Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

It is Ash Wednesday. Tricia and I began the morning with a work out at the gym and then morning Mass. Morning Mass was a great way to begin spring training; that is, getting back to the basics of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, repentance that always seem to slip a bit, at least in zeal, during the preceding year. There is something about being there in the early morning before the cares of the day have distracted you, that allows you to sense the connection with Christians world-wide, and back through the preceding centuries, preparing themselves for the season ahead.

Then it was off to pick up the car at the shop (I won’t go there), trying to find a part to fix the toilet at the hardware store (there either), and then off to teach my favorite undergrads again. It was after noon by the time I made it back to St. John’s on the U of I campus. I wondered what stories of Lenten preparation would await me when I arrived.

Well, I arrived to hear a discussion about the annual Illini Ash Wednesday event. They call it Sex Out Loud. Why on Ash Wednesday?  One can only guess, but it doesn’t appear to be associated in any way with a sense of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, or repentance. Rather, the opposite is the case.  It is billed as a “sexual health awareness fair.” Sounds reasonable, but lets read the student newspaper reporting to learn more:

Students were met with what some might consider an outrageous message after a weeklong spring break. The Quad was adorned with flyers encouraging students to “Cum, join the fun” of the 3rd Annual Sexual Health Awareness Fair, “Sex Out Loud”.

Is the flyer announcement indicative of poor spelling or the maturity and focus of those holding the fair? No need to guess…

Visitors to Monday’s Sexual Health Awareness Fair were able to talk openly about sex and sexual issues. And no one held back. Music blared through the walls of Illini Rooms B and C. Booths sold buttons with phrases such as “My Body My Choice” and “I Found the G Spot.” There was even a vulva-coloring contest.

Do you need to guess that the Student Feminist Majority club is one of the organizers? And I suppose the coloring contest is educational…

As a first-time visitor, Ricky Drew, freshman in business, said he was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning. “It’s different than what you would normally get anywhere else,” Drew said. He said the variety of booths helped promote safe sex as well as adding excitement to an otherwise normal day. Drew said the numerous sex toys displayed were especially extreme. “There’s not anything more that you could really say ‘whoa’ to,” Drew said.

Well, I guess that it is better to get your “whoa’s” out of the way in the student union than having to learn about them at the peep shows in some adult book store, isn’t it?

Jenni Purdue, senior in communications and vice president of Feminist Majority, said that while sex is a serious issue, Sex Out Loud hopes to show that it can be fun as well. “We want people to see sex as a good, happy thing if you go about it in a responsible way,” Purdue said.

O.k., I apologize for having doubted them. If one person now realizes that sex can also be fun and happy, well then the whole durn thing was worth it…whoa’s and all. I hope they will forgive my rash judgmentalism.

“The vulva coloring contest - that’s just precious,” [Danielle ] Griffin said. “And I thought the piercing booth was interesting too.”

Precious? I cannot imagine…

Susan Rodgers, sophomore in LAS, attended the event last year and was intrigued enough to come back for a second dose of what some might consider a taboo event. “The female contraceptive was interesting,” Rodgers said. “It showed lots of options people aren’t necessarily informed about, such as the female condom.”

I wonder if it leaves the same tell tale wallet mark as the male version?

T.J. Salas, a representative of Curved, a company that sells erotic supplies and books, said the fair provides a sense of community to the curious. “I am one of the few groups who have the possibility of gaining revenue from this,” Salas said. “It’s nice to see so many other organizations that don’t have a financial input. It’s inspiring.”

Working in the sex business must be tough to have to come to a college campus to see sex as inspiring once again, rather than just a mundane source of revenue. Poor working stiffs…

Yilmael Diaz, sophomore in ACES, said the event is first and foremost a way to make students more open to talk about sexual issues. He added that organizers are “definitely throwing themselves out there” in a way that is far from ordinary. “The chocolate genitalia was a nice touch,” Diaz said.

Chocolate and sex, what more could a college student need?

Diaz said that while he went to another controversial event last year - The Vagina Monologues - this was his first year attending Sex Out Loud. He said organizers should consider having more booths in upcoming years as a way to expand the education.

Yes, we reported on the Monologues ourselves. Where do you think these brainiacs got the idea for the coloring contest?  …and they still don’t get it.

How does this fair educate such that they can claim contribution to improved sexual health? It’s not apparent from the article. Rather, these organizations demonstrate not much more than they are sex obsessed, immature kids. By allowing it, the school demonstrates that it is not competent to provide even a minimal sense of adult supervision over kids who are transitioning from their parents homes to responsible, mature adulthood.

Parents, this is today’s post secondary education–funded with your tax and tuition dollars.  It has become for many, just an efficient means to find fornication partners with how-to fairs for those in need of tutelage…heaven help us!