THE
COLUMBIA CHRONICLE PROUDLY PRESENTS
the
SEX Issue 2011
2 THE CHRONICLE |
MARCH 7, 2011
Dear Readers, W
hen talk of publishing a supplemental issue started to circulate around the office, we knew we wanted to tackle issues sometimes too taboo to discuss. Thus, we’ve decided to bring sexy back this semester with our sex issue. Inside the next 16 titillating pages, we keep it classy and playful with topics revolving around the Chicago community and college students from all around. At The Chronicle, we understand what is on the mind of college students. This is why we wanted to provide you with fresh insight about the other aspects of sexuality you might be wondering about. If we found it interesting, we thought you might, too. We’ve explored sex and spirituality classes at Columbia and Chicago’s historic red light district. Our writers looked into events like Naked Girls Reading and quirky state laws, like how in Florida it’s illegal to shower naked. Who knew? We’ve even compiled the benefits of getting busy. So get excited and use this quickie issue as a break from our usual content. We hope you enjoy it.
—The Chronicle Staff
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Columbia’s sexyPg class4
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Chicago madams and brothels
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Reading books naked
THE SEX ISSUE | MARCH 7, 2011 | THE CHRONICLE 3
4 THE CHRONICLE |
MARCH 7, 2011
with the hover 4 Play
Create the mood 1 How To:
Give a lapdance Learn how to turn your partner on with these five steps by Katy Nielsen
Assistant Health & Fitness Editor
P
ut on a sexy button-down shirt, light some candles and find a comfy chair because if you want to give your partner a lap dance, the atmosphere should be tranquil and you want to feel in control. According to Michelle Anilao, pole and lap dance instructor at Sheila Kelley’s S Factor, 1400 W. Hubbard St., giving a lap dance is a present. Once you realize you are in charge, there is no reason to feel nervous. Anilao suggested practicing with an empty chair and pillows before you perform for real. Follow these steps, and you can learn how to tease and turn on your partner.
“It’s as much touch or exposure as you’re willing to give,” Anilao said. “Tease by coming in really close and moving away. Be as tantalizing as possible.” Roll your hips and move closer and further away from your partner. Be creative. Nothing you do is wrong because you are expressing yourself. Brush your body against your partner, and control how much he or she can touch you back.
Set the stage for your lap dance by wearing clothes you feel sexy in. You may also want to dim the lights to create a peaceful ambiance and turn on some music. “The first thing you want to do is to get comfortable with yourself,” Anilao said. “Wear whatever makes you feel sexy. For women, maybe that’s heels or bare feet, maybe that’s a button-down shirt. It can be that simple.”
2The approach
5The dismount
Start your advance in the same way a cat approaches its prey. It can be a walk or a crawl. “You always want to feel a sense of control,” Anilao said. “The lap dance is something you’re giving to someone as a gift.”
You can slide down to the floor or sit on one edge of the chair and roll your body up from there. Finally, as you walk away, you want to give him or her one last look of an exposed part of your body, such as your wrist. You can flip your hair or give a sexy look before you turn and go. “You walk away sealing it in,” Anilao said. “Like, ‘I gave that to you, and now I’m gone.’ It leaves them wanting more.”
3 The mount Once you reach your partner, you can either place your knees between their legs or your legs around them, depending on how much room you have. “The best way is to put your knee between the knees of your partner,” Anilao said.
knielsen@chroniclemail.com Jonathan Allen THE CHRONICLE
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Sex An orgasm a day could keep the doctor away by Summer McCaslin Contributing Writer
S
exuality is one of the ways we express ourselves as humans, and it forms part of our identity that spills over [into our everyday lives], said Amy Steinhauer, sex therapist at the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists of the Chicago area. No matter how we choose to express ourselves behind closed doors, we all typically do the deed for one main purpose, achieving the big O. Steinhauer and her colleague, sex educator and counselor Kimberly Rice, gave their insights about the health benefits of having sex beyond the simple pleasures it can bring.
positive and beneficial,” Rice said. No, it won’t take away all of your problems, but it can provide you with a clearer mind, which in turn helps you handle the stressful situations much better.
The perfect alternative to coffee
Feeling sluggish in the morning? Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than you normally do, and use this extra time to surprise your partner with a quickie to start the day off right. If men are having more sex, their testosterone levels are higher, which gives them increased energy. On the other hand, insomniacs will be happy to hear sex helps you sleep better. The oxytocin released during orgasm prompts the muscles to fully relax and your mind to rest, Steinhauer said. Essentially, sex is like exercise.
An active sex life equals a healthy prostate
It’s time to break up with your aspirin
Sex can provide temporary relief from pain caused by headaches and cramps. “Sex releases endorphins,” Steinhauer said. “Interestingly, during the sexual response cycle as arousal goes up, your body has a decreased perception of pain.” Antibodies are also stimulated by intercourse and work as a natural antihistamine, which can get rid of a stuffy nose. Put down that pill bottle and engage in a little foreplay with your partner for an au natural remedy.
