The Woodhull Freedom Foundation, also known as Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance, is an American

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

founded in 2003 that advocates for sexual freedom as a fundamental

human right Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

. The organization is based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States. Named after an influential member of the American woman's

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

movement, Victoria Woodhull, its focus includes analyzing groups and individuals that seek to perpetuate a culture of

sexual repression Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own sexuality or sexual orientation. Sexual repression can be caused by an emotional conflict, in which a person feels guilt, shame, or distress regarding their ...

. Sexual Freedom Day, officially recognized in 2011 in Washington, DC, and held every September 23, celebrates the birthday of Victoria Woodhull. The Woodhull Freedom Foundation (WFF) has held the Sexual Freedom Summit annually since 2010. Organization members have included

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

activist

Jeffrey Montgomery Jeffrey Montgomery (May 9, 1953 – July 18, 2016) was an American LGBTQ activist and public relations executive. In 1984, his partner, Michael, was shot to death outside a Detroit gay bar, prompting Montgomery to engage in LGBT advocacy. H ...

, former chairwoman of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

Mary Frances Berry, writer Eric Rofes, lawyer Lawrence G. Walters, and activist Dan Massey. In the furtherance of activities relating to its goals, the organization has allied itself with groups including the

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the mission of protecting freedom of speech on col ...

, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, the Tully Center for Free Speech at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

National Coalition Against Censorship The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is a New York–b ...

, the

Heartland Institute The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking. Founded ...

National Association of Scholars The National Association of Scholars (NAS) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit politically conservative education advocacy organization. It advocates against multiculturalism, diversity policies, and against courses focused on race and gender i ...

, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, Accuracy in Academia, and the

American Council of Trustees and Alumni The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is an American non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that t ...

. An

academic paper Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes Research, academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or Thesis, theses. The part of academic written output that is n ...

in the ''

Journal of Homosexuality The ''Journal of Homosexuality'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research into sexual practices and gender roles in their cultural, historical, interpersonal, and modern social contexts. History The founding editor-in-chief was Ch ...

'' characterized the organization as one "that addresses both international and national sexual freedom issues as well as a host of other health and human rights issues."

History

Foundation: 2003

The organization was founded in 2003 with the name Woodhull Freedom Foundation. It began with a focus on global and domestic human rights, specifically looking at sexual freedom. It is named for Victoria Woodhull (18381927), the first woman to own a company on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

and to run for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Its focus includes examining the stakeholders that maintain a climate of

. The organization releases an annual report in September on "Sexual Freedom Day" called the "State of Sexual Freedom", which describes goals towards increasing sexual freedom. Woodhull's public relations representative

told the ''

Washington Blade The ''Washington Blade'' is an LGBTQ newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the '' Philadelphia Gay News'' and the '' Gay City New ...

'' that their goals intersected with human rights: "Woodhull is the organization at the intersection of all sexual freedom issues because of the common core value of fundamental human rights. ... Without sexual freedom all personal freedoms are at risk." Woodhull tracks laws and regulations pertaining to sexual activity in the United States.

Early activities: 2004–2009

In 2004, Woodhull joined with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in devoting resources towards analyzing old regulations used to harass

people. The purpose of the study was to analyze existing regulations in the United States with regards to sexual activity, and simultaneously to foster ties between those against sexual repression and LGBT organizations. In 2005, Woodhull again coordinated with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in order to organize an event known as "Red, White and Leather for Independence Day", in which over 30 leather bars in 17 cities took part. Writer Eric Rofes served on the board of Woodhull before passing away in 2006. In 2007, its Sexual Freedom Day was commemorated with a discussion group examining the idea of sexual freedom as a segment of human rights. Sexual Freedom Day took place in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, as the first event of its kind on October 6, 2007 and included "a fund raiser featuring the Peek-a-Boo Revue and DJ Johanna Constantine and DJ Roots and Groove." 2011 Vicki Sexual Freedom Award recipients

2011 Vicki Sexual Freedom Award recipients

In July 2008, when the

American Family Foundation The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is a non-profit educational and anti-cult organization. It publishes the ''International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation'', "ICSA Today", and other materials. History ICSA was fo ...

called for a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

boycott after the fast food restaurant said it would join the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Woodhull's executive director announced a "buycott" asking those interested in supporting the restaurant to purchase additional meals. Woodhull joined with the

and other groups in 2009 on an

amici curiae An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amicu ...

brief before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in the case, '' Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations''.alternate link
/ref> On November 29, 2009, the Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend (CLAW) organized a leather dance reception in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, so as to raise money for charitable purposes to assist the activities of Woodhull.

