If you’re a podcast fan, check out my radio/ podcast interview with Jeff Farias on The Jeff Farias Show. We talk about the atheist movement, atheist philosophies of death and the meaning of life, dirty comics, and more. Enjoy!
Writing News
{advertisement}
Greta Interviewed on Amanda Marcotte's Podcast
The brilliant and prolific Amanda Marcotte (Pandagon and more) has been doing a podcast series on the Reproductive Health Reality Check website, and this week’s podcast includes (among other things) an interview with me about atheism and sexuality. We talk about the traditional religious view of sexuality, what atheism can offer as an alternative, what atheists uniquely bring to the table in movements for social and sexual change, and more. Check it out!
Greta's "Atheism and Sexuality" Talk at Purdue: Video!
I’m back, baby! Exhausted from the speaking tour… but also exhilarated. (The pic is me with the secretary, treasurer, and president of the Society of Non-Theists at Purdue University. As Jen McCreight — of BlagHag fame, and the abovementioned president and co-founder of the Society of Non-Theists at Purdue — points out in her write-up of the talk: Who says there aren’t any female atheists?)
I’ll post a more complete write-up of the event as soon as I’ve had time to recover. But in the meantime, Jen has posted a video of the Purdue talk. (Give it a minute or two to load.) Including the Q&A, which was one of the best and most fun parts. I’ve embedded it below the jump, since for some reason putting videos below the jump screws up my archives. If you want to see it full size, you can do that on Vimeo. (Again, give it a minute or two to load.) For those of you who wished you could come… seeing it on video is the next best thing!
Enormous thanks to Jen… and to the Purdue Queer Student Union, who co-sponsored the Purdue event… and to Joe Hughto of the Secular Alliance of Indiana University… and to Lyz Liddell of the Secular Student Alliance… and to everyone in all these organizations who helped make this trip run so smoothly. I’m totally hooked now. I want to do this all the time. If you want me to come speak about atheism and sexuality — or an assortment of other atheism- related topics — I’m yours, for the cost of a plane ticket and a hotel room. (Which the SSA will help you out with, if you’re part of their organization.) Wa-hoo!
Continue reading “Greta's "Atheism and Sexuality" Talk at Purdue: Video!”
Brief Blog Break/ Shameless Self-Promotion Opportunity
As y’all know, I’m leaving town tomorrow to give my talk on atheism and sexuality at Indiana University and Purdue. Between the travel and the recent nasty tendinitis flare-up in my right arm (getting better, but I still have to limit my computer time), I won’t be blogging much for the next few days, if at all. I’ll try to keep up the Atheist Memes of the Day, but I don’t know what my free time or Internet connectivity is going to be while I’m gone, so I’m making no promises.
So while I’m away, let’s make this a Shameless Self-Promotion Thread! If you’re a blogger, I’m inviting you to post a link to your blog in this post’s comments. You can link to a specific post or two that you’re extra-fond of, or just let us know about your blog generally.
If you’re not a blogger, feel free to post a link to somebody else’s blog that you like — again, either a specific post you like, or the blog as a whole.
No commercial content, advertising, sales, marketing, etc. However, if you’re an artist or activist or something, and you don’t have a blog but you have a Website, please feel free to link to that instead. Have fun, and I’ll see you when I get back!
Greta's "Atheism and Sexuality" Talks at Indiana University and Purdue: Full Itinerary
The full details of my mini-tour in Indiana are now complete! As part of my gig as a speaker on the Secular Student Alliance Speakers Bureau, I’m going to be speaking this week at both Indiana University and Purdue, on the topic of atheism and sexuality. I am more tickled than I can possibly express in words.
The topic for both talks is going to be the same: Atheism and Sexuality. The sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex God does and doesn’t want people to have. And while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. What are some atheist alternatives to these views? How can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in God? And how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?
Here are the details on the Indiana University gig:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
5:30pm – 7:00 pm
Jordan Hall 124
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Hour lecture followed by Q&A
Free, open to public
This event is being sponsored by the Secular Alliance of IU.
