Over the past few years, I have walked into many classrooms at Yale. But today was the first time I ever found a bra and panties decorating the door on my way in. Ladies and gentlemen, today marks the first day of Sex Week at Yale — the officially sanctioned symposium of sex that takes place every other year.
First held in 2002, Sex Week at Yale is now realizing its fifth incarnation. Sex Week is, essentially, a series of guest lectures and sex-related special events. Taken together, they probably defy every preconception you have about what goes on inside an Ivy League university.
Kicking things off today was Lex Alptraum, editor of a prominent adult-themed website, who gave a lecture about the threat that Internet piracy poses to the porn industry.
Later, we heard from Katherine Gates, a Yale alumna who is a curator at the Museum of Sex in Manhattan. Ms. Gates is also the author of a book called “Deviant Desires.” During her talk, she gave students a photo- and video-aided peek into the world of sexual subcultures, which she divided into the categories of “fetishes” and “kink.” Topics included zoophilia, balloon fetishes, men dressing up like women, men dressing up like animals, men dressing up like babies (complete with diapers), gay fur erotica, sneeze fetishes, and cannibal play. “There’s nothing in the world that someone isn’t getting pleasure out of,” noted Ms. Gates.
The evening ended with the YCouture Fetish Fashion Show. Student designers showed off their erotic designs with the aid of student models. The dining hall was transformed into a catwalk, complete with a spotlight, sub-woofers, and dance music. In front of a packed audience, students paraded lingerie and negligee and a whole lot of skin. The outfits evoked various role-play themes, including devil and angel, boss and secretary, and one that I can only describe as girls in leather with chains.
And that, folks, was only day one.
Throughout the coming week, I will be reporting on Sex Week for NRO. Check back here each day for the latest from Yale — training ground for three of the last four U.S. presidents and host of the leading college sex festival in the nation.
– Nathan Harden is an author and commentator. He graduated from Yale in 2009. He is a contributor to the forthcoming book New Conservative Voices Under 30 (HarperPerennial). You can follow Nathan on Twitter here.