NEW YORK CITY — Sex Expo organizers have announced the official show schedule for the annual sexual wellness event, taking place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City Oct. 1-2.
Dubbed “the CES of sexual wellness,” the event is a sex toy and education exposition and conference with a reputation for showcasing the latest innovations in the realm of pleasure. The upcoming edition will feature two full days of seminars, panels and workshops from renowned sexperts like Zoë Ligon, Shadeen Francis, Dr. Nan Wise, Caz Killjoy, Lucy Sweetkill, Cheyenne Davis and Lou Featherstone, among others. In addition to the educational sessions, dozens of pleasure brands will unveil their latest products as well as display perennial bestsellers.
According to organizers, the event is slated to be “a lively weekend of uncensored, inclusive, sex-positive education and fun, all in the name of opening up conversations about how better sex and pleasure can be more accessible for everyone.” A core theme of the event will be the censorship of sexual health information on social media, with several performances, panels and presentations highlighting the issue, including an outdoor rally to be led by sex-positivty activist Lou Featherstone.
The event opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring Featherstone and Chaturbate COO Shirley Lara. Soon after, the seminars and panels will kick off with a lively pegging workshop taught by Pegstress Peggin Tha Stallion. Next, a panel of experts will discuss the latest innovations in sex and intimacy during a session titled, “The Future of Sex: Toys, Tips and Tricks For a New Era of Pleasure.” Moderated by Dr. Nan Wise, it’s bound to leave the audience excited about what’s on the horizon.
From there, sexperts will present on topics such as dating and sex for gender-diverse partners, improving orgasms with biofeedback sex toys and how to send better, more conscious sexts to your partner.
Just after 3 p.m., Cheyenne Davis of Unveild Magazine, a kink and sex-positive publication for Black and brown folks, will moderate a panel diving deep into the coping tactics sex experts and educators are using to evade increasingly draconian censorship practices on social media. The session will focus on the intersections of social media, sex education, sexual wellness and censorship. Previewing the panel, Davis described it as a community conversation meant to underscore “the importance of creating a safer and more inclusive digital environment that is welcoming of sex-based content and content creators.”
A beginner-friendly spanking and impact-play workshop and a G-spot squirting workshop will follow. At 5:30 p.m., Lou Featherstone will deliver the closing address of the day, once again touching upon the issue of censorship and the necessity of freely available sexual health information by sharing her own story dealing with sex and intimacy after menopause. The zany, charismatic 51-year-old Brit will reveal how a few errant dick pics and a box full of vibrators led her to travel around the country in her bus, spreading the gospel of sex-positivity.
On Sunday, the energy will pick right back up with a short workshop on the magic of edging, to start the day. Afterwards, a seminar about the practice of anal wellness will take place, as well as a presentation by April Davis of the Vagina Blog on the latest discoveries about the clitoris and its many capabilities. Acclaimed author, artist, expert and “edutainer” Zoë Ligon will also instruct the audience on the best ways to incorporate sex toys into partnered sex, even for long-distance couples.
At 2:10 p.m., therapist, author and social media sensation Shadeen Francis will take the stage for “Shadeen: Uncensored,” a livestreamed Q&A in which audience members can ask her any questions they like about sex, relationships and intimacy, anonymously or not. As with Lou Featherstone and the rest of Sex Expo’s guest speakers, Francis’ goal is to demystify sex and pleasure and talk about it frankly, without editing out vital information that people need in order to make healthy and informed choices.
Afterwards, a panel discussion titled “The Time for Inclusivity in Sexual Wellness Is Now” will address the need for more inclusivity in the world of sexual health and wellness. This session will provide the audience with practical tools for making their practices, organizations and sexual health ventures more inclusive of people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, body types, abilities and income levels. Moderated by pleasure coach Lidia Bonilla, the session will move past simply calling out the problem and offer real, tangible solutions.
The day will end on a light note with a class on yoga for sexual wellness, taught by Kama Kat Yoga, as well as the requisite class in fellatio for anyone hoping to take the “job” out of “blowjob.”
Chaturbate, Romantic Depot, JimmyJane and Perfect Dimensions are among the premier event sponsors. There will be raffles and contests throughout the show, with Chaturbate giving away a free MacBook Pro to one lucky attendee on Saturday evening, and a Logitech Brio 4K webcam on Sunday night.
For more event information, click here; to view the full show schedule, click here.