An Expert in Leather
A lesbian bondage expert and a campus-wide condom scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for The University of Tennessee’s first-ever “Sex Week.” The six-day event is expected to cost nearly $20,000 – covered in part by university grants, student fees and contributions from academic departments… There are 30 events planned including “Getting Laid,” “Sex Positivity; Queer as a Verb,” “Bow Chicka Bow Woah,” “How to Talk to Your Parents About Sex,” “Loud and Queer,” and “How Many Licks Does It Take…” – a workshop about oral sex.
In addition to a campus-wide scavenger hunt for a golden condom, the university is hosting noted lesbian bondage expert and erotica author Sinclair Sexsmith. Sexsmith, who serves on the board of the New York Lesbian Sex Mafia, will deliver a lecture titled, “Messing Around with Gender.” She also runs the online website “Sugarbutch Chronicles: The Sex, Gender and Relationship Adventures of a Kinky Queer Butch Top.” In addition to hosting college workshops and lectures about queer theory, she is an expert in sexuality and leather.
Ah, the life of the mind.
Update:
Readers will be thrilled to learn that Sinclair – sorry, Mr Sexsmith – has “always been into self-study,” “holds degrees in both creative writing and gender studies” and “has studied at Bent Queer Writing Institute in Seattle.” She – sorry, he – sorry, they – is also available for “spoken word performances on the subjects of queer sex, gender, and relationships,” “classes in healing,” “sexuality, leather, and BDSM educational classes and demonstrations,” “hands-on bodywork,” “sacred intimatacy” [sic], “stone sexualities” and, obviously, “tantra-based experiments.” Presumably, the faculty organisers of Sex Week had to look over Mr Sexsmith’s website to check her – sorry, his – sorry, their – credentials. Which makes me wonder at what point they decided that such fetishistic intrigues would bolster their claims for the event’s “academic soundness.”
I fear we’re in the realm of Dr Gillian’s vortex.
There are 30 events planned including “Getting Laid,”
They have to teach students how to do that now? Wow, times have changed.
noted lesbian bondage expert
That sounded so much better than it looks.
“…she is an expert in sexuality and leather. ”
If by “sexuality”, you actually mean “perversion”.
Not that there’s anything WRONG with that… Other than my paying for it, I mean.
Good job she decided to avoid a stereotypical lesbian look.
That sounded so much better than it looks.
I fear it may disappoint on many levels. It’s not entirely clear to me what urgent need is being met, especially at a time of academic belt-tightening, but apparently Sex Week is about “ensuring academic soundness by including all perspectives and crossing traditional boundaries.” The organisers will, of course, be “fostering dialogue” in “a safe environment.” But it’s not all about “queer theory,” scissoring and “queering as a verb.” There are a few helpful tips.
See? You’re wiser already.
Mustn’t say ‘she’. According to Mr Sexsmith’s website, the preferred pronoun is ‘they’.
As in:
“In their spare time, Mr. Sexsmith enjoys reading voraciously, swing dancing, topping, and cooking, and has been known to get on their knees in order to fix the strappy sandals of a queer femme.”
I must say, they are quite a snappy dresser.
“Wait thirty minutes after eating before getting back into the pool” also applies to giving blowjobs.
News you can use.
All things considered, I did rather admire the student’s perseverance.
“All things considered, I did rather admire the student’s perseverance.”
Helped, no doubt, by her thoughtful boyfriend. He not only made the difficult choice that their limited time should be spent focusing on his pleasure, but ensured her sudden dinner refund wouldn’t prevent completion of said act. What a guy.
We were all worried about Orwell’s 1984 coming to pass when in fact it’s Brave New World that’s descending on us.
Oh, AND 1984. No reason they can’t do both, with a chaser of Atlas Shrugged.
I like my queers adjectives, thank you very much.
Although I suppose that makes me ‘sex negative.’ On the plus side: straight A’s.
“…especially at a time of academic belt-tightening…”
Is there anyone better qualified for that than a bondage expert?
Readers will be thrilled to learn that Sinclair – sorry, Mr Sexsmith – has “always been into self-study,” “holds degrees in both creative writing and gender studies” and “has studied at Bent Queer Writing Institute in Seattle.” She – sorry, he – sorry, they – is also available for “spoken word performances on the subjects of queer sex, gender, and relationships,” “classes in healing,” “sexuality, leather, and BDSM educational classes and demonstrations,” “hands-on bodywork,” “sacred intimatacy” [sic], “stone sexualities” and, obviously, “tantra-based experiments.” All of which bodes well for Sex Week’s academic rigour.
