ASU’s annual Sexual Wellness Week began Monday with an open mic night designed to encourage students to “speak up, speak out” about sexuality, violence and justice.
The event served as the official launch of a week of sexual wellness activities hosted by ASU’s Devils in the Bedroom club. Membership director Kaelyn Polick-Kirkpatrick said an open mic allows more student voices to be heard.
“During our week, we usually have a bunch of very serious panels that are facilitated by experts and lecturers who have experiences that are so far removed from their own student experience that it’s not really about us,” she said. “It really should be about us.”
Polick-Kirkpatrick said an open mic is the perfect platform to promote discussions about students’ positive and negative sexual experiences.
“Being able to sit there and understand someone’s experience is sometimes extremely difficult, but it is also extremely important,” she said. “I think that by literally giving everyone a microphone to talk about (their experience) makes it easier to hear and understand that sharing is the healthiest thing.”
Lexy Johnson, global studies and political science sophomore and Devils in the Bedroom team member, said the club actively promotes safe sex to encourage healthy experiences throughout the week.
“You can’t talk about healthy relationships and ignore the physical half of it,” she said. “In today’s world, the physical is a major part of a relationship. In order to have a healthy relationship, you need to understand your body, how to avoid diseases, and how to remain comfortable.”
Johnson said students should make sure their sexual relationships meet their needs.
“You need to ask yourself: 'Am I having safe sex? Have we discussed any boundaries? Is this consensual? Do I feel comfortable?'” she said.
However, students may not have the same ideas of safe sex when they come to ASU, Johnson said.
“A lot of people come from different backgrounds because ASU is very diverse, and that means that not everyone has had the same education,” she said. “That can sometimes be a problem when you get in a relationship with someone from a different background because they might have a different idea of what sex is or what safe sex is.”
Johnson said Sexual Wellness Week offers a more universal understanding of safe sex.
“If we give them a universal education, then they can talk to their partner or partners like, ‘Hey, this is what I think safe sex is and these are what I think are good boundaries. What do you think?” she said. “I think it is very important, especially in college, to have this understanding.”
Graphic information technology freshman Zach Bramwell, a Devils in the Bedroom team member, said Sexual Wellness Week’s focus on education can also help prevent sexual violence.
“Sexual education and sexual wellness are linked to sexual violence prevention,” he said. “Since this is Sexual Violence Awareness Month, this is just another week that helps prevent sexual violence by teaching others what healthy sexuality is.”
Sexual Wellness Week can ultimately change the future of sexual violence, Bramwell said.
“I really want students to feel empowered,” he said. “I also hope they walk away with a realization that sexual violence exists … but there are ways to change that.”
Editor's note: Kaelyn Polick-Kirkpatrick is a former State Press columnist. She was not involved in the reporting or editing of this story.
Reach the reporter at aplante@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @aimeenplante
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
