SAN FRANCISCO - Education-centric novelty retailer Good Vibrations has announced the development of public education campaign, Women like Me, to address topics related to women's sexuality and wellness.
"During our 30th anniversary year, Good Vibes continues our tradition of bringing valuable resources, accurate information, and excellent products and services," said Theresa Sparks, Good Vibrations' president and chief executive officer, in announcing the new campaign. "Women Like Me is the latest in a 30-year journey of sexual exploration and freedom that we see not only as our mission, but our responsibility."
Women Like Me is developing a new website that will feature resources in a variety of formats, including product recommendations, discussion forums, columns, online classes, and special events, all geared toward educating a diverse female demographic.
"The Women Like Me program allows us to reach out to women whose life circumstances affect their sexuality, but whose first priority may not be to their own pleasure," Carol Queen, Good Vibrations' staff sexologist, told ANB. "Since health and other life issues can affect sex negatively, and a positive sex life is so healing, it seemed a natural way to speak to women about well-being in a way that embraces and includes eroticism."
The program is being created along with community groups, health-care providers, and women's health organizations-such as the Lyon-Martin Health Services, a nonprofit that offers women's health care and outreach services.
"‘Women Like Me' stands to become a landmark program," said Dr. Dawn S. Harbatkin, the medical/executive director for Lyon-Martin Health Services and one of the advisers helping to launch Women Like Me. "I am delighted to be involved and to lend my voice to this initiative. I am going to encourage all of my patients to make use of the informative articles and resource lists, as well as the interactive workshops and discussion groups offered. As this innovative program unfolds, I look forward to seeing the difference it will make in their lives."
The website for the Women Like Me program is in its final stages of development and will be the hub for many of these endeavors. The launch topic for the program is "menopause," followed by a wide variety of other subjects, from body image to dealing with disability and sex.
"New media technologies will play a key role in the delivery of Women Like Me services," said Betty Sullivan, Good Vibrations director of special projects and content. "Included will be a new website with resource articles and features such as ‘Ask the Doc,' an interactive column that allows participants to submit questions and receive a sexologist's or medical adviser's response."
Women Like Me will be working in conjunction with many groups for web programming, including the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, GVTV (Good Vibes' YouTube channel), as well as entertainment personalities and online participants. Also involved in the project are the California Pacific Medical Center; Quan Yin Healing Arts Center through its Women's Community Clinic; the National Center for Lesbian Rights; and the Center for Sex and Culture, to name a few.