The healing power of sex
A stronger sense of self Great sex can give you the extra boost of self-confidence you need to go after what you desire in life. “When there’s a trusting relationship where people can really reveal themselves safely, then sex can be very enhancing for confidence and self-esteem,” Steinhauer said. “If there is not that sense of permission, then it can reinforce insecurities.” Feeling satisfied about your sexual performance and experiences sets the tone for how you want to feel in your everyday life. If the sex is everything you want, then your self-esteem could skyrocket. chronicle@colum.edu
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Whether your rent is late or you are swamped with homework, sex can be the key to lift you out of your stressful slump. “The pleasure derived from sexual intimacy can often affect our moods in a way that is
Although there are no official studies to prove an active sex life helps decrease the risk of prostate cancer, resident nurse Jolene Williams, of the Scott Klein MD Urology Practice in La Crosse, Wis., said many physicians believe it to be true. Studies show that a male’s prostate specific antigen, revealed by a blood test used for the screening of prostate cancer, is generally lower in more sexually active individuals. A normal PSA can range anywhere from 0–4.0 and anything above 4.0 is considered an indicator for a biopsy.
6 THE CHRONICLE |
MARCH 7, 2011
Campus Sex Issue: STD Rates
from the 1970s and 1980s, said Craig Roberts, clinical assistant professor and epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who specializes in sexually transmitted infections. “The long term data [shows] overall trends are quite low,” Roberts said. “It varies by disease.” STD incidence increased throughout last Some infections, like gonorrhea and syphilis, two years but decreased since1980s decreased 90 percent from where they were 30 years ago, he by Sam Charles TOTAL CASEs IN HUMANS AGED 20-24 added. Campus Editor Chlamydia Additionally, infection Gonorrhea exual education, distribution of conwith the human Syphilis doms, and free HIV and sexually 450,000 papillomavirus is the transmitted disease testing are ia 455,918 most common STD in the d 438,311 y 400,000 m some of the methods colleges nationcountry. The infection, 402,597 Chla wide utilize to help curb the current 250,000 which most commonly rise in sexually transmitted diseases occurs in women, has no 200,000 among people ages 20–24. cure, but it can be treated. Statistics gathered by the However, the CDC has no 150,000 Centers for Disease Control concrete way of measuring 111,788 Gonor 109,005 rhea 100,902 the exact number of cases and Prevention show two of 100,000 the most common sexually on college campuses because transmitted diseases among 50,000 of the time gathering the 2,812 2,398 1,818 people ages 20–24, syphilis information would require, and chlamydia, are on the according to Roberts. 0 rise, while a third common “Those studies haven’t 2007 2008 2009 disease, gonorrhea, is in been done on college students decline. There is a higher concentration of from 2007 to 2009 by 53,321. Syphilis is up specifically,” he said. “There have been the diseases in this age group than of any from 2007 to 2009 by 994 cases. Gonorrhea, some studies of individual populations of other included in the survey. however, decreased from 2007 to 2009 by students, like an HPV study done at the Based on the center’s statistics through 10,886 cases. University of Washington several years ago, 2009, reported cases of chlamydia increased The number of cases dropped significantly where they found [approximately] one in
S
Syphilis
four students have an HPV infection.” Columbia has its methods of combating STDs on campus. The college holds free HIV/STD tests once a month, and the results are returned within two weeks. Columbia has provided STD testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia but not syphilis. Informal surveys are also taken to try to determine a more exact number of cases on college campuses. But because students often address STD issues with their physician, the number is usually an estimate, Roberts said. The 20–24 age bracket has the highest concentration of cases among all surveyed. The 15–19 bracket has the next highest number of reported chlamydia and gonorrhea cases, while the second most cases of syphilis are found in the 25–29 bracket. A national health survey conducted by the American College Health Association disseminates information gathered from student health centers across the country. The results, however, do not give any information regarding STDs on campus. The survey pertains to students’ sexual behavior, such as the number of times they’ve had sexual intercourse in the past 30 days and how many different sexual partners they’ve had in the same time period. scharles@chroniclemail.com
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Sexuality College seminar focuses on all aspects of sex
McWilliams ended the session by giving his students a mini review of what was to be on their next quiz. Topics on the by Shardae Smith quiz included Kegel exercises for men and Assistant Campus Editor women. Powell said although the course contains his class isn’t considered a traditional college course. It isn’t required for a graphic images and videos, she often starts specific major and there are other the semester telling students the course courses available to fill in for the college’s won’t feature 15 weeks of porn but writing, social sciences requirement. But this class is reading and discussion. “We discuss [porn] because it’s definitely centered on sexuality and is a popular choice for students. One teacher has some advice one of the pressing issues,” she said. “I try for female students: If your boyfriend isn’t to really look at what students are coming “releasing” fast enough, grab a hold of their [up] against and what they’re interested in. Porn is a huge industry, and it’s not just prostate and tell them to “giddy up!” Columbia’s Human Sexuality