Press Release



Artist Bethann Shannon
surrounded by Sperm in her
"ROOM TO CONCEIVE IN"
Photo by Michael Stewart

Bethann Shannon, President
Widespread Awareness
P.O. BOX 6793
Silver Spring, Maryland
20916-6793


E-mail to: Wideaware@mypetsperm.com
WideSpreadAwareness@hotmail.com

MY PET SPERM has emerged! Widespread Awareness LLC. has a new line of products featuring a smiling sperm character who is cute, comical, and caring. The adorable Pet Sperm will wiggle its way into your heart while reminding you to practice safe sex and make conscious choices.

MY PET SPERM is certainly a symbol of our times ! With sperm flooding the daily news in stories about AIDS, FERTILITY, INFERTILITY, SEX SCANDALS, PREGNANCIES, UNWANTED PREGNANCIES, STDs, SEX EDUCATION, ETC!, MY PET SPERM products possess fun and humor while addressing these issues. MY PET SPERM fulfills our cultural need for healthy sexual awareness. Widespread Awareness LLC. hopes to raise consciousness in ALL sexual decisions with an emphasis on SAFE SEX and FAMILY PLANNING. The MY PET SPERM line includes:
-The Pet...(which also doubles as a stress relieving Squeezie)
-Die-Cut Refrigerator Magnets
-Bookmarks
-T-Shirts
-other buns in the oven including Bedding, Jewellery and of course, MY PET EGG!

MY PET SPERM products make appropriate gifts for a wide range of occasions; everything from wedding gifts, Valentine's Day presents and Christmas stocking stuffers, to gifts for the couple who wish to conceive, or as an educational tool for broaching the time honored topic of the birds and the bees. MY PET SPERM makes a great humorous gift as well as a serious memento.The creators of MY PET SPERM are donating 15% of profits to AIDS CHARITIES, FAMILY PLANNING, and SEX EDUCATION.

"WIDESPREAD AWARENESS LLC. has a strong commitment to shattering the lingerin g elements of shame and secrecy people may still feel about the glorious abundance that is human sexuality," says Bethann Shannon, president of Widespread Awareness LLC. and designer of the line.MY PET SPERM, "The Pet With A Purpose In Life," is a funny little safe sex mascot with a serious message for serious times.

Quirks
(Montgomery County's upbeat, offbeat newspaper, July/August, 1998, p. 16)

Sammy: The next pet rock?
BY CATHY GRUBMAN

Forget Beanie Babies. The newest critter to join the zoo is a pet... sperm?
The brainchild of Bethann Shannon, My Pet Sperm is "a friendly little sperm that you can trust," says Shannon about the $9.95, stress-ball-style mascot. "His purpose is to bring consciousness to ALL sexual decisions using fun,humor and honesty."
The idea started about seven years ago when Shannon, then married and trying for a baby, "became obsessed with sperm. For inspiration and luck, I decided to surround myself with it... wallpaper! bedding! curtains! This, to create a room to conceive in." (Shannon never got to finish the room because, unfortunately, her marriage broke up.)
But she didn't leave her reproductive concerns behind. Eventually out there and thinking about safe sex,"Sperm took on a new meaning: birth control and safety," notes Shannon, 42.
And so with a business partner, My Pet Sperm wiggled its way to fruition. Based in Silver Spring, the one-year-old parent company, Widespread Awareness, sells Sammy, the toy; two styles of T-shirts; refrigerator magnets; and bookmarks. All in an effort to bring an openness about safe sex and get a dialogue going among men, women, college kids and teens.
Shannon, who also works as a "wearable" artist, photographer and playwright, designed the products and is now working to market them through mail-order and retail outlets. "We want to get My Pet Sperm into educational realms, into the sex education classes, to places where people are talking about sex. Using a humorous approach, we are attacking a serious subject" Sure enough, when she had Sammy lying around the house, visitors would pick him up, toss him around, and "begin to consider what he meant."
Sasha Byles, co-owner of Betty, a trendy boutique in the Adams Morgan area of Washington, D.C., sells the unique merchandise. "It is a fun, great symbol the times," she says. "We're excited about offering it. I think the sperm will be a hit. What does the "Religious Right" think of this idea?
"We haven't heard from them," says Shannon. "But I do think this will be controversial. Some people don't want sex education in the schools, but the reality that we have to deal with it."
Although men "crack up" when they hold Sammy, Widespread Awareness' target market is really women. "In our research, women went nuts, no pun intended, for it," notes Shannon. "If you think about it, sperm is a touchy subject --it's what everybody is either looking for or trying to get rid of."
Will there be a pet "egg?" You bet. Sammy, meet Selma.

E-mail to:
Wideaware@mypetsperm.com
WideSpreadAwareness@hotmail.com