Sipping lattes with the transmale program specialist

[Felix]

San Francisco Bay Guardian
Sex SF
Kelly Lovemonster
http://www.sfbg.com/sexsf/2012/05/22/sipping-lattes-transmale-event-specialist

I thought it would be cute to conduct today's interview in a bathhouse sauna. Instead I found myself sipping a soy milk latte in one of the Mission's many hip coffee shops -- not as intimate of an option, but probably better for my note taking. For once, I was on time, and I patiently awaited San Francisco sex educator Niko Kowell.

I love Kowell's official job title, transmale program specialist. It sounds so glamorous, and in truth, it is. Kowell is the creator of San Francisco's Transmenformen night, held every second and fourth Thursday at Eros, one of San Francisco's most innovative gay bathhouses. At TM4M, as the event is nicknamed, Kowell facilitates group dialogues for queer and transmen who want to have sex with other males. He teaches bathhouse cruising tactics (coy glances over one's shoulder among them), screens transgender and queer-related films, and puts on an almost-naked yoga class.