Seminar three people watching it. It’s something we is currently taught by adjunct faculty take up [together] and talk about it. I look members William Bradley, Sharon Powell at ways to talk about porn and put it into and Korey McWilliams for the Humanities, a context of culture and our relationships History and Social Sciences Department with each other.” According to Powell, she creates in the South Campus Building, 624 S. classroom agreements so what is said in Michigan Ave. The course focuses on a wide range the classroom stays within that circle of of topics related to sexuality, such as students. She said there are times when myths, sexual behavior, contraceptives she gets uncomfortable with some of the discussions but it’s human nature. and circumcision. McWilliams said because he doesn’t show According to McWilliams, sex is everywhere, and his goal for the seminar porn during his class, he allows students is to make students aware it’s part of their to pick a research topic they would like to explore further. But he said students attitudes and shaped by different factors. “I try to give students an opportunity to often come back with how-tos that aren’t use what they’re learning and apply it to academically educational, such as how to their lives,” McWilliams said. “If you aren’t perform oral sex on a woman or man. “I make them do research and find using knowledge, are you really learning? I try to create space for students to apply sources on this [topic] and they realize, ‘Maybe I can’t find sources on why I get these things to their lives.” A recent topic of discussion in his class lockjaw when I go down on my girlfriend,’” was male circumcision. After watching a McWilliams said. “Yes, you probably won’t documentary, which featured circumcised find that in the academic database.” McWilliams said he believes sex is a and uncircumcised penises, McWilliams asked his students if, when the time came, taboo topic in 2011 because the American they would consider the operation for their culture is so diverse there can’t be a unified son, or let him make the decision when the singular belief about sexuality. “We have a porn industry that puts out way child was older. more movies than Hollywood could even try to, and we’ve got Internet porn readily available,” McWilliams said. “But we’re still struggling with basic human rights around sexuality and gay rights, when a teenage girl sends pictures of herself to her boyfriend, we want to prosecute her for spreading child porn. It’s just this weirdness that will never go away. There will always be that tension. It’s just a cultural thing.” Sara Mays THE CHRONICLE
T
Columbia Professor Korey McWilliams demonstrates to his Human Sexuality Seminar class how to insert a intrauterine device. An IUD is a form of birth control for women that is inserted into the uterus and can last up to 12 years.
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8 THE CHRONICLE | MARCH 7, 2011
RED .. LIGHTING CHICAGO VICE A
LOOK
I N T O
T HE
C I T Y’S
S EEDY
PAS T
Story by Darryl Holliday Photos by Brent Lewis
I
n 1900, at the age of 21 and 23, Ada and Minna Everleigh moved to Chicago and began the most famous brothel in the country. When they closed the famed whorehouse and left the city in 1911, they had more than $1 million in cash, jewelry and stock, while a wider ring of vice remained in their place. There was a time in the city when 50 cents would buy a ticket to see pretty much anybody doing anything, and though it’s hard to tell Chicago’s seamy fact from fiction, at least some of the scandal is true: Prostitutes were plentiful, and Chicagoans could indulge their vices at any number of legitimized locations scattered around town without police interference. The Windy City’s lurid flirtation with red light districts—selective areas where prostitution, brothels and general indecency were tolerated by police and the public— spanned more than 30 years, peaking around the 1900s. Notorious bailiwicks—such as the Levee district, nowadays part of Chinatown; and The Sands, once located along the shore of Lake Michigan—catered to Chicagoans’ more disreputable desires, leaving traces of prostitution and other crime that continue to exist in certain areas today. “There’s hardly a neighborhood or street around the city that wasn’t a red light district at some point in history,” said Bill Griffith, Chicago historian. As early as the 1840s, small pockets of vice could be found in Chicago. By the next decade, areas along the southern edge of the Loop,
including Madison Street and Printer’s Row, had become infamous partially because of vice areas such as the Custom House district, which had its epicenter around Dearborn Station, 47 W. Polk St. The region south of today’s Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St., was known as “Hell’s Half-Acre,” and contained some three or four dozen brothels, whiskey bars, pawn shops and opium dens crammed into a half block, according to Griffith. “Everything in the South Loop was just horrible for a long time,” he said. Likewise, State Street—from Roosevelt Road to the mid-South Side—was once known as “Satan’s Mile” after its more deplorably enticing features, which included prostitution, gambling, drinking and other wanton depravity. The Everleigh sisters ran the notorious Everleigh Club, a high-class brothel located on the 2100 S. Dearborn St. block. They occupied the upper-end of the red light spectrum, charging customers exorbitant fees for sex as long as they were rich and white. “[The Everleigh Club] was the really fancy one, where if you spent less than $50 a night—and that’s like, $50 in 1900 money—you would be banned for life,” Griffith said. Other madams, such as Black Susan Winslow, owner of a brothel underneath the Clark Street viaduct, currently the South Loop Target store on Roosevelt Road, held down the dregs. Black Susan is said to have been a nearly 500 pound woman who evaded arrest because police were unable to remove her from the building. Her story, while dubious, is rife with an amalgum of sex and crime.
