Nina Hartley to Speak at Mindshare July 15

LOS ANGELES—Adult performer and sex-positive activist Nina Hartley will give a presentation at this week’s Mindshare Los Angeles event, which will take place July 15 at Club 740.

Mindshare is a novel project begun by two designers “to explore new forms of community for the internet generation. A key theme is the value of attention as our world becomes saturated with information. The brand promise is to service curiosity and to help provide a sense of belonging in one of America's iconic cities.”

Established in 2006, Mindshare periodically puts on live events at which an eclectic group of speakers and presenters are invited to talk about what they do before an equally eclectic audience that has grown organically over the years.

The July 15 program is representative of Mindshare’s diversity. It includes:  

Frances Arnold, a professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering and biochemistry at CalTech, is taking Darwinism into the future by researching and designing evolution algorithms to fuel a process of “directed evolution.” Arnold will speak about Molecular Sex and How to Construct Things You Don’t Understand.

Eduardo Caccia, is a self-described "Any Possibility Officer" at Mindcode, a company he founded with the objective to maximize brand value for clients by revealing an innate, profound understanding of their markets. Caccia will be discussing The Cultural Code as source of innovation.

Hear Me, a non-profit organization aiming to create an international online network where orphans and other marginalized children can collaborate to create music—gaining friends and creative skills in the process.

Mileece is a sonic artist who uses bio-emissions from plants to create dynamic soundscapes through a unique process called aesthetic sonification (replaying data through sound waves). July’s Mindsharians can witness aesthetic sonification in action with musical plants from Mileece’s recent installation, “Soniferous Eden,” at the See Line Gallery in West Hollywood.

Nina Hartley (NSFW) is the feminist author of Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex and one of the most recognizable adult film stars of the past three decades. Hartley will discuss the sex-positive feminist idea of sexual freedom as a key component of female freedom and equality.

Jamye Waxman, a sex educator, writer and sometime contributor to AVN, also will be at the Thursday Mindshare event, holding down a booth where she will be offering sex advice to anyone who wants to sit down and ask.

“I'm hoping Nina will join me for a bit,” she told AVN.

Hartley told AVN that Kyra Reed—her partner in her new social network community, SexWise.ME—told her about Mindshare and helped set it up. She said she planned to talk about the need for people to experience a “radical self-acceptance” of their sexuality, and sent along the following copy that explains what she will focus on at Mindshare.

"Imagine how it would feel if you felt no shame or fear about your sexuality,” it reads. “If the thought of sex brought only good feelings and memories instead of worry, judgment, avoidance or withdrawal, how much energy would that free up in your life that could be used for other, more useful things? It's entirely possible for sex to be a 100% positive force in your life without your having to do anything differently except accept your sexual self for what it is. Come listen to world-renowned sex entertainer and educator Nina Hartley as she explains Radical Self-Acceptance as it pertains to sex, sexuality and sexual expression."

For more information about Mindshare, visit here.