THIS PAST week, members of the University community found their own ways to celebrate Valentine's Day. Some gave away handmade valentines, some distributed chocolates and some gave out condom roses. That last one was from the Peer Health Educators, who spent Valentine's Day giving away "condom roses" as part of their Sexual Health Awareness week. The event ran from Monday to Friday and featured PHE's wearing shirts with STI's written on them phonetically, a photo exhibition of people living with HIV/AIDS, a "Sexfest" (no actual sex involved) and ended with "Vulvapalooza" Friday and Saturday, followed by a showing of the Vagina Monologues.
Of course it seems that wherever sexual health is involved, there's bound to be some controversy. In an article running in The Daily Progress ("UVa 'SexFest' a mixture of serious, whimsical," Feb. 15) Del. Robert G. Marshall, (R-Manassas) is quoted as saying "I have not seen the current degradation being performed at the University of Virginia in the name of education."
It's hard to know exactly which aspect of Sexual Health Week Marshall was referring to as a "degradation," but it seems that he felt there was an unnecessary flair to the whole week in general. "You do not need to be sensational to impart information," Marshall said in the article, "unless you're imparting that information to an idiot. And I don't think there are many idiots who can get accepted by UVa." While it's true that you don't need to be sensational to impart information, history has proven time and time again that it certainly doesn't hurt to get your point across -- or publicized.
The article in The Daily Progress itself is evidence of this. It's doubtful a Sexual Health Awareness week at the University would have made it into the paper at all if the word "Sexfest" or "Vulvapalooza" hadn't caught someone's eye.
"There are two schools of thought. Some people say you are trivializing the issue, or making it too in-your-face. Others say dry programs don't work, so let's try something to engage them," said Jordan Glist, a fourth-year and intern for the Peer Health Educators. "At Peer Health Educators, we believe people need to be engaged."
Normally sexual health is an issue that gets swept under the rug. It doesn't get talked about much, certainly not publicly at the University. Pushing it out into the public sphere will hopefully help more people to think about sexual health, and to recognize the resources available at the University.
The same holds true for the Vagina Monologues and Vulvapalooza. What resources are available at the University for those who have been through sexual or domestic violence is good background knowledge to have, even if one never uses it. Yet it's not information most students would seek out.
The Sexual Health Resource Fair took place before the Vagina Monologues. The fair featured groups such as Sexual and Domestic Violence Services (SDVS), AIDS Services, Awareness and Prevention (ASAP), One-in-Four and the Shelter for Help in Emergency (SHE). The fair also featured games and raffles to up the fun quota a bit.
The fair was a new addition this year, an idea of one of the directors of the Vagina Monologues, Brenna Lynch. Of the fair, Lynch said, "It goes along as what I perceive as the purpose, which is raising funds for the beneficiary, and raising awareness of sexual violence, and the resources that people have. So I tried to think of a way to put those purposes together, and also just to have a fun event for people."
A Sexual Health Fair before the Vagina Monologues might not attract that much attention. But something called "Vulvapalooza?" That's going to turn some heads. Additionally, the controversy of the Monologues themselves in past years at the University certainly hasn't hurt the popularity of the Monologues or the fair beforehand.
Asked whether he thought that perhaps all the antics might alienate certain people, Glist replied that he didn't think so.
"I think the main reason people don't seek the sexual health services they need is embarrassment, so by having people be really forward and comfortable with it, I think that would only eliminate some of the embarrassment."
Either way, it's true that both Sexual Health Awareness week and the Monologues got a fair amount of attention from students. The Monologues themselves sold out and had to start vending standing-room-only tickets. So when Marshall says one doesn't need to be sensational to impart information, I'll agree. But I'll have to add that if a little sensationalism helps people to be safer about decisions regarding sex or to better understand resources available to them at the University, then that's a little sensationalism that's gone a very long way.
Margaret Sessa-Hawkins's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at msessahawkins@cavalierdaily.com.
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