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THE SEX ISSUE | MARCH 7, 2011 | THE CHRONICLE 9
one of the spots many consider is a part of the Red Light District in Chicago.
“[Winslow’s brothel] was one of the places where instead of getting f***ed, you’d get robbed,” Griffith said. Before the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, Chicago had all but legalized prostitution, according to Ken Melvoin-Berg, creator of Weird Chicago, which offers local bus tours displaying a mix of ghosts, crime and unusual Chicago history year-round. Better known as the Mann Act, the federal legislation prohibited white slavery and the transportation across state lines of females for “debauchery” and “immoral purposes.” A common use of the act was to prosecute men for having sex with underage women, and limit prostitution and child pornography, all of which had previously been running rampant in Chicago’s vice districts. “Chicago was one of the areas in the U.S. that was seen as such a dirty town because we had a very corrupt political and law enforcement subset that would deal directly with prostitution,” Melvoin-Berg said. During the 1890s, Aldermen “Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin, of the 1st Ward, held an annual party called the First Ward Ball, where they used local hookers to raise money for their campaign war-chests. According to Melvoin-Berg, the name of a
! ! !
popular Chicago music festival originated with these parties when Kenna was quoted as saying, “It’s a lollapalooza,”—during a year when nearly 50,000 residents showed up for the drunken orgy. “The police were generally known to look the other way,” Griffith said. “It was more or less legal in most areas around there.” Largely accepted by law enforcement, local government and the public, the districts went unchecked for decades—the prevailing notion being that if a certain area existed solely for indulgence, other areas would remain relatively smut free. But the theory hardly worked out in practice. When red light districts were shut down in Chicago and elsewhere during the 1910s and ‘20s, the effect was to spread the vice across the city. Today’s more licentious communities can be traced to this shift. The intersection of North and Ashland avenues is currently a center of prostitution in Chicago, according to Melvoin-Berg. Other hubs can be found on The Far West Side, the Far South Side including Pullman and the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. “In some ways [the red light districts] still exist,” he said. “Not legally but illegally—it’s split in different areas of the city.” Modern day red light districts take form in areas populated by adult novelty stores, happy ending massage parlors and bondage dungeons, among
others. Stores such as The Pleasure Chest and Skyscraper Heels, in Roscoe Village, cater to the sado-masochistic, corset-loving, anal-beading, dildorocking, dominant/submissive in all of us. But Chicago’s gaudy history offered sex in a way that can’t be found in such legitimized grandeur these days. Nowadays, prostitutes average $27 a trick and are more likely to solicit business on the Internet, especially on sites like Facebook, according to Melvoin-Berg. However, they continue to be highly susceptible to abuse, homelessness, drug abuse and physical and mental problems. While the madams and whorehouses of Chicago’s 1900s no longer exist in the same form, they have been replaced with pimps and streetwalking hookers in many areas of the city, though not much is known about the prostitution industry nationwide. “[Take] me back in time and I could get you to a whorehouse without much trouble,” Griffith said. “Today, I’m not sure where you’d go.” A listing of prostitution arrests and descriptions of the statutes that govern prostitution law can be found at Portal.ChicagoPolice.org. dholliday@chroniclemail.com
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THE SEX ISSUE | MARCH 7, 2011 | THE CHRONICLE 11
Lets talk about
sex
Hookup culture prevalent in colleges, social workers think it’s time to start a dialogue by Katy Nielsen
Assistant Health & Fitness Editor
A
fter the weekend wraps up on college campuses, everyone has stories to share from the night before. These stories sometimes involve someone sleeping with someone else. Hooking up, whether it’s kissing, oral sex or intercourse, has become part of college culture and might be something campuses should address in classrooms and open forums. Two social workers discussed their experiences working with young people; how college students’ sexcapades do not follow the adult model of healthy relationship development and how creating a dialogue about sex could be helpful to students to develop their emotional awareness. “It’s a way to kind of hook up but not really be intimately involved,” said Cindy Solomon, a licensed clinical social worker, about the college campuses sexual culture. “You don’t have to deal with the intimacy, so you don’t have to deal with getting
hurt emotionally.” Solomon said she had college-aged patients who were more comfortable hooking up with people than maintaining romantic relationships. She said for some people, there is fear about creating too much of an emotional bond because that would make them feel vulnerable. “Some college students treat sex casually, like, ‘Oh, I’m drunk; I just want to feel good,’” she said. “It’s all about instant gratification, which at the time might be nice.” However, the next morning someone might regret his or her actions. It seems like college guys are more comfortable the next day with their actions from the night before than girls, which Solomon said she has observed in her practice. Solomon recommended sex education as a tool for college campuses because students take sex education in junior high and high school and may be too young to understand and apply the information to their lives. “What’s hard is to become involved
with somebody who you do care about,” she said. “Eventually there’s a shift. After a while people realize it gets old and it’s empty. They want something more.” According to Eva Reymer, another licensed clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, it involves casual interactions that are not equivalent to adult relationships. “College students try to separate the emotional connection from the physical connection,” Reymer said. “That is what happens when you don’t develop more of a relationship.” According to Reymer, this may have to do with an underdeveloped emotional maturity level among college-aged students. Between ages 18–21, many people are figuring out who they are, Reymer said, so creating loving and lasting relationships may be difficult for some young people. “I think overall, it’s a general culture of physical attraction,” she said. “It’s not about romantic intimacy.” The question is whether this is unhealthy, and if it affects their emotional development later in life. There is some debate about this topic. There may be a point during the middle of hooking up when someone feels nervous about going all the way, according to Solomon. That moment of anxiety may be something college educators could help students deal with. If they are made aware of that moment and are able to consider their options, perhaps they would be more in control of their sexual behavior, according to the
social workers. “That’s the moment that needs to be looked at,” Solomon said. She suggested opening a dialogue about the specific things that go on for people when they hook up from their emotional states to their physical desires. Solomon said ultimately college students might benefit from a discussion about these sexrelated topics. knielsen@chroniclemail.com
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Naked Girls
Reading Bringing new meaning to sexy librarian, a local literary series has women shed clothes, read books
by Brianna Wellen
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
A
n overload of sexual imagery slips into movies, television shows, advertisements and more every day, drawing viewers and readers in for ratings, sales and any sort of attention these mediums can muster. Michelle L’Amour uses the sensuality and intrigue of a woman’s figure to draw audience members to worthwhile literature.
