Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

SAC Funds Sex Positive Week

Sex Positive Week, which drew both outrage and praise last year from members of the university community, received funding from the Student Activities Commission and will commence on Feb. 21.

“As a Catholic university grounded in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, we have an absolutely fundamental obligation to ensure that events which the university sponsors are providing a true education, which – by its very nature – demands dialogue,” David Gregory (COL  ’10), an active critic of last year’s Sex Positive Week, said in an e-mail.

According to Gregory, last year’s Sex Positive Week only reached out to members of the community who held “radically unhealthy” perceptions of human sexuality. This year, the organizers of the weeklong event are involving the entire community, according to notes from a planning meeting for the event.

“I was particularly offended there was no counterbalance from the Catholic perspective on human sexuality in the midst of a week that was primarily dominated by discussion surrounding very radical sexual behavior,” Gregory wrote in an e-mail.

According to Robert Byrne (COL ’11), a member of GU Pride, the event is not divergent from Georgetown’s Jesuit values.

“Its mission is celebration of the human body and the embracing of diverse sexual expressions,” Byrne said. “It emphasizes practices that are commonly misunderstood, wrongfully stigmatized, or – in the case of same-gender-loving people – actively marginalized.”

Last year, the university received negative backlash from outside organizations such as the Maryland Coalition Against Pornography for condoning sexual behavior. Some within the university, such as Patrick Deneen, a professor in the government department and a columnist for The Hoya, also publicly voiced concern. Administrators maintained that the event adhered to the university’s free speech policy.

The Hoya reported last spring that event organizers called Sex Positive Week an opportunity to open up dialogue about sexual expression.

This year’s Sex Positive Week does not coincide, as it did last year, with the beginning of Lent in Western Christianity.

According to notes from a Sex Positive Week organizational meeting on Jan. 19, the term sex positive means having freedom of sexuality.

“Sex positive means respecting an individual’s right to do with their bodies what they want. It hopes to eradicate sexual shame and encourage safe, healthy and responsible choices both for one’s body and mind,” the notes said.

Those at the meeting also made the distinction between sex and sexuality.

“You don’t have to have had or want to have sex to be sex positive,” the notes said.”

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Hoya

Your donation will support the student journalists of Georgetown University. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Hoya

Comments (0)

All The Hoya Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *