Sexual Freedom Activist Dan Massey Dead at 70

Dan Massey, an activist for sexual freedom as well as a scientist, blogger, and self-described queer, died Monday morning in Washington, D.C., following a short illness. He was 70 years old.

He is remembered as someone who could inspire individuals just as easily as he could enliven a crowd of his fellow activists. "Dan Massey was the embodiment of 'think globally, act locally,'" said Michael Rogers, the managing director of Raw Story Media and a close friend of Massey's. "He filled a void that few are willing to fill. He was a true leader in our community."

With his life partner, Alison Gardner, he founded VenusPlusX, an organization devoted to "ushering in 'The New Age of Sexual Freedom' -- a world free from the global culture of racial, sexual, and gender oppression and violence." Even with one of its founders gone, VenusPlusX plans to continue its efforts.

What many didn't know was that Massey was an expert in science and technology. He had degrees from both Harvard and MIT and focused much of his efforts on artificial intelligence, experimental psychology, and mathematical linguistics.