Sex education cracks big “O”

Students interested in learning about the “big O” gathered in the Grand Maple Ballroom Sept. 12 for the seventh annual presentation of “I Heart Female Orgasm.”

Marshall Miller and Rachel Dart, the facilitators of “I Heart Female Orgasm,” have been touring the country for about 10 years.

The show began with an introduction from Dart, who talked about her introduction into sexual education.

She explained that it was her mom who first got her interested in the subject.

“My mom was ‘the cool Mom,’” Dart said. “She was always trying to talk to me about sex early in high school, and I was always telling her to just get me books so I can figure it out myself.”

Dart said she eventually began exploring herself, and, though she didn’t lose her virginity until her sophomore year in college, dubbed herself an orgasm aficionado before graduating high school.

“I was always the adventurous type, and although my parents taught me the important value of always saying no when I wanted to, I was willing to try new things when it came to sex,” Dart said.

Body image was a key point of Dart’s presentation. 

“It’s harder for females to love their own body image because our anatomy is hidden,” Dart said. “Imagine being a guy and getting to hold and look at your anatomy anytime you have to pee — we don’t have that.”

Dart talked about how sexual desire and sexuality, along with sexual confusion and insecurity, are all normal parts of a female’s sexuality.

Miller came to realize that there was a lot more to “sexuality in society” — there was also the “fun” part of sex.

“My real inspiration behind doing all of this comes from my realization that so much of what people are taught in sexual education is just plain false,” Miller said.

He explained how the program wouldn’t be like “your typical high school sex education class;” rather, it would be a straightforward discussion of the reality of sex.

“I like to think of [it as] Driver’s Ed: we don’t go into the class expecting to be told not to drive until we’re married because it’s too dangerous,” Miller said. “We’re told to drive the proper way — we learn how to turn the headlights on and back out of the driveway.”

Students laughed throughout the show but also learned a lot.

“I was initially intending to come for the entertainment factor,” sophomore Eric Larsen said. “But I gained a new perspective on some things.”

Sophomore Lauren Fodeman said she would recommend the presentation to other people because it was funny.

“The way she delivered it made it fun to talk about, and she had confidence in the topic,” Foderman said. 

Miller and Dart don’t only rely on touring to pass on their views of sexual education: the group of educators also have a website that students can visit for more information: www.sexualityeducation.com/femaleorg/index.