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Lee Spencer teaches everyone's favorite subject: sex! Human Sexual Behavior is her course, and she's been teaching it since before most of the student body was born. Since 1981, Lee's career has taken her all over the country. She also digs Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

SPM: Don't I know you?

Spencer: I'm Lee Spencer, instructor in the department of psychology.

SPM: What courses do you teach?

Spencer: PGS222, Human Sexual Behavior.

SPM: How long have you been teaching at ASU?

Spencer: I taught my first class of Human Sexual Behavior in the spring of 1981. Since then, except for the one year that I lived in Sacramento and the three years that I lived in New Orleans, I have taught this course every spring and fall semester. That's about 24 years.

SPM: OK. Down to the nitty-gritty; what is your favorite TV show?

Spencer: I like "The Daily Show," "The Colbert Report," "20/20" and "60 Minutes." I was watching (Jon Stewart) the other day and thought, "He doesn't need any writers."

SPM: What do you feel is the biggest sex myth plaguing the youth of America?

Spencer: "If they are nice people they won't have an STD."

SPM: Is communication really that important to a healthy sexual relationship?

Spencer: Yes. It's so easy for nonverbal messages to be misinterpreted.

SPM: What do you think about "friends with benefits"?

Spencer: I think sometimes both women and men feel some pressure to be hip, which includes being able to separate sex from an emotional attachment. Sometimes it's not until later that one recognizes it as a mistake. I'm not saying that it's impossible to pull off successfully, or healthfully. I just think it's rarer than one might conclude based on its popularity.

SPM: Can it ever really work?

Spencer: There are those who say it works for them. However, I really wonder whether it works for as many as those that say it does.

SPM: Would you say it's a safe practice?

Spencer: I suppose one can do it "safely," like with condoms. It's the emotional safety that's a little harder to create.

SPM: Any words of advice for readers who are sexually active?

Spencer: Always wear condoms.

Reach the reporter at: mel.flores@asu.edu.


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