Online Press Kit
Los Angeles' Erotic University
by Arlo TolescoIt's always good, come press time, to skim the news wires for a little last-minute editorial synergy. Today's New York Times details a study that shows 20 percent of adolescents have had sexual intercourse before their 15th birthday -- which would hardly be a surprise to any kid in high school today, but to the stodgy old codgers at the Times or at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (the group that did the study) this is shocking stuff. This statistic must be particularly irksome amongst those who advocate the sort of abstinence-only curriculum that comprises the majority of sex-ed propaganda across America.
Abstinence-only sex-ed is failing to achieve its primary goal: getting kids to stop having sex. Yet, sexual ignorance continues to be regarded as the de facto American chastity belt, birth control and STD repellent, all rolled up into one hearty, "Praise Jesus!" The party line these days is: "Hey kiddies, keep your legs crossed! Keep that thing in your pants!" Any educator bold enough to augment this mantra with a condom and a cucumber better get ready to do some explaining to the school board when they come asking where the federal funding went . Of course, as readers of YesPortal -- enlightened sexual beings, each and everyone one of us --we're hip to the glaring inadequacies and pathologies that arise from woefully inadequate sex-ed.
Denying young adults access to the fundamentals of sex education and pop-culture, books, movies, comics, magazines, friends, the Internet, parents and pornography will all scurry to fill the void. The only thing America's current system of sexual ignorance assures is that the information that stays most hidden from teens will be that which is good, healthy and sex-positive.
The entire concept of abstinence-only sex-ed is intrinsically set up for failure. Not only are you telling kids, "don't!" which they instantly interpret as the catch word for "this must be something interesting, and in the very least it will piss off my parents," but even then, later on, when these kids reach adulthood, get married and finally permitted to have and maybe even enjoy sex, a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of good sex, communication, etc., will undermine any attempt at having a healthy relationship for couples who are oblivious to the intricacies of their own and their partner's sexuality. This is a set-up for a lifetime of struggle of how to please ones' partner and oneself.
No-one is born a sex genius. Some girlfriends of mine may swear otherwise, but I assure you, even Arlo wasn't born "with it." It takes time and experience to develop one's craft. I'm not ashamed to say I've turned many a page in the sex-manual of life.
Coincidentally, Some of those manuals were written by author and sex educator par excellence, Jeff Booth, brainchild of Los Angeles' new Erotic University. Before I even knew who Jeff Booth was, I used to peruse his online guides--co-written with wife, Kris. Their frank, adventurous descriptions of first hand experiences were huge eye openers to this curious seeker of carnal knowledge.
Five years ago Jeff Booth started tossing around the idea of bringing together the best in technology, cutting-edge neurological research, the most respected sexologists and sex educators to one place, to construct a Mecca for sex education and erotic scholarship.
From Jeff's perspective, the journey from original idea to the University's first class, this Saturday, May 24th, was to a large extent personal, part of his own sexual self-discovery and also, a practical realization that what was being taught in schools was woefully inadequate: "Reading what was being taught in the schools, I said, boy we can't do anything about the kids but the grown ups should have the best sex education available."
Five years ago, though, the technology didn't exist to offer the sort of integrative online experience that would be essential for the University's success. But, in the last few years technology has caught up with Booth's imagination and all indications began pointing to the fact that the time was ripe to put his idea in motion.
One of the original barriers for the creation of the university was the need to sign on top sexologists to give the school legitimacy. Initially, as Booth explained to me, the sentiment was that the leading sexologists were just too conservative -- a result of traditional education and a desire to avoid controversy in order to secure funding for research. But just as the idea started forming, the tide began to turn: "I went to the Society of the Scientific Study of Sexuality Conference in San Jose and I also began touring the country speaking at universities and meeting the professors who taught sex classes. It gave me a chance to start talking to these people and what I I found out was that sexologists were becoming open to more progressive ideas."
