Issue 83.5 Censored by On Dit

Issue 83.5

S E X E D I T I O N : E x p l i c i t Co nte nt Wa r n i n g 1

CENSORED EDITION

Issue 83.5

CONTENTS The Sex Issue

Oscar Wilde

AROUND CAMPUS

DISCUSSIONS

Editorial ........................................................... 2 How to Contribute to On Dit .......................... 3 What’s On ..................................................... 4-5 Student Representative Council ....................... 6 Letters to the Editor ........................................ 8 State of the Union ........................................... 9 Sex on Campus .......................................... 10-11 Humans of Adelaide University................. 20-21

Pornography and Liberalism ...................... 14-16 Black Rain .................................................. 17-19 Virginity as a Social Construct .................. 22-23 Abortion in SA .......................................... 38-40

SEXCELLANEOUS Night’s Heat (Creative Writing) ................. 32-35 Safe Sex Rap .............................................. 36-37

SEX

REVIEWS

BDSM Inter view ....................................... 24-26 Power of the Prostitute ............................. 27-29 Let’s go to Sweden ......................................... 30 The Female Orgasm ....................................... 31 Future of the Cyber Sex Industry .................. 41 Don’t be a Fool, Cover your Tool .................. 42 An Open Letter to Virginity ........................... 47

Sex Apps ....................................................... 43 Film Review: Blue is the War mest Colour ..... 44-45

DIVERSIONS Emma’s Dilemmas ........................................... 46 Crossword ........................................................ 48

On Dit is a publication of the Adelaide University Union

CREATIVE TEAM: Viray Thach, Sarah Boese and Anna Bailes

SUB-EDITORS: Natalie Carfora, James Lawler, and Mandy Li

EDITORS: Daniel Millburn and Daniel McLean

COVER ART: Sarah Boese

INSIDE COVER: Sarah Boese Published 12/5/2015

Contents

E D I TO R I A L

You walk down an echoing gothic corridor whose corners trail off into darkness. Your moist palms, clenched, hang by your side. As you creep towards the door at the end of the corridor you pass locked room after locked room. ‘What curiosities lie within?’ you ask yourself, entirely innocent of their contents. Oozing with anticipation you arrive at the corridor’s end, lips quivering, breath held. You pull open the heavy door and, after blinking in the naked light, blush at the sensuous, lithe sight now before you; you gape at the juicy and succulent scene on the table below you: the latest edition of On Dit. Perhaps its 48 pages lay flaccid in your hands (we surely hope this is not the case); perhaps they are as stiff as the day they were printed. Whatever their condition, we hope you quickly get a rise out of them.

Editorial

A sex-themed edition was always going to offend portions of society (didn’t they see the disclaimer?). But that is what talking about sex does; it’s very good at making us squir m. Just remember how awkward your high school PE teacher was standing at the front of the class with a banana in one hand and a condom in the other (if you were so unlucky to have missed this lesson, please visit page 42; you can thank us later). Go forth and multiply explore this edition with an open mind, as we did. Also don’t worry about next edition; it will be entirely sexless, nice and chaste. For your pleasure, Daniel McLean and Daniel Millbur n. P.S. We’d tell you that no editors were hurt in the making of this magazinew BUT THEN WE’D BE LYING.

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CONTRIBUTION DEADLINE

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CONTAC T U S!

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ON DIT OFFICE LOCATION Walk down the narrow stairwell, knock twice for On Dit enquiries or three times for sex. How to Contribute

WHAT ’S ON + NEWS: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party Wednesday 20 May

Mozart At Elder Wednesday 13 May Where: Elder Hall

Where: Goodman Crecent Lawns, University of Adelaide

Time:

Howard Shelly delivers a matinee as conductor and soloist. Includes works by Mozart and Mendelsshon. $25 through the ASO.

11am-3pm

Wander into the Fair Trade Collective’s mini Wonderland for free tea, yummy sweets, fun games, and social justice club stalls! You’d be mad to miss out.

11:30am

www.aso.com.au

Susan Magarey: Women’s Liberation in Australia

2015 Constantinos Moraïtis Hellenic Lecture

Thursday 18 June

Wednesday 27 May

Where: Ira Raymond Exhibition Room

Where: Napier 201

Time:

6pm for 6:30pm

Drawing on chapters in her book, Dangerous ideas: Women’s Liberation, Women’s Studies, Around the World, Susan Margarey will talk about how she is now attempting to write a history of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Australia.

What’s On + News

7:30pm for 8:00pm start

Professor Alastair Blanshard delivers his lecture “We Are All Greeks: The Value of Classical Hellenism Today”.

MAY 17TH TO JUNE 18TH

Feast Festival Quiz Night

Winzerfest Friday 22nd May - Saturday 23 May

Wednesday 20 May Where: The Ger man Club, 223 Flinders Street Where: Freemasons Hall

Time:

5:30pm for 7:00pm start

Cost:

Tickets $25, Concession $20

The Feast Quiz Night is the annual fundraiser for Feast Events and the Youth Queer Drop-In, with auctions, prizes and surprise guests hosting each round.

Friday 6pm - Saturday 2pm

The Adelaide Ger man Wine weekend is on at the Ger man Club, featuring wine, winemakers as well as live entertainment.

Adelaide Careers and Employment Expo Saturday 23 May Where: Adelaide Showground

Time:

10:00am - 4:00pm

Career advice, seminars, education providers and employers all under the one roof. Tickets are free from: http://careersemploymentexpo.com.au/register/ individual-registration

Around Campus

SRC PRESIDENT Renjie Du, the President of the SRC

at home. They get kicked out, shunned, abused, all because of something genetically out of their control, often by their own parents. Because of this, they are five times more likely to commit suicide than a straight person. Other issues include Queer and Trans* homeless, violence against queer and Trans* people. For example, 40 per cent of homeless youth identify themselves as Queer. There were thousands of incidents of anti-Queer hate violence every year. The SRC is organising an LGBTIQA+ conference to help raise the awareness of such issues on campus. We also need your help to change this. Get tested

University is full of life lessons: how to sur vive on your own, how to find a job, how to make friends, how to choose the right group of friends. It’s also a whole new world of independence and freedom combined with young adult hor mones, which can create lots of amazing experiences as well as lots of bad decisions. One thing unavoidable in university is the conversation about sex. For this column, there are mainly three things I would like to point out. Don’t impair your judgment Getting drunk or high can cause a serious lapse in judgement. If you are going to drink, it is wise to stop when you begin to feel the effects of alcohol. The more you drink, the harder it is to know when to stop. When you are drunk, you are more vulnerable. And never leave a drink unattended or accept a drink that you did not see poured. Date-rape drugs can leave you unable to protect yourself, or even know what is happening to you.

It is a good idea to consider getting yourself tested for STI’s especially if you have engaged in unprotected sex. Anyone who is sexually active is recommended to get a sexual health check-up at least once a year, even if you always use condoms and have no symptoms. Generally though, the more sex you have, the more frequently you should have a sexual health check-up to test for HIV and other STIs. Some STIs are curable so detecting it early can prevent other health issues. Many STIs are treatable so knowing you have one can help prevent other health issues. It was reported that 90 per cent of students think STIs are a problem on campus but only a small proportion of students take advantage of the free STI checks. Clinic 275, which is next to our North Terrace Campus, is a walk-in ser vice with no appointment necessary. It is free to all, and offers advice, testing and treatment for all sexually transmitted diseases including HIV.

For more information of Clinic 275

Respect other people’s sexuality

Email: std.ser vices@health.sa.gov.au

Sexual orientation is defined as each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. Queer students are often persecuted and bullied

1st Floor, 275 North Terrace, Adelaide 5000

SRC President

Tel: 8222 5075

LET TERS TO THE EDITOR Senator Lleyenholm says that we do not have to agree with it in principle. That we only have to tolerate it. That it is a human right to love the person of choice. I have strug gled with this in principle. Whilst I am a contrarian, and whilst I wish to explore as many human experiences as I can, much to the chagrin of some of my critics, I have intellectually briefly considered the notion of experimenting with the “gay sex” just to get the full gamut of life. It is simply not something that I can ever experiment with. The thought actually makes me feel a bit nauseated. That is not the point. The point is that some people, probably around ten per cent of Australians do it.

RETRACTION It has come to our attention that the Adelaide University Sport column in edition 83.3 of On Dit contained sub edits which were not approved by the author Patrick Edwards or by AU Sport before going to print. Some of these edits referenced excessive consumption of alcohol which neither Patrick nor AU Sport condones. The editors would like to apologise for any offence caused.

Letters to the Editor

I accept that just as hetero-sexuality is my only option, so too is homo-sexuality their only option. Not just for sex, but for love. A universal human desire and need. This is an immutable fact. I probably have many friends who are gay. I only know of one or two. Why is it that I should be per mitted to deny their needs? I therefore support a conscience vote of our Federal Parliament on the issue of Gay Marriage. I exhort our politicians to vote – not because they support homosexual marriage – but on the basis that they should not deny other Australians the no-har m relationship commitment of their choice. John Bolton

AU U P R E S I D E N T Amelia Briggs, AUU President Welcome to the sex issue of On Dit! Sexuality is a big topic, and in the pages of this magazine you’ll find a lot of articles that address issues that might piss you off, or may help you. Many of the ser vices you can access here at uni for your sexuality, whether it be STI testing, safe sex methods, or counselling to do with your sex life, have already been covered, so I’m mostly going to talk to you about stuff that’s going on in the world of sexuality. University is probably one of the more open places to be talking about sexuality and sex. In high school, my sex education consisted of ‘abortion is bad and your baby has fingernails and here’s how to put a banana on a condom’, and apparently this is one of the more open styles of teaching kids about sex. In the workplace, it’s not that people are necessarily uptight about sex (although some are) it’s more that they just prefer you didn’t talk about it at all. But at University, we see a sex edition of our student magazine, free condoms from the Union office (Level 4 Union House! Our receptionist won’t judge, promise) and events from the SRC that promote good sexual health and practice. Things affect our sexuality in all sorts of ways. In Ireland, the public is heading to the polls later this May for a referendum on marriage equality – to be precise, that any two people can get married regardless of their sex. It would amend the Constitution of Ireland to recognise queer marriages (and also, incidentally, to reduce the age of candidacy for President from 35 to 21. A 21 year old President of Ireland? Amazing.) Here in Australia there have also recently been whispers from both major parties about bringing marriage equality too. It’s possible we might see this come to parliament sooner, rather than later. I sure hope so – it’s an issue that the Australian public is remarkably united on, but our politicians don’t seem to be.

