by Gina Christo, News Editor
On Friday, Feb. 11, sexperts Marshall Miller and Rachel Dart taught 40 percent of Wooster students about everything from multiple orgasms and female ejaculation to the mysterious “G-spot.” Dart and Miller’s presentation utilized humor as well as a frankness that made many seniors revisit the presentation they had previously seen as first years.
Dart and Miller both have extensive educations on the topics they preach about. Dart was very upfront about the fact that she has been her friends’ sexual advice go-to since she was in high school. On a more formal level, when in college at New York University she worked at the Office of Health Promotion where she learned to teach sexual health workshops. Using the training from her undergraduate experience, she went on to provide emergency room crisis counseling for survivors of intimate partner violence through Mt. Sinai Medical Center Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Program.
Miller, who is the co-author of the book “I Heart Female Orgasm,” got his master’s degree in Sexuality and Society from Brown University. He has more than six years of experience running HIV and STD prevention programs. More recently, he has worked with the Prevention Education programs manager at the Research and Evaluation of Fenway Community Health Center† in Boston. Miller is also the founder of Boston’s BiHealth program and Safer Sex Educator Team.† Named “Person to Watch” by USA Today, he has led multi-session counseling with at-risk clients and trained and led a team of 50 educators to conduct outreach and education about safer sex, STDs and sexuality.
This event was put together by the Feminist Advocacy Organization, a new women’s group on campus that is run by Kristin Whitlock ’11 and Amy Sondles ’11. It was decided at the first meeting of FAO that women’s sexual health was a top priority for the club. Whitlock and Katie Ball ’11 were particularly confident that the “I Heart Female Orgasm” presentation would be an excellent way to bring students attention to matters of sexual health and sexual liberation.
This issue is particularly important to Whitlock, the FAO co-president, who spent her junior and senior Independent Studies examining how sexual education has impacted young people. Whitlock’s passion for the subject of promoting sex positively and empowering sex education provided much fuel for the success of the event.
“We have a lot of catch-up to do in the United States on educating people about women’s sexuality, and I though this event would be a fun way to help contribute to that,” she said.
“I Heart Female Orgasm” is a unique presentation in the sexual health field. While there are many ways to look at sexual heath, this presentation focuses on the physical and emotional aspects of a healthy sex life. The curriculum of these workshops is aimed specifically at college students because it promotes self-love in an environment that is often so busy students often forget to respect their bodies and sexual identities.
This event provided a wide pool of knowledge on a unique topic. It was well received by the campus, and with any luck with return once again in years to come.