A Sex Week poster from 2022. This year will take place during the second week of February. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Sex Week makes a return this year on campus, with familiar and new informational panels, all geared toward inclusive sexual health education.
Events held throughout the week are run by Student Advocates for Sexual Health Awareness, also known as SASHA, in collaboration with other local groups such as Sexual Assault Prevention & Survivor Support at Ohio State.
Rebecca Handsman, vice president of SASHA and a second-year in biology, said what the organization is doing is extremely important, since sexual health education in schools is not as inclusive and comprehensive as it should be.
“I’ve never learned about kinks in school or something, but that is something that’s completely natural and so many people have them,” Handsman said. “We don’t want people to feel strange or like their feelings are wrong.”
Handsman said she is looking forward to a panel that is new to Sex Week this year: the polyamory and non-monogamy panel.
“I think there’s a lot of misconceptions about it,” Handsmen said. “We’re inviting people who identify as polyamorous or non-monogamous so we can hear their first hand accounts, as well as some insight from sex educators and therapists.”
Another panel this year is returning with Nathan Hammerle, a sex educator and kink expert, who is hosting Kink 101 on Feb. 12 at 7-9 p.m. at the Ohio Union, has done for the past three years at Ohio State. Hammerle said he has been involved with programs at other universities for nearly a decade.
“OSU’s Sex Week is one that’s special though,” Hammerle said. “The only pushback I received is that it can’t happen more often!”
A key to the panel, Hammerle said, is respect.
“Not everything is everyone’s cup of tea, but respect during the program is imperative,” Hammerle said.
Hammerle said that the panel uses demonstrations and echoes core lessons such as consent and safety throughout the process.
“Sometimes people will come in knowing they are looking for answers, other times they just want to explore,” Hammerle said. “It’s fun, it’s safe, but most importantly, it’s informative in achieving a base level understanding of what kink can look like for them.”
Other than Kink 101, there will be 20 additional events held by SASHA during Sex Week, with at least two per day.
A calendar of Sex Week events and their locations can be found on SASHA’s Instagram.
