Many couples prefer sex in the dark.
According to a survey adult toy company Adam & Eve conducted in which they asked 1,000 people personal NSFW (Not Safe For Work) questions, 41 percent of Americans switch the lights off to do the deed.
Despite the facts, Michelle Gifford doesn’t want students to be in the dark about their sexuality – so to speak
Gifford, assistant program director for student wellness, is teaming up with Housing and Residence Life for Archie’s Night Out: Sex in the Dark at 5 p.m. Friday in Forum II.
Sex in the Dark will give students a safe place to anonymously ask questions regarding sex.
The students will be given a piece of paper to write down whatever intimate questions they have. After all of the questions are collected, the lights will be turned off and Gifford will answer every question in front of the audience with only a flashlight to guide her.
“I think students feel a little bit more confortable in a more anonymous environment,” Gifford said. “We say ‘sex in the dark’ because we want people to not be in the dark about sexual health, so it’s kind of like a play on words. The lights being off kind of removes the stigmas around talking about sex and sexual health.”
Gifford has a background in health education and participated in a similar event when she worked at Texas A&M. She said she has an idea of what kind of questions to expect, but admitted it is hard to prepare for an event like this.
“I am well-versed in sexual health, but I do have questions that I have gathered from my time at Texas A&M just to use as sample questions just to look at to refresh and prep me but other than that, anything goes,” she said.
Gifford said the event is enticing and she hopes students are inquisitive about it.
Jessica Hearne, McDonald West’s senior area coordinator, has participated in Sex in the Dark once before and is now helping her resident assistants organize the event.
“The RA staff is encouraged to shoot for the stars when it comes to organizing things they know residents need or want,” Hearne said. “They knew that Valentine’s Day was coming up and they wanted to do something about relationships or intimacy and Sex in the Dark is something that our institution has done before.”
Hearne organized the same event when she was an RA and said that she deemed it a success and said she expects another good turnout this time around.
“I think students should come if they are having questions about sex and if they are having questions about intimacy,” she said. “This is a place where they will not be judged. No question will be deemed as dumb or stupid. So if people have these burning questions and don’t really know where to go, this will be the event for them to check out.”
