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. ok oe 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