IU hosts week for ‘sexploration’

Sex: it’s everywhere.

From Safer Sex Field Day to Pure Romance events, sex is a popular and important, topic of discussion. Now, thanks to IU’s “Sexploration,” you can enjoy a whole week of it.

“Sexploration” is coming to IU for the first time ever. A week of sexual education – not the kind sometimes awkwardly endured in middle school – will cover controversial issues with topics ranging from politics, religion, science and art to the history of dating.

The events will take place through this Friday, in the Indiana Memorial Union and Rawles Hall.

Sexploration has been highly anticipated and is expected to gain positive feedback from the IU community, said Kathryn Brown, health educator at the IU Health Center, in an e-mail.

The purpose of Sexploration is to display sex in a positive environment and dispel common attitudes about sex, she said.

“While a lot of sexual health education is disease-based and, unfortunately, fear-based, Sexploration at IU can make essential information accessible, interactive, less scary and more fun,” she said. “This week of events demonstrates that sexuality should be respected and celebrated, not feared.”

The featured speaker of the week is Dr. Marty Klein, sociologist, licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist. His most recent book, “America’s War on Sex,” focuses on the escalating battle for sexual rights.

“Some people in local government, so-called ‘morality groups,’ are trying to restrict the rights we have to do with our body, to do in the privacy of our own homes,” Klein said. “Sexuality makes some people so uncomfortable. It’s a danger to secular tradition.”

He said he hopes that by giving lectures such as the one coming up this week, he will reach college students with his message.

“Most people don’t realize that there are well-funded groups that want to take ‘The Daily Show’ off the air, get rid of Internet pornography, the right to have the Gay Straight Alliance ...  even events like Sexploration, even go so far as to make it illegal for universities to teach about sexuality,” he said.

As the week unfolds, organizers encourage students to have open minds and enjoy the many different aspects of sex that will be presented.

Freshman Hope Spector, majoring in gender studies, said she will attend.

“I think it’s important – especially for college students – to attend workshops that interest them,” she said. “It’s important to stay knowledgeable about safe sex, sex in general and to keep safe and healthy.”