This week is Sex Week at UK, and there are tons of events going on to promote it. You can check out a list of their activities and events on their website.
Taken from their website:
The purpose of Sex Week at UK is to increase sexual literacy by initiating an informed, open, and sustained dialog about human sexuality throughout the campus community.
Last night there was a poetry slam and art show at 3rd St. stuff. People read work and displayed art about sex, gender, sexual violence, etc.
Well I guess the family foundation caught wind of it and sent out the news crew. You can watch the video here.
Sex week also made it into the herald leader and the kentucky kernel.
I'm curious to hear about what you think.
Here is what I think.
I think that it's really important for people to be open and honest about sex, and unfortunately, in our society we're just not - and that leads to all kinds of problems.
There are the people who end up w/ STI's and unwanted pregnancies because they don't know enough about safe sex to protect themselves and they're taught not to ask. Women in particular are taught to believe that if they enjoy sex and have sex outside of marriage than they're slutty and damaged. There are tons of sexually active people (married and unmarried), who have unrewarding sex because they're not supposed to like it, so they don't ask how to experiment with it. (I can't tell you how many of my female friends were afraid to masturbate until they were adults). And far too many people don't understand the complexities of consent because AGAIN, we don't talk about it. Women students on college campuses face a disproportionately high risk of experiencing sexual violence and the university of Kentucky is no exception.
If sex week gets people talking about these issues then we should make it sex month. Fuck that, sex YEAR!
So I want to hear from you. So what do you think about sex week? Should it be an annual thing? Did you attend any of the events? If so, how were they? Are you happy with the events that are planned for it? Do you want to be a part of organizing sex week next year?
xo
De Las.
2 comments:
Ahhh all the good stuff happens after I move away!
It's funny -- when I worked at AVOL, UK wouldn't allow us to come on campus to distribute condoms or do any prevention work even though the bathrooms at whitehall and the office tower were major cruising grounds. Of course that's been a few years I guess. I'm glad to see activities like these happening on campus (or at least with uni permission and/or encouragement). And of course cunt ostrander would say something about it.
Re: the concept of unrewarding sex because we don't talk about sex... I've found it's far easier for people to just fuck than to talk about fucking. They get soooo uncomfortable and blush and stutter, when they had no problem jumping right into bed with me the night before. I think it's crazy when you ask people what they like, sexually, and they can't tell you because 'nobody's ever asked me that' and they've never thought about it themselves. Or they're afraid to talk about what they like because they think it's weird.
While I think events like these need a huge emphasis on discussing safer sex, I hope there was as much of an emphasis on talking about individual sexuality and that it's okay to be sexual and to like sex and all that jazz.
Woo sex year!
I keep thinking that is seems sad to have just one WEEK for sex around here...but yes, I do love that awareness has a home on campus, at least for a week.
And Ann, I hear you on that - I've really been startled in the last few years by how many people I encountered who were plenty sexually active but would rather die than talk about it (not just the "standard" safety issues, but what they actually WANTED) with their partners. But then again, I do have to remind the 30-year-old me that the 18-year-old me wasn't always that comfortable talking about it either - it's something I learned over time as I grew more confident and as I had partners who were much more persistent about asking me what I wanted until I got comfortable enough to just TELL people. I mean, the people I was having sex with...not just strangers on the street. :)
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