The Godless Perverts Social Club is in Oakland at Telegraph Beer Garden (2318 Telegraph Ave.) on Thursday, September 17! And for this meetup, we have a specific discussion topic: Sex Work and the Law. With the recent shutdown of Rentboy.com by the Department of Homeland Security, and with Amnesty International’s recent statements that sex workers’ right are human rights and that sex work should be decriminalized, legal and ethical issues about sex work are being hotly debated. Do laws against sex work protect sex workers — or hurt them? What’s the result when laws and policies about sex work are written without the participation of sex workers themselves? How can laws and policies about sex work be written in a way that’s actually effective in shutting down down non-consensual sex trafficking, while protecting adults’ right to engage in consensual sexual activity? What role does religion play in these conversations — and what can the secular community bring to the table?

The discussion will be led by Kristina Dolgin, a long-time sex worker and lawyer. She is the founder of Red Light Legal, a new Oakland-based nonprofit that provides direct legal services, legal representation, community education, and policy advocacy to people working in the sex industry. Kristina advocates to reduce the stigma, discrimination, and violence associated with the sex industry, particularly for those who face intersectional oppressions due to racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and classism.

We are very excited that the Godless Perverts empire is stretching its tendrils into the East Bay! This Godless Perverts Social Club will be on Thursday, September 17, 7-9 pm, at Telegraph Beer Garden. Telegraph is located at 2318 Telegraph Ave., between 23rd St & 24th Streets in Oakland: it’s about a ten-minute walk from the 19th Street Oakland BART station, and is close to several bus lines.

How to Find Us

We’ll be meeting in the back room behind the bar, so we’ll have a separate, somewhat private-ish space to talk about sex and blasphemy and whatnot. Telegraph has lots of food options, mostly in the sandwich/ sausage/ burger family, and including many vegetarian and vegan options. They have a wide selection of beers, and they also have soft drinks for those who don’t drink alcohol. (It is a bar, which means you need to be at least 21 to attend.) Admission is free, but we ask that you buy food and/or drink if you can.

Godless Perverts: Our Policies on Building Safer Spaces

All orientations, genders, and kinks (or lack thereof) are welcome. Community is one of the reasons we started Godless Perverts. There are few enough places to land when you decide that you’re an atheist; far fewer if you’re also LGBT, queer, kinky, poly, trans, or are just interested in sexuality. And the sex-positive/ alt-sex/ whatever- you- want- to- call- it community isn’t always the most welcoming place for non-believers. So please join us! We’ll meet on the third Thursday of every month in Oakland: we’ll also still meet in San Francisco at Wicked Grounds, on the first Tuesday of every month.

Godless Perverts presents and promotes a positive view of sexuality without religion, by and for sex-positive atheists, agnostics, humanists, and other non-believers, through performance events, panel discussions, social gatherings, media productions, and other appropriate outlets. Our events and media productions present depictions, explorations, and celebrations of godless sexualities — including positive, traumatic, and complex experiences — focusing on the intersections of sexuality with atheism, materialism, skepticism, and science, as well as critical, questioning, mocking, or blasphemous views of sex and religion.

Godless Perverts is committed to feminism, diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. We seek to create safe and welcoming environments for all non-believers and believing allies who are respectful of the mission, and are committed to taking positive action to achieve this. Please let the moderators or other people in charge of any event know if you encounter harassment, racism, misogyny, transphobia, or other problems at our events.

If you want to be notified about all our Godless Perverts events, sign up for our email mailing list, or follow us on Twitter at @GodlessPerverts. You can also sign up for the Bay Area Atheists/ Agnostics/ Humanists/ Freethinkers/ Skeptics Meetup page, and be notified of all sorts of godless Bay Area events — including the Godless Perverts. And of course, you can always visit our Website to find out what we’re up to, godlessperverts.com. Hope to see you soon!