National Sexlife Journal

 Nina Arsenault: Transcending the Transsexual Identity
by Peter Berton

To describe Toronto’s Nina Arsenault as a ‘transsexual artist’ is akin to calling Chateau Lafite Rothschild a ‘Bordeaux wine’. Although both descriptions are technically accurate, they are woefully inadequate understatements.

In Nina’s case, she has taken her male-to-female transition as the starting point of an multidisciplinary artistic career that has won her iconic status. In doing so, she has transcended that transition to learn far more about herself and the world than she expected.

The federal government has challenged a case brought before the Supreme Court of Canada by Vancouver representatives Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against Violence (SWUAV), arguing that they do not meet the legal requirements for public interest standing. Because the plaintiff, Sheryl Kiselbach, is not being charged with any of the offenses in question and is no longer pursuing sex work, it can be argued that her rights are not being deprived.

On Jan 21, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue in Winnipeg will become the first conservative synagogue in Canada to sanction a same-sex marriage under its roof.

The synagogue started reaching out to Winnipeg’s LGBTQ community in 2007, announcing a three year process of lifting barriers between gender and sexual minorities and synagogue participation.

Same-sex couples would be allowed to be buried beside each other, be eligible for family memberships at the synagogue, and to hold commitment ceremonies and eventually marriages.

 A Look Into the Tgirl World, Courtesy of TS Sunshine’s Blog
by Peter Berton

Sex news, wit, and advice for first-time tgirl lovers: You’ll find it all in TS Sunshine’s blog. Found on this Calgary tgirl escort’s website at blog.ts-sunshine.ca, Sunshine’s blog is thought-provoking, fun, and erotic.

SexLifeCanada.ca recently asked Sunshine why she got into the blog business – and why the website that accompanies it is so classy:

Someone to keep in mind when your New Years resolution starts to feel too hard to keep: the Winnipeg radio DJ who went an entire year without sex.

Marcel ‘No Sex’ Williams of the hip hop station 104.7 Streetz FM resolved to give up sex last New Years as a publicity stunt but plans to carry it into 2012. Williams says the experience helped him to understand “the value of saving yourself for somebody else” and has started speaking to youth about abstinence.

As for me, I think I’d rather quit smoking.

Canadians who fail to disclose their HIV-positive status to sexual partners shouldn’t face jail time, according to Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Montaner says that new drug cocktails have reduced the viral load for people with the virus to undetectable and reported in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal that a randomized trial saw a 96 percent decrease in transmission risk.

Open letter to the Canadian Polyamory Community
From the CPAA representative at the Constitutional Reference court case

Hello everyone:

It has been two weeks since the Polygamy Reference court decision was released by Chief Justice Baumann of the BC Supreme Court. I have thought a great deal about the case since then, and communicated with lawyers and people in our legal team about how that decision affects the members of the Canadian polyamory community.

I cannot say enough good things about this mini vibe.

It was one of my first and I have repurchased it twice. It is my favourite for so many reasons.

First, it is one of the most versatile toys I have ever owned. I have used it alone, during oral, and during penetrative sex.

Second, I love that it attaches to your finger, so you don’t have to worry about losing your grip on it during playtime.

 The BC Supreme Court issued a ruling today that affects the sex-positive community in Canada. The court held that the vaguely worded 120 year old law prohibiting polygamous marriage, and originally aimed at patriarchal religious sects like those at Bountiful BC, does not apply to cohabiting polyamorous families in common law relationships.

This is a big relief to the polyamorous community in Canada. Prior to the court case the poorly worded law could have been interpreted as prohibiting any family with more than two adults.