We are seeking pieces of journalism that:
- Touch on sex—sexual practice, health, or behavior—in some manner (stories just about sexual orientation do not qualify)
- Are intended for a general audience
- Meet high overall standards of reporting, fact-checking, and writing
and do at least one of the following:
- Show evidence of fairness in seeking sex-positive sources to respond to sex-negative ones
- Ask hard questions about the motivation and background of sources who rely on sex-negative soundbites
- Avoid biased or sensationalistic language
- Cover newsworthy topics, events, or issues that might tend to be swept under the rug because of controversial sexual content
- Report accurately, respectfully, and with nuance on sex research results
- Contain fair, accurate, and non-sensational portrayals of sexual subcultures
- Keep a clear separation between sex crimes, such as sexual assault or pedophilia, and things that merely make people uncomfortable, such as consensual kink, teen sexuality or gay priests; and help readers who may not be familiar with the issues make the distinction
- Specifically challenge sex-negative assumptions or practices in society at large or in a specific community
- Educate the public as to the diversity of sexual behavior without sensationalizing
- Celebrate sexuality as a positive force in human lives
We are not looking for racy or sensationalistic stories. The awards will be something any traditional journalist should be proud to hang on his or her wall—a testament to journalistic standards of fairness and accuracy about a charged and controversial subject.
The details: The Sexies will be given in four categories: news, feature, opinion, and "unsexy" (the most egregious violation of the Sexies' criteria). The first three categories have four divisions each: daily general-topic newspaper, weekly or biweekly general-topic newspaper, online general-topic news publication, and sex-themed news publications (any print medium). (For the purposes of this award an online news publication is defined as a site that is devoted to the dissemination of news, not run by a specific interest group, edited, and contains first-hand, reported, bylined stories.) The Unsexy award has no divisions.
First-person essays, self-help articles, sex-tips articles, fiction/erotica, and books are not eligible.
Articles must have been published in 2007. Article series must have started or ended in 2007. Submissions are due by March 23, 2008.