Female orgasm team ‘peaks’ student interest

“Let’s Talk About Sex month” began with a bang, so to speak, on Jan. 12, as students piled into Dana Auditorium to witness the witty, alternative and ever-informative Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot present “I Love Female Orgasm.”

Proponents of practicality, positivity and pleasure, the duo’s reputation clearly preceded them as a large crowd was turned away for lack of seats, and an even larger crowd waited to learn of the mysterious and often elusive Big O.

“It’s great to teach about something that most of us missed out on,” said Miller. And as he and Solot took the stage, they were faced with a captive class of both men and women, the curious and the clueless, all unsure as to what they were about to experience.

“I expect they’re going to cover a lot of uncomfortable topics and some people will be comfortable and some won’t,” said Kara Walker ’13.

“I did hear that it was very funny.”

Jeff Dobronyi ’13, who snagged a front-row seat, said he thought the lecture would be funny and interesting.

“And useful!” he added with a grin.

Miller and Solot did not disappoint.

“Let’s hear it for female orgasm!” they began boisterously. And the audience surely got an earful. From fake orgasms to real orgasms, from porn to a complete overview of the female anatomy, the dynamic couple reached from professional and personal experience to give Middlebury students a thorough pillow-talking to. All this because, the audience was assured, sex and masturbation are totally okay.

The main mission of the night, complete with innuendos and absolute honesty, was to provide good, accurate information on women’s bodies and sexuality, because, “without it, how will we have the confidence to say no to sex we’re not interested in? Or the skill to negotiate for safe sex with a partner that’s giving us a hard time?” asked Solot in a rare serious moment.

She also discussed the rampant misconceptions passed along during childhood in addition to what she sees as society’s failures in sex education. Both laughter and incredulity permeated the room as students realized that, unbeknownst to the real facts, they had, in high school health class, fully internalized the textbook diagram of a woman’s fallopian tubes; Miller assured them that in the grand scheme of sexuality this anatomical map is probably an unnecessary scrap of knowledge.

“It really hit home for me how they teach high school sex ed when I saw my friends taking drivers ed,” said Miller slyly.

“You know where I’m going with this. We’re going to teach drivers ed like we teach sex ed in most high schools. You come to a classroom, and the teacher would say, welcome to drivers’ ed. You need to know that driving is very, very dangerous. You could die. So don’t drive. Until you’re married, at least?”

Most importantly, what Miller and Solot had to offer was a positive spin on an age-old taboo subject. Tips such as “befriend your vulva,” “don’t give up,” and the great secret of “the Kegel,” though unconventional, were a welcome change for many.

“I’m just really grateful that this is getting talked about,” said Kate DiPasquale ’10.

“We’re at a turning point in our culture where it’s high time for women to start feeling comfortable with themselves.”

When the duo finally signed off, “Wishing you good health, long life, and plenty of orgasms,” most audience members agreed that their presentation of “I Love Female Orgasm” really hit the spot.