By Editor Diana Pearson

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Despite our so-called sexually liberated society, myths and shame-filled guidelines about sex continue to be rampant. I’m going to venture a guess that you, like many of us, have spent your share of long, anxiety-ridden nights Googling questions about sex. It can be frustrating and difficult to find thoughtful, informative, and sex-positive answers amidst all the online information available at our fingertips (pun intended).

Well my friends, if you’re starved for sex-positive, well-informed discussions on sex and sexuality, look no further.

This year at The Navigator, I am so pleased to be hosting a Q & A sex column, so all your questions, confusions, and curiosities about sex can finally be answered.

Why? Because sex is fantastic. It can be one of life’s greatest pleasures. It can be fun, messy, hilarious, freeing, sexy, transformative, political, and consuming. There are great health benefits to having sex—providing it’s consensual, of course. And really, can it get any better than a sweaty romp in the sack?

And while wild and woolly lovin’ is most definitely worth celebrating, there are also very important guidelines for safe sex. Without open access to information on how to practice safer sex, sexual experiences may not only be confusing but might also pose risks to the health and well-being of you and your partners.

My goal for this column is to provide you with sex-positive, LGBTQ+ inclusive answers to your questions, curiosities and concerns about sex and sexuality. Want to know more about sexualities, gender, birth control, STIs, pregnancy, abortion, pornography, kink/BDSM, sex toys, polyamory, orgasms, anatomy, communication, sex positions, masturbation? No topic is too vanilla or too taboo (although I ask that you please keep it legal).

Send your questions to column@thenav.ca and I will answer them to the best of my ability; with joyous enthusiasm as well as pleasure-focused, research-based, and historically- and culturally-informed perspectives. The answer to your question may be published in The Navigator, but don’t worry—your name and identifying information will be kept anonymous and confidential.

Here’s a bit of background about me. My name is Diana Pearson, and I’m a Bachelor of Arts student completing my final year as a Women’s Studies Major here at VIU. I have several years’ experience as both a sex educator and a peer support worker. My research interests lie in pleasure-based sex education, social justice, critical pedagogy (it’s badass — look it up), and feminism. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m super enthusiastic about sex and I want to encourage dialogue, dispel oppressive myths, and celebrate the wonderful diversity of sex and sexualities on campus, and in our communities. When possible, I will include informative insights from sexual health professionals in my answers for you. And, because sex is an incredibly personal, intimate, and highly intersectional experience, I look forward to including the voices of sexual adventurers such as yourselves—be it, homo-, hetero-, bi-, demi-, pan-, a-sexual—I want to hear from you! We are all sexperts in our own vivid and highly intimate ways. It is our right to have access to honest and unabashed sex education, our responsibility to put safety first, and a joy when we are able to celebrate sex in all its dirty and delicious complexities.

I look forward to your questions: please send them my way via column@thenav.ca.

New to VIU? Check out these great on-campus resources related sexual health, wellness, gender, and sexual diversity:

Health Wellness Centre: located in building 200, the Health Wellness Centre offers a broad spectrum of health services to students including STI testing, birth control and family planning, gynecology services counselling and more. www.viu.ca/health

Queer Straight Alliance (QSA): the QSA is a student organisation which promotes awareness of gender identity and sexual orientation diversity. The goal of the Alliance is to provide a safe social platform for members of the LGBT community. Check them out at: www.facebook.com/viuqsa

Positive Space Alliance (PSA): the PSA promotes awareness of gender identity and sexual orientation supports LGBT members and aims to make the campus safer and more welcoming to all. Check out their movie nights one Wednesday every month. Visit www.viu.ca/positivespace for more info and events calendar.