The Health and Counseling Center (HCC) will hold an event entitled “Let’s Talk about Sex” next week. HCC psychologist Staci Wade-Hernandez and interim physician assistant Joe Buck will introduce the event and then answer questions from the audience.
Wade-Hernandez and Buck explained that the purpose of the event is to allow people to ask medical professionals questions they may have been embarrassed to ask and in the process reduce the stigma surrounding conversations about sex.
“We’re trying to create an open, non-judgmental, inclusive space,” Buck said about the event.
On Tuesday, they will they will start off the talk by providing general information and then take questions from the audience. People can either raise their hands to ask questions or submit them anonymously through note cards at the event or online via a link the HCC has set up.
By having both a physician assistant and a psychologist at the event, the HCC aims to facilitate a holistic conversation that will attend to both the physical and psychological aspects of sex. Buck, the physician assistant, will discuss anatomy, forms of sex and contraception. He noted though that the HCC is not advocating for any option but rather hoping to provide everyone with as much information as possible.
Wade-Hernandez, the psychologist, will also discuss and take questions concerning consent and other forms of communication.
“Whenever we talk about sex, it brings up things like consent, communication in relationships, and how to explore and understand your own needs, how to convey those needs to another person,” Wade-Hernandez said. “I’m there to facilitate that part of the conversation.”
She also noted that the HCC does not strive to promote a certain lens or morality about sex and said that Campus Ministry plans to host a follow-up talk later in February. Fr. Jim Gallagher, director of Campus Ministry, said that it will “look at the intersections of Christian faith and popular culture as it relates to the topic.”
“Let’s Talk about Sex,” organized by the HCC, will take place Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m. in Shiley 124.
