The Chris Moeller Archives

Exploring the spectrum of human sexual behavior

A professor in human sexuality at Northwestern University in Chicago is in hot water following an after-school event that featured a naked (non-student) woman demonstrating sexual stimulation via a "fucksaw." (Note: first-ever CM Blog reference to a "fucksaw." Note #2: "fucksaw" link above has an "add to cart" feature.) In the past, Professor John Michael Bailey's after-class presentations have ranged from featured question-and-answer discussions with homosexuals, swingers, and convicted sex offenders.

Bailey's students were reportedly warned in advance about the nature of the demonstration and urged to skip the event if they thought they would be uncomfortable. The university president, Morton Schapiro, said he was "troubled and disappointed" by the incident when he heard about it after the fact, but Bailey reportedly told his students, "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but watching naked people on stage doing pleasurable things will never hurt you." He issued a statement that read, in part, "I expect many people to disagree with me. Thoughtful discussion of controversial topics is a cornerstone of learning."

Meanwhile, a charming blog called "The Awl" has published a piece by one of Bailey's former students, Joseph Bernstein, who suggests that the sexuality class was the best one he ever took in school. No shit, you're probably saying to yourself, but his reasoning lends added confidence:

"I was watching an academic defend his field in the context of his life (during a question-and-answer session). There were stakes. It wasn’t life-altering or anything quite so neat as that. But it was an educator taking seriously enough the intentions of his students to expect that they could handle facts that made them uncomfortable. I felt, more than anything, respected."

I took a human sexuality course one semester when I was a student at Iowa State. That class, like Bailey's evidently, was quite popular on registration day, and I was often impressed with how casually and undramatically the information was presented by the professor. But then I had come to campus from a very small, Midwestern town and college students didn't have sex in those days.

posted by CM @ 6:15 PM