Sex.
It is just one of those words that immediately grabs one’s attention. I know, because it grabs mine whenever I hear it in a conversation that is happening across the room. I guess that’s what we call selective listening .
So why don’t we talk about it more? Why don’t we have an honest discussion about sex?
In my years at UH, I have never seen any published material that is as relevant to college
students’ everyday lives, except for The Daily Cougar comic strip ‘Hole Moles.’
Students who were interviewed definitely had different thoughts on the matter.
‘I work at Cindie’s, so I see a lot of (sex),’ communication senior Graviela Valerio said with a laugh. ‘To me, it’s not a big deal.’
Other students had a more restricted view of the matter.
‘I think it’s kind of necessary,’ University Studies sophomore Juan Josa said. ‘The problem is that (students) think with some prevention, they can handle it.’
If students think about it, most of us have just left our parents’ houses and our hormones are at their peak. We are in the best shape of our lives, and have an amazing amount of freedom compared to previous years.
We no longer have to worry about parents rifling through our rooms and finding pictures, sex toys, or walking in on us in the midst of a deviant sexual act.
Sex is more than a physical act of pleasure or reproduction. Sex is an experiment and a way for people to find out who they are.
What people discover when they have sex and experiment with different types of sex, whether it be in relationships or otherwise, is something deep and intrinsic about themselves.
‘I think it’s good to express yourself sexually,’ Valerio said. ‘I don’t think people should feel embarrassed or inhibited in their sex acts ‘hellip; It’s nobody’s business.’
Whether people are straight, gay, bisexual, transgender or any other classification, chances are they naturally want to hear about sex. Some people like to be hurt, while others like to induce pain.
God knows I have been beaten up a few times in bed, but through that I learned something about myself: I need to work out a lot more.
Some people watch pornography or go to strip clubs, and others are in pornography or work at strip clubs. We all have different reasons and are a little curious as to what others are doing and why. That is why I am here.
For the rest of this semester, I am going to delve into topics that are both familiar and unfamiliar to enlighten the reader and myself. I will go to sex shops, talk to porn stars and producers, interview students and commit some acts that are going to scare the living daylights out of my cat if he is watching.
For those who are too scared to try new things or cannot because they are in a relationship, I will be as graphic as possible without being gratuitous. I will do this, so to speak, for the same reason that we are at college: so we can learn, and maybe we can learn a little about each other in the process.
Our world is always changing. Dating is not what it used to be, if it exists at all. Casual sex is on the rise, while abstinence-only education is becoming more prevalent in certain areas of the country. Teen pregnancy is ongoing and abortion is still a huge issue, but there is more to sex than this.
Pornography and prostitution are important topics, and I might write about sex and religion, considering the diversity on our campus.
Everyone should have a chance to speak out on what sex means to different genders and where society’s relationship with sex is headed. In the end, the question is have we become such a narcissistic and jaded society that sex is almost as easy as shaking hands?
I may occasionally include an amusing anecdote, and whatever is not published will be available online.
I encourage readers to stop me if they see me, and if I have time I would love to talk to readers about their thoughts on this topic. Readers can e-mail me, and other forms of correspondence, such as handwritten letters, are acceptable.
I can be somewhat gritty and some columns might include offensive topics. But if we are going to be honest about sex, controversial topics must be approached.
Prepare to be shocked, awed and maybe a little turned on, because this semester is going to get dirty.
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