In the Bedroom, Out of the Box

Never before have so many vibrators, dildos, strap-ons, butt plugs, harnesses, and handcuffs graced the couches and chairs of Ticknor Lounge.

Yesterday, a crowd of women and a handful of men showed up for Afternoon Delight, a sex toy workshop hosted by Girlspot and co-sponsored by Queer Students and Allies and the Radcliffe Union of Students.

"I really wanted to have some sort of [event] around Valentine's Day or in the month of February, where people are thinking about love, people are thinking about sex," said Elizabeth C. Elrod '11, who organized the event.

The workshop was led by Sinclair Sexsmith, a "kinky queer butch top" according to her blog. Mr. Sexsmith—who prefers the masculine honorific 'Mr.' and the feminine pronouns 'she' and 'her'—spoke about erotica fiction, the benefits of experimentation, and the underappreciated wonders of lube during her presentation.

"I hope people will go away from a workshop like this with a broader mind around exploring their own sexuality, what they desire, and what might be possible to get from exploring—and then maybe a couple of tools for figuring that out," Sexsmith said.

Sexsmith explained her personal motivation for leading sex toy workshops.

"In my own personal journey of trying to figure out how to get what I wanted in the bedroom, when I started getting it, I started thinking, 'Oh! This is something valuable. I should tell other people about it.'"

Harvard students were clearly interested in her expertise—or at least in the free sex toys given away at the end.