Lecture deconstructs taboo topic of sex, nudity

Drawing gasps and chuckles from a crowd in the fine arts building last night, John Bancroft, director of the Kinsey Institute, delivered his thoughts on the correlation of humor and sex. His lecture, entitled "What's so Funny About Sex?" touched upon the humor in sexual acts, nakedness and human genitalia.\nBancroft began the lecture with a disclaimer, stating that he was going to change opinions about sexual acts and humor. \n"As an emerging sexologist I faced a dilemma," he said. "Most sexual humor was disparaging or to cover embarrassment over a very human act."\nKeeping the tone light, he kept the audience laughing throughout the discussion while touching upon serious topics concerning sex and humor.\nBeginning his presentation with a photo of rhinoceros copulating, Bancroft asked the audience if the photo was funny; the chuckles from the audience served as a reply. The next photo was of a human couple copulating in the same position. Again, Bancroft asked if the photo was funny; this time there was a stunned silence from the crowd.\nThe taboo that humans place on sexual acts was the main focus of the discussion. Bancroft said the taboo is because copulation makes humans vulnerable.\n"Sex is quintessentially funny," he said. "Sexual activity makes humans vulnerable, which is unfamiliar."\nThe discussion drifted to the topic of nakedness, illustrated with several images that caused a hubbub in the audience.\nThe most involved portion of the lecture concerned genitalia, both male and female. Bancroft illuminated his points with drawings and jokes, many at the expense of the male genitalia. \n"The male body is a thing of great beauty, and then what is this?" he said, pointing at a photo of a man with an erect penis. "Is it a pump handle? An early version of a cell phone? It's ridiculous!"\nBancroft also discussed the popularity of the Vagina Monologues, which was recently performed at IU for the third time.\n"The Vagina Monologues deconstructs social prejudices concerning female genitalia," he said. "It comments on the absurdity of pretending that female genitalia does not exist, that women don't know what their vaginas look like or feel like."\nEnding on a serious note, Bancroft said the reason humans create humor about sex is to cover up embarrassment about what is perceived as an undignified act.\n"Sex challenges the idea that we are above such 'base' activities," he said. "We are but one of God's creatures, and sexual activity is part of that."\nThe lecture coincided with the Kinsey Institute exhibit of the same name, currently on display in the School of Fine Arts gallery.\nCatherine Johnson, curator of the Kinsey Institute, said the exhibit and lecture was the high point of Arts Week for the Kinsey Institute.\n"The exhibit has been open for two weeks, and the lecture is the culmination of Arts Week for us," she said. "This exhibit was John's idea. He's always seen the connection of humor and sex."\nBetsy Stirratt, the director of the SOFA gallery, said the exhibit has been a success thus far.\n"We have had great attendance over the past two weeks," she said. "We sent press releases to the local papers and art magazines, so we have seen many visitors from off campus."\nStirratt added that the controversial content of the exhibit has not been a problem.\n"While some of the pieces are graphic, there has not been a problem with the content," she said. "SoFA mainly displays modern art, which is often controversial, disturbing or graphic."\nAll 150 pieces in the exhibit, with the exception of a work by Judy Chicago, are part of the Kinsey collection. The Kinsey collection is contains over 75,000 photos and 7,000 artifacts, with the oldest dating back to 3,200 B.C.