2008 Woodie Awards
Let's Talk About Sex
On-campus workshop works to sort out taboos surrounding sex
Heather Birchard
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Culture
Crack your whip at intolerance and old-fashioned forms of sex discussions! The SexLand Sexpo is about to pull out those ball-gags and get everyone talking about all aspects of sex, even topics labeled "taboo" in society. SexLand is an interactive experience for all, organized by Dottie Guido, Cypress East Living Group Advisor, as well as the Student Health Center and the Queer Student Union.
SexLand has been held every year since February 2005. The Cypress Council and the Student Health Center fund the event. Dottie Guido, who leads SexLand, said she got the idea to arrange the event before she became a Living Group Adviser. "The main theme of this event is to extend on high school health subjects, but it goes even further than that," she said, "We will be raising awareness on a wide variety of every sexual topic imaginable. Some of the themes will include BDSM, how people feel about sexuality, and the emotional side of sex in communicating with your partner."
BDSM, an acronym for bondage, domination/submission, and sadomasochism, will be a huge subject for this year's SexLand. With the bondage term comes quite a deal of baggage and negative opinions from the general public. "I am currently a member of the BDSM subculture, and I've been noticing that people hold stereotypes about BDSM and only think it's about causing unwanted harm to your partner, which is not true. There is a whole area that our previous generations don't know about sex, and I want everyone to get past that. We want to give credit and support to those who are not of the dominant paradigm," Guido said.
Another large aspect of support and recognition that SexLand hopes to build this year comes from the Queer Student Union. Lara Krauss, a third-year art history major, said that she has been involved with SexLand since its conception. "This year, the Queer Student Union is going to focus on what sexuality is and what people think it should be. How do we define virginity? For instance, some people think losing your virginity involves penile and vaginal intercourse. This seems to gloss over those who have lesbian sex or who have never had 'traditional' intercourse," Krauss said.
SexLand has been held every year since February 2005. The Cypress Council and the Student Health Center fund the event. Dottie Guido, who leads SexLand, said she got the idea to arrange the event before she became a Living Group Adviser. "The main theme of this event is to extend on high school health subjects, but it goes even further than that," she said, "We will be raising awareness on a wide variety of every sexual topic imaginable. Some of the themes will include BDSM, how people feel about sexuality, and the emotional side of sex in communicating with your partner."
BDSM, an acronym for bondage, domination/submission, and sadomasochism, will be a huge subject for this year's SexLand. With the bondage term comes quite a deal of baggage and negative opinions from the general public. "I am currently a member of the BDSM subculture, and I've been noticing that people hold stereotypes about BDSM and only think it's about causing unwanted harm to your partner, which is not true. There is a whole area that our previous generations don't know about sex, and I want everyone to get past that. We want to give credit and support to those who are not of the dominant paradigm," Guido said.
Another large aspect of support and recognition that SexLand hopes to build this year comes from the Queer Student Union. Lara Krauss, a third-year art history major, said that she has been involved with SexLand since its conception. "This year, the Queer Student Union is going to focus on what sexuality is and what people think it should be. How do we define virginity? For instance, some people think losing your virginity involves penile and vaginal intercourse. This seems to gloss over those who have lesbian sex or who have never had 'traditional' intercourse," Krauss said.
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