2008 Woodie Awards
Sex educator hits the J-Spot
Ali Tweten
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: News
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"Sex is fun to talk about, and it's OK to laugh while talking about it," Friedman said.
Friedman's lecture performance, "The J-Spot: A Sex Educator Tells All," highlighted sex education, the differences between men and women and the politics of sex education in the United States.
"We have a natural desire to learn about sex, and furthermore, we have a natural desire to enjoy sex," Friedman said.
Answering questions like "When is the right time to have sex?" Friedman also gave tips and advice about having better sex.
"We are all sexual beings from our birth 'til our death, from the womb to the tomb, and our sexual learning is lifelong as well," he said.
Friedman said one problem in America is "most of us don't get good information about sex, even when we're grown up."
He described his first information on sex being from "National Geographic" magazines and the Sears catalog.
"We turn where we can when we're desperate," he said.
Punctuating his lecture with words that encouraged audience participation and response, when Friedman said, "Sex is good," cheers and applause from the audience followed.
"It's what we learn about sex that's not so good," he said.
He also described his experience in high school seeing the "VD movie," which depicted the effects of venereal diseases.
"It was a scare tactic approach to sex, to scare us from ever wanting to do it for the rest of our lives." Friedman said. "That doesn't work. Instead, it leaves us ignorant and confused."
Discussing the state of sex education, Friedman said the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy of any developed country.
Friedman also compared the United States' sex education programs with that of other countries with a controversial film from Scandinavia.
The film, made for middle school students, featured an animated male and female who explained sex education information explicitly.