The Happy Trail

Japan has had its fair share of crises over the last couple of years. In 2001, they saw an earthquake, a tsunami and a radioactive meltdown. But experts are warning of a new, slower crisis that we need to be on the lookout for in Japan. Young people aren’t having sex. Journalists, economists and psychologists have been looking for an explanation of the country’s population decline for some time. According to The Guardian, 2012 saw fewer babies born in Japan than any other year on record! (It was also the...

As the school year picks up steam, things tend to get hotter and heavier. Have you thought about what you or your partner might be carrying around with you besides textbooks? STDs (or STIs, as the two are interchangeable) are real and alive on college campuses. Just last year, there were eleven reported cases of chlamydia at Puget Sound according to the Center for Health and Wellness (CHWS). Getting and STD test is simple and can save you anxiety and, quite possibly, your life. While there is no single test...

It’s really bothersome that “virginity” is still such a profound measure of worth for so many people, regardless of whether virginity is “pure” or “uncool.” The whole notion of “virginity” is silly anyway. Why is “having your cherry popped” (more on how that’s a complete fallacy later) with penis-in-vagina sex so much more significant than any other sexual act? Virginity is, in fact, a concept that arose several thousand years ago in societies where women were seen as property to be bought or traded. Forbidding women from engaging penis-in-vagina (PIV)...

It has been argued that we are entering into an era of greater visibility and tolerance of other sexualities and gender identifications. While we as a society have made great leaps and strides in our acceptance of the LGBTQ community in the last 50 years or so, we still have a ways to go in the ways in which we perceive the different manifestations of sexuality in our culture. One such manifestation is called asexuality - something that we do not talk about very often, or many of us many...

As I walked into Kilworth Chapel last Wednesday for Jay Friedman’s “J-Spot” lecture, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was playing over the chapel sound system. “Ahh,” I thought. “This will be a great opportunity to hear about the ‘Blurred Lines’ problem from the perspective of a sex educator! This should be good!” Unfortunately, Friedman never touched on the “Blurred Lines” issue. In fact, the lecture seemed to lack any profound insight on any issue regarding sex and relationships. Friedman opened with the poetic story of what seemed to be two lovers...

When most people think of orgasms, what the French call le petit mort, they usually center on an idea of something that happens when at least one person reaches sexual climax in the context of arousal. For men this culminates in ejaculation; for women it’s an intense stimulation from within the vagina (colloquially known as the “G-spot”) and/or the sensitive nerve endings of the clitoris. Even when we bring ourselves to orgasm through masturbation, we may find ourselves harkening back to previous sexual experiences that were enjoyable, watching pornography or...

This summer I made dozens of new friends, travelled across the Pacific Northwest and was introduced to lifestyles that I had never even considered. But one of the biggest ideas that I was introduced to this summer was that of a consent culture. A consent culture is one in which the axis of all sexual interaction— or rather all human interaction— is based around consent. Now obviously this includes radical changes to our ideas of consent in sex, but it also means a shift towards complete and total respect towards...

By now, most of us have heard the most popular song of the end of summer, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell Williams and T.I. Aside from being the number-one track on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the song has gained additional attention in many circles for the way that some have interpreted the message of the track. Much of this controversy is centered on the song’s title, lyrics and music video. Recently there has been a lot of chatter in the media and on campus about...

Kink, or kinkiness, is a sexual preference that does not get enough accurate representation in mainstream media. Kink covers a wide variety of sexual behaviors and interests, and is not all whips and chains and gimp suits like some would have you believe. Understanding kink as atypical sexual behavior requires first that one understand “typical” sexual behavior. According to The British Medical Journal, “vanilla sex” includes mutual masturbation, oral sex, anal sex, frottage (or grinding) and penetrative sex without any element of BDSM or fetishism. The term “kink” is a...

Puget Sound is a sexy, sexy place. In order to get in on the sexy action, there are a few basic concepts on which all students should have a firm grasp before embarking on their sexual conquests – consent, open communication, and diversity of sexual expression. Consent is rule number one when it comes to gettin’ down. In fact, call it rule zero. Sex without consent is not sex, it is rape. One of the most well-known slogans of consent culture is the phrase, “No Means No,” which is absolutely...

Lately in the mainstream media, there has been a focus on the prevalent nature of sexual violence on college campuses across the country. Most recently, a lawsuit was brought against Occidental College for the school’s alleged mishandling of sexual assault accusations. Many similar lawsuits have been brought against other colleges and universities in the wake of the U.S. Board of Education’s 2011 “Dear Colleague Letter,” which reminded every institution of higher education that it is their responsibility to investigate and prevent instances of sexual harassment, violence and discrimination. According to...

You’re getting hot and heavy. The moment feels just right, and you don’t want anything to come in and wreck it. Unfortunately, the chances are any time you get intimate with someone, it won’t go exactly the way you planned out in your head. A million things can happen that might burst your sexy-bubble: hair in the mouth, queefing, head-bumping, clothing getting stuck and unexpected visitors are just a few possible mishaps. Luckily, there are a handful of ways to get The Mood back and to even avoid “losing” it...