ICU Undergraduate Student
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the fourteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.】
On April 25th, 2011, CGS held a lecture called "Now You Can Ask! The Common Sense of Sex," as the first part of its Self-Awareness Workshop Series. The Speaker was Ms. Chizuko Ikegami, a sexologist and the executive director of the non-profit organization PLACE Tokyo. The discussion was based on five questions put to the audience concerning topics such as birth control, STIs, sexual intercourse, and sexual di erence.
One aspect of the lecture that interested me was Ms. Ikegami's emphasis on the importance of communication as a means of self-protection. Ikegami observed that the lack of credible information on birth control and STIs often gives rise to misunderstanding between people regarding what is "correct." In order to avoid such problems and for self protection, communication with one's partner is essential, even if one may feel reluctant to speak about certain subjects. Ms. Ikegami asserted those who are able to forge such relationships are good couples. In other words, self protection through birth control and STI prevention requires not only contraceptives but also communication between partners.
Ms. Ikegami also gave us an opportunity to re-examine the definition of sex. Generally, people take the word "sex" as an action involving penetration and ejaculation. This is a very narrow interpretation. However, this lecture proposed the possibility of rede ning sex to include "non-penetrating sex," an action involving physical contact as the most basic means of pleasure. While some people in the audience were confused of her definition and raised their doubts in the Q & A session, there were also those who said it freed them from the fear of penetration and the image of forced ejaculation during sexual intercourse. The lecture prompted listeners to think seriously about sex and sexual di erence, and judging from their varied reactions I surmised that many of them have so far had few opportunities to do so.
I had several reasons for attending this lecture, one of which was the advertisement for it, "Too busy with study and job-hunting? Don't put off thinking seriously about sex any longer!" It struck me especially because I am a sexual minority. To be honest, the lecture seemed to be targeted at heterosexual women, and I would have appreciated more information pertinent to sexual minorities. However, I do believe that the points emphasized by Ms. Ikegami are important regardless of your sexual preferences: to protect yourself by obtaining accurate information and to rethink your stereotypical views regarding sex. Most Japanese students like me graduate from college and find ourselves being called adults, without ever having thought seriously about sex. With limited information acquired from uncertain sources, we tend to have a certain fear of jumping into the adult world. Emphasizing the risks of STIs and pregnancy may be daunting, but I assume what Ms. Ikegami wanted to convey was not the fear of sexual intercourse, but the fact that we are able to obtain a sense of security by taking precautions and dispelling anxiety. This message was clearly summed up in her words after the lecture, "Taking precautions will increase your pleasure."