakespeare of the University of Newcastle, England, a leading authority on disability and sexuality. Shakespeare, a noted activist in the disability movement known for his inspiring and memorable talks, was born with the genetic condition called achondroplasia, which causes dwarfism. Friday at 10 a.m.

WHEN & WHERE: Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 at San Francisco State University's Seven Hills Conference Center. Sessions 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Friday, March 17
Disability and Sexuality: History and Current Issues -- 10 a.m.-noon

Cultural Representation and the Missing Discourse of Pleasure - 1:15-3 p.m.

New Perspectives and Community Applications of Disability and Sexuality Research - 3:15-4:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 18
Gender, Interpersonal Relationships and Self-Esteem --- 10 a.m.-noon

Sexual Diversity and Multiple Identities - 2-3:30 p.m.

Clinical and Critical Approaches to Disability and Sexuality - 3:30-4:45 p.m.

For more information, call either Gilbert Herdt of Human Sexuality Studies at (415) 405-3574 or Ted DeAdwyler of the S.F. State Public Affairs Office at (415) 338-7110.