Let's NOT talk about sex

While I do not want to discredit the events that we have on campus that discuss sex, the fact still remains that these events are looking at sex through a particular lens. The LGBT and Women’s Centers often host events pertaining to sex; however, these organizations’ targets are very specific demographics. Why can’t there be a forum that facilitates discussion that targets all demographics on this campus? For example, the Anscombe Society hosts open forums on sex. However, the Anscombe Society is an organization that upholds politically conservative values. Further examples include “Sex on a Saturday Night” and the annual Consent Campaign. While these two traditional events are extremely educational and necessary, we as a Princeton community should not just focus on non-consensual sex, date rape or the connection between sex and violence only. What happened to consensual sex? Better yet — what ever happened to romantic sex? Even better — why can’t there be events that discuss romantic sex and the ways to enrich (and enliven) this bonding? There should be widely publicized and organized events that explore these positive aspects of sex through a non-provincial perspective.

Some of the events held during the Harvard Sex Week, for example, were about topics such as the female orgasm, “dirty talk” and sex toys. Now, I’m not saying that the University should host a Sex Week that only discusses these facets of sex because then those who are chaste would feel neglected and ostracized. There should be a Sex Week that brings together many different perspectives. In addition to the aforementioned topics at Harvard Sex Week, there were discussions on abstinence, Christian and Jewish perspectives on sex and the hookup culture in relation to one’s morals and faith. This variety of events mirrors the ideal college landscape: individuals from different backgrounds all being able to congregate and discuss their views on a certain subject. It doesn’t mean that one has to forfeit one’s own beliefs; rather, it is about looking at something, such as sex, through someone else’s perspective and being able to understand and hopefully respect a viewpoint different than one’s own.

If Princeton were to host a Sex Week, the Office of Religious Life, for example, could sponsor workshops on sex in the context of a diverse range of religious perspectives. The philosophy department and the Center for Human Values could sponsor discussions based on morality and its relation to sex, particularly regarding topics such as abstinence, monogamy or polygamy. In fact, many more departments that range from the humanities, social sciences and even the physical sciences can sponsor events because the topic of sex is interdisciplinary.

While I cannot disagree that Princeton is a conservative place, I do not agree with the fact that sex is still considered taboo in our own community or only discussed in the context of the hookup culture. While the hookup culture is popular, sex at Princeton should not be stereotyped as a one-night stand. That’s only one side of many different facets. There are couples here that are romantically involved both mentally and physically, and there are couples that are waiting until marriage to be physically intimate for religious and non-religious reasons. Sex is a universal human experience that unites, not divides. And while I’m not arguing for some sort of Bacchanalian revelry, the topic of sex should do the same: unite us all through dialogue.

Morgan Jerkins is a comparative literature major from Williamstown, N. J. She can be reached at mjerkins@princeton.edu.