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then distributed copies by hand. Then he was slammed by his own community for doing so... well, read on and learn more about what happened next.

I was honored to interview Berkowitz in early 2009. I really love it when I get the chance to talk to boundary-breaking activists who were around before I was born, especially if their domain is sexuality. I feel a combination of both exhilaration and despair during these discussions -- exhilaration because I learn how far we've come, and despair because I can see how we keep making the same mistakes again and again and again.

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Interview with Richard Berkowitz, Star of Sex Positive and Icon of Safer Sex Activism

Our second film at my awesome sex-positive film series was Sex Positive, a fascinating documentary about the history of safer sex. I'll be honest: I was psyched about Sex Positive from day one, long before I'd even seen it. It was the first film I chose for my film list. In fact, the whole idea for the film series came out of a conversation I had with Lisa (our lovely Hull-House Museum education coordinator) in which I said that I wanted to see Sex Positive, and then added, "There are so many sexuality movies I want to see. You and I should have a regular movie night!" She looked at me and said thoughtfully, "You know, I bet people besides us would come to that...."

Sex Positive tells the story of Richard Berkowitz -- and how he was one of the first to spread the word about safer sex in America. Berkowitz, a talented writer, started out as a hot-blooded participant in the promiscuous gay bathhouse culture; later, he became an S&M hustler (i.e., a sex worker). When AIDS started decimating the gay community, Berkowitz was instrumental in teaching his community (and the world) about safer sex. As it became clear to some medical professionals that sexual promiscuity spread AIDS, Berkowitz tried to tell the world about their findings. But there was a huge backlash against him -- because in those days, the promiscuous bathhouse culture was seen by many gay men as a huge part of identifying as gay and sex-positive... and anyone who argued against it, or tried to modify it, was therefore cast by many people as sex-negative.

After we screened Sex Positive, I reviewed it on my blog, and Richard Berkowitz himself read the review! He left a comment offering feedback, and I was so thrilled and honored to hear from him that I emailed him right away. We talked a little bit, and met in person last time I was in New York City -- and I practically begged him to let me interview him by email. Here's the results: a discussion of Richard's history with S&M; what he thinks about advocacy; his feelings about the gay community and its history; and where he finds himself in his life right now.

Clarisse Thorn: In Sex Positive, you mention that you didn't initially think of yourself as a BDSM type, but that you had partners who convinced you to do it. Do you think you would have gotten into BDSM if you hadn't had partners pressuring you to do it? Do you think you would have gotten into it if you hadn't been able to make money at it?

Richard Berkowitz: I was filmed talking in three- to four-hour sessions over the course of a year about difficult, often painful, personal history. At times I felt uncomfortable, I

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