Naked Girls Reading started as a monthly reading series two years ago by Chicago Starlet founder L’Amour. The group celebrated its second anniversary on March 4 with a Mardi Gras theme by reading the work of acclaimed New Orleans authors and famous stories about the city. The idea first arose roughly three or four years ago when L’Amour was reading naked in her apartment. Her husband, Franky Vivid, came home to the scene and was
inspired by the image. The two of them, amused by the idea, originally intended to create a website focusing on images of nude girls reading books. Once L’Amour started a burlesque studio, she brought the images to life on stage. “There are burlesque dancers who do it, but it is not a burlesque show at all,” she said. “It is a literary salon where women come out naked and read to you.” The monthly themes range from science fiction to classic literature to newspaper and magazine articles. Material has stretched as far as movie scripts and interesting pieces from the Internet in an attempt to open people up to writing they would have not otherwise discovered. Greta Layne, one of the readers, said enticing audience members to explore new works is one of the unique format’s perks. “I understand a lot of people first coming to the show will do so for the nude aspect,” Layne said. “It’s the allure, but it’s so much more than that. Listening to the readings becomes hypnotic, and I think that’s why we see regulars. It’s a lot more than just the nudity. It’s a great literary experience.” Along with the existing literature reading, Naked Girls Reading held its first literary honors contest last year. Encouraging creative literary contribution, pieces were collected from March until September. In November 2010, the winning piece was read at the monthly show. Contributions for the next award are already being collected with the hopes of continuing interaction
with the literary community. According to Vivid, the show’s producer, the least visible demographic in the crowd is often single straight males. The audience is made up of couples, gay men and women and a younger art crowd coming to experience a feeling of the literary salons in Paris. “Whether the girls are reading William Faulkner or reading the Christian Bale rants at the lighting director, everything is so personal,” Vivid said. “What would seem to be a pretense, which is girls are naked, is actually something that strips away the pretense and invites you in the lives of these women giving you something really personal.” The shows’ success has caused the series to pop up in cities across the country and in the past month, an affiliated show took place in Melbourne, Australia. As for the Chicago show, the straightforward concept has been successful, so L’Amour sees no need for major changes. She’ll continue supporting the current format to keep the series thriving. “It’s not broken, so we’re not going to fix it,” she said. The next show in the Naked Girls Reading series is April 1 with a science fiction theme. The show will be at Everleigh Social Club, 939 W. Randolph St., at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for one ticket or two for $35. For more information, visit NakedGirlsReading.com. bwellen@chroniclemail.com
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Top 5 Film Despite more freedom from censors, sexuality frequently misconstrued by industry by Drew Hunt Film Critic
T
he motion picture, because of its importance as entertainment and the trust placed in it by the people of the world, has special MORAL OBLIGATIONS.” So reads the Hays Code, capital letters and all. For those unfamiliar, the Hays Code—also known as the Production Code—contained an extensive list of guidelines that major studio films were required to follow. The code was in place from 1930 to 1968 when it was swapped for the in-power Motion Picture Association of America and its rating scale. In one way or another, American motion pictures have always examined sexuality. A better understanding of this comes from the comprehension of cinematic technique and appreciation of the diversity of sexual values in American society. Sex is used in narrative film as a device that often carries with it a social, historical or thematic context—which is what separates cinema from mere pornography. But it hasn’t always been easy for filmmakers to explore sexuality. During the Hays Code era, directors found ways to depict sexual IMDB activity while avoiding any explicit imagery. For instance, when Alfred Hitchcock ends “North by Northwest” with a shot of a train entering a tunnel, we know precisely what he’s referring to. Other films were far more insubordinate. Preston Sturges’ 1944 screwball comedy, “The Miracle of Morgan Creek,” is a story about a girl who gets excessively drunk at a going-away party for a group of soldiers and
