Though the Female Sexuality Work-shop - more commonly known as FemSex - may appear to University students to be unique to Brown, it is actually an offshoot of a University of California, Berkeley program started in 1994. Since then, the workshop expanded to Brown, where the program is in its third year, and to Harvard University this past semester. At Brown, students and facilitators have used the workshop to open themselves to new views on sexuality.
The workshop is designed "to create a safe environment where women can discuss various issues surrounding sexuality, learning from the diverse viewpoints of their peers," according to the general FemSex Web site, which encompasses the programs at the three universities.
Shannon O'Hern '06, Brown's current FemSex coordinator, defined FemSex as "a class on group dynamics and how to talk about sexuality in a healthy, respectful manner."
In 1994, students at UC Berkeley founded the workshop as a Democratic Education at Cal, or DeCal, class, meaning it is taught by undergraduates, for undergraduates. Students at UC Berkeley receive credit for taking such classes.
Harvard and Brown students do not receive credit for FemSex, which is unaffiliated with the universities. Students are required to attend two group meetings of 17 students per week and complete several reading and writing assignments.
"It's actually for the good of the program that we're independent because it allows us to be more flexible," said Zara Ahmed '06, a long-time FemSex facilitator who is leading two of the four sections offered this semester.
Most students who participate in the workshop here feel that the experience of FemSex is credit enough for them.
"I gained a general respect for myself and my body," said Katie Tsubota '08, who took the workshop last fall. She explained that after a "crazy" first year, she felt the need to re-examine her views on sex as a sophomore. Some of her friends had participated in the program during their first year and recommended it to her.
"We open up topics for discussion in a group setting, and that in itself is valuable," said Kira Manser '07, another FemSex facilitator. "People can come from a lot of different backgrounds and explore whatever they want," she added.
"I was in a place where it was a good time to look at what I thought about sex," Tsubota said.
Tsubota admitted that the meetings were awkward at first because people found it challenging to talk about the sensitive and often taboo issues surrounding sexuality. But, in an effort to encourage open discussion, Tsubota said facilitators had everyone in the group sign a "safe space" contract promising that nothing said in the group would leave the room and that people would take the opinions and feelings of their peers seriously.
"The safe space contract is at the heart of FemSex," Ahmed said. "Without it, it's hard to share. We pride ourselves on our ability to help people share things that might otherwise be challenging."
And students did open up; they had to, if they wanted to complete assignments such as the "erogenous zones exploration exercise" and the "creative writing assignment - write your anonymous sexual fantasy," both of which were listed on the course syllabus.
Other topics on the agenda include anatomy; sex and gender; women's health and menstruation; body image; reproductive choices and motherhood; pleasure and orgasm; masturbation; and pornography, erotica and sex work.
"It can get pretty intense," Tsubota said. She described a FemSex Porn Night, during which her group watched several different genres of pornography, from "the stand-ard Jenna Jameson film" to gay pornography to foreign pornography.
She said it was experiences like these that helped blast away many of the taboos people tend to uphold about sex, calling the evening "constructive" for all the women in the group and even for the one man.
Although the FemSex Web site says the workshop is created "by women for women," men are allowed to join and even facilitate, though none currently facilitate at Brown. This semester, two of the FemSex sessions are co-ed; the other two are all-female. Participants stated their preference before being placed in a group.
"Men who do FemSex are very interested, very suppor-tive, fully involved in the workshop. I think it's a great thing," Tsubota said. She admitted that the atmosphere was slightly different when a man was present than when the group was all female, but she did not mind the change. What was important, she said, was not to "expect to get a guy's perspective" from the man.
"After a while you stop looking at the gender of people, and just look at their experiences," Ahmed said. She added that including men in FemSex helps to "maximize the number of backgrounds and experiences" in the group.
Ahmed agreed, stressing that FemSex seeks people with varying levels of sexual experience.
"People have a limited perception of what FemSex is and who it's for. We do want people of all backgrounds to come," she said. "The only thing you need to have is interest, and an ability to challenge yourself."