I’ve also been hearing news about new hor monal contraception options. This is the type of anti-baby stuff that works by altering hor mones in the body to make it impossible to conceive or carry a baby, like the pill, the implant, or the intrauterine device. All of these options affect the uterus and the ovaries. However, we’re now seeing development into things that will hit the vas deferens instead, essentially making someone’s sper m totally rubbish at fertilising an eg g. This could really change the dynamics of sex for many people, and hopefully lead to even safer sex. Speaking of safe sex, I feel I should become the mum (or perhaps caring older sibling) now and remind you all to have sex safely. I know you probably hear it a lot, but it’s not just about babies – risk of sexually transmitted infections is a lot higher in young people. Many STIs are either not treatable or cause serious damage to your body if you don’t catch them early enough. Not to mention, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which are very easy to transmit are now becoming resistant to medicine. This is a fact that constantly scares me since, should you be diagnosed with them, the government forces you to contact your past partners and tell them they might have an infection that they can’t cure. I imagine this is not fun. So remember condoms, dental dams, gloves and any other barriers you might need depending on the sex you’re having are necessary! I hope you, regardless of gender and orientation, are having the safe and consensual sex you’re after, whether it’s lots or none, or with your one true love or with four people all at once. Sexuality can be a wonderful, complex, and sometimes really difficult thing, and I sincerely hope we can all arrive at a happy sexuality for ourselves.

auu.org.au

instagram.com/adelaideuniversityunion

facebook.com/adelaideuniversityunion

twitter.com/UnionAUU AUU President

THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO

SEX ON CAMPUS Author: Annie Position

As someone who thinks about sex constantly, it isn’t wholly unnatural for me to think about all the possible places to have sex on campus. The list is endless, from the Ingkar ni Wardi tutorial rooms with the automatic lights that tur n on, to the Image and Copy Centre in the Hughes Building (if the smell of freshly printed readers doesn’t make you purr, you’re a monster). So, in the run up to this sex edition, I promptly grabbed my partner to test five steamy locations to do the dirty. Each university setting is marked out of a maximum score of five fiery Warren Bebbingtons. Full disclosure: These places were selected because others proved untenable AKA we got caught. These include the back of Scott Theatre, the female

Sex on Campus

restroom outside Uni Bar, and the Union Cinema. We were most looking forward to the latter, but got rudely interrupted by one of the campus Christian groups.

Barr Smith Library A feature on EVERYONE’S bucket list, this is a certified no-brainer. After scouting the different floors and various bookshelves, we settled on Level 1. It was a Friday morning and dead quiet. The partner and I headed to one of the narrower aisles and immediately dropped trou. Admittedly, being surrounded by a million musky, old books made it super arousing. I give this location three and a half fiery Warren Bebbingtons.

Anna Menz Lounge Before everyone starts losing their minds, we brought a blanket to cover the couch. For anyone unaware of this lounge, this is the Women’s Room on campus. Apparently, this includes a great number of women, as it was incredibly easy to access this room with a male whilst being completely uninterrupted. We went in on a Tuesday afternoon, and like I said, utterly empty. This made it easy for the partner and I to go downtown to funtown. I give this location three fiery Warren Bebbingtons.

Lower Ground Napier This setting held great nostalgic value for the partner and I as we had many, many tutorials here. We came in on a Thursday afternoon, which unbeknownst to us is when all the cruisey humanities students start their week. We search for an empty room, and stumble on the futuristic looking LG23. It’s fifteen past four and no one enters. We seize the opportunity and head to the table at the front of the room to get nekkid. I give this location four fiery Warren Bebbingtons.

Ligertwood

stream of first years waiting to get into class. The partner and I mumbled something unintelligible to the kids and shut both doors. We leaned against the whiteboard and grinded to the partner quietly singing “The Distance” by Cake. I give this location two fiery Warren Bebbingtons.

Clubs Board Room in the Lady Symon Building The partner and I were completely unaware that this place even existed. We stumbled across this cushy boardroom when we were leaving the Anna Menz Lounge. We came back in on a Monday afternoon and made our way to one of the smaller boardrooms at the back. The view was spectacular as it looked out to the Torrens and the bridge. This set the romantic mood all the way up to 11. I give this location four and a half fiery Warren Bebbingtons. Unfortunately, no five fiery Warren Bebbingtonworthy locales were encountered. Though perhaps Warren Bebbington’s office could prove to be the ultimate sex spot on campus. Watch this space.

Specifically the Piper Alder man room. This one was a tad tricky because of its two doors on different ends of the room. Outside sat a steady

Around Campus

IS IT A

MACKER? Author: Grace Denney

Artwork: Emily Hart (Portraits)

and Viray Thach (Portrait Tinting and Background)

You’re eating takeaway Thai food on the pier at Glenelg. Maybe you’re walking home after a party, 20 beers deep. Perhaps you’re “watching movies” at your parents house. Or you’re sitting by the Torrens tr ying not to make eye contact with pelicans. The person on whom you have bestowed your attention and affection is with you. And you’re really glad you brushed your teeth this mor ning, because you’re pretty sure they’re DTM – down to mack.

“ Ta l k I s C h e a p” - C h e t Fa k e r Arguably the most sensual thing about beards since the above visual. There is little anyone can do to resist the lure of a husky 80s saxophone solo – perhaps why so many people still watch Days of Our Lives. Chet is the master of serenading your inner casanova/casanovette/casserole. Highest record for simultaneous, mass drunken stripping recorded on Aus Day 2k15.

12 Is it a Macker?

Not all of us are blessed with a soundtrack to our lives (note to self - outbursts of impromptu song narrating the activity you are completing do not count…) Musical timing is down to luck, or a little strategic forethought on your part. As such, by the powers vested in me c/o On Dit and also a rampant lack of care for my own self preser vation, I have compiled the ultimate playlist to accompany your desire to become the next Peter Dyer*. Now all you have to do is keep the washing machine syndrome to a minimum and check your honey ain’t wearing your spit like a beard.

“ Let ’s Get I t On” - M a r v i n G aye Mar vin Gaye (or Mack God as I like to call him) ditched the grapevine for the groove train to create the anthem for horn bags, old white ladies and moustachioed men in turtlenecks everywhere. The whammy on the guitar solo and the creamy vocals are undeniably smooth. If your message is not getting through, it will after this song.

“Sex”

- Th e 1 9 7 5

If Michael Hutchence had a baby with Mick Jag ger, the result would be the 1975’s frontman/ poster child for cheap vino and cig gies, Matt Healy. Joyous, catchy and slightly risqué – she may have a boyfriend anyway, but if you’ve got a van with room for two and the voice of a SEX GOD you’re in.

Coldplay is the cloth wrapped cheddar of music.

“Hold On We’re G o i n g H o m e ” – Drake Don’t let his resemblance to Voldemort or widely joked about inability to strike lucky in love put you off - Drake delivers a 90 per cent mackin success rate by way of this song. Take the reins, be the Madonna of the situation. Preferably the reaction of your loved one will be slightly more favourable.

“Magic” “Pony ”

– Ginuwine

Ginuwine rides with the likes of TLC and Coolio in the stakes for best 90s hip hop throwback/bad fashion. Slick your hair back, affix your eyes directly to your target and sidle toward them in time to the synth. Bonus points for subtle rein hand dancing and/or sug gestive eyebrow twerking.

“Do I Wa n n a Know” – Arctic Monkeys Is it that lazy, Geordie drawl we love so much about Alex Turner? The quiff hairstyle reminiscent of a Golden Age bad boy? Or the fact he dated Alexa Chung? Whether you’re needing a quick pep talk by way of a tune, or are setting the mood for some hanky panky, this song is choice. Plus, you’ll be nailing the “non-mainstream enough to protect rep, but mainstream enough to relate to most” vibes. Bonus DTM points for AM on vinyl.

– Coldplay Coldplay is the cloth wrapped cheddar of music. It’s a safe bet. Not too exciting, not too droll, a crowd pleaser, and mature without being stanky. Who doesn’t love a good bit of fairy floss pop with lyrics so vague you feel as though they were targeted at you? Note the slightly offbeat finger snaps at 1:40. So home studio, so now.