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ends up marrying one of them—although she can’t remember which one. She soon learns she’s also pregnant but can’t be sure of the father as she admits to having multiple sexual partners during the course of the evening. Though far more blunt than Hitchcock’s visual metaphor, the Sturges film had to rely heavily on innuendo and suggestion to discuss sex. The films in which sex was portrayed naturalistically existed on the fringe of cinema. People like Maya Dern and Kenneth Anger—avant-garde filmmakers who rarely worked in narrative fiction—never had to deal with major studio interference. Meanwhile, independent directors such as Doris Wishman and Russ Meyer made films that relied heavily on sexual imagery but screened them in theaters known as grindhouses, which tended to attract noncommercial audiences. Ultimately, it was European art cinema that dealt the final blow to the Hays Code. In 1966, Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni’s film, “Blow-Up,” received mainstream American distribution and became the first example of full-frontal female nudity to advance beyond the ratings board. The image of Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz sleeping in separate beds perfectly exemplifies the Hays Code effects. As husbands and wives around the country shared their bed, Hollywood thought it was improper to illustrate this. The sheer irrationality is enough to make you scratch your head, but versions of this kind of inane censorship continue to this day. Though it may not be obvious, sex in American film is filled with odd contradictions. Hollywood is an industry that suppresses while glorifying sex with equal vigor. In turn, mainstream moviegoers often take offense to sex in films but flock to movies with frank sexual themes. Before “Black Swan” became an Oscar-nominated film that found its way onto many critics’ best-of-the-year lists, the Internet was ablaze with the rumor of a sex scene between stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. The anticipation for that single scene was bigger than the film as a whole. Unsurprisingly, the scene was as steamy as advertised. But the problem here lies in the film’s stylization. Sex in real life is never as glamorous as it appears in the movies, yet controversy arises when a
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Sex Scenes by Drew Hunt
Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks, 1974
Brooks, a comedic film legend, tips his cap to the Hays Code with this innuendo-filled scene. “Woof” says it all.
Boogie Nights
Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997 Considering it’s a film set in the adult film industry, most of the sex scenes in this film are surprisingly delicate. Mark Wahlberg’s first onscreen foray with Julianne Moore is attentive filmmaking. film strives for a more naturalistic approach. Enter “Blue Valentine,” a film slapped with the dreaded NC-17 rating for its alleged graphic depictions of sex. But by comparison, the difference between the sex scenes in “Blue Valentine” and the sex scenes in “Black Swan” are a stern degree of realism. Sex looks and feels more real in “Blue Valentine.” But therein lies an odd dichotomy: The Motion Pictures Association of America chastised the film for being truthful, yet “Black Swan” and its farfetched eroticism remains unscathed. To be clear, the issue at hand doesn’t lie in moralism. By virtually all accounts, “Black Swan” is a vastly superior film to “Blue Valentine,” despite its more lurid sexual depictions. No filmmaker, at any time, should be made to feel guilty about his or her artistic choices. This is an ethical issue, one that lies squarely on the shoulders of the movie industry, which praises dishonesty and reprimands reality. That’s precisely what the Hays Code got wrong and what Hollywood continues to botch today. By sheltering audiences from the realities of sex, it distorts their perception of it. As censorship in film IMDB becomes more lenient, there remains an egregious disconnect between what is real and what is illusory. The power of the cinema is its ability to depict life as it really happens without any illusive distractions. Mainstream American film has lost all sight of that. ahunt@chroniclemail.com
Coming Home Hal Ashby, 1978
An underrated film from an even more underrated director, Hal Ashby’s Vietnam fallout film features Oscar-winning performances from Jane Fonda and Jon Voigt. The scene they share is a significant social statement.
Team America: World Police Trey Parker, 1974
A hilarious, post-modern take on the Hollywood sex scene. With all the thrusting and multiple positions, the marionettes have no genitalia to speak of, making it hard to even classify this as a sex scene in the first place.
Don’t Look Now Nicholas Roeg, 1973
Recently voted by TimeOut London as the United Kingdom’s best film, this movie’s cornerstone is this sultry scene is. Like the more serious cousin of the “Team America” scene, it’s a tasteful reproach to classic Hollywood standard for sex scenes with its rhythmic editing technique and commitment to realism.
