We are very pleased to announce the seventh biennial meeting of the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society (IASSCS), entitled “Contested Innocence – Sexual Agency in Public and Private Space.” This conference is co-hosted by the Institute for Social Development Studies, the Consultation of Investment in Health Promotion, and Hanoi Medical University in Hanoi, Viet Nam.

IASSCS aims to strengthen the field of social and cultural sexuality research globally. It is committed to building equity in research capacity worldwide, to developing a broad range of research activities, and to strengthening communication among researchers, policy makers and activists.

The 2009 Conference theme will focus on socio-cultural analyses of issues surrounding sexual agency in public and private spaces. Cultural and political belief systems profoundly affect the ways in which sexual knowledge and practices are produced, situated, and represented in society. This theme invites conversations on the interplay of sexual innocence and sexual scandal in the media, of sexual agency in the context of limited public knowledge, and the development of sexual rights, human rights and sexual diversity in a post-colonial context.

The main themes of the conference sessions include, but are not limited to:

• Innocence and scandal: Sexuality and the mass media
• Cyberspace and virtual sexual reality
• Deconstructing sexuality: Public image and private reality
• Diverse sexualities in a globalized world
• Social movements and gender/sexual inequality
• Sexuality across generations: Adolescence to old age
• Socio-political mapping of desires and identities
• Sexual stigma, sexual norms and the regulation of sexuality
• Sexual health, public policy and advocacy
• Sexual-economic exchange
• Family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS

We look forward to the participation of individuals from community-based organizations, policy agencies, and academic institutions.

Sincerely,

2009 IASSCS Conference Committee