2008 Woodie Awards
On The Prowl
By: Orson Swelles
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: TimeOut
This weekend I will be attending a roundtable discussion in Atlanta with Dr. Drew (from "Loveline") to talk about the state of sex and sex journalism on college campuses. The correspondent I have been in communication with said that they do it a few times a year in different locations to see how articles such as this are received and to understand exactly what the sexual atmosphere of various colleges is like.
While I was thinking of things to bring up, I began to wonder: "What is the state of sexual relations like at Clemson?" Knowing people in so many circles and cliques has really fogged my judgment on this fact. I know many people who feel free to discuss whether or not guy X brought as much to the table as guy Y, and whether or not either of them had a clue how to make a girl orgasm.
I also know far more people who I feel more awkward talking to about sex than even my parents. Some people are saving their v-cards for true love or marriage, but still have a good sense of humor about it, while others can't even mention the dirty deed without uncontrollable outbursts of blushing.
What I do know is that I am extremely lucky to be able to say that I have been writing about sexual tips, misfortunes and jokes for two years now and have never had the iron fist of censorship drop down on my words. For the most part, I choose them wisely to avoid forcing the editor to decide whether or not my most recent euphemism has to be changed so as not to offend anyone.
Last week's article about the recent complaint to Clemson police really pulled me out of my bubble and made me realize that not everyone is as hunky-dory about this topic and my freedom to write about it as I imagined. I couldn't help but think about all the times that such an issue has been brought up in the mass media. In the public eye, we are a nation that gets unreasonably up in arms about sexuality, and for the most part it's a bit ridiculous.
When I was young, my parents would let me watch movies like "Terminator" and "Predator,"even as gory and violent as they can be, but slap a pair of boobies somewhere in the movie and it was on the banned list. My mom did all she could to make sure I wasn't tainted by the evil ways of sexuality. However, everyday I would get on the school bus and hear some fourth grader going on and on about pornography he saw from his older brother and using words that I could barely pronounce for parts of humans I didn't know existed.
While I was thinking of things to bring up, I began to wonder: "What is the state of sexual relations like at Clemson?" Knowing people in so many circles and cliques has really fogged my judgment on this fact. I know many people who feel free to discuss whether or not guy X brought as much to the table as guy Y, and whether or not either of them had a clue how to make a girl orgasm.
I also know far more people who I feel more awkward talking to about sex than even my parents. Some people are saving their v-cards for true love or marriage, but still have a good sense of humor about it, while others can't even mention the dirty deed without uncontrollable outbursts of blushing.
What I do know is that I am extremely lucky to be able to say that I have been writing about sexual tips, misfortunes and jokes for two years now and have never had the iron fist of censorship drop down on my words. For the most part, I choose them wisely to avoid forcing the editor to decide whether or not my most recent euphemism has to be changed so as not to offend anyone.
Last week's article about the recent complaint to Clemson police really pulled me out of my bubble and made me realize that not everyone is as hunky-dory about this topic and my freedom to write about it as I imagined. I couldn't help but think about all the times that such an issue has been brought up in the mass media. In the public eye, we are a nation that gets unreasonably up in arms about sexuality, and for the most part it's a bit ridiculous.
When I was young, my parents would let me watch movies like "Terminator" and "Predator,"even as gory and violent as they can be, but slap a pair of boobies somewhere in the movie and it was on the banned list. My mom did all she could to make sure I wasn't tainted by the evil ways of sexuality. However, everyday I would get on the school bus and hear some fourth grader going on and on about pornography he saw from his older brother and using words that I could barely pronounce for parts of humans I didn't know existed.
Be the first to comment on this story