Sex: it's constantly thought about, often performed, but rarely discussed candidly. To break this silence, the Center for Women and Gender held its first ever Sex Festival last night in Collis Commonground.
Those who fear Dartmouth has thrown aside the cloak of its conservative Ivy League history in favor of a lifestyle that would make Bacchus himself blush needn't quake in their smoking jackets, however. The theme of the night was protection " both of body and spirit.
Giavanna Munafo of the Women and Gender Center said, "All of the programming we do in the winter has a set of goals, but mostly talking about sex makes it more comfortable. Some of the stuff here is healthy and some is just fun."
Hundreds of students packed Collis Commonground for two hours yesterday evening to visit nearly 20 booths, win prizes and buy tickets to tomorrow night's presentation of the Vagina Monologues.
There were tables for pro-choice information, safe sex items, sex toys and even an "ask an older woman" booth where young women could get sound sexual advice from more experienced women.
Not every table was devoted to the sexual act itself. The Sexual Abuse Peer Advisors and the Men's Project, among others, had tables that focused on healthy romantic relationships. There was also a table dedicated to abstinence.
Though some students were disappointed at the lack of actual sex taking place, as was purported to have occurred at other Sex Festivals around the country, most students were pleased with the overall experience.
"I know this is Dartmouth's first time, and I wanted to support this and a more open discussion about sex," Donald Jolly '04 said, one of a handful of brave male visitors to the Festival.
Xenia Markowitt, also from the Women and Gender Center, said that she was very pleased with the turnout at the Festival, although she was not yet sure if it would become an annual staple or not.
"A lot depends on student interns and student help," Markowitt said of future Festivals. She added that of all of the events that the Women and Gender Center has put on this one required the least advertising.
"For every booth that is here there are booths that wanted to be here," Markowitt added.
The Sex Festival was part of a national "V-Day" campaign for safe sex and sexual abuse awareness. According to the V-Day webpage, Dartmouth's Festival is one of at least 2,000 being held all around the world today.
"V-Day is a palpable energy, a fierce catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations," as the non-profit V-Day organization describes itself on its homepage.
Tomorrow night's performance of the Vagina Monologues is also part of the national V-Day campaign and is being performed all across the country tomorrow.
Markowitt said that response for the Vagina Monologues had been very positive at Dartmouth and that people were already calling for additional performances.
The V-Day organization is responsible for several other international campaigns for women's rights including The Afghan Women's Summit, The Stop Rape Contest, and The Indian Country Project.
