Coverage
Our hardworking Peer Educators are at it again! Today’s Daily Cal features SHEP’s Jessica Darrough waxing poetic on condom use. Check it out:
Cover Up for National Condom Week
There’s no gentle way to say this, so I am just going to put it out there: using a condom is much better than sporting that hideous sweater, you know, the one with the reindeer, that your Grandma knitted for you last Christmas.
I’ll give you a second to get over the fact that condom and Grandma were just used in the same sentence. You still with me? The comparison may sound a bit far-fetched, but I promise to take it slowly and walk you through it.
Just as we are cognizant of why we should wear the sweater, (to keep warm when nothing’s clean, or to make Granny feel loved when you see her at the next family outing) I think we are also pretty familiar with the reasons why we should use condoms (to protect against unwanted sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy).
Read the rest at the Daily Cal.
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Tags: condoms, events, news, SHEP
Happy National Condom Week!
It’s that time of year again! SHEP is celebrating National Condom Week with a week full of fun, informative, and sex-positive events. In addition to tabling all week and passing out thousands of well-stocked safer sex kits, we will be holding workshops and a noontime event on Sproul.
- Sexier Safer Sex - Tuesday, February 9, 5:00-6:00pm, 88 Dwinelle – We will be offering more safer sex knowledge than you know what to do with! Learn about anatomy, birth control, STI’s, and how to make safer sex SEXIER.
- Sex on Sproul – Wednesday, February 10, noon-1:00pm, Sproul Plaza – Come out for games, prizes, music, information, and pictures with our condom mascot!
- Put it on my _______ – Wednesday, February 10, 7:30-8:30pm, Stern Main Lounge – Come find out all the uses of male and female condoms including penis and vagina, anal, toys and much more from our wonderful sexperts! Listen to facts, watch demonstrations, and collect prizes.
- Condomania – Thursday, February 11, 7:30-8:30pm, Unit 3 Norton Lounge – Condoms, Condoms, Condoms! Think you know all the condoms on the market? Come discover the range of sizes, textures, materials, colors, and flavors out there to find the perfect condom for everyone!
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Sex 101 DeCal (Still Open!)
UPDATE – 02-01-2010: This DeCal is still open! Due to an administrative error that kept the class from showing up on the DeCal website until today (here it is!), we’re pushing back the first week of class and extending the deadline for applications to make sure everyone who’s interested gets the opportunity to apply. The Monday class will start on February 8 and the Wendesday class will begin on February 10. Get your applications in now! Contact sindhu@berkeley.edu or misty@berkeley.edu for an application and more information.
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Want to spend the semester talking about sex, and get academic credit for it? SHEP’s Topics in Sexual Health (AKA “Sex 101″) DeCal is back again, and this semester we’ve got two sections: one on Monday from 6:00-8:00pm, and one on Wednesday from 6:00-8:00pm. This 2-unit DeCal will expose students to various topics in human sexuality and provide a safe space for discussion and exploration of some of the issues. At the end of the semester students will have a greater understanding of the diversity of human sexuality as well as sexual health information they can apply to their own lives.
Due to an administrative error the class is not up on the DeCal website yet–it will be soon!–but we’re still holding an information/application session this week for students interested in attending either section.
What: Topics in Sexual Health DeCal Info Session
When: Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 PM
Where: Section Club Room, Tang Center
We understand that students who intend to join the Monday section may not be able to attend the info session. If this is you, email sindhu@berkeley.edu for an application and syllabus. All students will have to fill out an application to join the class.
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The Female Orgasm
What is the evolutionary function of the female orgasm? Unlike the male orgasm, it does not serve an obvious reproductive purpose. So how did it originate? Here is an excerpt of an article in Scientific American that discusses female orgasm from a biological perspective:
So to help you play along in the role of orgasmic sleuth, here are a few suggestive clues that researchers in this area have been trying to piece together into a plausible evolutionary story:
Clue # 1: Twin-based evidence shows that orgasm frequency has a modest hereditable component. That is to say, uncomfortable as it may be to think of your flushed-faced grandmother writhing and moaning in ecstasy, there is a definite genetic contribution to female orgasm. (To help “unsee” these unsettling images shivering on the branches of your family tree, think on the bright side: female orgasms tend to decrease with age, so we’re talking mostly about only young, still-hot grandmas.) Hereditary factors account for only a third of the population-level variance in female orgasm, however.