‘In The Air To n i g h t ’ – Phil Collins My Mum has a pocket Casio keyboard, preser ved from the days when she wore overalls in nightclubs and taught jazz ballet and ate at a brand spanking new Jerusalem on Hindley. I can imagine Phil Collins recording this tune on one of these casios whilst in the bathroom somewhere exotic. The echo creates the perfect edge to the tinny beats. He probably kept the pocket Casio tucked into his high pants all night long. Sweet, sweet tunes available at any moment. Dayumm. * The man, the myth, the legend. (Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snog ging)

Sex 13

PORNOGRAPHY AND

LIBERALISM Author and Artwork: Serrin Prior

The argument against por nography goes far beyond the realms of those whose sensibilities are offended by any suggestion of the sex act occurring outside of the heterosexual marriage bed. Many feminists argue that it har ms the interests of women, both as individuals and as members of the female sex. Yet these claims have made little headway against the liberal position that freedom of speech grants consenting adults the right to produce and consume pornography. The assumption, then, is that there is a fundamental tension between feminism, with its demands for equality, and liberalism, which values

14 Pornography and Liberalism

individual liberty over all else. Here, I would like to challenge that assumption by sug gesting that freedom of speech may in fact be used to argue against pornography, and then by questioning what kind of freedom we really want, anyway. Firstly, what do we mean by pornography? On the most basic level, pornography is those ‘materials designed entirely and effectively to induce erotic excitement in obser vers’. This definition is valueneutral, in contrast to the definitions of many feminist scholars, who define pornography as being inherently har mful. I believe that it surely is possible to have ‘ethical’ pornography, which har ms neither producers nor consumers, physically

or psychologically. However, it seems doubtful whether much – if any – of the pornography that we have today is of this kind. Setting aside those kinds of porn that are obviously har mful (for example, that which involves children), the main problem is that pornography eroticises the traditional view of the sexes: men as dominant, women as submissive. (Don’t even try to bring up dominatrixes here; men choose to be dominated, and could stop the process at any point – yet if a dominatrix felt threatened, it’d be hard to imagine her making a getaway in those six inch stilettoes that appear to be a necessary part of the unifor m.) Is it really so bad to sexualise male dominance and female submissiveness? In any individual instance, perhaps not. But the fact that it’s done systematically, such that male mastery becomes the nor m, is worrying. While in any one film or other it would not matter so much, we could easily see that if Arab people, say, were always shown to be ‘the bad guy’, this would be har mful and racist, and may in fact ser ve to perpetuate racist attitudes. I argue that it is the same with pornography. Surely it’s naïve to think that if we are bombarded with a particular message – especially one that is so intimately connected with the emotional centres of our brain – it won’t start to sink in on some level. More on this later, but here is a good point to bring in the question of freedom of speech. The primary argument from liberals against the criminalisation of pornography is that it would be an infringement upon freedom of speech. Though this is particularly pertinent in the Unites States, where the First Amendment explicitly protects freedom of speech, any nation espousing liberal democratic values has a duty to ensure this freedom. Yet it is vital to remember that not all kinds of speech are – or should be – protected, even in a liberal democracy. Obviously, kinds

of speech that cause direct physical har m (e.g. incitement to violence) are criminalised. But there are other kinds of speech that are constrained – speech that slanders, speech that infringes on copyright – that do not do so. Hence, whether or not we agree that pornography causes direct har m to women, this should not automatically grant it protection under liberalism. We grant copyright privileges to authors, for example, because we allow that their interest in making profit from their own work is greater than the benefits to society that might be had were copyrights not in place. We must ask ourselves whether the interests of pornographers in making pornography, and that of men (or whoever) who watch it, are greater than the interests of women whose right to equality, it is argued, is being compromised by the proliferation of pornography. When considering the arguments concerning freedom of speech, it is also important to consider who is, traditionally, doing the talking. Academic and lawyer Catherine MacKinnon argues that ‘liberalism has never understood that the free speech of men silences the free speech of women’. While I would disagree that liberalism necessarily has to be sexist (just as pornography does not have to be), traditionally speaking, both liberalism and pornography have – to a greater or lesser extent – been promoted in ways that have been har mful to women. As John Stoltenberg puts it (in the American context), “The First Amendment protects those who have already spoken from state interference. But women and blacks, in particular, have been systematically excluded from public discourse by civil inferiority, economic powerlessness, and violence. Right now, the First Amendment protects those who can buy communication and allows them to use communication as a club against the powerless.”

Discussions 15

Academic Caroline West takes this argument a step further when she points out the possibility that pornography might be acting to silence women by producing a society in which women’s words are systematically misunderstood. She cleverly points out that it is not so much our freedom to speak, per se, that is significant, but rather that our words are free from being rendered meaningless. If pornography teaches that ‘no’ means ‘yes’, for example, then women’s words are being rendered meaningless, and their freedom of speech is constrained. This is something that should be empirically tested. If evidence is found in support of the hypothesis, then we could say that criminalisation may in fact promote the freedom of speech of some individuals. How we might then balance those claims of freedom of speech that come into conflict (for example, those from pornographers on the one side, and women on the other) is another question. This finally brings us to the question of freedom. Freedom of speech is one necessary (but not sufficient) component of what it means to be a free individual – what else might be required? Radical feminist John Stoltenberg makes the important point that, logically, we need justice before we can have freedom. After apartheid ended in South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up for people on both sides of the fence to have their stories heard, allowing

16 Pornography and Liberalism

for recognition and forgiveness. While there are debates over the success of this commission, surely the idea was right: people cannot be free as individuals unless they are free and equal in relation to others – unless they have justice. Are women free and equal in relation to men? Stoltenberg believes that pornography ser ves to institutionalise the patriarchal status quo by eroticising male supremacy (just as ‘segregation institutionalizes white supremacy’), to the extent that our society views dominance a n d subordination as inherently ‘sexy’. Thus, the kind of freedom that supporters of pornography are fighting for is not true freedom at all. But it does not have to be this way. Why can’t we envision a world in which equality, and not its opposite, is sexy? I have not tried to argue here that pornography should be banned (aside from anything else, it’d probably be impossible). Rather, I have sought to point out that liberalism – particularly one that acknowledges the importance of equality – should not be enough to protect it. Pornography, like traditional liberalism, has worked in ways that have been detrimental to women, but we do not have to accept this. If we want porn of better quality, then we need to work harder to have a society of more equality.

B L AC K R A I N Author: Anonymous

Trigger Warning: This article contains information and writing about sexual assault and violence which may be triggering to survivors.

Rape. Someone had to say it because no one else does. How do you talk about assault in a student magazine? I understand this edition mostly prompts the exciting side of sex; the side that makes you bite your bottom lip or curl your toes. But victims of rape and sexual assault don’t often talk, or don’t feel that they can. The scary thing is, it probably has, is, or will happen to someone you know. Last year I received the news that someone very close to me was being raped. For the sake of the article, let’s call her Lucy. At the tender age of 14, she was being sexually assaulted. It lasted two years, and no one knew. Not that we didn’t pay attention, but she was very good at hiding it. Victims are usually fantastic actors, and the predators are either twisted bastards who wait for their next vulnerable victim, or someone you know and trust. And for Lucy, it was the latter. To this day, I remember so vividly the night she told me. She was my best friend, but from that night everything changed, and she became a different person. I remember falling against the wall, weeping, screaming as though I’d suffered a bullet wound. Her innocence was not only taken, but brutally stolen, and beaten out of her. Although she was a couple of years younger than me, I felt her youth swiftly pass out of the room, and watched her age right in front of me. Lucy trusted me not to tell anyone, so the hardest thing was trying to act nor mal at uni. I couldn’t tell anyone the sort of changes that were happening to me, and happening to someone that everybody knew. I lost all focus; I couldn’t stay in a conversation without staring into space, and couldn’t listen to lectures for longer than ten

minutes. My mind was either running a hundred miles an hour, or completely vacant. Either way, it would burn out very quick. -----She was constantly drag ged into police stations and counsellor’s offices: ‘try and have a nor mal life’, they would say. Yes, ‘nor mal’. This is hard when you have several phone calls a day from your counsellor and psychologist, making psychiatry appointments, writing victim impact statements, taking samples with detectives, and getting tested for STDs.

What really disgusted me, though, almost above everything, was how often rape actually happens.

What really disgusted me, though, almost above everything, was how often rape actually happens. You always think (I certainly did) the typical ‘it won’t happen to me’. And while it may not, it will touch your life somehow. I started researching and found there were so many clinics, online stories and statistics; it really grossed me out. How can this world be so screwed up? Like, people are employed to help these victims; they get a whole salary from talking to people. Clinics sur vive with back-to-back appointments with victims and families. What the fuck? It happens, a lot.

Black Rain 17

Everyone started to piss me off. Gosh, people complain about the most insignificant things. Whenever my friends told me how tired or stressed they were with uni, how many loads of washing they had on the weekend, or just dumped their ‘problems’, I felt like screaming ‘AT LEAST YOU WEREN’T RAPED’. Things didn’t seem to matter anymore. I wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t eating; this really had a massive drain on me. I don’t think I did any uni work for about twelve weeks of the semester. I did all my final assignments in swot week and prayed for a pass.

in the end he was adding to my anxiety. I needed him, and he was only thinking about himself.

The worst of it, though, was my anxiety. I didn’t trust anyone, not even my uni friends of four years.

I tried to take her on dates to distract her. We went on tea dates where all we were allowed to talk about was the weather. They turned out quite funny; it’s amazing how two young girls can talk so much about the ‘cool change that was coming in later in the afternoon’. I would drop little presents at her house to remind her that I was thinking of her, or just send her a meme to make her laugh when she woke up.

