Pleasure Pie in 2023

This year has been a lot. At times, it has been despair-inducing, and other times it's been heartwarming. Pretty much all the time, it has been hectic and I've been spread too thin. But it has also been so rewarding.

A recent highlight for me was yesterday when I showed my internet friend in Gaza the zine I made of his words about the war. He responded, "Thank you Nicole, no words will describe how it means to do that for me."

While Pleasure Pie mainly focuses on sexual freedom, we know that sexual freedom can't exist without basic safety and freedom. Since the situation in Gaza is so urgent, I've been putting most of my attention recently on using Pleasure Pie as a platform for pushing for the violence to end.

This has mainly looked like calling my representatives, attending protests, boycotting complicit companies, and encouraging others to do the same. And those things are important. But Pleasure Pie is a tiny drop in the bucket of the effort to put a stop to Israel's violence. And having the opportunity to impact one person in Gaza who is living through this war in a much larger way feels very special and meaningful to me.

Here are some of our other highlights from 2023:

January:

• Created the Affirming Therapists for Circumcision-Related Trauma directory

February:

• Hosted the Reproductive Justice Salon, which showcased the expertise of seven Boston-area community members on reproductive justice related topics and raised $1,381 for abortion funds
• Made a new tiny zine about abortion pills
• Hosted our (sometimes) annual Sex-Postiive Valentines Swap

March:

• I can't think of anything very noteworthy that we did in March ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• We did do some private workshops and stuff though

April:

• Redesigned the cover for the Healing From a Bad Breakup zine

May:

• Held a Sex-Positive Zine Making Workshop for the Somerville Public Library (our first ever public library workshop, which was followed by several more throughout the year!)
• Coordinated the installation of a Take-a-Zine, Leave-a-Zine stand in Somerville, MA

June:

• Made the How To Make a Queer Zine zine
• Made the What Does Queer Mean? zine
• Designed a new pride shirt
• Had our Instagram account taken down because of "soliciting sex" (and later wrote this guide to navigating social media censorship)
  
  

July:

• Hosted the Abortion Saves Lives: Abortion Care Basket Making event with Planned Parenthood
• Released the Abortion Saves Lives (& Other Things You Should Know About Reproductive Justice) zine

August:

• Revamped our "free sex education" flyers and posted them around various cities (especially Salem, MA)
• Got our Instagram account reinstated after two months of wondering whether that would ever happen
  
  

September:

• Brought our zines to NYC for Sex Ed A Go Go
  
  

October:

• Started the Pleasure Pie Zine Club, so people can sign up to get a new zine from us in the mail each month (partly to give ourselves accountability to make zines regularly)

November:

• Hosted the Sex Salon, which featured eight presentations by local sexperts
• Made the How To Say No: A Guide To Listening To Your Gut in Sex & Life workbook zine
• Made the Postpartum Plan You Should've Gotten zine in collaboration with Thanks for Nothing, Body!
• Remade our long-defunct zine, A Few Things Everyone Should Know About Sex, as a fully illustrated and handwritten mini zine

December:

• Brought our zines to Montreal for Expozine, one of the largest zine fests in North America
• Made the We [Palestinians] Are Not Going Away zine (here is the free PDF in case you want to print it)
• Designed the A Gazan Young Man Dreams of a Peaceful Death zine, written by Mo. Alkrunz in Gaza (here's the free PDF for printing)
• Made the Sex Education in Gaza zine (free PDF)

Throughout the year:

• Gave workshops at colleges, public libraries, and other community spaces on sex-positive zine making, queer zine making, feminist zine making, and sex-positive activism
• Brought our sex-positive zines, art, and other creations to lots of local community events, including pride festivals, craft markets, trans conferences, and more
• Gave our zines out to local college students and community members for free through our new resource tables
• Donated dozens of our zines to zine libraries around the country
• Folded about a bajillion tiny zines
• Put out monthly issues of Boston's Sex-Positive Newsletter to help the local community connect to the sexual justice movement
• Published monthly sex-positive book reviews in Boston's Sex-Positive Newsletter
• Shared educational content on social media about sexual freedom, consent, and Palestinian liberation

Thank you for all your support this year! I am so grateful to have a supportive community.

Yours,
Nicole