Sex!
Some people have it, some people don’t (and that’s okay!) – let’s talk about it.
How many people would call themselves sex positive? What even is sex positivity?
In November, the University of Nottingham participated in SHAG Week, which was an initiative to ‘raise awareness for all things sexual health.’
The week took place on Monday 5th November to Friday 9th November highlighting sexual liberation at the university. Events ranged from free STI screenings, healthy relationships workshops, consent training and sex toy give-aways!
Student Voice said ‘SHAG Week should be about all aspects of sexual health including your own sexual wellness, healthy relationships, consent and what it means to be sex positive’
Events and conversations like these are productive contributions to the sexual health discourse as they demonstrate active recognition in students being sexually active and destigmatizes sex.
In my ethnic community, conversations regarding sex are typically quite taboo which as a result does not perpetuate sex positivity. Therefore, university led initiatives such as SHAG Week compensate for the absence of sex positive conversations in my community, opening up dialogue and resources about sex and more importantly safe sex.
But what about those people who are absent from conversations about sex positivity?
The narrative that sexual liberation is easy to reach and is simply a choice people can make is misleading. Everyone experiences sexuality differently and a liberated sexual identity can be hard to reach due to cultural stigmas, past traumas, or sexual orientation.
Sexuality is tied into all of these things, and just as there is a great degree of variation in all stages of personal growth in terms of our identities and how we express ourselves, there is variance in sexual liberation too. Whilst it is not constructive to try to restrain other people who feel comfortable talking about sex, it is important to respect that some people cannot take upon the same attitude.
And that’s why sexual neutrality is important- some people may find themselves unready for sex and yet still wish to involve themselves in conversations about safe sex without a moral imperative behind whether or not sex is ultimately ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
We must include all individuals without creating a narrative that you must feel positively about sex, lest we exclude them from productive discussions.
Alongside SHAG Week, the University of Nottingham’s Student Union introduced a new initiative of Community Cabinets. The cabinets are located outside the Portland Building toilets by ‘The Studio, opposite Blackwells, near SU advice and outside the Get Involved Zone.’ The cabinets supply period pads, tampons, condoms [latex free too!], pregnancy tests and even lube!
This is a positive step forward for free, accessible, and intersectional sexual health products. When I first got my period, I remember not having any period products with me and nowhere at school to get them from. My friends and I would hide our pads and tampons in our sleeves and blazer pockets to be as discreet as possible about our periods, which makes me so sad to reflect on now. Archaic perceptions of modesty should not interfere or make us ashamed of our sexual health.
These cabinets are not hidden, they are made of transparent glass, and you can clearly see all the products available. They are bright, out in the open and unapologetically present in the university, just as sexual health and our conversations around it should be.
So – what more needs to be done?
Many students at the university have campaigned for mandatory consent training and their campaigns must come to fruition. If we want to create a sex-positive and safe environment at the university, mandatory consent training is non-negotiable.
Despite all the positive progress being made – we still have a long way to go.