The first thing you see upon entering the hall of the Chan Centre is an image of a purple condom dangling off a clothesline, glistening glamorously in the sunlight.
Welcome to Laci Green’s Best Sex Ever!
“Or more accurately phrased, Laci Green’s sex education that can help you get the best sex of your life. Results may vary.”
Laci looks warmly at the crowd as we laugh. You can tell she’s a natural at this by the way she walks across the stage, peering into every face before her and smiling her natural smile. And hey, of course she’s a professional presenter. After all, Laci hosts the most popular sex channel on YouTube, with over one million followers viewed across over 125 countries worldwide.
The next image that follows is a photo of a vulva.
“I want us to see the real images of our body parts. I want us to see how much they vary, and that it’s normal to be different.”
Laci has crowd members shout out the parts of the vulva. And they do so with much enthusiasm.
“Clitoris!”
“Vagina!”
The crowd is invigorated by this point. Never before have such sinfully delicious words been so loudly expressed in the Chan Centre. Then we move on to the penis.
After Laci finishes classifying the typical body parts – with much assistance from the audience – she moves on to the subjects of safe sex and consent. One of the highlights for me is when she gets a volunteer from the audience give us a step-by-step demonstration on how to properly use a condom. “First, you open the condom package with your fingers,” the UBC student explains. “Then, you hold onto the condom with your fingers. Be careful not to get a papercut.” The audience is overcome with laughter by the the time the volunteer pulls the condom over Laci’s blue plastic penis.
It’s been a good hour now, and I can’t help but be amazed at the safe, warm space created in this massive hall. Laci’s talks are able to bring a crowd of no less than 300 people become at ease with the taboo subject of sex. But here we all are, discussing it. Looking at real life photos of it. And what really amazes me is when Laci gets the crowd to interact in a conversation about sexual assault.
Laci has select audience members from all over the room speak out. Nine people with red cards taped to the back of their seats read out nine verbal ways of communicating consent:
“Are you feeling comfortable?”
“I don’t know how I feel about this.”
“This feels good.”
Then Laci calls for the tenth card.
“Hear that?” Silence. “That’s right. The tenth card is silence. Silence does not mean yes.”
I feel the profound effect it has on the audience members, including myself. Hearing the scenarios directly from the everyday people all around you definitely has a stronger impact than reading what consent means on posters and newspapers.
And that’s really what this entire talk feels like for me. Laci talks about sex in such a casual and friendly way, but underneath it all, this is a serious and open conversation. Sex is something we all eventually learn about, and here Laci is, delivering the message in an engaging yet informative presentation.
Now, if only this were a class you could take!