The worst of it, though, was my anxiety. I didn’t trust anyone, not even my uni friends of four years. I remember sitting on North Terrace once, and someone merely walked passed me, and I sat there and had an anxiety attack. My pulse was racing and my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I couldn’t hear anything anymore, and I started sweating; all for walking past me. Didn’t look at me, didn’t say anything. I had a boyfriend at the time, and boy was he hopeless. Said he would be there for me, but when I was having an anxiety attack, or just downright needed him, he was always too busy to talk; I was apparently too depressing, and was ser ved the ‘Uni is really busy right now’ bullshit. I was so offended I felt like feeding him to my cat. Fuck you, and everything you stand for; grow a pair, you prick. I couldn’t separate my anger for Lucy’s offender and every other guy on the planet, including my boyfriend. So my relationship suffered, badly, but

18 Black Rain

Now, this was all happening to me. I can’t imagine how Lucy was sur viving. It’s so hard because, while you can feel yourself change, as an outsider, you canNOT be selfish. I needed him, and he was selfish. Lucy was the only one who had the right to think of herself. But the rape was all she wanted to talk about. I couldn’t talk about my own life to distract her because she would respond with something she had just remembered or a phone call she took the day before. It completely consumed her – in every sense of the word.

Like most victims, Lucy didn’t tell anyone. It happened for two years, so a lot can happen to one’s mental health.

Like most victims, Lucy didn’t tell anyone. It happened for two years, so a lot can happen to one’s mental health. She felt totally guilty, dirty or disgusting, and entirely to blame. She had an amazing memory, and remembered dates of when it happened, how he would beat her, or where he positioned her. With all her memory space used,

she couldn’t remember anything else. Writing down or copying numbers, for example, had to be done one at a time, because she couldn’t remember more than two. Although it was rape, he would tell her that it was okay. That ‘that’s how it’s meant to feel’ or asked if she was enjoying it. But she was terrified to tell anyone, because heaven forbid she had sex out of wedlock. She lived in fear. Scared on a daily basis because they had to act nor mal in front of everyone. How could she dodge him? Worst of all, would his wife find out? They are sick fucks, the lot of them. Once a predator, always a predator. There would have been more after Lucy, I’m sure. I spoke to him many times, and can’t get his fucking face out of my head. I blame myself too; how could I not see it, or know that anything was happening to my best friend? Rape is of course NEVER the victim’s fault. They could be lying naked in the middle of the street, and while it would be quite uncomfortable, I imagine, they are not asking for it. And they are never to blame, and there is no shame is asking for help.

I am not asking much of you. All I ask is that you are sensitive to the subject, and pay attention when it does happen.

I am not asking much of you. All I ask is that you are sensitive to the subject, and pay attention when it does happen. Support the victims, and they must also know this: beat on – there is life after the assault. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, you can find help by contacting 1800RESPECT, the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Ser vice, at 1800 737 732.

I sought counselling for a while, and the most beneficial thing I was told was, firstly, her praise to me that I spoke up about rape, but also the truth that we never make room in our lives for something like this. It shakes up our grand plan for life, and it doesn’t fit in with the school-uniwork-wedding-family thing that we all strive for. Rape is never factored in, cancer is never factored in. So when it does happen, it completely shatters us; hence the anxiety. And we have to pick up the pieces we are left suffering with. There is help for victims or people affected by rape, as well as campaigns to raise awareness, such as RedMyLips, which happened in April. The assaulting has stopped now, thank god. He is locked up and Lucy is on the mend. She has a caring boyfriend who is a god-send, and she slowly doesn’t need her counsellors anymore.

Discussions 19

H U MA N S O F

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY

1) E: Yeah. Guys don’t try very hard. C: I recently went through a break up, so based on that I’ll say yeah.

2) E: Legs. C: Face.

3) C: Maybe one of the booths near the library. E: Yeah, the library. Emily & Chris 1st Year, International Studies

4) C: Worst: I like that shirt, though it would look better on my bedroom floor.

E: Are you an angel? ‘Cos you look like you fell from the sky.

1) No, definitely not. It’s beautiful. Without it, we’re just behaving like animals.

2) The legs. 3) The library. It’s classy amongst the books.

4) You look like somebody I want to know more.

Gael 3rd Year, Politics

1) Was it ever alive? If so, does it require an exhumation?

2) Female: Coccyx. Male: Pinna. 3) The Centre for Velcro Research. 4) Will you be my ‘Fela Kuti’? Monty 3rd Year, Medicine

20 Humans of Adelaide University

1) Is romance dead? 2) Favourite body part on males and/or females? 3) Hypothetically, if you were going to, where would be the best place to hook up on campus? 4) Best or worst pickup lines.

1) J: No way. C: No, but it’s pretty commercialised. 2) J: Face, beacuse it’s the first thing you see. C: Hands for men, large labourer’s hands. Neck for women. 3) J:

Josh, Linda, Sheree, Cameron (Left to Right) 2nd Year, Teaching.

Underneath the Confucius Statue near the water fountain. I want to see him watching me.

C: Level 1, in the library, in a corner. S: Definitely the library. 4) J: Hello, how are you? C: Hey Daddy.

1) C: No, I don’t think so. 2) C: Teeth. J: Definitely the teeth.

3) C: I would NOT do that on campus. But I would say the lifts.

4) J: ‘I don’t need a pick up line; I get picked up.’ Just kidding, I can’t think of any.

Caley & Jenna (left to right) 2nd Year, Nursing

1) Not at all. I’m in an online relationship

with a Nigerian girl - we’ll be moving in together after I loan her $8,000 for flights.

2) Ankles. 3) Mayo Café - who’s going to notice one more weird stain?

James 4th Year, International Studies

4) If I was a fly, I’d land on you - because you’re the shit.

Around Campus 21

Author: Chelsea Allen

22 Virginity as a Social Construct

Illustration Mary Angley

Virgin [vur-jin] Noun: A person who has never had sexual intercourse. When you look up the meaning of virginity in a dictionary, the first definition to appear simply reads “a person who has never had sexual intercourse.” Yet, many people believe that it is an oppressive social construct designed to shame those who have not yet had penetrative sex. But is this true?

a resurgence in feminist thought over the past few years, but it will remain an issue for quite some time.

Another problem is that it seems to be a competition for people to ‘ruin’ a person by taking away their ‘purity’ – that is, their virginity. But what is there Firstly, what is a social construct? to actually take away? Do we, as a society, really A social construct is where a group of people (i.e. a allow something as small and insignificant to our society) collectively imbue a concept with a special personalities as virginity to have such a huge impact meaning, rather than it possessing that meaning on how we value ourselves? What exactly are you organically. This can either be for a particular losing when you ‘lose’ your virginity? The language reason, or for no reason at all. of how you describe it is important. You become a woman when you have your first period, you In recent years, the concept of virginity graduate university at the end of your Having has increasingly been re-interpreted degree, you turn 21. There is literally as a social construct. There’s a word nothing to lose of yourself when sex for the for people who haven’t had sex you have sex for the first time. first time is seen before; yet, there are no words for someone who has never been as a rite of passage Further more, another question kissed, or travelled somewhere, or arises with this traditional notion for men, but the eaten a certain thing. These labels of virginity – can LGBTQ people, (or lack of) hint that people make end of innocence who may not want to engage in more of a big deal about virginity vaginal penetrative sex, lose their for women. than they do about other aspects of virginity? The answer, of course, is life. So, for some reason, it must mean yes they can. Only you can define what more to people. But what exactly does it your virginity specifically is, if you even mean, and why does it mean this? decide that you want to go along with the whole virginity construct in the first place. Throughout history, the concept of virginity has evolved to be more or less important to people In the end, it’s your own choice as to how you depending on their culture or heritage. In the view your first time having sex. You can make it past, before contraception was as prevalent as it meaningful and with someone you love and go is today, having sex for the first time was a huge along with the whole ‘losing your virginity’ thing, commitment. Sex wasn’t just committing to the or you can go with the flow and not really care person you slept with - it was committing to having because it’s not that meaningful to you. Ultimately, a child, and therefore having a family. This is why there is no right or wrong answer. certain religions and traditions still believe in total abstinence, in order to keep unplanned pregnancies However, one definitive truth remains: you are at bay. Of course, now we have contraception to do no less valuable as a person because you haven’t that for us while we get to have fun. had sex. Sex is one of those things where you should only do what is comfortable for you. You However, sex isn’t always about having fun. Having should not allow others to influence your beliefs sex for the first time is seen as a rite of passage on such a subject delicately tailored to your own for men, but the end of innocence for women. individuality. This double-standard is slowly changing with

Discussions 23

POWER OF PROSTITUTION:

How One

Profession O u t l a s te d Th e m A l l Author: Stephanie Rogers

Artwork: Miss Lili (Roman Illustrations)

and Viray Thach (Additional Embellishments & Colour)

Last year, the CBD of Adelaide was shut down as the ar med fugitive Rodney Clavell barricaded himself in Marilyn’s Studio on King William Street. Marilyn’s Studio, if you don’t know, is a “gentleman’s house of pleasure”.

When people found out that I was writing my thesis on prostitution in the ancient world, many made the typical joke, ‘it’s the oldest profession you know!’ This didn’t really bother me (I just rolled my eyes and went about my day), but after I handed up my thesis and it was all done and dusted, I remembered the siege in Adelaide that occurred only months before, and how similar it could have been in the ancient world.

However, while some states may call this place a brothel, prostitution’s illegal status in South Australia means this establishment is referred to as a massage parlour. If you look at a map, you’ll see that Marilyn’s Studio is smack-bang in the legal heart of Adelaide. Around the corner is the District Court, the Police are across the road, and underneath the second-story massage parlour are barristers’ chambers. With the apparent illegal nature of this profession, setting up shop in the middle of this part of town is like a metaphorical middle finger to the law.

Prostitution hasn’t always been seen as an illegal activity. Sure, the men and women associated with it might not have had the best reputation, but they were still seen as a vital cog in society. Saint Augustine, one of the men responsible for creating Christian thought and philosophy, was quoted for saying that if you ‘suppress prostitution, capricious lusts will overthrow society’. Prostitution was a welcome, if not encouraged, factor of ancient life. The trade of flesh was a dominant force in the ancient world, and naturally this included the sex trade.