And here are the details on the Purdue gig:
Friday, February 5, 2010
5:30pm – 7:00pm
WTHR 172
560 Oval Dr
West Lafayette, IN
Hour lecture followed by Q&A
Free, open to public
The event is being sponsored by the Society of Non-Theists at Purdue University and the Purdue Queer Student Union. Both events are being co-sponsored by the Secular Student Alliance. If you’re in Indiana, I hope to see you there!
Greta Appearing at Wicked Grounds Kinky Comic Carnival, Sat. 1/30
Come say hi and mingle with kinky comics creators! As editrix of the Best Erotic Comics series, I’m going to be appearing at the Wicked Grounds Kinky Comic Carnival, this Saturday, Jan. 30, along with Justin Hall, Tristan Crane, Ted Naifeh, Storm, and Serena Valentino. Wicked Grounds is the San Francisco’s first and only kink cafe and boutique, and it’s located in the beautiful and historic South of Market district, at 289 8th Street near the fabled Folsom Street. (FYI, the event is from 2-5… but I’ll be cutting out at 4, so if you want to say Hi, show up by 4.)
Here’s some more details:
Wicked Grounds invites you to join us for an afternoon social that you do not want to miss, a gathering of local artists, writers and comic creators coming together at San Francisco’s first and only Kink Cafe, Wicked Grounds, located at 289 8th Street @ Folsom in San Francisco at 2:00 PM, Saturday January 30th.
So please join Justin Hall, Tristan Crane, Ted Naifeh, Storm, Greta Christina, Serena Valentino, and the lovelies at Wicked Grounds, to have a cup of tea or coffee as well as some of their other scrumptious offering while you sample our creative wares Saturday, Jan 30th. We will all have an assortment of our work available for purchase, and we will of course be available to sign them, that is, if you fancy that sort of thing.
Justin Hall is an award-winning comic book creator best known for his series True Travel Tales, Glamazonia the Uncanny Super Tranny, and the gay porn Hard To Swallow Comics. His work has appeared in the Houghton Miflin Best American Comics, Boy Trouble, Best Erotic Comics, and the S.F. Bay Guardian, among others.
STORM is a San Francisco based writer, artist, oracle & doll shaman. He sells funny books at the Isotope Comic Book Lounge & reads X-Men Tarot at Swankety Swank. His one of a kind art dolls and mini-comic Princess Witch Boy are for sale at etsy.com. STORM believes that in a perfect world, Iman would have played Ororo Munroe in the movies. Visit his blog.
Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past ten years with her work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales published with SLG Publishing. Nightmares & Fairy Tales: 1140 Rue Royale has earned her critical acclaim in both the comic and horror domain, where she is known for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty and extraordinary female protagonists. Among her other projects, Serena is currently writing a horror screenplay with writer/director Phil Flores (of the Butcher Brothers), as well as three new graphic novels, Enchanted, Blackbird the Pirate Queen and Hells Café and has writtena novel for young adults for Disney Press based on the Wicked Queen from Snow White entitled Fairest of All, now available in all major bookstores. Visit her website.
Tristan Crane is a San Francisco based writer and photographer. Tristan’s writing has appeared in the recent ‘Comic book Tattoo’ project from Image comics, his first book ‘How Loathsome’ was released in 2004 to many reviews and general muttering; a second graphic novel, ‘InVisible’ with artist Rhea Silvan was published by Seven Seas early in 2009. As a photographer, Tristan specializes in erotic portraiture, bondage sessions, documentary-style photojournalism, and enjoys collaborating with a wildly diverse cast of models.
Greta Christina… oh, you know who I am. But here’s my bio for this event: Greta Christina is editor of the annual “Best Erotic Comics” series, published by Last Gasp Books and Comics, where she has worked for seven years. She has been writing about sex since 1989, and has had sex writing appear in numerous magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including Ms., Penthouse, On Our Backs, AlterNet, and three volumes of “Best American Erotica.” She blogs about sex, atheism, politics, and other polite dinner- table topics at the cleverly- named Greta Christina’s Blog.
