Woodhull Freedom Foundation to Host Virtual Panel Discussion on Censorship, AI, and the Intersection of Sexual Freedom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — October 21, 2025 — Washington, DC

MEDIA ADVISORY – As part of the Censorship Series Program, Woodhull Freedom Foundation to host virtual panel discussion on Censorship, AI, and the Intersection of Sexual Freedom

Event
Censorship, AI, and the Intersection of Sexual Freedom

Date and Time
October 31, 2025 • 12:30 pm ET

Location
Members of the media are invited to register online via Eventbrite 

Description
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how we live, connect, and express ourselves, but what happens when these technologies start shaping our freedoms, too? As AI becomes increasingly intertwined with censorship, surveillance, and bias, its influence reaches deeply into our most personal realms: sexuality, identity, and autonomy. This conversation invites curiosity rather than fear, asking how we can challenge the stigmas and systems that allow technology to impact our sexual freedom. Together, we’ll explore how AI can both threaten and expand human possibility and how reimagining our relationship with it might open the door to a more liberated digital future.

Panelists

• Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason is an Assistant Research Professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park SHe is the also the author of the orthcoming book, FemTech: AI, Digital Health Technologies, and the Corporate Construction of Disease which examines how the history of women’s health informs the design and politics of today’s digital technologies.
• Carly Sheridan is a writer, researcher, and strategist. With an MDes in Responsible AI from ELISAVA (Barcelona School of Design and Engineering), her research focuses on the intersection of technology, sexuality, and identity. It explores how technology can reinforce societal biases, particularly around issues of censorship, representation, and access to online spaces.
• Monique Starr is a sensual artist, journalist, writer, media educator, and sex worker advocate whose work lies at the intersections of sex, kink, media, pop culture, pleasure, and radical justice for fat, Black femmes. A core member of the BIPOC Sex Worker Writers Space (BSWWS), their goal is not only to empower the communities they serve through intersectional and inclusive media making, but also to encourage fellow fat, Black sex workers to use their voice and storytelling as an act of resistance and a catalyst for change.
• Mandy Salley, Woodhull Freedom Foundation (moderator)

Quotes

As someone who has spent decades defending sexual freedom, I’ve seen how every new technology brings both incredible possibilities and profound risks. Artificial intelligence is now shaping not only what we see and say, but also who we are allowed to be. This conversation invites us to look beyond fear and instead imagine how we can shape technology to expand, rather than restrict, our fundamental human right to sexual freedom.

–Ricci Joy Levy, President & CEO, Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Associated links
Fact Checked by Woodhull
Past Censorship Series Recordings

Contacts
Woodhull Freedom Foundation Media Relations
[email protected]

Stay connected
Find more services and information on the Woodhull Freedom Foundation website and follow on social media.

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About Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to change laws, policies, and practices across a range of issues that deny or threaten people’s fundamental human right to sexual freedom.

Founded in 2003 and named for Victoria Woodhull, the 19th-century feminist, activist, and suffragette who fought for the right for women to vote in public elections, the Foundation is the preeminent voice at the intersection of sexual rights and human rights that continues to fight against the tyranny of widespread sexual repression in America. To learn more, visit www.woodhullfoundation.org.

About the Censorship Series Program 

“The Censoring of Sexual Freedom” is a monthly community virtual gathering featuring conversations with free speech experts and activists discussing the threats of censorship to our Democracy and to our daily lives, and to discover actions we can take to stop the attacks. Watch past Censorship Series discussions and learn about upcoming programs here.

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