Staff Editorial

Next week, The Cougar gets dirty

Let’s talk about sex—not from a place of fear or ignorance but with an open mind.

This is a tough time for a positive conversation about sex on college campuses—most universities are struggling to control sexual assault, the female identity is breaking away from objectification and our ideas about sexual orientation and gender are constantly expanding and undergoing controversy.

Sex is everywhere in pop culture — television, movies and magazines — but it’s rarely talked about in a positive light. The Cougar will change that.

After more than 70 years in publication, The Cougar will publish its first issue devoted entirely to sex next Wednesday.

The articles will cover everything from the act itself to abstract topics surround sex like the definition of virginity, societal shame and the conjoining of religion and the LGBT community. Don’t worry – we’ll also have plenty of information on vibrators, contraception methods, Spotify playlists that are great to get down to and different ways women orgasm that you might not have heard.

While you’re reading this special issue and watching the editorial videos online, we hope that some of your conceptions about sex are challenged. We want you to step out of your comfort zone.

We want to deconstruct the definitions you thought you knew.

You and I are already leading the conversation about sex. In the 1950s, you might not have known what to call yourself if you were asexual. Despite being the anti-label generation, we have created more terms and titles than all generations combined.

That we fill our Newsfeeds with terms like side chick, lumbersexual or thirsty is proof that our generation is not afraid to talk about sex. It’s also the hashtags like #YesAllWomen and #HeForShe that show we are more actively engaged in the politics of sex than our predecessors.

We’ve thought about it, talked about it and demystified it. To us, sex has become a daily conversation.

Going to college has always facilitated two life-altering experiences for young people: discovering crippling debt and exploring sex—most of us for the first time.

Sex is complex. Next week, we invite you to an open discussion of all its components.  Join the conversation, check out our online exclusives and use the hashtag #coogsexedition to open the dialogue. It’s OK if it gets a little dirty.

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