Power of Prostitution 27

It was an accepted factor of many ancient societies that brothels and houses of debaucher y were needed and frequented by men. A natural part of festivals was women dancing with little clothing on. Conquering ar mies would confiscate land, gold, grains, livestock, and people, often enslaving and bringing them back to their homeland. A tavern or drinking house was where you would go to get your lust sated. A wife wasn’t meant to entirely alleviate a man’s lusts, but a meeting with a prostitute could. Who were prostitutes in the ancient world? Was it a situation like Marilyn’s Studio, where they went under a different guise? For the sake of this article, I will only focus on female prostitution, as male prostitution is another ball game. Prostitution is when money or goods are exchanged for sexual acts – not so different from today, when you think about it. Slaver y was often associated with prostitution, especially with pimps, and it was not uncommon for slaves to be expected to engage in sexual activity with their masters. Perfor mers and dancers were also often prostitutes. In a society with a clear divide between the public and private spheres – women at home in the private and men out in the public – women who exposed themselves to the wider public were obviously up for anything and would do anything, too. Lines became so blurred that in the later Roman Empire, promiscuous women were banned from wearing the white clothing typical of virgins; apparently people were getting confused. Brothels were also hidden and could have easily been confused for just another building. If this was the case, how do we know they were brothels? When Mount Vesuvius er upted in 79 AD, it did the rather fortunate (or unfortunate) thing of obliterating and preser ving the two towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Ever ything in these cities is still preser ved today, including the people. Archaeologists have found buildings in Pompeii with

28 Power of Prostitution

small rooms, or cells, with direct access to the road. They believe that these are brothels, as it’s the only reasonable explanation. The cells would have easy access to the street so that these women could acquire their customers and wouldn’t have far to travel to ply their trade. Detailed and lewd graffiti has been found on these buildings with words such as meretrix (one who earns), scrotari (to prostitute oneself), and lupa (she-wolf). They have been able to find buildings like this all throughout the Roman Empire, which shows that it wasn’t an isolated concept. These buildings, like Marilyn’s Studio, were in the middle of different areas of the city, such as the trade districts and the upper class areas of town. It is only in the later Empire, especially in the east, that you start to see small fragments of evidence for red-light districts popping up. Augustus was one of the first to implement wide sweeping social refor m and attempt to suppress prostitution in the first centur y BC. Ironic, really, considering his daughter Julia was accused of being the ultimate prostitute and den mother. Augustus thought that this apparent sexual craze needed to end to create a stable empire. Augustus wanted to go back to good old Stoic ideals and revive the empire. I am no philosophy student, but in basic ter ms, Stoicism was all about simplicity and reser ve. Stoics believed that emotions were the basis of instability in the soul, and that to be a rational and contributing member of a democratic society, you had to keep your emotions in check at all times. Sex was not good for your emotions and you only “did the deed” to procreate for the perfect family and the Roman state. Adulter y became illegal in 17 BC under Augustus’ Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis, and for the first time, successful prosecution for adulter y was even punishable by death. The state was dipping its toes into governing the private lives of its citizens like never before. However, there was a double standard with this law. It seemed women could be prosecuted much easier than men. But it was not

Saint Augustine, one of the men responsible for creating Christian thought and philosophy, was quoted with saying that if you ‘suppress prostitution, capricious lusts will overthrow society.’ uncommon for men to get prosecuted too. If you were found to be fornicating with a prostitute, you would have been liable, so these women played on their connection to the arts: they were “dancers” and “actresses” to get around this law. Just so you know, Augustus exiled his daughter Julia for adultery; such a loving father! And then along came Christianity. Christianity took off between the second to fourth centuries CE and I am not going to give you the gory details about that here. Christianity did bring with it a change in social thought and ideals, especially with the rise in asceticism. Asceticism was a lifestyle choice and saw the abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. As you can imagine, sex was off the cards. Asceticism was like Stoicism’s extremist younger brother; while Stoicism was all about keeping your emotions in check and limiting sex for mere procreation, asceticism promoted complete abstinence and an utter revulsion towards promiscuous anything! Good old Saint Jerome promoted this lifestyle of complete abstinence from the fourth century CE, but it didn’t stop him from shacking up with a few women (always for their benefit, mind you!). This craze didn’t extend to the whole Empire, and people preferred to adopt the previous ideals of ‘sex for procreation’. With the abandonment of many traditional pagan celebrations as Christianity spread, prostitutes were no longer out in the public and on display; they were going underground. If you really look at all of the restrictions placed on sexuality, and obviously prostitution, there is an underlying fear of women and their sexuality more than anything. Stoics thought that women were incapable of reaching the emotional control needed to be a fully contributing member of society. They did acknowledge

that there were a select few ‘remarkable’ women who came pretty close, but women who displayed their sexual availability were definitely not capable. And it is here that we come to one of the most remarkable women in Ancient history. Theodora was a stage perfor mer, from a family of stage perfor mers and ‘event’ trainers, had been previously married and even had children (both legitimate and possibly illegitimate, if you believe every note ever scribbled!), yet she still caught the eye of Emperor Justinian and became Empress of the Eastern Empire in 527 AD. She was instrumental in creating support networks for fallen women, as well as dedicated safe havens where these women could group. She was smart, and chipped away at the barriers thrown up against these women from the inside so they would be seen as members of the community. A prostitute had come to power and fooled them all. Now we come full circle back to little old Adelaide in the twenty-first century. When the siege was done and dusted, and the surrounding media circus packed up their bags and finallywent home, M a r i l y n ’s Studio once again disappeared behind its carefully managed guise, and workings of the sexual profession continued as they had done for millennia. Really, you have to give credit where credit is due (but cash gives a ten per cent discount...).

Sex 29

L E T ’S G O TO S W E D E N ! THE NORDIC SOLUTION Author: Ron Presilbeal

Ronald Reagan once quipped,

Some have proposed that we follow the laws of Sweden, Norway and Iceland when it comes “Politics is the second oldest profession. to prostitution. These Nordic nations have I have lear ned that it bears a striking criminalised the buying of sex rather than the resemblance to the first”. selling of sex. The logic goes that those forced into prostitution will no longer be treated as criminals Reagan was referring to the fact that prostitution has but instead the people who use them will be. Selling long been known as the world’s oldest ‘profession’. sex is legal but buying sex is not. Feminist critics The give and take between two people involved have slammed these laws, implying that they treat in such a transaction has been regarded as odious women like children who are incapable of giving and morally distasteful since time immemorial. consent. However, other feminists have lauded However, prostitution has sur vived despite the so called Nordic solution as a victory against numerous attempts to stamp it out. Prostitution has men who are traditionally the big gest customers usually existed in the shadows of society, always of prostitutes. By and large, the evidence to date there but rarely out in the open. It would appear points to the decriminalisation of prostitution that prostitution is more a symptom of the human as being the most effective method of reducing condition, rather than any har m to both prostitutes and unusual predilection. For as the users of such ser vices. long as people have wanted A study from Rhode Island It would appear that money and others have the US found that upon prostitution is more a in wanted to pay money for legalising prostitution in certain favours then the free symptom of the human 2009, the occurrence of market (or at other times the condition, rather than any rape declined significantly, black market) has appeared alongside the infection rate to satisfy that demand. unusual predilection. for sexually transmitted diseases. While prostitution per se is not a crime in SA, soliciting and pimping are crimes Morally speaking, in a perfect world prostitution albeit rarely enforced by SA Police. The only times would not exist. However that is not the world prostitution laws are enforced are when a brothel we inhabit. In our world it is ideal that har m be is openly operating in a suburban neighbourhood minimised wherever and whenever possible. People and there have been complainants, or when there should be free to live their lives, including selling have been allegations of forced activity or other sexual ser vices, so long as they do not interfere distasteful illegal activity occurring inside such with the rights of others to likewise peacefully live venues. The death last year of convicted criminal their lives. However, the Nordic solution, while Rodney Clavell inside a King William St ‘massage preferable to the current blind-eye approach to parlour’ is a clear example that firstly: the laws prostitution, faces significant political challenges against prostitution are not strictly enforced in before its implementation. With opposition on the streets of Adelaide and secondly that such both sides of the political divide, we are unlikely to ‘houses of ill-repute’ are frequented by people of see any progress towards its implementation. While a dubious nature. SA Police are probably correct it would be politically difficult for any government in not disturbing the current brothels as they are to decriminalise prostitution, the evidence seems similar to the mythological Lernaeah Hydra: when to show that this is the best outcome. one head of a serpent is cut off, another two appear in its place. 30 Let’s go to Sweden

THE FEMALE ******:

Why Fa k e I t ? Author: Natasha Loh

The Female Orgasm 31

NIGHT’S HEAT Author: Davita Koh Ar twork: Miss Lili

32 Night’s Heat

Miscellaneous 33

34 Night’s Heat

Miscellaneous

Author: Victoria Griffin

Safe sex, man. Since my PE teacher in Year 10 stood in front of our class with a box of phallic half-bananas (I sure hope whoever had the bright idea to manufacture those is returning their shareholders a tidy profit at the end of each financial year and I sure hope their CEO relaxes into a luxurious hot tub at the end of the night, satisfied the empire they built is Making A Difference to all the wide eyed pre-teens once in the same position I was in) and a box of condoms, giving a very instructional and businesslike demonstration of the correct way to ensure those nasty bananas don’t give you any bad STDs, it has been drummed into the heads of the youth that if it’s not on – it’s not on. Teenage pregnancy, the wrath of Satan, and a nasty bout of chlamydia – we’ve all been told the horror stories. But the fact about the place we have come to now in modern society – where our YouTube viewing is interrupted by advertising, and one simple google search for an answer to a law take-home exam can result in my Facebook being spammed for DAYS by advertisments for lawyers – is that the safe sex message is now being preached by the most unlikely of sources – gansta rap music. “Yea this one’s for the ladies; who be tryna have my baby,” Joey Bada$$ raps in the opening to his spiel in “Funky Ho’$,” which contains such a persuasive argument and call to ar ms for men around the world to Always Wear Protection that it should almost be made mandatory study material for sexual health curriculums around the world.

