It’s not just the birds and the bees anymore. Dr. Justine Shuey, a sexologist from Philadelphia, visited Amarillo College Nov. 10. Shuey has been featured in TV shows, magazines, radio shows, websites and books, including the Discovery Channel, Time, Women’s Health, Shape and Medical Daily. She also teaches human sexuality courses at five colleges. Self-described as having “no filter,” Shuey added quick-wit, humor and sass to her discussion of some serious issues college students face every day along with some key points on how to have a happy, healthy and satisfying relationship. Shuey was honest in her approach to helping young adults come into their own about their sexuality. She related with students with props, jokes, visual aids – including “someecard” slides – and short videos and an anonymous Q&A session.She started by asking basic questions about the human body such as “What is the most important sex organ?” which is the brain, and, “What is the biggest sex organ?” which is the skin. She followed that with more specific questions and information for anyone who is sexually active. One of her main ideas is, “If you’re going to do the job well, you should know how to use the tools correctly.” She touched on how to keep a healthy relationship, such as making sure to have safety, respect and trust. She also gave tips on how to talk to your partner about what you want and why you always should voice what you want. The idea of communicating about your sexual needs can be stressful and awkward for the average person, and she emphasized the idea that every single time you have sex, it should be the best, mind-blowing sex you’ve ever had, every single time.
“If you like it and it feels good, keep doing it; if it doesn’t? Try something else,” she said. “The point of sex is fun and pleasure and sometimes babies, so enjoy yourself.” One point Shuey focused on was changing the way society thinks about consent. It isn’t enough to just not hear a “no,” she said. Shuey explained that you need a clear “yes” every single time for every thing that is done. If we change the idea of, “Well, they didn’t say ‘no’…” to “Well, did they say ‘yes’?”, then we can start down the road to correcting the state of “rape culture.” Shuey explained that instead of teaching people how not to get raped, society should focus on teaching people not to rape. She debunked the idea that most rape or sexual assault cases are false. She said only 2 to 8 percent are proven to be false. How to handle consent in situations involving drugs and alcohol also was addressed. “Shuey has a great delivery,” said Kelcey Brorman, a general studies major.
“She knows just how to handle college students and really get into their minds. She sugar-coated nothing and gave the facts as they needed to be given. “It takes someone very talented to take such an awkward topic and make it feel like a comfortable conversation between friends. I really enjoyed listening to her, and an hour went by extremely quickly. Some of the questions people asked I was surprised weren’t common knowledge, though.”
Leave a Reply