Curious about sex, sexuality or gender? Well, Generation Sex Week kicks off today, as students have the opportunity to attend workshops, exhibits and presentations that highlight sexual positivity.
For over four years, the ASUCD Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) has collaborated with other organizations on campus, including the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC) and Women’s Resources and Research Center (WRRC), to put on Generation Sex Week.
The week provides an opportunity for students to gain a wider range of knowledge about sex and sexuality issues that are typically avoided. Additionally, it provides a platform for which students can converse with one another about all things sex related in a free and open manner.
“It’s an opportunity to communicate with other people, because often times topics about sex, sexuality and gender are often seen as taboo,” said GASC Chair Caitlin Alday. “People tend to stick with what they know, and sometimes that can create a lack of knowledge, which can lead to fear or uncomfortable situations. It’s important for people to be exposed to new ideas and to the gain confidence to talk about them.”
The first event of the week is a bondage, discipline; dominance-submission; and sadomasochism (BDSM) workshop, which starts today at 6:30 in the Student Community Center Meeting Room D.
Last year, this workshop was extremely popular, and this year’s should contain even more interesting information. Students can come and learn about different forms of sexuality and different ways of experiencing pain and pleasure, Alday said.
“There will be time to walk around, look at different toys, ask questions and there will be a free raffle too. The workshop also talks a lot about consent, which is important because it can be applied to any sort of sexual situation that people encounter.”
The week will conclude with keynote speaker Leah Lakshmi, a queer disabled Sri Lankan writer, teacher and cultural worker, discussing queerness and disability. Students can find more information about events taking place throughout the week on the Generation Sex Week event page on Facebook.
In addition to the events and workshops, an art exhibit showcasing various expressions of gender and sexuality will be on display at the LGBTRC all week long.
Furthermore, Generation Sex Week showcases the different resources about sex, sexuality and gender that are available on campus.
“We want to provide resources to people, and this week is kind of a fun way to do it,” GASC commissioner Ivan De La Torre said. “There’s a lot of resources on campus that students are not aware of. Even if [students] don’t come out to the events, by just going online and browsing, you might find something you didn’t know existed.”
The collaboration between various organizations to make this week possible has opened up opportunities between different communities on campus.
“There’s a good queer community represented on campus,” De La Torre said. “However there’s not much of a bridge between that community and say for example, the heterosexual community. GenSex week is a good way of bridging that gap between those two communities by providing information on sexuality and everything related to sex in an open way.”
Rachael Valler, another GASC commissioner, emphasized that the week is geared toward learning about diversity in sexuality and embracing that diversity.
“There is no limit in sexuality. Generation Sex Week shows a broad range of people’s sexual experiences, desires or interests,” she said. “Sex is a huge part of many students’ lives, and it should be celebrated. Generation Sex Week is probably one of the only weeks that really showcases sex positivity.”
MICHELLE MURPHY can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
