Professor Fulbright is an international sexologist and educator as well as a successful author. She has worked as a sex columnist for Cosmopolitan magazine, Women’s Health magazine and for Fox News. She enjoys informing people in order to create a safe sex atmosphere for all parties.
Her Campus American: Can you provide me with a background of your professional journey?
Yvonne Fulbright: I went straight from Penn State to UPenn to study human sexuality, but one thing I didn’t know at the time was that jobs are hard to come by in this field. My first job was at a national AIDS fellowship program and it was a situation where I was supervising work that I wanted to be doing. After I got my Ph D I became a sex columnist for Washington Square News. Shortly after, the media caught wind of sex columns becoming a trend and I became more independent with writing gigs and began to work for myself. Now I am an adjunct at five universities, a sex columnist and an author.
HCAU: How did you become interested in the study of sex?
YF: In 6th grade I gave a presentation on the female reproductive system, my classmates’ eyes were the size of saucers, yet I was comfortable talking about this topic. When I moved here from Iceland I was the first girl in my class to hit puberty and I noticed the difference between the way the two cultures handle sexuality.
HCAU: You’re an author of many books, what was some of the feedback from the public?
YF: I haven’t had any negative reactions to my books. When I was a sex columnist for Fox News I got so much hate mail during the first two months, I had to grow a thick skin really fast. You make yourself vulnerable and you are a target. It comes with the territory and you have to be willing to tolerate it, or find something else to study.
HCAU: Can you tell me a little bit about your sex column in Cosmopolitan magazine?
YF: My writing for Cosmo was much different from my writing for sex columns else where. Cosmo took huge liberties to make sure all of the answers sounded the same way, because they choose to deliver their information in a very specific voice.
HCAU: How did you become interested in teaching?
YF: I think it goes back to that same memory from 6th grade. The empowerment that comes with being informed can prevent someone from needing counseling. It is very enjoyable to work with people when they’re learning and have their “ah ha” moments.
HCAU: In what ways do you think that the students at AU are different from students elsewhere?
YF: AU has a reputation for being more open minded, that’s not to say that this is the case with every student. You’ve got a great deal of diversity here when it comes to sexuality. In my sexuality studies course I find that the students are fighting for larger causes of equal rights, even if they are heterosexual.
HCAU: What is one piece of advice that you would like to offer to the students?
YF: You create your own learning experience. I think a lot of people are used to being spoon fed. They lose sight of the fact that they are ultimately in charge of how much they learn. My pet peeve is when most people haven’t read. For me it is sad because what are you doing if you aren’t holding up your end of the bargain and coming to class informed? People would enjoy the experience a lot more if they saw it as more of an opportunity to expand their way of thinking and view of the world instead of just as work.
Photo Credit:
http://www.womensradio.com/2012/01/luscious-life-with-dr-yvonne-k-fulbri…
http://thecsph.org/hump-day-hero-yvonne-k-fulbright
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