Body Electric Community by Tom Kovach
What does community mean for you? I think of support and sharing experiences with people I have something in common with. I feel a bond; I’m lifted up and energized by those around me — and when the circle is healthy, I see growth in myself and in my fellow members. Just think of those times when you felt drained or down, and coming together with your people was like taking a deep, soulful breath.
The Body Electric community is a warm, welcoming, inclusive, and embodied group of folx on their erotic journey to self-discovery. I have so often felt drained by the day, until I met with BE people and left feeling so recharged. Has that happened to you?
To facilitate that experience for us all, I am thrilled to announce that we are launching a new social media platform exclusively for BE members and alumni. The platform is called CommUnity and will help us do many things that Body Electricians have asked for.
Furthering the connection within the BE community has been a long-standing goal. Currently, we have post-workshop groups for workshops like Rekindling the Communal Heart, Dear Love of Comrades, and CBE for All Genders using Google Groups. These groups are crucial not only for connection but also for aftercare. The new platform will let us set up groups for workshops, cities, regions, fetishes, and any other interests for private groups.
The format is very similar to Facebook or FetLife without the restrictions you find on FB or the need to pay for an upgrade on FetLife. The database has an optional search feature for those who allow aspects of their profiles to be searchable. For instance, if I wanted to find Body Electricians in New York City or Dallas, I could connect with locals who choose to be found. Interests can also be searchable — for example, sacred intimates, eco-sensuality, yoga, and camping.
The platform will have a resource section with videos and documents; this is where we can have our BE Archive, which I mentioned in the last newsletter. Other offerings will include a section for the BE Board minutes, annual reports, and resources from our JEDI committee and forums.
CommUnity will also host events, discussion forums, resource guides, a BE Video section, and much more. We want this platform to help members of the BE circle stay connected with one another. To do this, we will need volunteers to help moderate the groups and improve the platform. If you are interested, please get in touch with me.
We hope to have this launched by the first of November, and we will announce its grand opening — along with special content only available on the platform — via email. We think you will love it and get a lot out of it. We look forward to seeing you there.
Tom Kovach
Interim Executive Director
Introduction to Body Electric Facilitation Invitation Video
BE’s New Erotic Liberation Podcast by Craig Cullinane
What is erotic liberation? How do we achieve it? What is its value in the world?
We ask all the guests on Body Electric’s new Erotic Liberation Podcast to complete the sentence “Erotic liberation is…” Here’s some of what we’ve heard:
“Erotic liberation is… the ability for all people in all bodies to feel pleasure and joy.”
“Erotic liberation is… our ultimate gift of being in our bodies in this lifetime.”
“Erotic liberation is… a return to love that includes every cell of our bodies.”
BE launched the Erotic Liberation Podcast in June. Hosted by me and Board member Gabriela Love, each hour-long episode is an exploration of sex, eroticism, healing, transformation, and emancipation.
In episode 5, for instance, trans educator and activist Lucie Fielding explores the “somatic-imaginal,” which is experienced in the embodied psyche and communicates through internal body sensation images or internal body movement-images. In episode 4, Lui Gervais shares with us from his wonderful book, “The Nipple Whisperer,” talking about his adventures in pleasure, sacred intimacy, and nipples! And in episode 8, sex therapist and pleasure activist Don Shewey recounts his experiences in the early years of Body Electric, when it was a burgeoning queer erotic organization offering sacred intimacy training to the world.
All our guests, from both within and outside the BE community, offer our listeners insights into their personal journeys of healing and transformation, how they welcome pleasure, and how they teach and educate about the liberating power of Eros.
We release two new episodes the third week of every month. You can find the podcast on the Body Electric website (www.bodyelectric.org), on Spotify, or on Apple Podcasts. Check it out!