14 THE CHRONICLE | MARCH 7, 2011
Commentary Bottom line with sex labels:
Nobody comes
out on top by Jackson Thomas Copy Chief
H
aving sex and making love are often referred to as a beautiful intimate moment between two people in a heat of passion where their bodies experience maximum pleasure. If that’s the case, then why does the subject of sex continue to be seen as a taboo and something swept under the rug? And a bigger question is why people get even more uncomfortable when the discussion of gay sex is brought up. Sexual stereotypes based on sex roles in the heterosexual community have always been prevalent. Men are supposed to be more dominant and aggressive in the bedroom, while women are supposed to be submissive and passive. The most common of sexual positions— such as “missionary” and “doggy style” —prove this. Labels and stereotypes derived from
Sex & Spirituality by Louis Silverstein
Distinguished Professor in Humanities, History and Social Sciences
T
here is a rumor going around about sex and spirituality. Have you heard it? I would imagine we either know from our travels in the sea of sexual love, or from what we have heard, read or viewed of the secret, yes the secret, when sexual love, that is, where flesh meets soul, when body becomes temple and sex becomes prayer, lovers are often heard to express in a most fervent, passionate and truthful manner these sacred words: “Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Oh, my god!” Why is this so? Because gods and goddesses yearn to become incarnate that they may experience the fruits, joys and ecstasies of sexual love. Because the sexual force is consciousness reaching for fusion. Philosopher and Zen Buddhist Alan Watts informs us: “The height of sexual love, coming upon us, of itself, is one of the most total experiences of one’s relationship to the other that we are capable of, but prejudice and insensitivity have prevented us from
sexual positions and assumed roles in the LGBTQ community have been growing but for the wrong reasons. The first questions on a gay man’s mind are usually: “Is he a top, bottom or versatile?” and “Is he masculine, feminine or in between?” According to an article from ScientificAmerican.com by Jesse Bering, titled “Top Scientists Get to the Bottom of Gay Male Sex Role Preferences,” many people believe there are two types of gay men in the world: those who like to give and those who like to receive, and “self-labels are meaningfully correlated with actual sexual behaviors.” The article said “those who identify as tops are indeed more likely to act as the insertive partner, bottoms are more likely be the receptive partner and versatiles occupy an intermediate status in sex behavior.” So why do we put these labels on ourselves? It is human nature to judge someone based on appearance and how much masculinity or femininity is evoked, but when did it become OK to critique people based on appearances and personalities and then connect it to sexual positions? What people do in the bedroom has nothing to do with how they carry themselves outside the bedroom. What I prefer to do in bed doesn’t
define who I am as a person. Men who have muscular frames or swimmers’ builds, are tall, have tattoos, baggy clothes or deep voices are considered tops, or the dominant ones who do the penetrating. They can appear to be “straightacting” and are given a masculine label. Stereotypes often associated with tops include not performing oral sex on their sexual partner and only favoring his partner’s junk in the trunk, better known as the bottom.
seeing that in other circumstances such delight would be called mystical ecstasy. For what lovers feel for each other in this moment is adoration in its full religious sense. Such adoration . . . would indeed by idolatrous were it not that in that moment love takes away illusion and shows the beloved for what he or she is in truth— not the socially pretended person, but naturally divine.” Wilhelm Reich, in his groundbreaking book “The Function of the Orgasm,” describes orgasm as involving the whole body not just the genitals. Reich believed a person’s emotional health was related to his or her capacity to experience, complete, whole body orgasmic release in the sexual act. He held that a full orgiastic discharge was one of the most healing experiences, physically and emotionally, that a person could have, and healthy sexual functioning
connects with an ability to experience higher states of consciousness. Because of our prejudice in favor of the mind, we may think of spirituality as an intellectual activity centered on belief and the pursuit of knowledge and skills, or even vision and values, but the religious literature of the world suggests overwhelmingly that spirituality is primarily an act of love allowing us to actually feel the rapture of being alive. To be in touch with life, to have deep spiritual
“
Society expects us to conform to these typecasts, and there is a huge difference between what is perceived and what is true.” Men who have skinny or petite frames, are short, wear skin-tight clothing, have an effeminate image and somewhat higherpitched voices or a lisp are thought of as bottoms, or the submissive ones who get penetrated. Stereotypes often associated with bottoms include favoring performing oral sex and being the passive person during intercourse. They usually are given a feminine label and are sometimes thought of as having a woman’s subservient role.
Looks can be deceiving, however, and there’s always more than meets the eye. The most masculine man in the world could be the biggest power bottom, and the most feminine man could be the biggest power top. It’s all about personal preference and what an individual likes to do. Society expects us to conform to these typecasts, and there is a huge difference between what is perceived and what is true. We’ve taken an incredibly unintelligent turn for the worse from being stereotyped outside the LGBTQ community to labeling ourselves within the LGBTQ community based on assumed sex roles. It’s important for gay men to not conform to these negative images or join those who define themselves by their sexual positions. Bering’s article mentioned how versatile men seem to have better psychological health because of “their greater sexual sensation seeking, lower erotophobia (fear of sex) and greater comfort with a variety of roles and activities.” All kinds of options for pleasing a partner should be explored, and being confined to one specific sexual role isn’t the way to go. Versatility might just be the spice of life. jthomas@chroniclemail.com
experiences, means to be in touch with the vibrancy, with the pulsing body we live in. In search of the divine, we go everywhere. We go to places of pilgrimage, visit temples, follow many paths and disciplines and in the process of doing so, ignore our bodies. Yet, the body—yours and mine—is the most sacred place of pilgrimage we will ever enter. It is the dwelling place of the divine spirit. It is the temple of God and Goddess. The power of sexuality, the giving and receiving pleasure—rather than enduring pain as in many dominator religions—in its most ideal form can convey more fully than virtually any other human experience, what spiritual bliss, oneness and timelessness are. In the total sexual experience we break through the confines of time and separateness to which our limited mind has bound us. Such an experience reminds us of our true existence in the eternal as complete, fulfilling, rich, joyous, nourishing and sustaining of spiritual reality as a human experience can be as we embark on the transformative journey to make of earth a heaven. chronicle@colum.edu
THE SEX ISSUE | MARCH 7, 2011 | THE CHRONICLE 15
MEN
&
WOMEN Sex through the ages Design by Jonathan Allen
by Heather McGraw Assistant Metro Editor
F
or most young adults, their 20s are a time of maturing sexual awareness. Females buy their first sets of matching lingerie and males start to worry about their stamina and lasting abilities. But these years don’t start or end the lifelong cycle of sexual development. In fact, we constantly change as sexual beings, starting with puberty and ending much later with a possibility of promiscuity as a senior citizen. Maintaining sexual activity throughout the elderly years is normal, according to Reginald Richardson, vice president for evaluation and clinical services at the Family Institute at Northwestern University. And the differences between males and females continue for most of their lives.