36 Safe Sex Rap

In just the first verse, Joey assures the listener that there are two things he will never, ever do in life – the first, leave home without a trustworthy stash of condoms. The second, tell a funky ho (woman) he loves her. I am not here to judge Joey’s seeming reluctance to come into ter ms with his emotions towards women, but his first point is definitely spot on in ter ms of keeping our society safe from the risks of unprotected sex. “These broads be trying to get a brother caught up in a sticky situation/missing menstrual cycles,” he cautions his listeners. It is definitely best, in Joey’s world, to bring your own condoms to any situation that could potentially end up involving sex, lest these hoes “spike holes in the condom to for m a zygote overnight.” (Incidentally, I learned from rap genius, a zygote is the initial cell for med when two gamete cells – the sper m and the eg g – collide during sexual production. You can say many things about Joey Bada$$, but it is evident he was listening attentively in biolog y class). He relays a story about his friend Kwon, who knows exactly what it is like given an unfortunate incident where “he wore a hat but it exploded twice,” and presumably is now the father to some funky offspring (assuming funky is a trait passed down genetically by these so-called “hoes”). See, bitches froth all over Joey – “all it takes is some exotic piff/they all unconscious topless

These broads be tr ying to get a brother caught up in a stick y situation/missing menstr ual cycles

exposing they crotch and shit.” So I’m glad at least he is being safe about it while he is “br uising to they back bones.” In fact, he infor ms us on the outro, his whole crew is “leaving no hope for these hoes.” Hope for what, I’m not exactly sure, but if it’s a rapper’s baby and, thus, a lifetime of living off child support they are sure to be sorely disappointed.

importance of not being a drip and covering your stick – “before me dig out a bitch I have to find a contraceptive/you never know, she could be earning her man and learning her man and at the same time burning her man.” Yep, Snoop sure has some wise words to impart onto the younger generations, and the bottom line of that message is this: no sex is good enough to take the risk of contracting genital herpes (“Ain’t no pussy good enough to get burnt while I’m up in it (Yeah)”). Take heed, you have been warned.

Joey isn’t the only rapper who never forgot the golden r ule of Sex Ed. In “No Bullshit,” Chris Brown’s ode to 3am booty calls, even while he tells his chick so char mingly “you know I’m horny/so why don’t you come over to my place/ and put a smile on my face” (sorr y, Shakespeare ain’t got nothing on this) he ensures that, after getting the party started and the removal of their clothes, he doesn’t forget to reach “up in the dresser where them condoms is.” Thank god, because “we ain’t gon’ stop til 9AM” – hot damn, that is a long sex session. I dunno if I’m doing it wrong, or what kind of dr ugs he is on, but six hours – that is like a quarter of a day. That’s a really long time that could probably be used for more effective things. Anyway, his grammar might not be technically perfect, and he might beat women on the occasion, but the message behind this song is spot on.

So, for those of you with younger siblings, children or even just thinking about getting pregnant in the future, I sug gest the surefire way to ensure they won’t end up on some crappy Channel Nine spin off of Teen Mom is to make sure they listen to rap music in those impressionable teenage years. Joey Bada$$, Snoop Dog g, Chris Brown – all solid choices. And, for god’s sake, no Australian soft pop/ rock such as Ben Lee – “Catch my disease” – no thanks, Ben, I’m perfectly fine without whatever skeezy bacteria is growing on your dick. Maybe you should have got it checked out instead of writing a song offering it to the world.

Other proponents of this important safe sex message include Dr Dre and Snoop Dog g, whose collaboration on Nuthin’ But A G Thang, not only “rip shit up,” but provide another thoughtful line of reasoning about the

Stay safe, ever ybody! Don’t get tricked by some random woman into becoming a baby daddy because child support is a bitch and Centrelink probably will not be ver y understanding about the circumstances you now find yourself in.

Miscellaneous 37

SAFE AND LEGAL? ABORTION IN SA Author: Catherine Stor y

Ar tist: Matilda Bristow Map: Anna Bailes

Whilst access to abortion is available in South Australia, abortion remains on the criminal code. If you have a Medicare card you can access an abortion for free in public hospitals (some rural hospitals may not offer abortion ser vices), and the Pregnancy Advisory Centre. You can also access abortion ser vices in private hospitals. South Australia is one of the easiest states in Australia to access a free abortion, and you can access the medical abortion (the abortion drug) up to six weeks and the surgical abortion up to twentytwo weeks. However, it is only legally accessible under certain circumstances: you must have been living in South Australia for two months, you must have the per mission of two doctors, who must confir m that you are having an abortion to protect your mental or physical health, and abortion must be perfor med in a hospital. South Australian law also provides for conscientious objection – if a medical practitioner opposes abortion ser vices, they are not compelled to perfor m the procedure. What does this mean for abortion access? Initially, aspects of this legislation seem sensible. The thought of abortion being perfor med outside a hospital conjures nightmare images of illegal and improperly-trained abortion practitioners, botched procedures, and even death. It also is understandable that someone who does not believe in abortion would have grounds to refuse to perfor m the procedure. Say goodbye to the hospital! Advances in medical technolog y have rendered surgical operations unnecessary for abortion

38 Abortion in SA

ser vices, yet the legislation still focuses on hospital surgery. A medical abortion, otherwise known as the “abortion pill” or RU-486, is actually two separate doses of the drug mifepristone and the drug misoprostole, taken two days apart. Designed to induce miscarriage, these drugs may be used in the early stage of a pregnancy (up to six weeks.) Medical abortions are safe drugs designed to be used at home, with a phone support line and checkup and blood test two weeks later by a doctor. As with any other drug, the assumption is that a person can be trusted to take their medication on their own in the relevant timeframe. The hospital requirement that is written into state legislation requires a person to take two separate trips to a hospital or clinic in order to have a medical abortion. This can be dangerous if a person does not have a supportive friend or family member to take them to the hospital, potentially requiring them to drive or take public transport to get the second dose – at this point, they may already be experiencing cramping and bleeding. Effectively, the current law that was designed to legislate for safe surgical procedures now increases the danger of having a medical abortion, even though the drug itself is safe. This legislation stands in contrast to best practice for the administration of medical abortion, according to Marie Stopes International and the World Health Organisation. Secondly, those living in rural areas who want access to medical abortion generally have to stay overnight in Adelaide, as there are very few licenced doctors who are able to prescribe RU-486 in the state. If a person cannot afford to stay in Adelaide until the entire procedure is over (2 nights), they may be

Whilst access to abortion is available in South Australia, abortion remains on the criminal code.

forced to drive home. Alternatively if there wasn’t a hospital clause, the drug could be prescribed, taken in the timeframe in the comforts of one’s home and a check-up could be perfor med by a local GP, reducing both cost and potential danger. Of course, surgical abortion ser vices should still be available in hospitals – however access to safe, legal and free abortion renders useless the market for dodg y practitioners. Two doctors? Imagine you want to access abortion ser vices at your local clinic near the country town where you live. But there’s one problem – the only GP in town doesn’t believe in abortions. Hence, the twodoctor clause poses very real issues for abortion

access in rural areas; further more, shouldn’t we just trust women to make their own decision about their pregnancy? Thankfully, hospitals do try and work around this to make it easier for patients. For example, the Pregnancy Advisory Centre has patients see two doctors on the same day, and the surgeon perfor ming the procedure can be one of the doctors who authorises it. Two months? Obviously the two-month residency clause was created to avoid an influx of people from interstate (in Australia, all states decide on their own abortion legislation) flocking to South Australia to access abortion. Unfortunately, in a pregnancy, two months is a serious length of time in ter ms of abortion access: you have already missed the cut-off for a medical abortion, leaving only have 22 weeks to gain abortion for elective reasons. This residency clause can disadvantage people who have recently settled in South Australia, such as international students, refugees and people who are travelling for long periods of time. Contentious Objection? If you are anti-abortion it makes sense that you should not be compelled to perfor m an abortion – and I certainly wouldn’t want an anti-abortion doctor doing my procedure. However, South Australia’s legislation is so broad that any medical person involved in an abortion procedure, not just the surgeon, can elect to conscientiously object: this includes anaesthetists, nurses, and other medical providers. Consequently, in rural hospitals that only have small numbers of specialist

Discussions 39

State legality of abortion in Australia:

personnel (for example having one anaesthetist), this proviso can block a hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to provide abortion ser vices. This is a major problem for rural hospitals, and this legislation provides too broad a scope for conscientious objection. How could you commit a crime?

Legal for maternal life, health, and/or mental health

Do you remember the couple in Queensland that were charged for illegally taking RU-486 in their own home? Similar situations are criminalised in this state. One doctor I spoke to told of an international student patient she had seen, who had accidentally fallen pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. As she was not covered under medicare, she was infor med it would cost $800 upfront. The student then called up her mother to ask for money, who sug gested she mail her the drug, as it was available legally and cheaply in phar macies in her home country. The woman then took the drug at home and had a safe abortion; the only reason the doctor was involved was because the student took a pregnancy test the next day (you are still producing pregnancy hor mones at this stage) and came in for a check-up. Under the law, she could have been criminally charged. Alternatively, if a doctor provides an abortion on a person who hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lived in South Australia for two months, that doctor could be criminally charged. Where to from here?

