Joani Blank
Encyclopedia
Joani Blank is an entrepreneur
, editor
, writer, videographer
, educator, cohousing
enthusiast and adviser, philanthropist
and inventor in the field of sexuality
.
She founded Down There Press, a publisher of sex-related books, in 1975. In 1977, she opened Good Vibrations, the second woman-oriented sex toy
business in the United States. She was one of the first volunteers at San Francisco Sex Information
and has served on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
. Blank is also known for her inventions of the Butterfly vibrator
and Titattoos (now Intimate Art Tattoos).
She has lived in cohousing
since 1992 and served for eight years on the board of the Cohousing Association of America.
Blank has one daughter, Amika, and three grandchildren. She currently lives in Swan's Market Cohousing in Oakland, California
, where she volunteers her time to social justice
issues such as prison reform
and economic equality, the Cohousing Association of the United States, and her church community, First Unitarian Church of Oakland
. She remains active in the field of sexuality, and many of her old books and videos are available through her Web site.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, writer, videographer
Videographer
Strictly speaking, a videographer is a person who works in the field of videography, video production — recording moving images and sound on video tape, disk, other electro-mechanical device. News broadcasting relies heavily on live television where videographers engage in electronic news...
, educator, cohousing
Cohousing
A cohousing community is a type of intentional community composed of private homes supplemented by shared facilities. The community is planned, owned and managed by the residents – who also share activities which may include cooking, dining, child care, gardening, and governance of the...
enthusiast and adviser, philanthropist
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and inventor in the field of sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
.
She founded Down There Press, a publisher of sex-related books, in 1975. In 1977, she opened Good Vibrations, the second woman-oriented sex toy
Sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
business in the United States. She was one of the first volunteers at San Francisco Sex Information
San Francisco Sex Information
San Francisco Sex Information is an all-volunteer, 501 non-profit organization that provides free sex information via the World Wide Web, e-mail, telephone, and online social networking...
and has served on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality , formed in 1957, is a non-profit, professional membership organization that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly...
. Blank is also known for her inventions of the Butterfly vibrator
Butterfly vibrator
The butterfly vibrator is a clitoral sex toy featuring a vibrator body in the shape of a butterfly and straps attached to it for wearing on the waist and thighs....
and Titattoos (now Intimate Art Tattoos).
She has lived in cohousing
Cohousing
A cohousing community is a type of intentional community composed of private homes supplemented by shared facilities. The community is planned, owned and managed by the residents – who also share activities which may include cooking, dining, child care, gardening, and governance of the...
since 1992 and served for eight years on the board of the Cohousing Association of America.
Blank has one daughter, Amika, and three grandchildren. She currently lives in Swan's Market Cohousing in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, where she volunteers her time to social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
issues such as prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
and economic equality, the Cohousing Association of the United States, and her church community, First Unitarian Church of Oakland
First Unitarian Church of Oakland
The First Unitarian Church of Oakland, in Oakland, California, was designed in 1889 by Walter J. Mathews. This solid masonry Romanesque church departed radically from California's traditional Gothic wood frame construction...
. She remains active in the field of sexuality, and many of her old books and videos are available through her Web site.
Books
- Editor, Still Doing It: Men and Women Over Sixty Write About Their Sexuality, Down There Press, 2000
- Co-author (with Ann Whidden), Good Vibrations: The New Complete Guide to Vibrators, Down There Press, 2000 (see also 1976, below)
- Editor, I Am My Lover: Women Pleasure Themselves, Down There Press, 1997
- Editor, First Person Sexual: Women and Men Write About Self-Pleasuring, Down There Press, 1996
- Editor, Femalia, Down There Press, 1993
- A Kid's First Book About Sex, Down There Press, 1993
- The Playbook for Kids About Sex, Down There Press, 1978
- The Playbook for Men About Sex, Down There Press, 1976
- Good Vibrations: Being a Treatise on the Use of Machines in the Indolent Indulgence of Erotic Pleasure-Seeking Together with Important Hints on the Acquisition, Care, and Utilization of Said Machines and Much More about the Art and Science of Buzzing Off, Down There Press, 1976
- The Playbook for Women About Sex, Down There Press, 1975
Films
- Orgasm: Faces of Ecstasy, Blank Tapes and Libido Films, 2004 (with Jack Hafferkamp and Marianna Beck).
- Carol Queen's Great Vibrations: An Explicit Guide to Vibrators, Blank Tapes, ~1997.