I fear we’re in the realm of Dr Gillian’s vortex.
Presumably, the faculty organisers of Sex Week had to look over Mr Sexsmith’s website to check her – sorry, his – sorry, their – credentials. Which makes me wonder at what point they realised that “stone sexualities,” “sacred intimatacy” and “tantra-based experiments” would bolster their claims of “academic soundness.”
Does ‘scavenging’ imply ‘recycling’?
Mustn’t say ‘she’. According to Mr Sexsmith’s website, the preferred pronoun is ‘they’.
I’d think “it” is more appropriate.
holds degrees in both creative writing and gender studies
Btw, I have some old rope to sell…
Btw, I have some old rope to sell…
Well, quite.
I’d imagine the University of Tennessee’s Sex Week will be much like a previous event at Harvard, also featuring Sinclair Sexsmith. It was hardly scandalous; it just seems rather silly and self-indulgent, like hiring a clown to teach you about shoes. At a time when so many universities are grumbling about budget cuts and losing science and engineering faculty, and even entire departments, I suppose the issue is whether there might be better uses for the money. As Heather Mac Donald pointed out, “Training computer scientists to compete with the growing technical prowess of China and India, apparently, can wait. More pressing is guaranteeing that students graduate having fully explored their ‘identity’.”
But hey, what could be more vital than bad poetry, a drag show and dildo harness tips?
Mr. Sexsmith – has “always been into self-study”
So, creepy self-indulgence is now re-defined as ‘self-study’. Clever. Blatant attention seeking becomes introspection.
I bet he’s a real expert on intersectionality, too. Whatever that is.
Reed,
It’s “black disabled lesbian trumps white able-bodied gay guy”. (Or triple points in victimhood poker.)
Ah, the ‘privilege hierarchy’.
As a white, middle class, straight male, I guess I’m a long way from the victim Top Trump.
Might need to do some crafty self-redefining to work my way up.
So this event was prevoiusly presented at Harvard, Yale, Brown, and now Tennessee. Could there be some correlation between having a crappy football team and a market for this level of campus nonsense? I haven’t heard of such taking place at Alabama, Florida, LSU, or Auburn. Apparently there are better things with which to keep young minds occupied.
“Bow Chicka Bow Woah”
I fear I am missing something in my sexual life as I have no idea what this means. But then, I never went to Uni.
(Thought: would I have found out what this means at Barking University?)
Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow is a noise made to suggest the soundtrack for a bad 70s porno film. Like a funk guitar lick.
and dildo harness tips
I for one have learned something today.
That’ll be $20,000, please.
LOL
I’ll chip in the price of a nice red.
I’ll raise a glass in your honour.
watcher: “I fear I am missing something in my sexual life as I have no idea what this means.”
I know you’re being tongue-in-cheek, but this is the kind of thing that bothers me so much about this. It’s manufactured sexual inadequacy passed off under the guise of open-mindedness.
Now, for normal, well-adjusted adults, it doesn’t really bother us what other people think. But this is specifically targeted towards late adolescents in an environment where interpersonal social scrutiny/anxiety is eclipsed perhaps only by high school. There’s an interesting comment on this point in the initial paragraphs of this article:
http://www.firstthings.com/article/2013/01/sex-in-the-meritocracy
Perhaps a sadder point is how this feeds into the general trend of university culture to treat sexual proficiency over, say, financial literacy as a mark of maturity.
And one might further note that the technique of manufactured inadequacy and the subsequent public shaming (implied or overt) as a prelude to “counter-cultural” indoctrination is a common theme for several of the university-targeting charlatans who appear on this site.
oh hum … how predictable .. and they try so hard to be provocative, avant garde, edgy, yadda yadda yadda
want to send the University into a tizzy?
Make it Holy Week, with public Bible readings, Stations of the Cross, and prayer circles.
Bow-Chicka-Bow-Wow is a noise made to suggest the soundtrack for a bad 70s porno film. Like a funk guitar lick.
I didn’t know that either. My cheque for $20,000 is in the post.
My cheque for $20,000 is in the post.
It’s also used as a sort of musical “ooh-er missus.” Imagine Barney is talking to Frank about his boss Geoff, and the pressure of deadlines, etc. Barney says, “Jeez, Geoff is really riding my ass.” At which point Frank goes, “Bow-chicka-bow-wow.”
Better make it $40,000.
Isn’t there a musical song called “The Internet is for self-study”?
As if this Alabama fan needed another reason to dislike UT…
Perhaps students will learn that taxpayers have been taking it in the rear for years. Just not voluntarily.