Jefferson Poland
Encyclopedia
John Jefferson Poland is the founder of the Sexual Freedom League
, and a registered sex offender
.
with Leo Koch
. He then moved to the San Francisco Bay
Area and focused his organizing efforts at the University of California, Berkeley
. Poland founded various chapters, including ones in the East Bay, San Francisco, Berkeley
and San Diego. However, he did not run these organizations himself; he would found them and then turn them over to others.
Poland, calling himself "Jefferson Fuck Poland" and identifying as bisexual, participated in the first known LGBT rights demonstration in the United States. Poland, along with organizer Randy Wicker
and several others, picketed the Whitehall Induction Center in New York City
to protest the US military's exclusion of homosexuals from military service and the violation of confidentiality of gay men's draft
records. Sources differ on the date of this demonstration, with some citing 1963 and others 1964.
Poland first made national news in August 1965 with the "Nude Wade-in" he led with Ina Saslow and Shirley Einseidel at Aquatic Park
, a public beach in San Francisco. This event was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle
and Time.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
. At the beginning of services, she was placed on an altar
, candles were lit on each side of her, and her vulva
was smeared with honey
. Each of the males (and some women if so inclined) at the meeting licked the woman's vulva in order to honor the goddess
Venus. Then the orgy began in earnest. Meetings continued in the San Francisco Bay Area
until 1972.
of the University of California, Berkeley
, where they are now available for public viewing by academic
researchers.
party while nude sunbathing on Black's Beach
in La Jolla, a neighborhood of San Diego. Years later, the couple's daughter accused Poland of having performed cunnilingus
on her while her parents were away.
Poland fled the country and he lived for five years as a fugitive
in Australia
. In 1988, he was extradited
back to the U.S. By that time he had changed his name legally to “Clitlick.” He pleaded guilty to “lewd or lascivious act with a child,” a felony
. He served about nine months in San Diego County Jail. Upon his release, he returned to live in San Francisco, where he is monitored as a registered
sex offender.
Sexual Freedom League
The Sexual Freedom League was an organization founded in 1963 in New York City by Jefferson Poland and Leo Koch. It existed to promote and conduct sexual activity among its members and to agitate for political reform, especially for the repeal of laws against abortion and censorship, and had many...
, and a registered sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
.
Sexual Freedom League
In 1963, he founded the Sexual Freedom League in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with Leo Koch
Leo Koch
Leo Francis Koch was a professor of biology at the University of Illinois, whose 1960 letter to the Daily Illini defending premarital sex provoked public outrage and prompted his firing from the university by President David Dodds Henry...
. He then moved to the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
Area and focused his organizing efforts at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Poland founded various chapters, including ones in the East Bay, San Francisco, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and San Diego. However, he did not run these organizations himself; he would found them and then turn them over to others.
Poland, calling himself "Jefferson Fuck Poland" and identifying as bisexual, participated in the first known LGBT rights demonstration in the United States. Poland, along with organizer Randy Wicker
Randy Wicker
Randolfe Hayden "Randy" Wicker is an American author, activist and blogger. After involvement in the early homophile and gay liberation movements, Wicker became active around the issue of human cloning....
and several others, picketed the Whitehall Induction Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to protest the US military's exclusion of homosexuals from military service and the violation of confidentiality of gay men's draft
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System is a means by which the United States government maintains information on those potentially subject to military conscription. Most male U.S. citizens and male immigrant non-citizens between the ages of 18 and 25 are required by law to have registered within 30 days of...
records. Sources differ on the date of this demonstration, with some citing 1963 and others 1964.
Poland first made national news in August 1965 with the "Nude Wade-in" he led with Ina Saslow and Shirley Einseidel at Aquatic Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility...
, a public beach in San Francisco. This event was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and Time.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Psychedelic Venus Church
In 1970, Jefferson F. Poland founded the Psychedelic Venus Church, an offshoot of the Sexual Freedom League. He felt that the leadership of the Sexual Freedom League was becoming too "bourgeois". The (entheogenic) sacrament of the Psychedelic Venus Church was marijuana and, after lighting up, at each meeting a woman was chosen to be VenusVenus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
. At the beginning of services, she was placed on an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
, candles were lit on each side of her, and her vulva
Vulva
The vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....
was smeared with honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
. Each of the males (and some women if so inclined) at the meeting licked the woman's vulva in order to honor the goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Venus. Then the orgy began in earnest. Meetings continued in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
until 1972.
Jefferson Poland Archive
Jefferson Poland turned over his archives to the Bancroft LibraryBancroft Library
The Bancroft Library is the primary special collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired as a gift/purchase from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity...
of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where they are now available for public viewing by academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
researchers.
Sex offense, flight, and name change
In 1983, Poland was charged with child molestation. Apparently, in 1980 a nudist couple had entrusted Poland with the care of their daughter while they were attending a swingerSwinging
Swinging or partner swapping is a non-monogamous behavior, in which both partners in a committed relationship agree, as a couple, for both partners to engage in sexual activities with other couples as a recreational or social activity...
party while nude sunbathing on Black's Beach
Black's Beach
Black's Beach is a secluded section of beach beneath the bluffs of Torrey Pines on the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States. It is officially part of Torrey Pines State Beach...
in La Jolla, a neighborhood of San Diego. Years later, the couple's daughter accused Poland of having performed cunnilingus
Cunnilingus
Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed on a female. It involves the use by a sex partner of the mouth, lips and tongue to stimulate the female's clitoris, vulva, or vagina...
on her while her parents were away.
Poland fled the country and he lived for five years as a fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In 1988, he was extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
back to the U.S. By that time he had changed his name legally to “Clitlick.” He pleaded guilty to “lewd or lascivious act with a child,” a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
. He served about nine months in San Diego County Jail. Upon his release, he returned to live in San Francisco, where he is monitored as a registered
Sex offender registration
Sex offender registration is a system in various states designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions , information in the registry is made available to the...
sex offender.
Books
- Sex Marchers (1968) ISBN 0-923891-13-7
- The Records of the San Francisco Sexual Freedom League by Jefferson F. Poland and Valerie Alison with preface by Herbert GoldHerbert Gold-Early life:Gold was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Lakewood, a community he was later to memorialize in his first book, Birth of a Hero, published in 1951 by Viking Press. He moved to New York City at age 17 after several of his poems had been accepted by New York literary magazines...
, Olympia PressOlympia PressOlympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane...
, 1971