Its’s amazing how aroused a man can get when his partner is uninhibited and enjoying having sex with him.” -Ava Cadell
20s
50+
According to Alex Robboy, a licensed clinical social worker and founder of Sex Therapy in Philadelphia, people over than 55 who are in shape and healthy are likely to have an active sex life. “I think there’s a very strong correlation between just regular physical health and sexual health,” Robboy said. “Most people are going to continue having sex if they’re in good physical shape.” A Harvard study on the sexual lives of senior citizens found 43 percent of widows and 21 percent of widowers had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. Robboy attributes this to the culture senior citizens grew up in. “It’s a population that has not grown up talking about sex.” Robboy said. “Certainly when they’re back into the dating world they’re not prepared for the conversation. They don’t have a language for it.” hmcgraw@chroniclemail.com
40s
21%
She also said men in their 30s experience loss of erections for the first time in their lives because of a decreased amount of testosterone. According to Cadell, to combat this feeling, men should focus on giving their partner pleasure. “It’s amazing how aroused a man can get when his partner is uninhibited and enjoying having sex with him,” Cadell said. The upper forties typically bring the onset of menopause, though this varies from woman to woman. “It can affect how they feel about themselves because they are losing their ability to reproduce,” said Dr. Tammy Novak, OB-GYN. “They may not feel as attractive.”
widowers
Generally, a woman’s sex drive is a little less strong than a man’s, even though physically not much is different, according to Richardson. However, men do reach their sexual peak at this age. He said the next big change comes around 25, when sex becomes an expression of love while in a committed relationship. Women remain constant in using sex as a point of connection. Richardson said while men may have multiple sexual partners, women in their 20s start looking to select one mate for the possibility of bearing children. According to 2010 statistics at KinseyInsitute.org, during a lifetime, 91.8 percent of males ages 20–24 have masturbated, while 76.8 percent of women in that age range have done the same. The percentage of males ages 25–29 who have masturbated in their lifetime was at 94.3 percent and 84.6 percent for women.
Novak said, men don’t lose their sexual drive, but it may not be so simple. “Men throughout their lives get aroused by magazines and thoughts,” she said. After 40, however, men begin to experience fewer automatic erections. Just thinking about sex may not be enough, such as when they were in their 20s—more direct stimulation becomes a key factor in intercourse.
43% widows
“[If] things are working [physically], there’s no reason for sexual activity to stop except our culture,” Richardson said. “We don’t think about continuing sex throughout our whole life span.” According to Richardson, it’s a more frequent occurrence than most young adults think. “There’s a whole lot of sex going
on in nursing homes,” Richardson said. While it might be a parent’s duty to have the birds and bees talk with their children, that discussion usually doesn’t go past what happens after becoming sexually active. “We prepare young people all of their life to obtain knowledge [in school],” Richardson said. “We want them to be critical thinkers.” This same model could be used to help people understand their developmental stages and what is normal or abnormal for sexual activity throughout one’s life, according to Richardson.
30s
According to Richardson, the next change in sexual attitude comes with the shift into marriage and parenthood. Men might have a problem seeing their mate as a sexual object when she’s pregnant and begins showing and start using sex as a stress relief. The woman might also have issues seeing herself as a sexual being. Richardson said after that step, raising children also gets in the way of being sexually active, but it mainly affects women. “In our society, women take the bulk of the child caring responsibilities, so she may typically be less interested in sex just because she’s physically tired,” Richardson said. At this age, a woman usually gains sexual confidence, according to Dr. Ava Cadell, founder of LoveologyUniversity.com. “That results in better, deeper, more satisfying orgasms,” Cadell said. “Most of my female clients explored their g-spots and learned how to ejaculate when they were more than 30 years old.”
senior citizens
diagnosed with STDs
16  THE CHRONICLE  | MARCH 7, 2011
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