Sex positions, sex toys, relationships and proper terminology for sex organs and meaningful talks about sex are all one Sonoma State University campus club talks about.
Sonoma State has over 170 clubs and student organizations. Studies show joining a club increases enjoyment of college, and chance of graduating.
Sex Geekdom is a national and international organization, and a community that creates a safe place to talk about sex. The clubs main goal is to create a fun and comfortable atmosphere to talk about all things sex-related. This is not a club for people who are hoping to find sex partners, or to engage in sex.
Sex Geekdom has hubs all over the country and the world, one of which can even be found at Sonoma State. SSU is the first college club version of the group, but there is hope it will not be the only one. The club is new this semester and currently has 26 members, but the students anticipate growing bigger in the next semester.
“I hope more colleges will start [this club],” said founder Kate McCombs. “It’s important everywhere and especially at [this] time of life.”
The values of the club include them not being a hookup spot, and that anyone no matter what age or stature may join or attend meetings. Sex positive is important and the club and members are to respect boundaries. Being sex positive doesn’t mean having more sex is better, but talking about sex in a positive way is good.
The club does have boundaries and is sure to inform all members. If a member is not comfortable with a particular topic, the group works around that.
“We focus on things people want to learn. A lot of people don’t get the chance to talk about it, and by ‘it,’ I mean sex,” said Sex Geekdom Emissary Amelia-Marie Altstadt.
Sex-geek or sex-nerd are terms the group uses to describe someone who is interested in academic sex knowledge or spreading awareness to others. The interest goes farther than just improving one’s own sex life, but learning about sex just for the sake of more knowledge. Their website explains people who really like math, sports or movies like to learn more about each topic, and so do sex geeks.
“There are proper terms for anatomy. ‘He put his thing in my thing.’ We want to lift that taboo while teaching people the proper terms,” said club Treasurer Abraham Sanchez.
McCombs started the club in 2012 while living in Australia. Originally from California, McCombs now lives in New York. She is a sex educator, has a master’s degree in public health and runs a sex-ed topic blog. She also speaks publicly about sex and runs educational workshops.
The club meeting or events can be as casual as after-work drinks, can include outings to sex-related seminars or even movie festivals. McCombs is always open to new ideas for outings or meetings. The SSU Sex Geekdom community is working on getting a more permanent meeting location in the Student Center, but for now meet every Wednesday from 1-2 p.m. in the outdoor patio at Lobo’s.
McCombs used to write for a blog on mysexprofessor.com. The blog’s description is that it will teach about having better, happier and healthier sex. It’s to educate men and women on body functions, having great sex, relationships, tips, tricks, techniques, sexual orientation, sex research, gender, the latest sex-enhancing products and health and wellness.
Debby Herbenick, who holds a doctorate in public health and is a research scientist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University, created the blog.
The website has lots of information, as well as humorous stories and personal experiences. It’s simple to navigate, and has many topics that range from how to stay healthy and relationship facts, to articles as extreme as purchasing breast-milk ice cream.
For those who want to find out more online, go to sexgeekdom.com, or find them on Facebook or Twitter. McCombs’ new blog can be found at katemccombs.com.
My Sex Professor can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. To find out more about the SSU Sex Geekdom Club, shoot an email to [email protected] or search for the SSU Sex Geekdom Facebook page.
