The battle for ideological dominance in our nation’s capital’s collegiate sex columns continues. Are our local campus columnists on the forefront of radical sex writing, or are they bringing back the good old days of blaming girls for getting unexpected boners rubbed on their butts?
This week: How to get laid without anyone knowing you got laid; sympathy for Rihanna is running out; butt boners!
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
Sex Tips: Georgetown Hoya sex columnist Colleen Leahey is officially the only person willing to admit that she appreciates the work of Chris Surette, the infamous Fairfield Mirror sex columnist who conceives of casual sex in these terms: “Not only is it a story for you and your boys, but others will soon realize what happened when they see your victim walking back to the dorms in her dress from last night, with a disgraceful look on her face as if she was robbed of her dignity.”
Well, those words were such an influence on Leahey that they inspired her new column: “How to Survive the Dreaded Walk of Shame.” (A servicey take on the matter!) “I’m sure [Surette] received countless emails ripping him apart for his chauvinistic comments,” writes Leahey. “But the article was also a hoot because it is true.”
Life Lesson: Remember: It’s not the sex that’s shameful, it’s people knowing that you had the sex. “If you truly desire to avoid the walk of shame, make him come home with you,” writes Leahey. “Hooking up on your turf, rather than his, is optimal. You can avoid his teasing and snickering friends the next morning. You know your sheets have been cleaned in the past week; Lord knows the last time he threw his into the washing machine. And (sound the trumpet here), you avoid the walk of shame.”
Progressive Meter: Hey, at least it’s okay to hook up. But it’s not a college dating column without some traditional gender roles thrown in for good measure. Boys are dirty! Four.
—-
HOWARD UNIVERSITY
Sex Tips: The Howard University Hilltop doesn’t publish a regular sex column, but its editorial staff regularly weighs in on “issues.” This time around: “Yeah, He Was Wrong-–-But is Rihanna Trying to Play Us?,” in which the Hilltop staff declares that Rihanna’s recent 20/20 interview was “calculated and inauthentic.” “Maybe it would have been different if she had used the situation and the publicity it received to do what she claimed she was doing with her ’20/20′ interview all along,” they write—-“before her album was set for release.”
Life Lesson: Keep your private and professional lives separate, so that your history with domestic abuse is never misconstrued as an attempt to gain popularity points.
Progressive Meter: The story’s lone commenter dismisses the opinion as “another femi-nazi editorial.” Hmm. Really?
I, too, have expressed discomfort with the idea that Rihanna’s “recovery” from her abusive relationship must arrive right on schedule—-just as her new album drops. But I’m more interested in the public pressure that has required Rihanna’s life as a pop star life and abuse victim to be perfectly in sync.
Rihanna’s public image has been appropriated by so many fans, feminist commentators, and music executives since Chris Brown beat her up last February, I feel it’s short-sighted to pin this awkward timing on Rihanna’s own misstep. Instead, let’s focus on the music industry’s insistence upon exploiting her history of domestic violence to amp up her stardom—-and the media’s insistence upon exploiting Rihanna’s stardom in order to discuss domestic violence. True feminazis know this is all about the structure. Good discussion, though! Seven.
—-
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Sex Tips: Esti Frischling of the UMD Diamondback advises girls how to avoid getting unexpectedly rubbed by a man’s genitals in College Park bar The Thirsty Turtle. This is what “The Turtle” feels like for a girl: “At real-people bars, it’s not socially acceptable to just go up to strange girls and start humping them from behind. At the Turtle there seems to be an unwritten rule that makes uninvited dry sex the new ‘can I buy you a drink?’ You don’t even get to see the guy’s face, but he gets to feel you up in public, and you get to feel his boner.”
Life Lesson: “Boner-to-butt” is an emergency indeed, and should be treated as such. “Your friends can also be a valuable asset in the repelling process. You guys should each agree beforehand to be in charge of rescuing the others in the event of a boner-to-butt emergency.” But in the end, it’s your fault for whoring it up at the Thirsty Turtle. “You and your friends can also act as a team by collectively dressing less like sluts. If you guys are the only girls in the Turtle who aren’t wearing hankies as shirts and belts as skirts, you’re likely to get a lot less unwanted attention.”
Progressive Meter: I love that Frischling is tackling the modern problem of butt boners! I don’t love the assumption that butt boners are only a problem for the sluttiest of hos, however—-or that the problem should be solved by girls buttoning up. Three.
Photo by Claire L. Evans, Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0