Clue # 2: Most women report that they are more likely to experience an orgasm while masturbating than during sexual intercourse with a male partner, and importantly such masturbatory orgasms do not always hinge on simulating penile-vaginal sex. However, as University of Washington psychologist David Barash notes, “just because something (e.g., female orgasm) can be achieved in diverse ways (e.g., masturbation) does not argue against it having evolved because it is particularly adaptive in a specific, different context (e.g., heterosexual intercourse).”
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Get Tested
One of the most important strategies in preventing the spread of HIV is testing. Getting tested can be empowering–regardless of the result, knowing your HIV status will help you make decisions about safer sex practices with confidence, and give you the information you need to take care of yourself and your partners.
About HIV testing:
- Most people infected with HIV experience no discernible symptoms, so testing is the only way to know for sure if you have been infected.
- Most HIV tests test for the antibodies the body makes in response to the virus rather than the virus itself.
- 97% of people will develop antibodies in the first 3 months of exposure, but in rare cases it can take up to 6 months for antibodies to develop.
- Your HIV test result only reveals your status and does not indicate the status of any of your partners. It is important for each person to get their own HIV test.
The CDC recommends that everyone get tested at least once in their lives, and those who engage in higher-risk behavior (unprotected vaginal or anal intercourse, intercourse with multiple partners, intravenous drug use) should get tested annually. The Tang Center offers confidential HIV testing at an incredibly affordable price–for students with SHIP, the lab test is less than $5. Other local testing sites include:
- The Berkeley Free Clinic
- Planned Parenthood (Golden Gate | Shasta Diablo)
- The East Bay AIDS Center
These all offer free or low-cost testing for eligible individuals. You can also search for testing sites across the country at HIVTest.org.
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Tags: HIV/AIDS, STI testing
World AIDS Day Events
December 1 is World AIDS Day: a day to increase awareness, fight prejudice, raise money, and improve education in the fight against HIV and AIDS. SHEP will be commemorating World AIDS Day with a variety of activities throughout the day:
Tabling – 10:00am-2:00pm – Stop by the SHEP table on Sproul Plaza for music, activities, games, prizes, ribbons, and information throughout the day. Be sure to check out the main event on the Savio Steps from noon-1:00.
SHEP Mixer – 5:30-7:30pm, Section Club Room, Tang Center – SHEP will be hosting a mixer at the Tang Center in the evening. Bring a friend and enjoy music, free food, activities, prizes, information, and discussion!
Workshops – 7:30-8:30pm – In conjunction with the Health Worker program, SHEP Peer Educators and Health Workers will be co-facilitating 3 workshops across campus on safer sex and HIV/AIDS awareness. Workshops will be in the following locations:
- International House (Game Room)
- Unit 3 (Priestly Lounge)
- Unit 3 (Norton Hall Main Lounge)
Tell your friends, join us for Tuesday’s events, and wear a red ribbon to raise awareness and show your support in the fight against HIV and AIDS!
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Tags: events, HIV/AIDS
On December 1, 2009, Out & Equal, in conjunction with UC Berkeley University Health Services, will be presenting a panel on “The High Cost of a Silent Epidemic: HIV, Women, and People of Color.” The panel will be led by award-winning journalist Belva Davis. It will feature leaders in the fight against AIDS, including, Dr. David Malebranche, an Emory University Professor who sat on the President’s Council On Aids, Pastor Macarthur Flournoy, the National Minister of Social Justice and Public Policy at The Fellowship, Joan Benoit from the Native American AIDS Project, Berta Hernandez Ordónez from La Clinica De La Raza, and Barbara Williams from the National Coalition Of 100 Black Women. The panel will take place December 1, 2009 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union, Multicultural Center on UC Berkeley’s campus. Registration is available at: http://outandequal.org/san‐francisco‐bay‐area.
