The Geneseo campus got a whole lot more sensual and a whole lot more informed with the “I Love the Female Orgasm” event on Friday Sept. 8. The program combined comedy with sex education and information on the female orgasm.
Presenters Rachel Dart and Marshall Miller are sex educators who have worked in the field for years. Presented over 350 times in 40 different states, their program mixes honesty, comedy and hard data—attracting an impressive audience, as it filled the entire lecture hall of Newton 202.
People of all genders, ages and majors attended. The event, which lasted roughly an hour and a half, brought plenty of laughs and insights on topics ranging from masturbation to consent.
Many students commented that the program represented some of the only real sex education they have ever received, despite having some sex-ed courses in high school.
“I feel like so much of sex education is preventing bad things from happening,” Dart said. “But how great would it be to say to high school students that whenever you choose to be sexually active, you want it to be fun.”
Both Dart and Miller found interest in sexual education as college students, which was well before the program was put together. Dart felt inspired by her high school friend, who had learned how to be an HIV prevention educator during high school. In college, Dart became a peer educator, advocating for healthy sexual practices in addition to helping with sexual assault prevention. Similarly, Miller studied sexuality and society in college.
“It was much more interesting than being an English major,” Miller said.
After graduation, Miller did HIV prevention work at a community health center in Boston. There, he met his partner and they began to put together college presentations about various sexual health topics. The presentation on female orgasms became particularly popular, according to Miller.
“It’s a topic that comes up a lot and people want to know more about it,” Miller said.
After meeting Dart, Miller and his partner decided to take the presentation on the road—from there, “I Love the Female Orgasm” was born. The presenters have also published a book by the same name.
“That was one of my favorite parts of the book,” Miller said. “Just getting a sense of what’s going on in people’s lives.”
The book was available at the event, but it can also can be purchased on the project’s website. Miller and Dart finished their presentation with advice to students who might want to continue in their footsteps and become the next generation of sexual educators.
“The best, immediate advice is finding ways to do it. It could be volunteering or working for a group on campus,” they said. “And if not sexual education directly, then something related. All those things help build your relationship teaching these topics.”u
“I Love the Female Orgasm” returned to campus with a presentation that provided students with an illuminating, entertaining experience. Using comedy, the event explored issues of sexual health and education. (Ash Dean/Staff Photographer)