Holy canoli! There was a whole lot of Twittering going on at the GMHS in Seattle this past weekend. I took some time to try to reconstruct the fabulous / amazing / mind-blowing Twittering dialogue that happened during my presentation on bottom identity. For the unfamiliar, Twitter is basically something like a mini-blog that people update from their handheld phones. At the GMHS, people have been coordinating activities and giving feedback on sessions during the actual sessions. It's really something to watch happen.

You'll notice that there are, like, eight people Twittering below. Some were in the workshop. Some were in other workshops. And others weren't even at the Summit! Mindblowing. They're roughly reconstructed chronologically, in reverse order. So the beginning of the workshop is at the bottom. So to speak :)

kaijson: @harveymilk or do they - poz bttms and their diff way of compt bttmhood - still to be discovered

harveymilk: Positive bottoms have a different way of contemplating bottomhood.

Tank1275: sexual behaviour is fluid, I started life as a small bubbling brook, then became a stream before widening to the sea

harveymilk: RT @u761508: @harveymilk he could look at the fluidity of sexual practice layered on ascribed or assumed identity (that seems more rigid)

u761508: @harveymilk Trevor's research could look at the fluidity of sexual practice layered on ascribed or assumed identity (that seems more rigid)

Tank1275: I think sexual story telling is one of my great pleasures, especially on lifelube.org

harveymilk: Alex: there is a need for gay men to tell a story about their sexual identity. Story telling as an access to some of these issues.

Kripalu: also used to think tops "could" be straight if they liked to fuck hole

ATG: @Kripalu I would agree! The subtle texture of "bottom-top," whatever these terms means for people, has changed.

Tank1275: as a top there is a pressure to be perpetually hard and fuck for hours, which can be challenging

harveymilk: @kaijson au contraire, I love all of your comments.

harveymilk: Alex: there is a need for gay men to tell a story about there sexual identity. Story telling as an access to some of these issues.

kaijson: @harveymilk did you find my comment too aggressive?

Kripalu: @harveymilk it used to be more about power. Now it's relational if those are different

jimberly: I am not there, but nothing new about power and aggression belonging to the bottom

Kripalu: I do find myself more confident and relaxed as bottom

harveymilk: @atg I love that @tank1275 is in the next room and tweeting on two workshops at the same time. He is versatile!

ATG: @Tank1275 @harveymilk Truly wish I was there with y'all!

harveymilk: Bottom identity allows people to understand some similarities.

Kripalu: As "vers/ bottom" I was interested in exploring less than 100 percent bottom

Kripalu: I have prejudice against power bottoms

harveymilk: @kripalu for some, bottoming is default, but in context can change. Hoppe: relational identities.

harveymilk: @kripalu is speaking Yay! Curious that nothing came up about versatility.

jimberly: Got it

Kripalu: @jimberly 18

harveymilk: @jimberly I came in late, but I seem to remember it is a smallish sample... qualitative starter project, leading into his dissertation.

jimberly: How big was sample?

harveymilk: @Tank1275 what if you want to get out of your mind during sex? just wondering....

Tank1275: @jimberly @harveymilk lots change roles depending on many factors and the top-bttm dynamic creates hierachies which undermine us

Kripalu: when my friend thanks me for servicing him, I always say "no, thank you"

kaijson: we need positive bottom studies.

harveymilk: request for same study of HIV poz bottoms or HIV neg tops, or other variations...

ATG: @harveymilk Oh, another good one in addition to heteronormative is gendernormative. I use both liberally. :-D

kaijson: "maybe there is a difference in identifying in being a bottom and being a bottom"

kaijson: i am blown away that someone would suggest that b/c this data is not replicatable we shouldnt be doing it...

jimberly: Lots of men don't identify

kaijson: these question must start to being asked

jimberly: Curious as to why bottoming is ironic

harveymilk: @jimberly re:ironic perhaps "taking it" as a bottom is not sexist/heteronormative, but an ironic parody of the hetero version... (my words)

kaijson: are people really being honest about describing their sexual likes and desires

ATG: Well then. Ahem. LOVE LOVE LOVING @harveymilk's Twitterstream from the "Gay" "Men's" Health Summit! I just love HM! *mwah* #gmhs08

kaijson: people being scared about stating on paper or in dialgue what they really like -

harveymilk: True True @jimberly, the crowd is really digging into the meanings-- very interesting- and perhaps first opportunity for all of them.

kaijson: responses: hetero-normative and sexist

cyberczar: @harveymilk "heteronormative" … I love it!

kaijson: "For the love cum"

kaijson: Trevor suggests it is ALL OVER this work!

kaijson: what does cum mean to gay men?

pozguy75: @kaijson we all have the responsibilty, regardless of position or heirarchy!

kaijson: interesting that the bottom would be the one to initiate the use of the condom - do tops have no responsibility - OR DO WE ALL regardless

kaijson: how can video taping NOT need IRB approval?

kaijson: i am an aggressive bottom - an example narrative being different

kaijson: i love passionate sex...i love...the other kind, that loves your hole, all he wants is just to fuck you, diump his load and leave...interesg

kaijson: ifirst time i heard about his study, this past summer i said he was / is brilliant, and he is!

kaijson: it is a great session.

harveymilk: Experiencing bottom as a celebration of pleasure. What about the irony of bottoming? Not heteronormative/sexist, but different.

kaijson: ...transcending and amazing...w description about a certain tupe of sex that starts beyond the physicality of sex.

harveymilk: Comment from audience: seemed sexist and heteronormative...

kaijson: do bottoms control tops? is there such power issues?

harveymilk: Using relationships as a prevention strategy.

harveymilk: Prevention techniques for bottoms: very clear seroadaptation.

kaijson: im a bottom, not a waitress....

kaijson: in fact, with small focus groups, even if robust dialouge, limiting...how can this be studied on a larger scale? should it

harveymilk: This is such a good session it almost defies tweeting...

kaijson: it truly does take "sex" to a level of intamacy

kaijson: taking the time to understand your partner!

kaijson: Grrrrr.....this is an exmplae of taking control of the questions being asked.

harveymilk: I love the font that Trevor has used in his presentation. Very old-fashioned, like My Weekly Reader.

harveymilk: @kaijson this qualititative focus group work is important for topics that, like this, are unlikely to be funded for study initially.

kaijson: why is this, taking it as feminine

kaijson: "...not about the sensation in my ass, it is about the sensation in my head" really?

kaijson: "sex is just in the head, our head"

kaijson: still in the roots of bootomhood, there seem to be more questions than answers

kaijson: a power exchange going back and forth with it.

kaijson: playing with the power concept.

harveymilk: "Offering up my body to a man physically and mentally" --one description

harveymilk: I am getting to the bottom of bottoms! Trevor Hoppe's workshop.

Kripalu: bottom workshop packed! So to speak