Recent work: 2010–present

The organization gave its 2010 Victoria Woodhull Sexual Freedom Award on September 23 of that year to Kushaba Moses Mworeko, an individual from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

who sought asylum in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

due to his

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

. Author Hardy Haberman was a board member of Woodhull in 2011. On November 17, 2011, Woodhull worked with the DC Trans Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, Gender Rights Maryland, Get Equal DC, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS), the Rainbow Response Coalition, and Transgender Health Empowerment to form a coalition sponsoring a "Transgender Day of Action" in

, that highlights examples of mistreatment of

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

people by

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. The event served as a precursor to the

Transgender Day of Remembrance The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually from its inception on November 20 to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. The ...

which followed on November 20. In January 2012, the organization joined with other groups including the Tully Center for Free Speech at

, the

, Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, Feminists for Free Expression, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, Accuracy in Academia, and the

to send a letter asking the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

Office for Civil Rights The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights laws prohibiting schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex ...

to use the precedent of the 1999 ''Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education'' case to apply a definition of

harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...

for academic institutions (so as not to harm

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

). In 2012,

Buck Angel Buck Angel (born June 5, 1962) is an American sex educator and former pornographic film actor and producer. He founded the media production company Buck Angel Entertainment. Angel is a transgender man. Angel served on the board of directors o ...

served on the organization's Board of Directors of the organization, and

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

Megan Andelloux served as an advisory board member. Lawrence G. Walters was the

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for Woodhull in 2012. On June 28, 2018, attorneys for Woodhull filed the first legal challenge to the unconstitutional SESTA/FOSTA legislation. According to Ricci Levy, President & CEO of Woodhull, "FOSTA chills sexual speech and harms sex workers. It makes it harder for people to take care of and protect themselves". In August 2019, Woodhull'
Sexual Freedom Summit celebrated
its 10th anniversary.

Reception

by Susan Wright in the ''

'' about those who faced

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

due to

sadomasochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...

(SM) described Woodhull as an organization "that addresses both international and national sexual freedom issues as well as a host of other health and human rights issues." Wright noted Woodhull dedicates its focus towards changing regulations and existing laws.

Vicki Sexual Freedom Awards

2022 * Shanna Katz Kattarri * Al Vernacchio 2020 * Cyndee Clay * Joan Price 2019 * Kate Kendell * Nadine Smith 2018 * Caroline Bettinger-López * Mia Mingus 2017 * Willie J. Parker, MD, MPH, MSc * Loretta J. Ross 2016 * Megan Andelloux *

Kenyon Farrow Kenyon Farrow (born November 13, 1974) is an American writer, activist, director, and educator focused on progressive racial and economic justice issues related to the LGBT, LGBTQ community. He served as the executive director of Queers for Econ ...

* Carol Leigh * Dr.Scout 2015 * John D'Emilio * Diego Miguel Sanchez * Monica Raye Simpson 2014 * Carol Queen * Cory Silverberg * Pam Spaulding 2013 * Nobel Peace Prize nominee Mandy Carter * Heather Corinna * Matt Foreman 2012 * Amber Hollibaugh *

* Dr.

Esther Perel Esther Perel (; born August 13, 1958) is a Belgian-American psychotherapist, known for her work on human relationships. Perel promoted the concept of "erotic intelligence" in her book ''Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence'' (2006), ...

2011 *

Ajamu Baraka Ajamu Sibeko Baraka ( ; born October 25, 1953) is an American political activist. In 2016, he was the Green Party nominee for Vice President of the United States on the ballot in 45 states and received 1,457,216 votes (1.07% of the popular vote) ...

* First Amendment attorney Robert (Bob) Corn-Revere * Carmen Vasquez 2010 * Deborah Taj * Bina Aspen *

Martine Rothblatt Martine Aliana Rothblatt is an American lawyer, author, and entrepreneur. Rothblatt graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with J.D. and M.B.A. degrees in 1981, then began to work in Washington, D.C., first in the field of communic ...

* Kushaba "Moses" Mworenko * Susan Wright

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Freedom of speech, LGBTQ, Human sexuality, United States Sexuality in the United States Civil liberties in the United States Privacy organizations Human rights organizations based in the United States Charities based in Washington, D.C.