Heavy-petting, a concept most everyone is introduced to in their adolescent years, has made a come back with the college crowd, or so a Baltimore University believes. In The Towerlight, a publication of Townson University, an author by the pen-name of “Lux” has a weekly column entitled “The Bed Post.”
Lux goes out with a bang in her last article discussing mutual masturbation, which prompted quite an uproar on campus with its candor, prompting its editor-in-chief to resign over the controversy.
But was it that big of deal?
After all, according to Lux, “mutual masturbation is a way of life.” So who could object to that?
In Gossip Girl-esque writing, Lux starts the column by greeting her readers, saying ”I’m hoping you had a great weekend and didn’t get into trouble. What did I do this weekend? It was actually pretty standard. I caught up on some sleep, hung out with some pals, got some work done, did a little mutual masturbation.”
Lux promotes the safety of mutual masturbation, which according to teenadvisor.com only has physically negative consequences when, if you touch yourself and then your partner, body fluids are transferred.
“Try not touching each other and only stimulate yourselves. Since you know your body so well, your hands will work exactly how you want them to, so you’ll always feel good,” Lux says. “Girls--add a vibrator or dildo to your routine. Boys--find out if your girl will let you finish somewhere other than on your stomach.”
When the university received negative critique for such a racy article, The Towerlight released a statement saying:
“We do not apologize for the sexual content of the column. We wish it had been written less provocatively, and we realize that many readers were offended or simply felt it was inappropriate content for these pages. However, many other readers did enjoy the column. And we believe it was not out of context on a campus where the administration delivers free cable pornography to some of its residence halls, celebrates “condom tasting” and “I <3 female orgasm” at public events, and profits from the sale of sexually-oriented magazines and posters at the University Union."
With these arguments, an outsider cannot help but assume that such a progressive university would appreciate the provocative endeavor Lux is encouraging. But the The Towerlight‘s editorial board has elected a new editor-in-chief after the original one resigned, and “The Bed Post” will no longer run in the print edition of the newspaper.
However, they are not completely rubbing Lux out. Her online blog will continue to be updated.
From a female perspective, I have to say thank you to Lux. The mutual masturbation topic always receives a round of applause from women because of one key word: Mutual. The controversy over this touchy subject can be followed back to the Clinton administration when his surgeon general, Joycelyn Elders, tried to popularize outer-course as a means of sexual play for teenagers.
Elders believed heavy-petting should be taught to adolescents due to the fact that it offers a safer alternative than intercourse. Her statements proved to be too controversial, thus she was fired in December 1994. In a U.S. News & World Report article, Elders says, “You can come in and be about sweet nothings. But that’s not what I’m about.”
American puritanical society generally stays quiet about the topic of pleasuring oneself. But for what reason?
Over 50 years ago, the Kinsey Institute conducted a study claiming that 92 percent of males masturbate and 62 percent of females do as well.
Considering this was over half a century ago, one has to assume the numbers have changed. If the general population is engaging in this activity, then what’s the harm in writing about it? If Lux and Joycelyn have the boldness to discuss this issue, I can assure them that they have a large number of women and men cheering for them along the way.
