On Friday, November 11, 2022 OUT Lafayette (the queer club on campus) hosted condom bingo as a means for sex education. A small business sex shop owner, Mason Luke came with sex toy prizes for the winners of bingo and as he handed them out explained their benefits and any health risks or health risk stigma. The goal for the night was to educate that sex isn’t meant to be taboo and its safer to talk about the ways to please yourself than to figure out what doesn’t work the hard way. Along with the bingo game there were two drag performers: Hexxa (@hexxa on instagram) and Majestee (@themajestee on instagram). They both served as this sort of empowering spirit for us to be comfortable in our bodies, in our sexualities and in our gender and even more, to celebrate it. To give back to it but understanding how to please it in a way that’s gender affirming and safe. The air in the room was electric and there was a burgeoning acceptance of self and others that to me was the quintessential college experience. It may have been embarrassing at first to get up in front of everyone and get a sex toy as a prize but soon it became normal and appreciated for breaking the taboo and seeking to educate. And if there was a tie for a prize, we entered dick olympics. Dick olympics helped a lot to get everyone immersed in the atmosphere. To break the tie there were multiple sex toy themed games including a getting the most cock rings on the plastic dick. It sounds very silly I know but it’s things like that which broke down barriers to allow this conversation to be explored. My high school background is an all girls catholic school and although I was never sheltered from this kind of conversation at my home it was still very difficult to get this kind of exposure and acceptance of the normality of sex. I wasn’t able to truly feel comfortable in my sexuality until my senior year of high school when I started hanging out with more queer people. Being at condom bingo, as silly as it sounds, reminded me of that same feeling of acceptance to explore and be unapologetically who you are.
I would like to thank the coordinators of condom bingo (the board of OUT) as it was a truly special night that I will cherish forever. I encourage you all to check out Mason Luke’s website (https://www.masonluke.com) and not be afraid to talk about sex because it’s just a part of the world and safer to talk about than learn on your own. Mason has a speciality for the LGBTQ+ community which as a baby gay was very exciting to see as I am still learning myself about how I fit into this community. But what I’ve learned from condom bingo is that it’s about constantly learning and exploring and reinventing the wheel for yourself and the world. A lot of the products Mason showed us were fairly new or revolutionary in terms of being more gender affirming in a way that should have seemed obvious which was interesting to learn about.
It was truly a great learning experience on all accounts, Mason was very informative and friendly and Hexxa and Majestee were accepting spirits and amazing performers. Thank you OUT Lafayette for another great event!