Booth's idea tapped into a pent up need for a centralized place for the free, unmitigated trade of ideas and sex knowledge: "People have told me: this is the time. I had the top sex experts out there saying, how we can we help?"
The big challenge was finding space; it's not that simple to find a venue conducive to this subject matter. Yet, what planners found was a dream come true in a 30,000-square-foot facility in downtown Los Angeles. Entertanium Studios doubles as a licensed motion picture studio during the week. But there's plenty of downtime when they're not using the space to shoot, especially on the weekends. Erotic University arranged to use this wonderfully versatile space between shoots. This unique space is what sets EU apart from your average learning annex or other sexuality course offerings. Since the space is a licensed movie studio, EU tapes its classes and thus, class material can include anything one could see in a porn movie. This offers educators the unique opportunity to offer close-up demonstrations of the topic matter, no matter how risqué. The only limits will be on the students themselves as Booth explains, "While we will be specific and explicit in the classes, they definitely won't be hands-on for legal and student comfort reasons. We will certainly give people homework assignments, though, and I'm willing to bet no one will complain about that!" He adds, "If a class needs nudity, it'll have nudity. If that's what's necessary, that's what you're gonna see."
Booth explained that the advantages of the space are particularly evident with the upcoming class by Robert Dante -- perhaps one of the world's foremost experts on BDSM topics and a bullwhip master. He will present a whole series of introductory classes on BSDM. As part of this class, they'll be building an entire dungeon space stocked to the hilt. Notes Booth, "We're doing things that are pretty ground-breaking."
And it's not just that the University will teach about sex: "We're being much more subversive than that. We want to immerse them [students] in an environment that says sex is a good thing, a positive part of their lives."
This is sex-ed live, raw, unsanitized. I think the fact that it's called Erotic U and not Sex U is quite telling. These classes are anything but clinical. If you want an anatomy lesson, hop on a bus over to UCLA. Forget your typical academic decorum: this subject matter is going to turn students on. Jeff Booth was quick to offer up the angle that another great reason to go to the EU is to get your kink on with like-minded adults. If all goes well, EU could become a prime meeting place for open-minded singles (or couples).
"We'll also be producing educational videos - the key for us is to make them fun, engaging, not dry -- so we're choosing our instructors very carefully," notes Jeff. The best will be featured in videos/DVDs in your local video store and also as part of what promises to be an extensive, state-of-the-art online learning experience. The site already features a wide variety of online course material (text and images written by Jeff and Kris) on a wide range of sexual subjects.
Ultimately, Jeff aspires to be at the forefront of the proliferation of accurate, sex-positive education the world over: "We want to provide the most accessible, fun, sex-positive education on the planet. Our big goal is to span borders, countries, provide access to the best information there is on sexuality."
Imagine a 60-year-old Chinese housewife logging on and learning to give her husband better head, to pleasure herself with a vibrating anal toy or perhaps to explore her latent bisexuality. Imagine her joy at finding information that any of these urges/inclinations are normal and accessible to her. Will Erotic University ever have such influence?
Booth can't help thinking big:
"No time before in history was this possible."
Part of Booth's vision is to apply bleeding-edge neurological research, delving into latest discoveries into the interworkings the brain as to how humans actually learn best. Booth intends to design his site with these findings in mind, to create a neurologically optimized distance learning experience.
Classes, typically $25-$30, will begin on Saturday, May 24th. The first class -- its space already sold out -- teaches the basics of pole dancing in a dance area equipped with a full dance floor and four dance poles. The following Saturday, Erotic University welcomes sex educator, author, and Village Voice columnist Tristan Taromino, who will teach "Kicking it Up a Notch: Taking Sex to the Next Level", discussing how long-term couples can spice up their sex life. Future classes include the Adult Toy Master Class, Intro to Tantric Sex, Swinging 101, Bondage Basics, The Art of Flirting, Stripping for a Lover, Sensual Massage, and classes on basic sexual techniques such as oral sex and manual stimulation.