Legal for maternal life, rape, health, fetal defects, and/or mental health

Legal for maternal life, rape, health, fetal defects, mental health, economic factors, and/or social factors

Legal on request

40 Abortion in SA

Ultimately, South Australian law is yet to catch up to advances in medical technolog y, leaving our current legislation somewhat har mful to safe abortion access. There is no need for a safe medical procedure to be criminalised; these issues will only be solved with the decriminalisation of abortion. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for the South Australian government to get with the times (and technolog y) and decriminalise abortion.

FUTURE OF THE CYBER SEX INDUSTRY Author: Matthew Sclauzero

Reader, have you ever felt those lonely pangs while your partner is away on a holiday? Maybe that friend who comes with extra benefits isn’t feeling up to it tonight? Or are you just a lonely soul? Boy it’s frustrating. Perhaps you watched Her starring Joaquin Phoenix during one of those lonesome nights and felt a bit too much of an affinity with his character Theodore and his lustful quest to become romantically intertwined with his operating system? Maybe you just want to have sex with your computer? The wait is over friend, sex with computers is coming, and it’s coming hard and fast. Virtual Reality Por n We’ve all read about, heard about or even tried the Oculus Rift in recent years, but did you know that you could use it to watch porn? This application isn’t new either, there are already hundreds of videos and entire studios devoted solely to producing virtual reality porn, and it’s varied too. Whatever you’re into, it’s probably already available with the added perk of being entirely immersive, but the best part yet is that you can even project yourself in virtual reality with as little as two cameras. Keep an eye out for two front facing cameras becoming standard on laptops and webcams; long distance Skype calls with them might be getting a whole lot kinkier. Now some of you might be scoffing, ‘so what? That can’t replace or reproduce physical human contact,’ but you’d be wrong. Teledildonics is sex in a computer simulated virtual reality, especially computer-mediated sexual

interaction between the VR presences of two humans ; it exists purely to solve this problem. Making use of the ever increasing capacity of the Internet and computing power, Fleshlight and Kiiroo have teamed up to create the Onyx, a Fleshlight that can actually do the masturbating for you. A ‘smart Fleshlight’ if you will, the Onyx is a mechanised Fleshlight that can be coupled with a ‘smart dildo’ that analyses stroking or penetrative movements on its exterior. These two devices then wirelessly connect to your and your partner’s computers and communicate over the Internet to stimulate a realistic masturbatory experience. While this is clearly great news for men, the field of teledildonics for women is still notably lacking. There are smaller players such as Elaico experimenting with touch responsive vibrational pads for women but their products are still a work in progress. Although not entirely simulating the full female sexual experience, such products are well on their way to laying a strong foundation for this burgeoning industry. Well it looks like we have all our bases covered then. The final frontier is the creation of artificialintelligence capable of fulfilling the intellectual requirement of a relationship and you might find yourself attending some weddings hosted in Azeroth. Clearly virtual reality cybersex and teledildonics are still in their infancy, with a long way to go before they’re accessible and accepted by the general public. However that time is soon approaching and I for one welcome the new age of sexual robot overlords and I hope you do too.

Future of the Cyber Sex Industry 41

D O N’ T B E A F O O L , CO V E R YO U R T O O L ! Author: Claudia Janowski

How often does unexpected pregnancy occur? Ten per cent of the time? Twenty? Believe it or not, a study from America found that half of all 6.8 million pregnancies in the US in 2008 were unintended. Wow. Let’s take a look at some common myths, and what some potential solutions are.

So you think you know about contraception? “I’m on the pill so I can’t get pregnant.” Truth: Unfortunately this is not true. Out of 100 women taking the pill, there are 6-12 pregnancies per year. Solution: Also use condoms to increase protection (added benefit of reduced risk of transmission of STDs).

“The condom broke but she had her period a week later. So she can’t be pregnant!” Truth: Again, this is wrong. Despite the “period” occurring, this may not be a real period. Real periods are where the inside coating of the uterus sheds because no embryo has implanted, so it is getting ready for the next month. So basically, this supposed “period” can be leakage in the presence of a pregnancy. Solution: Don’t be fooled! If you have had unprotected sex/failure of contraception, the female should do a pregnancy test (3 weeks after unprotected sex if it is a urine test) to check.

“I pulled out, so there is no way she can be pregnant.” Truth: When a penis is erect, there can be some ‘precum’ which leaks out. Technically this is not the same as semen which contains the millions of sper m. But it usually contains a tiny bit of semen. And all it takes is one of those little guys for a pregnancy to occur! Solution: There are plenty of other contraceptive options available. Consider trying a different one and see if that works for you. Also – if there is concern about current pregnancy, see your doctor.

42 Don’t be a Fool, Cover Your Tool

“I can’t get an STD from having anal.” Truth: You guessed it, this is false! STDs like HIV can be quite easily absorbed in the anal canal from sexual secretions which make it in there. In fact, HIV is transmitted more readily by anal sex than vaginal sex. Solution: Use a condom. Simple as that.

The Bottom Line? As you can see, not everything is as it seems. But thankfully there are lots of solutions available. With a bit of preparation and checking things you aren’t sure about, you are definitely beating locker room sex-ed by a mile.

SEX APPS

VIE W

The best Sex apps that keep you coming for more! Feeling a lack of warmth recently? Alone in your bed with no one to curl up to? Or are you checking over your shoulder as you flick through this sexy magazine? Worry not, as your smart phone is all you need to soothe your erotic needs!

Written By: Celia Clennett

Dirty Game -

Literotica

Are you trying to spice things up with a partner or friend, but lacking the imagination to do so? Well look no further! Actually look a bit further, I haven’t finished my review yet.

Literotica is an app filled with user generated erotic literature. It’s an easy passageway to enter the world’s most popular erotic fanfiction site with a library of over 250,000 adult stories, poems, and sexy how-to guides. With a little help from Literotica perhaps you’ll discover a taste you never realised you had!

Hot Truth or Dare (Sex Edition)

This naughty app has a selection of sexual dares that will make any romp wild. It gives careful consideration to even its most lustful users, with options including “Group Dares.” If the free version gets you and your friends (don’t lie; I won’t judge ;) ) wanting for more, then there are also in-app add-on packages. For instance, you can pay $1.29 for the “Icebreaker” package. Whether this can be used in a nor mal conversation with strangers is yet to be tested, and I can’t guarantee that it won’t end in a restraining order. Or, you can purchase away the ads to prevent your sex drive from being an addiction for crushing candy or far myard animals.

The app has plenty of comfort and customisation settings; such as the size of the font, though some would say that size doesn’t matter, and a choice of screen brightness, ranging from a sensual candlelight dim to my personal favourite, the glorious sunlight of the morning after. This app is available for free for Android users, but don’t let this limit your erotic dreams! You can visit the official Literotica website on your favourite browser at www.literotica.com; some users report that it repays itself in showers of gold!

This app is almost too sexy and the proof lies with 4,000 satisfied, reviewing customers and a 4 star rating! I have included two Real Life customer ratings (both a whopping five stars!) after their climactic experiences. Dirty Game is available for free in the Apple store, so Apple lovers can take a juicy bite of this one.

Sex Apps Review 43

FIL

REVIEW

Blue is the Warmest Colour (2014) Author: Justin Martyniuk Artwork: Sarah Boese

I wish to preface my review with a small stor y: It wasn’t too long ago that I agreed to review Kechiche’s infamous Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) for On Dit’s “Sex Edition”. In the lead up, I made sure to have the DVD perched on my desk as a reminder to re-watch the French film, when suddenly it caught the eye of my sister walking past. She picked it up and asked if I had seen this, and my reply was a “Yes, it’s fantastic!” “It’s a bit full on. I didn’t like it,” she said. “Wait, when did you see it?” “It’s on YouTube. I heard it was good, but it’s essentially porn,” she responded. Unfortunately this stigma exists for the film. An infamy built around its controversial sex scenes. As graphic as they are, Blue Is The Warmest Colour rather interrogates this kind of eroticism, asserting itself as a piece of art, and even questioning the nature of its gaze – the very reason for its own stigma. Rather than become an icon as an erotic piece of film, Blue Is The Warmest Colour should rather be praised and highlighted for its commentary on female identity and sexuality, homosexual liberation and representation, questions of objectification, and lastly, at its basic core, understanding of love between two people. The film is based off the graphic novel called La vie d’Adele, which translates to The Life of Adèle. Blue Is The Warmest Colour becomes the film’s title in reference to the film’s character Emma, who has blue hair, for at least the earlier years of the