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Tags: events, HIV/AIDS
Lessons in Hot Monkey Sex
We are all familiar with the hypersexual nature of human beings and we see it every day — couples making out in public, aggressive flirting at parties, provocative modern dancing styles (i.e. ‘freak dancing’). But is this constant craze for sexual activity exclusive to our species? The answer is no. This sexy phenomenon can be explored by looking at our closest primate relative: The Bonobo.
Previously called the Pygmy Chimpanzee, Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are 99.4% genetically identical to Homo sapiens and are consequently more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. Along with the Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), these peculiar animals are only found wild in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their pink lips and dark faces, among other features, are characteristic of one’s typical perception of a chimpanzee and the two Pan species essentially look the same.
But this is where the similarities diverge. Common Chimpanzees form male coalitions to defend feeding territories and display aggressive tactics in driving away neighboring populations of chimps, where as Bonobos are weakly territorial. In place of the violence, Bonobos use sexual solicitation as the dominant social interaction. These highly sexual primates are not tightly bound to male-male competition as the determinant of sexual access (like many other species); female-females stimulation is common among Bonobo “friends” and adolescents are also often involved in this free love.
The variety of positions employed is also noteworthy: tongue kissing, oral sex, females rubbing their rears together, missionary sex (ventral-ventral genital sex), and babies humping the back and front sides of relatives and strangers alike. Bonobo males also partake in such genital behavior, such as “penis fencing” and “rump rubbing” used to reconcile conflict. When new food sources or foraging areas are discovered, the surge of excitement leads to such communal sexual activity. Many scientists recognize this trend as a method of decreasing tension and creating an atmosphere that is comfortable for peaceful feeding. Bonobos do not form permanent relationships with the multitude of partners they encounter. Also, sexual behavior incorporates individuals of all sexes and ages (with the exception of mother and son intercourse).
So what does this even mean? Should we learn from the extensive repertoire of hook ups that our hairy relative exhibit? Can we apply any of the Bonobo sex practices to our own horny hordes? I would say so. At the very least we can relieve some of the tension surrounding non-heteronormative practices and begin to think about the variety of sexual relationships as facts of nature. Who is to judge what kinds of sexy solicitations are deemed normal or acceptable, when our primate cousins are doing everything and anything under the sheets that you can imagine? Next time you encounter the myriad sexual no-no’s, consider the Bonobos.
–Charlie Moffett
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Sex Under Water
Q: Why is it so hard to have sex in water?
A: Sex in the water can be difficult for a few reasons: water washes away the body’s natural lubrication, it can be difficult to make your body move the way you want it to under water, and in the case of sex in pools or hot tubs, the chlorine and other chemicals can irritate the genitals, making sex uncomfortable.
The first problem can be solved by using silicone lubricant (some brands include Pink, Pjur, and Gun Oil). Unlike water-based lubricant, silicone lubricant will not wash away under water, and unlike oil-based lubricant, it is safe to use with condoms. Just be careful when using lube in the shower, as it can make the bathtub slippery, too! As for the problem of trying to move under water, it might help to have something to hold on to or push against, like a wall, the pool ladder, or the side of the bathtub; you can also try having sex with only part of your body underwater, which will make it a little easier to move. And if you’re finding it uncomfortable to have sex in a pool or hot tub because of irritation but still want to have sex in water, try the bathtub.
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Tags: answers, intercourse, lube
Condom Troubles
Q: Is it normal to have a tough time staying hard while putting on a condom?
A: Yes, this happens to many men, either because they are distracted by stopping the action to put the condom on or because they are not used to or do not enjoy the feeling of wearing one. There are a few things you can do to help keep this from happening:
- Practice putting a condom on so that you’re able to do it quickly
- Make putting a condom on part of the action by having your partner put it on for you, or having them keep touching you or talking to you about how much they want you while you put it on
- Place a drop of water-based lube inside the tip of the condom before you put it on—this will help intensify sensation (and also reduces the risk of breakage)
- Try masturbating with a condom on so you get used to the sensation and can associate it with something pleasurable
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Tags: answers, condoms
