Thoughts from Sexpression conference 2014 from Yas Necati.
We never talk about sex. At least, not openly and honestly. Sex is everywhere. It’s
in our relationships, on our minds and used to sell things. It’s how the majority of
us came into this world. Sex is everywhere… but in our conversations.
It was rare and refreshing to be surrounded by a room full of people having
conversations about sex. At Sexpression’s Annual Conference last Saturday,
everyone was honest for once. All the workshops were about sex, the gift bags
included condoms and the whole reason for gathering was to discuss sexuality
and sexual relationships.
We live in a society where sex is used to sell everything, from holidays to
toothbrushes. Yet having conversations about sex is still considered a massive
taboo. We live in a society where gay marriage has been recognised (rightly so!)
by our government, yet gay relationships are never mentioned in our
classrooms. We live in a society where porn culture has dominated our media
and mainstream pornography depicts unhealthy ideas about relationships to
children as young as 8. Yet Sex and Relationships Education isn’t even
compulsory in our schools, and consent is almost always un-discussed.
We need to move towards sexuality without sexualisation and sex without
sexism. And the only way forward is through starting the conversation. The
Sexpression conference was fantastic. It’s time we bring the discussions started
there into our relationships, our thoughts and our everyday conversations.
