OSU hosts Planned Parenthood-supported 'Sex Week,' complete with 'kink,' 'sex work,' and 'decolonizing porn'

An Ohio State University student-led event called “Sex Week” will be held for the third year in a row beginning Sunday. 

The week-long event will feature several virtual lectures for students to learn about certain topics, such as a “Talk on Healthy vs Toxic Masculinity,” “Beyond the Gender Binary with Alok,” “Abortions Explained Plainly: A Panel of Professionals,” “Kink 101,” and “Decolonizing Porn.’ There’s even a session titled ”OnlyFans: Behind the Scenes” that helps students who might want to start an OnlyFan account.

The main mission of Sex Week is to “educate our community about sexual health in all its forms.” The stated mission of Sex Week adds, “we believe that realistic sexual health is interdisciplinary, and includes non-traditional topics like LGBTQ sex ed, healthy masculinity, gender equality, and reproductive rights. We aim to connect to our peers through dynamic, comprehensive activities that are geared towards the needs of our community.” 

The event’s organizers state that one of the reasons Sex Week exists is because “sex ed in Ohio high schools does not have to be medically accurate.” Among the reasons for hosting the Sex Week are that ”47% of transgender people are sexually assaulted at some point in their lives,” and “Black women in Ohio make $0.64 for a white man’s dollar.” 

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Several university departments are taking part in Sex Week. According to the Partners and Sponsors page, “Sex Week would not be possible” without the OSU Undergraduate Student Government at OSU, College of Social Work, Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Planned Parenthood.

In addressing why Planned Parenthood is involved, the event organizers explain, “Planned Parenthood is a huge provider of health services for men and women, particularly low-income women. They do STI testing, STI treatment, cancer screenings, pelvic exams, birth control distribution, community education, and so much more.”

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They continue by stating, “this seems like a good time to remind everyone that abortion is legal. Yes, Planned Parenthood performs abortions, abortions that women are legally entitled to.”

The student organization Student Advocates for Sexual Health Awareness, the group that organizes the event, spoke with Campus Reform regarding the event.

“The purpose of Sex Week 2021 is to promote accurate, realistic, and inclusive sexual education,” Katie Chung, Secretary of Student Advocates for Sexual Health Awareness said. “We feel that students should have access to as much information surrounding sexual education as possible. Of course, sexual education is an extremely broad topic and engages many diverse topics and discussions.”

“Every year, we try to include a breadth of topics- we cover sex ed foundations, LGBTQ+ inclusivity/healthy masculinity, reproductive rights, and pleasure. Together, students in the organization Student Advocates for Sexual Health Awareness discuss what topics are missing from current discussion and find that these topics combined provide realistic education for college students,” Chung added. 

Ohio State University did not respond in time for publication. 

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @matthewkeyess