A highly respected university professor just got into trouble when he had a live couple demonstrate use of a vibrator in front of his human sexuality class. According to the times the woman wanted to demonstrate female ejaculation.
Wow. This certainly leads to many interesting questions and to be fair I’m just starting to think about this and analyze it so here are my initial questions:
- Where is the line between education and voyeurism? I don’t think this is a new question but it is one that has all of us struggling. When is it okay to “show” something and is there a difference between showing things on film on in “real time.” Somehow, we FEEL that there’s a difference but it’s hard to express why. When Kinsey started his surveys, wide spread polls and, let’s face it, human experimentation, there was a huge outcry. But the information he provided for the world has been invaluable and people’s sex lives have never been the same. I think part of what makes us so queasy when it comes to sex is that watching sex elicits a physical and emotional response. (hence it feels like voyeurism) But so does watching violence. And yet, as a society, we seem so much more comfortable showing horrible, disturbing violence and the nausea and headaches that result don’t seem to disturb us quite as much as the arousal that might come from watching a couple having sex.
- Is “normative” sex any different than “kinky” sex when it comes to “show and tell.” That is, would we have had as strong a reaction if he had a couple demonstrate normal, missionary position intercourse? My guess is probably yes, but SHOULD our reactions be the same? As someone who sees people regularly who struggle with intercourse, I wonder if it wouldn’t be helpful to have some live demonstrations some time. Maybe because, again, when you move into kink it feels more like voyeurism. (See question 1).
- But the question I’m asking which no one else seems concerned with is this: female ejaculation during orgasm is a real but infrequent occurrence. Why set up students yet again to a standard that is unrealistic for most woman and now becomes a norm? If a professor is going to go out on a limb to show students something so provocative, couldn’t he show something more useful? Okay…I realize I’m a geek. I’m probably the only one so focused on details, but really…