44 Blue is the Warmest Colour

relationship with the film’s protagonist Adèle. While the title attributes significance to Emma, signified by her hair, the film’s narrative is entirely focused on Adèle. Opening in her teens, in class Adèle is being lectured by her teacher as the class discusses feelings of experiencing love at first sight, to which a student sug gests the moment would lead to feelings of regret – regret for not talking to that person in question. This dialogue frames the opening of the film, and will remain important for later scenes. A scene in particular, when Adèle walks across the street and passes Emma, with her blue hair. Nothing outlandish occurs, but Adèle Exarchopoulos’ acting and the film’s title provide enough attention to this detail; this small sequence that alters Adèle’s life. Following Adèle’s time in school, she attempts to explore her sexuality, as it becomes clear that passing the girl with the blue hair has stirred something in her. Adèle’s relationship and friendships begin to fallout as a result, a need on her behalf to explore other options. It is one night out clubbing that Adèle strays away to another bar where she finally meets and engages with Emma. From this one meeting, their friendship blossoms into an intimate relationship between the two. Both Exarchopoulos and Lèa Seydoux (as Emma) should be commended on their perfor mances, not for their brave acts of love making on screen, but for their deep connections with their characters that reflects their sweet, char ming and intimate chemistry with one another. It is this chemistry that is so intoxicating that builds to the infamous sex scene in question. Rather than being a visual scene to consummate their love, the sex scene

instead becomes a cathartic release of the tension that builds between them. Its long and uncensored takes become less erotic, and more empowering. This lingering camera isn’t intrusive, and not overly objectifying. The very nature of the scene boasts unnatural and soft lighting, in contrast to the rest of the film’s realistic documentary style. This stylistic choice and enor mous emphasis on this one scene does two things: One, it brings attention to the gaze - the very infamy that has paved the controversy of the film - and two, raises ideas of female sexuality, identification and representation. Rather than being reduced to being labelled as “pornographic”, Blue Is The Warmest Colour spends three hours contextualizing the love-making between these two characters. The film’s erotic tone is defeated by the audience’s empathy with Adèle. The closed-off cinematography, mainly comprised

of close-ups, always focuses on Adèle, with editing constantly making her the main subject of each scene. The film becomes the “Life of Adèle”, and the sex depicted in the film becomes integral to her identity and her relationship with Emma. More so than about Adèle’s identity, sex is also indirectly discussed through Emma, an artist with a specialisation in nudes, as a subject of art. With his film, director Abdellatif Kechiche challenges the nature of censorship, causing audiences to reflect on its representation. By backgrounding the subject of art, through Emma, Kechiche presents his film as a piece of art, an expression of love and passion. Early in the midst of Adèle and Emma dating, the two attend a fine art exhibition. Later at a party, Emma and friends discuss the notion of nudes being objects of desire. Such discussion brings to contemplate where Adèle and Emma stand for the audience. Kechiche instead, allows the audience to move past these “objects of desire”, revealing the male gaze, and to instead develop a relationship between the viewer and the film, outside of voyeurism. Despite the film’s controversy, Blue Is The Warmest Colour doesn’t fetishize its subject. Adèle is a vulnerable, confused, and timid character that the film attempts to empower. Through Kechiche’s exploration of the gaze and sexual identity, the film challenges censorship not for exploitation, but to further strengthen the viewer’s understanding of the protagonist. Blue Is The Warmest Colour isn’t a pornographic film; more simply it is a story about love at first sight.

Review 45

Emma's Dilemmas I'm in class, at home, or on public transport and my pants nor mally fit me, but occasionally they get really tight and I start to bulge out of them. Am I going through a growth spurt and do I need new pants? -Anonymous, 22 Anonymous, Come on man. Okay I’ll indulge you momentarily. Maybe you’re the Incredible Hulk of ill-timed erections. Except that, instead of saving the world you’re just going to accrue a litany of restraining orders such as the world has never before bor ne witness to. I guess your super power would be something like ‘master accruer of restraining orders’ or something. Except that is nothing to be proud of you nug get of filth shat out by a nug get of filth. Get you and your tur gid penis the fuck outta heeere.

Hey Emma, Any tips for great shower sex? -S., 21 Hi S ., I think maybe using lube and never ever soap oh god don’t fucking ever use soap are some excellent starting points. I am not actually a sex wizard contrar y to popular belief so I don’t have much more to add than that but if you ever need pointers on how to pair a sassy turtleneck sweater with a sassy pair of bootleg slacks, I’ll be here. Waiting.

46 Emma’s Dilemmas

Hi Emma, What’s the most disturbing por no you’ve ever seen? -B., 18 Wow anonymous, Well I could be lighthearted ‘n’ whimsical ‘n’ tres Frankie Magaz ine etc. and say that the most disturbing por no I’ve ever seen is a SpongeBob SquarePants one but to be honest, the fact that rape por n exists makes me want to just abandon society and live in a forest with no access to the outside world in manner of Amazonian tribes they discovered a couple of years back because I despair so much of my fellow humans sometimes that I’d rather hang out with anacondas and piranhas than take another day of this bullshit- or maybe I should just move to a really out-of-the-way yoga ashram that doesn’t have access to W i-Fi and therefore the inter net and therefore the deepest darkest recesses of people’s soulsanyway where was I? Like I get it, it’s just a sexual fantasy for a lot of people and sexual fantasies are places where we can indulge in transgressive sexual desires. But why why why does the subconscious desire that a woman be treated so cruelly exist for so many people? Oh shit I’ve gotten too threatening again. Um. Cats cats cats vintage doilies I’m feminist but in a sufficiently unimposing way that it’s all part of my adorable left-wing quirky-girl shtick so men still like me cats.

An open letter to

Virginity Alex Lightbody I first became aware of your existence when I was about 10 years old. I had set our VHS player to record whatever Saturday night kids movie was playing on Channel 10, and had accidentally recorded the MA 15+ coming-of-age film that followed it. Naturally, I watched it, and thus the idea of you and your implications were seared into my brain. For the next six years, parents, teachers, friends and the media actively reinforced what this movie had led me to believe. To boys, you are somewhat of an embarrassing burden that it’s best to get rid of as quickly as possible. Girls, however, consider you a sacred part of who they are and losing you is regarded as an extremely significant, life-changing event. Now I am notorious for losing things. I can’t remember a time that I returned home with as many belongings as I had when I left the house. I regularly get calls from the police to say someone has handed in my wallet and I’m on a first name basis with my local key cutter. However, unlike everything else I’ve ever possessed, you, dear Virginity, were incredibly hard to misplace. So much so that even after I’d had sex, I still wasn’t convinced that you’d actually been mislaid (excuse the pun). This is not to discredit the actions of the young man, nor to be seen as a reflection on the event itself, I just hadn’t experienced the earth-shattering change I was led to believe I would undergo. Surely after losing something that was such a big deal I would feel different? I was bewildered. But I now know the reason for this lack of transfor mation and I’m afraid I have some bad news for you Virginity, ol’ pal. You don’t actually exist. You are merely a social construct, born of outdated patriarchal cultural and religious ideas. Sorry! While trawling Tumblr at some heinous hour one night, I came across the following quote: “the concept of virginity was created by men who thought their penises were so important it changes who a woman is.” There are obviously physical reasons behind this notion too; however, the connotations of virginity run much deeper than anything that might happen to your

hymen. Historically, taking a woman’s virginity was a way in which men exerted ownership over their women and ensured that any resulting offspring was the proof of their loins (and not that of the bloke next door). However this also ensured that once a woman had ‘lost’ it, she was no longer worth as much to other men. This practice of characterising women by their virginity, or lack thereof, has continued into today’s society and is incredibly detrimental to the lives of young women. Virginity is a gendered notion that further seeks to oppress the freedom of women. Too many girls are bullied and slut-shamed after the first time they have sex, and if virginity were a gender-neutral concept, then surely boys would experience similar adverse consequences. Therein lies the big gest issue with the concept of virginity: it reinforces the stigma and condemnation of women’s sexuality and sexual behaviour. If virginity wasn’t considered the apex of purity and feminine wholesomeness, then there would be no shaming of women who engaged in sexual activities. Without virgins, there would be not sluts, as these concepts are dependent both on each other and the system of beliefs that infor ms them. So now, dear Virginity, it is time we women told you and all your oppressive bag gage, for lack of a better phrase, to get fucked, literally and metaphorically. The young women of our society deser ve to be freed from the constraints that you and your implications impose on their actions. Provided it is safe and consensual, girls need to believe that they don’t ‘lose’ some socially constructed part of themselves the first time they have sex and that if anything, they stand to gain. In my opinion, losing your phone is a big ger deal than losing your virginity and so it should be. Compared to the deep, sinking feeling of loss one experiences upon realizing their phone is still in the taxi that just drove away, engaging in sex for the first time should allow you to experience your sexuality in an enjoyable, albeit sometimes awkward, way.

Yours sincerely, Alex Lightbody An Open Letter to Virginity 47

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 3. Legendary, albeit troll looking, American pornographic actor. (2 wds) 6. Adult entertainment store on Hindley Street. (1 wd) 7. Highly potent birth control pill. (1 wd) 8. Another name for RU-486. (1 wd) 11. BOX British TV show features sexual intercourse in “box” followed by sexual themed discussions with Mariella Frostrup. (2 wds) 12. Indian collection of prose, poetry and illustrations ser ving as practical guide to sex. (2 wds) 14. Super douche Neil Strauss’ guide on how to be a pickup artist. (2 wds) 15. Considered the first original English prose pornography. (2 wds) 17. Common bacterial Sexually Transmitted Disease. (1 wd) 18. Film includes infamous sex scene where Marlon Brando says “pass the butter”. (4 wds)

DOWN 1. Artist behind erotic Japanese artwork "The Dream of the Fisher man's Wife". (1 wd) 2. Professor André van der Merwe's alias. (2 wds) 4. Sang "Let's Get It On". (2 wds) 5. The Australian Sex Workers Association. (2 wds) 7. Woman attempts to end Peloponnesian War by withholding sex in this comedy by Aristophanes. (1 wd) 9. Prostitute in Les Miserables. (1 wd) 10. Silvio Berlusconi's sex parties. (1 wd) 12. Scale named after Liam Neeson's sexologist. (1 wd) 13. Underwater aphrodisiac. (1 wd) 16. Ancient Greek erotic poet from the island of Lesbos. (1 wd)

Crossword 48

2 PM RUNDLE MALL (WEST END)