After a controversial premier last year, Sex Week has returned with the same goal: informing UNM students about necessary sexual education and promoting tolerance of the idea of sex.
Sex Week, which goes by “SexUality Week” this year, will run from Nov. 9-13 on campus and will feature a variety of different classes, seminars and workshops covering different aspects of sex education for students.
According to the Student Alliance for Reproductive Justice, the overall goal for SexUality Week is “to provide inclusive, comprehensive, educational and pleasure-focused sexual health information to the students and community of the University of New Mexico.”
Activities will cover topics such as birth control, abortion, STIs, religion and sex, enhancing sexual relationships, more pleasurable sexual experiences and resources for those who may need help with relationships or sexual assault.
Shaya Rogers, a member of the Student Alliance for Reproductive Justice, said SexUality Week is meant to offer students a chance to gain sex-related factual information in an open way that isn’t mediated by fear or shame.
“We want to open up the conversation about sex to make students feel a little bit more comfortable talking about it and engaging in it so they are being safe,” Rogers said.
Last year’s Sex Week was met with controversy due to the names of certain seminars, including “How To Be a Gentleman AND Get Laid” and “Reid’s Negotiating Successful Threesomes.”
The Daily Lobo reported at the time that, after receiving more than 40 complaints from unhappy parents, Student Affairs Vice President Eliseo “Cheo” Torres issued an apology, stating that sex education “should be done in a careful and respectful manner.”
Rogers said the 2015 iteration of SexUality Week will host events titled “Sex Ed Quickies: Sexuality for the 21st Century” and “Panocha Platica: De-colonized and De-stigmatized Sex.” The names are not meant to incite backlash, but are simply a fun and more interesting way to attract students, she said.
“People are uncomfortable talking about sex. That’s a real thing,” Rogers said. “We understand that, but at the same time there are plenty of people who want to talk about sex and who need to talk about sex, and we’re there for them.”
Nicholas Montoya, also a member of the Student Alliance for Reproductive Justice, said that although some people may oppose a week dedicated to sex on campus, it’s all about giving students facts and information to make smart choices.
“Focusing on what the student body needs and wants will definitely play a big role,” Montoya said.
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Rogers and Montoya said that the event will include information for members of LGBT and asexual communities, as well as those who may be interested in sex education that is not traditionally taught in school.
“As a student, getting the necessary education that I need coming from the LGBT community that I never really got in high school, that’s something that we’re definitely going to cover,” Montoya said. “It’s going to be important to a lot of other kids.”
Rogers said that the topics of oral, anal and vaginal sex will all be covered, since many people do not have just one type of sexual experience. She said students think about sex through a much wider lens.
Although factual information and guidance is the driving point of this year’s SexUality Week, some think that the events promote sex without addressing the consequences.
President of Students For Life Sade Patterson said last year’s workshops and classes were disappointing due to the lack of helpful resources and information on topics such as sexual assault, abortion and unplanned pregnancy.
“Last year I saw workshops on how to have great sex and objectify women,” Patterson said. “Not once did they talk about sexual assault and how to prevent it. Not once did they talk about the consequences of sex, such as STDs or emotional distress.”
Patterson said she hopes that the workshops also discuss some of the health risks that may affect women who are considering abortion and taking certain types of birth control. She said that sex education needs to address all aspects of sex, both the good and the bad.
“The thing we don’t understand is that we’re only talking to people about the act of sex,” Patterson said. “We’re not talking about hormonal birth control, physical and emotional side effects of abortion and the fact that many women are being assaulted.”
Although there is division over the perception of SexUality Week, Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center Manager Hunter Riley said this year’s event has garnered support from UNM faculty, students and community members. She said UNM has also received a letter of support from the Society of Scientific Study of Sexuality, a nonprofit organization that does research on human sexuality.
Riley said this year’s content was determined by what UNM students find interesting and important.
“Since this is a student- and community-focused event ... it’s really driven from what students expressed they wanted in sex education,” Riley said.
Riley said that at the end of the day, event organizers want to provide a space to talk about topics that some may consider taboo.
Ryan Lotz is a reporter with the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Lotz_DailyLobo.
