Saucy Sex Ed

When I was in primary school, I can clearly remember discovering an oversized, hardcover edition of Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex on a friend’s parent’s bookshelf.  I had spent what felt like hours secretly relishing every page from the privacy of a tiny nook behind the couch, simultaneously shocked and fascinated by the line drawings of penises tied up with string, wild pubic hair, and silly looking sexual positions. 

I would imagine that my reaction was one that is still commonly shared by young people who discover sex for the first time - I was absolutely dumbfounded by this very secret and mysterious world.

Certainly, times have changed.  The Joy of Sex has been revised to reflect current concerns and aesthetic tastes – the pubic hair is now modest and trim, armpits and beards clean-shaven.  And while sex is undoubtedly easier to discover, it would appear that the days of more innocent forms of sexual discovery – be it a book with explicit prose or illustrations, or the secret stash of dog-eared Playboys in an uncle’s study – is lost forever.  As I write this, typing ‘sex’ into a search engine yields close to 58 million results.  Even the savviest young person on the hunt for sexual enlightenment would have to sift through millions of porn sites and penis-enhancement products in order to find honest and useful information.

On a recent trip to Chicago, I met up with some twenty-somethings who have found a creative way to provide sexual information to young people.  Midwest Teen Sex Show is a unique video podcast series that combines risqué comedy sketches with practical information for teens about sexuality.  Each episode addresses a different topic – such as masturbation, dating, and “the first time” - inspired both by the teenage experiences of its creators and the email queries of young viewers. As ubiquitous as sex is now, it’s comforting to know that basic teenage anxieties around gym class and first kisses and “the big talk” still exist. 

While I don’t really remember what my specific concerns around sex were when I was younger, the questions evoked by The Joy of Sex’s tied-up penises did linger for quite some time.  Perhaps the creators of Midwest Teen Sex Show can indulge me in an upcoming episode.

Posted by Lady Elaine Fairchilde
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 5:54pm

I Want my SexTV

In case you were wondering, as we have gotten several e-mails about this, SexTV - the Series is indeed no longer airing on Citytv. For the time being, we will be continuing Season 10 exclusively on SexTV - The Channel, with new episodes on Mondays at 9PM.

Come check us out, and please continue to check our site for updates! Thanks for watching!

Posted by Emily
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 3:40pm

Atheist’s Worst Nightmare & Woman’s Best Friend

God bless Ray Comfort. I’m a fan. Ray Comfort is an evangelical minister and founding member of The Way of the Master (WOTM); a Christian evangelism training ministry. His business is saving people’s souls. Along with 80s child star Kirk Cameron, Comfort hosts a series of WOTM videos that instruct followers how to effectively preach the gospel to atheists, homosexuals, and other sinners. It’s like an infomercial for time-share in heaven. The videos are available free online and are well worth the price. Entertainment value is high, while Comfort and Cameron make sure you never have to think too hard.

In video #20, “How to Witness to Someone Who’s Gay”, Ray and Kirk make it clear that they aren’t fearful of homosexuals. They’re fearful for homosexuals. Comfort explains “We’re concerned about the person; where they’re going to spend eternity.” He makes clear, “We’re not homophobic. We’re… sin-a-phobic.”

I don’t doubt Comfort when he says he’s not homophobic. Especially when I see the way he handles bananas (pictured above, in case you didn't notice). In one video, Comfort and Cameron put forth their bullet-proof argument against evolution. In it, Comfort presents a banana, proclaiming, “Behold, the atheist’s nightmare!” First he illustrates how well the fruit can be gripped in the human hand. Mouth agape, he points out how the long fruit is “just the right shape for the human mouth.” He marvels at the fruit’s tapered end and how it seems designed for, quote, “ease of entry.” Kirk shifts uncomfortably in his chair as Ray demonstrates, “It’s even curved towards the face, to make the whole process so much easier. Seriously Kirk, the whole of creation testifies to the genius of God’s creative hand.” Yes, I’m sure this keeps Richard Dawkins up at night.

This makes me think of my recent interview with Daniel Karslake, the director of a new documentary called For The Bible Tells Me So. Karslake is gay, but he also considers himself a man of faith. The film sets out to reconcile these two things, while questioning literalist WOTM-esque interpretations of the bible. Karslake spoke with leading theologians and biblical scholars about the scriptures that supposedly condemn homosexuality. Turns out, the Bible isn’t as anti-gay as many of us have been taught. For example, experts pretty much universally agree that the story of Sodom and Gomorra, the first anti-gay tract that usually comes to mind, isn’t even remotely about homosexuality. See the film for an explanation.

The WOTM boys are quick to point out the oft-quoted verse from Leviticus: “If a man lies with a male as he does with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.” Little known fact, Leviticus was written in Hebrew and the Hebrew word ‘toeyvah’ that has been translated to mean abomination really just means, ‘against ritual.’ As Karslake explained to me, “Because the Jewish people, during the time of the writing of Leviticus, were worried about being wiped off the face of the earth, everything was about procreation. So, they put together a bunch of rules called ‘The Holiness Code’ and that is what Leviticus is… and one of these codes said, ‘Man Shall Not Lie With Man as he does with woman, it is an abomination’, meaning ‘Man shall not lie with man as he does with woman, it is against our ritual, because we need to have babies.’” Karslake gives a simple example that even Ray Comfort could understand: “We have red lights and green lights at cross-streets in cities. And our ritual is, when the light is red to stop. Well, something that is an abomination, or a ‘toeyvah’, is going straight through a red light. That is a very different from this understanding of ‘abomination’ now… that it’s this offense to God and the worst thing you could ever do. That’s a nuance that is very important.”

Look for my interview with Daniel Karslake on SexTV. I didn’t ask him whether or not he likes bananas, but it was a good interview nonetheless. And while Bananas may be an atheist’s worst nightmare, according to this YouTube video, they can also be a woman’s best friend. It may involve a condom and a bit of lube, but it’s definitely a testament to the genius of God’s creative hand. Amen.

PS. If Richard Dawkins ever calls you up in the middle of the night because he can’t sleep... just tell him “pineapple”.

Posted by Chris
Monday, January 21, 2008 4:41pm