After making a name for himself drawing Serena Valentino’s Gloomcookie in 1999, TED NAIFEH went on to produce several popular all ages comics. The spooky adventure series Courtney Crumrin follows a grumpy little girl whose great uncle Aloysius draws her into a dark world of witchcraft and creatures that go bump in the night. Courtney Crumrin has been optioned by Dreamworks to be made into a motion picture. Polly and the Pirates tells the tale of prim and proper Polly Pringle, who gets kidnapped by pirates, only to discover her own natural, possibly inherited propensity for swashbuckling. Ted also lent his artistic skills to a comic adaptation of the videogame Death Junior, about a little boy whose father is the Grim Reaper. More importantly, Ted co-wrote and illustrated How Loathsome with Tristan Crane. A stylish, sexy exploration of the alternative lifestyle underground of San Francisco, How Loathsome explores gender, community, and how they affect identity. Currently, Ted is illustrating The Good Neighbors, an urban fantasy YA graphic novel series by New York Times best-selling author Holly Black, about a teenage girl who realizes that she’s half faerie. Volume 3 of the series will appear in October, 2010.
Hope to see you there!
Greta in Indiana, Speaking About Atheism and Sex
I’m going to be doing one of the most awesome speaking gigs in the history of awesomeness. I’ll be in Indiana in February, speaking about atheism and sexuality: at Purdue University, and the University of Indiana. I am gobsmacked. I couldn’t have come up with a better dream gig if I’d tried.
Here’s the skinny on the Purdue gig:
Atheism and Sexuality
Hour lecture followed by Q&A
Free, open to public
The sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex God does and doesn’t want people to have. And while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. What are some atheist alternatives to these views? How can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in God? And how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?
Friday, February 5, 2010
5:30pm – 7:00pm
WTHR 172
560 Oval Dr
West Lafayette, IN
The event is being sponsored by the Society of Non-Theists at Purdue University and the Purdue Queer Student Union.
The Indiana University gig is happening on Thursday, February 4; but the details are still to be determined. I’ll announce the when and where as soon as I have it. If you’re in Indiana, I hope to see you there!
Greta Reading at Perverts Put Out, Sat. 1/9
I’m going to be doing a reading tomorrow (Saturday) at the San Francisco sex reading series of song and story, Perverts Put Out. It’ll be me plus Meliza Bañales, Sherilyn Connelly, Stephen Elliot, Nabil Hijazi and TedPro, Philip Huang, Kirk Read, Lori Selke, and our genteel hostess Simon Sheppard. It’s at CounterPulse, 1310 Mission Street (at 9th), near the Civic Center BART station in the beautiful and historic South of Market district of San Francisco. Sliding scale of $10-$15. Start time is 7:30, and it tends to fill up and begin more or less on time, so don’t arrive fashionably late. If you’re in San Francisco, come by and say howdy!
Secular Student Alliance Speakers Bureau!
I just got onto the Speaker’s Bureau of the Secular Student Alliance! I’ve been doing public speaking for a long time, and I’m thrilled to have been asked to do it regularly, and something resembling professionally. If you want me to speak to your student group, check out my speaker’s page! Or if you just want to share in the excitement and see the self-aggrandizing things I say when I’m pitching myself as a speaker, check out my speaker’s page!
Most Influential Female Atheist of 2009?
I’m in a poll! Jen at Blag Hag is annoyed that the recent poll voting for the most influential/ outspoken atheists didn’t have any women on the list. So she’s taking a vote for the most influential female atheist of 2009. And I’m on the list!
I’m up against some stiff competition, and it is, as they say, an honor just to be nominated. But if you enjoy silly Interweb polls, go vote! And if you think I’m the most influential female atheist of 2009, go vote for me!