CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University's annual "Sex Week," coordinated by Sexual Health Education & Advocacy throughout Harvard College (SHEATH), will be held November 8-14.
Online sex shop Lovehoney donated 13,000 "Fifty Shades of Gray" condoms and 1,200 bottles of lube for the event, to be distributed freely to attendees. Among the topics being discussed in "Sex Week" sessions are sex and religion, radical consent, masturbation, sex toys, feminist porn, sexual health careers and BDSM.
Although SHEATH is a student-run organization, the group lists on its website several university co-sponsors like the Harvard College Women’s Center, the Center for Wellness, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life and the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR).
SHEATH also offers testimonials from student supporters, like Grace Huskins and Arthur Kaynor, former co-director of Peer Contraceptive Counselors (PCC).
“I support 'Sex Week' because I can’t stand how it’s socially acceptable for a man to talk about sex and enjoy sex, but if a woman does the same she is automatically a 'slut' or a 'whore,'" Huskins said. "If we can create an open dialogue about sex, like 'Sex Week' does, I think we can start trying to rectify this problem. Sex shouldn’t be a taboo topic — for either gender.”
“The keys to great sex are communication and lube," Kaynor said. "While PCC can supply the latter and facilitate the former, the value of a campus-wide conversation and movement for openness concerning such an important topic is immeasurable. Let’s talk about sex!”
