About

The Nectarine Project is a sex positive research, advocacy, and lobbying group that’s trying to make the world be a bit more chill about sexuality.

The Nectarine Project was founded in April of 2021 by Clare Bayley out of her Harvard Fellowship. It’s a new experimental thing, so we’re still just trying stuff to see what works.

What do we do?

  • Research on how we got to where we are
    • Analyses of historical court cases and legislation
    • Analyses of modern sexual content policies
  • Lobby for improvements to government and company policies, with goals like:
    • Repeal SESTA/FOSTA
    • Stop sexual content from getting banned on social media
    • Stop the harassment and removal of sex workers from internet platforms
  • Raise awareness and get people talking about the full, complicated, beautiful, terrible, nature of human sexuality

What does “sex positive” mean, exactly?

Great question. The phrase was first coined in the early 20th century, and has been defined in many different (sometimes opposing) ways over the years. After much thought and feedback and tweaking, here is the definition we like to use:

Sex Positivity is the idea that all forms of consensual sexual activity involving adults can be celebrated.

This includes, but is not limited to: straight sex, gay sex, sex work, abstinence, BDSM, masturbation, monogamy, and polyamory.

A sex-positive world is one in which all people are comfortable with their own unique sexuality, have set their own healthy boundaries, and can communicate about sex without fear or shame. In this world, everyone has access to accurate information and supportive communities, and groups such as families, schools, and internet platforms make space for this to happen.

Sex is an integral part of human society, and repressing it leads to real harm to both individuals and communities. Sex itself can be used to harm, and many people have very complicated relationships with sex and sexual desire – these things too deserve talking about.

The full, diverse, reality of sexuality deserves respect and inclusion in social discourse.