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Warning: This article contains explicit sexual content.
This week was “Sex Week” at Stanford. This was not a traditional sex-ed class; indeed, very little, if any, of sex week focused on consent or contraception. Instead, students were offered displays on “kink training,” “BDSM lessons,” and “supported safe sex work.” Stanford students pole danced to sold-out audiences, drag troupes hosted sex and BDSM trivia, and Stanford-sponsored nipple clamps, butt plugs, strap-on harnesses, 7-inch dildos, and bondage kits were distributed to students.
The week was organized and run by the Sexual Health Peer Resource Center (SHPRC), which receives $50,000 from the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU). To put that number in context, that is 2.5 times more than is given to the Catholic Community, twice as much as is given to the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, and nearly 5 times what is allocated to the Stanford University Mathematics Organization.
SHPRC receives not only funds from the Stanford-backed student association but also directly from the university through Cardinal Commitment and the Haas Center for Public Service.
Headquartered next to the ASSU office in Old Union, they offer a number of services, including stocking bathrooms with Plan B, a contraceptive that can act as an abortifacient, and providing “free or heavily subsidized safer sex supplies, toys, menstrual products, and gender-affirming resources.” A full list of sex toys, bondage, and other devices that are heavily funded and subsidized by the university can be found here.
Our Review reporters attended several of the events this week; below is a definitive account of “Sex Week” at Stanford.
The festivities began with the “Condom Caddy,” a golf cart from which students throw condoms at other students. One Review staffer had condoms thrown at them while sitting next to families at Coupa.
The following events were held on campus and advertised through “The Cards,” an official Stanford blast email sent to every undergraduate.
Monday:
Roe vs. Bros - “Team up in 2v2 battles and test your knowledge about the human body and sexual pleasure for fun prizes!”
Tuesday:
Queer Yoga - “Join the Weiland Health Initiative in a queer community space of movement to not only move, but to be moved. All bodies and identities are welcome!”
This is the same Weiland Health Initiative, which the Review found is funded by the university, funds sex-change surgeries, and discriminates on the basis of race, potentially in violation of federal law.
Cupcakes featuring explicit male and female genitalia were offered to students at White Plaza. However, Stanford students complained that the genitalia cupcakes reinforced white supremacy by not including black and brown genitalia.
Wednesday:
Hump Day Donuts - “Join us for coffee and donuts to start off your hump day morning🐫 Pick up sex week stickers, totes, and other goodies ;)”
On Call x Sex Week - “Try our CUSTOM sex week drink: KISS MY PEACH!! Participate in fun activities with a chance to win a prize :)”
As advertised on Fizz, this was the fun activity in question:
Sex Week Night Market - “Stop by and support local queer and BIPOC artists and vendors in the old union courtyard (on your way to try our on call drink, perhaps)... :)”
The night market, while virtually empty, boasted an array of nude art, various sex toys, custom contraceptives, and several advertisements, including one for “supporting local sex workers”.
Thursday:
Build your Own Sex Tin - “Design your own Altoid tin wallet. We'll have stickers, condoms, lube, and a couple of other goodies to have you prepped for on-the-go sexy time.”
Thursday also saw a Sex Week Trivia event featuring performances by the Stanford drag troupe, the first of multiple drag performances this week.
Friday:
Kink ‘n Cookies - “Decorate penis and vulva cookies in whatever way you like + displays on the history of kink, BDSM, and queer communities. Chance to win a “Kink Kit”!!”
Metamorphosis: Stanford Pole Collective Spring Show - “SPOCO's annual mainstage show is back! Come see the hottest, smartest, and strongest on campus. Tickets are sold out online, but a waitlist is available at the door at 7:00 PM!”
It is worth noting that “Stanford Pole Collective” is a pole dancing club, and their performance was a sold-out event on Stanford’s campus. They currently receive $10,000 from ASSU, which is the same amount as the Stanford Undergraduate Association of Veterans and 33% more than the Stanford Republican Club.
Sunday:
Drag Trivia: “Need I say more?? Be there for epic (sex-themed) prizes, iconic drag performances, and the night of your life.”
The week, however, was not without its critics. One student on Fizz seemed outraged by the apparent debauchery surrounding the programming. The Stanford student body, however, did not seem to agree, as the post received a net 202 downvotes.
Another pointed out an apparent logical inconsistency in when and where it is acceptable to display genitalia to others without their consent, and they, too, received a flurry of downvotes.
A Fizz poll indicated that more students approved of spending Stanford tuition dollars on “Sex Week” than disapproved, with roughly 1200 students voting in favor (one-third of students selected “Results,” voting neither way, simply electing to see the poll's results).
Ultimately, however, the virtual student response was wholly inconsistent with the attendance at the events. The majority of the events had no attendees besides the staff running them and one Review reporter.
Aside from the provocative substance of the week, there is a legitimate question about a large-scale waste of resources for a week that served no one and disgusted many.
“Sex Week” could just be the tip of the “sexual health” iceberg at Stanford. Between the Weiland Health Initiative, the Sexual Health Peer Resource Center, and the bureaucrats behind their funding, there may be far more waste and rot than even “Sex Week” indicates. Somehow, penis cookies and Hoover Tower condoms may be just the beginning.
