Pro-Department of Sexuality Statement
I find it absolutely perverse that, amongst all the endless number of departments that exist in the vast amounts of colleges spread around the world, none (to the best of my knowledge) have a department of sexuality.
Open any magazine, any newspaper, look at any street advertisement, commercials on TV, and it becomes apparent: sex is not only everywhere, it overwhelms our discourse about pretty much anything. Beyond that, beyond our mental obsession about it, our very existence depends on it. And no, it doesn't depend on simple penetration but rather on mentally stimulating and physically arousing intercourse. Yep, you can't make babies unless there is an erection, and you cannot sustain social bonds necessary for the baby's survival unless the recipient is willing and equally aroused.
Yes, we have scientists working on little fractions of our bodies, looking into the molecular characteristics of the placenta, the physical abilities of spermatozoids, the contraction of the blood vessels leading into the penis, the permeability of the vaginal walls and their secretions, etc. ad nauseam. We have psychotherapists looking into the effects of rape, researching what makes our minds tick, pheromone specialists seeking answers to what on earth are arousing smells, etc. ad infinitum. We have sociologists and anthropologists throwing their curious glances onto LGBT communities, deviant sexual behaviour and gender issues, yet none, no one, nada nill nullmento work together as a whole, holistic ensemble to study human sexuality in its entirety.
Mary Roach and Pamela Druckerman found themselves labelled perverts for their (excellent) ventures into the field, yet their contributions to our understanding of the most basic facts of human existence are priceless. Why, oh WHY are they not on the reading lists of all universities concerned with humans?
I believe that it is of quintessential importance that we turn our (academic) attention to sex. And that, in itself, as a blunt statement, in our day and age, in this twenty first century, is prone to get me into trouble.
Pervert! I hear you say...
Obsessed with sex!
And if I was, so what?
It is a matter of great pleasure, and ought indeed be so. We have given into studying the pleasures of art, performance, philosophical thought, scientific discovery, physical prowess, yet sex? No! We shall shun sex as a (potential) matter of academic discipline!
Who are we kidding? It is only our irrational fear of our bestial nature that keeps us from finding peace with such a natural facet of our lives. What is wrong with studying things that give us pleasure?
Further than that, even, if it is not a source of pleasure, then indeed it should be studied! Bring out the repression from the closet! Expose the reasons of our unhappiness! Stop treating people as perverts when all they do is enjoy their bodies, these vessels we inhabit, the very canvas that expresses our existence upon this Earth!
Why do we study the S&M, the LGBT, the deviant scenes and yet find no space to study what all of us hide behind of as "normal behaviour?" Show me one person who has a normal sex life and I will grow gold, for you, from my fingertips.
Let this be an open call to all of Planet Earth: let there be a Department of Sexuality at the University of Cambridge! ... or Oxford, Berkeley, Princeton, Colombia, Harvard, whatever, pick your choice. It is high time we gain freedom from the slavery we have imposed upon ourselves through the taboo that we keep up by not addressing sex through a holistic approach!
Stop talking about the hair, skin cells, flabby ears and pointy tusks of the animal in the room! Accept the elephant in its entirety and move on! Even better, feed it, caress it, smile at it and give it a kiss. Instead of trampling on social values, morale, respect, power relations, exploitation et al, it might even help solve why your feet keep on getting crushed.
Open any magazine, any newspaper, look at any street advertisement, commercials on TV, and it becomes apparent: sex is not only everywhere, it overwhelms our discourse about pretty much anything. Beyond that, beyond our mental obsession about it, our very existence depends on it. And no, it doesn't depend on simple penetration but rather on mentally stimulating and physically arousing intercourse. Yep, you can't make babies unless there is an erection, and you cannot sustain social bonds necessary for the baby's survival unless the recipient is willing and equally aroused.
Yes, we have scientists working on little fractions of our bodies, looking into the molecular characteristics of the placenta, the physical abilities of spermatozoids, the contraction of the blood vessels leading into the penis, the permeability of the vaginal walls and their secretions, etc. ad nauseam. We have psychotherapists looking into the effects of rape, researching what makes our minds tick, pheromone specialists seeking answers to what on earth are arousing smells, etc. ad infinitum. We have sociologists and anthropologists throwing their curious glances onto LGBT communities, deviant sexual behaviour and gender issues, yet none, no one, nada nill nullmento work together as a whole, holistic ensemble to study human sexuality in its entirety.
Mary Roach and Pamela Druckerman found themselves labelled perverts for their (excellent) ventures into the field, yet their contributions to our understanding of the most basic facts of human existence are priceless. Why, oh WHY are they not on the reading lists of all universities concerned with humans?
I believe that it is of quintessential importance that we turn our (academic) attention to sex. And that, in itself, as a blunt statement, in our day and age, in this twenty first century, is prone to get me into trouble.
Pervert! I hear you say...
Obsessed with sex!
And if I was, so what?
It is a matter of great pleasure, and ought indeed be so. We have given into studying the pleasures of art, performance, philosophical thought, scientific discovery, physical prowess, yet sex? No! We shall shun sex as a (potential) matter of academic discipline!
Who are we kidding? It is only our irrational fear of our bestial nature that keeps us from finding peace with such a natural facet of our lives. What is wrong with studying things that give us pleasure?
Further than that, even, if it is not a source of pleasure, then indeed it should be studied! Bring out the repression from the closet! Expose the reasons of our unhappiness! Stop treating people as perverts when all they do is enjoy their bodies, these vessels we inhabit, the very canvas that expresses our existence upon this Earth!
Why do we study the S&M, the LGBT, the deviant scenes and yet find no space to study what all of us hide behind of as "normal behaviour?" Show me one person who has a normal sex life and I will grow gold, for you, from my fingertips.
Let this be an open call to all of Planet Earth: let there be a Department of Sexuality at the University of Cambridge! ... or Oxford, Berkeley, Princeton, Colombia, Harvard, whatever, pick your choice. It is high time we gain freedom from the slavery we have imposed upon ourselves through the taboo that we keep up by not addressing sex through a holistic approach!
Stop talking about the hair, skin cells, flabby ears and pointy tusks of the animal in the room! Accept the elephant in its entirety and move on! Even better, feed it, caress it, smile at it and give it a kiss. Instead of trampling on social values, morale, respect, power relations, exploitation et al, it might even help solve why your feet keep on getting crushed.