Mature enough to play

I'm pretty convinced that within two weeks of arriving at Penn, every freshman journeys to South Street for that first awkward visit to Condom Kingdom. It's an important rite of passage -- giggling and blushing over the phallic pasta and fuzzy handcuffs but never actually owning them.

Sex toys belong in that vague uncertain world of debauchery and sin -- covered in intrigue but frightfully shocking.

So imagine my surprise Saturday night when I stumbled across Penn for Choice's Sex Toy Box Social in Houston Hall -- a place I associate with automatic flush toilets, long lines and overpriced, overcooked cheese steaks.

I expected the same type of nervous South Street excitement to saturate this spicy social.

Instead, I found an open forum of unabashed sexuality as two women engaged in brazen mouth-to-mouth action on the dance floor and students eagerly examined vibrators and stimulators for every arouseable body part.

"It's the second greatest display of vibration power I've ever seen in my life!" exclaimed College freshman Mark Bachman in manner strikingly candid for such an event.

I didn't even ask what the first was.

To the random observer, this event might have seemed like a terrifying display of raucous behavior, wholly inappropriate for Penn's student center.

Yet I believe that by hosting the Sex Toy Box Social Penn for Choice has taken an important and necessary step in providing a complete sexual education.

Now there's no doubt that Penn students care deeply about sex, and the University has achieved a great deal of success in raising awareness of different sexual proclivities.

The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender center hosts a variety of programs for both gay and straight students, and Counseling and Psychological Services provides support for students undergoing sexual trauma. Quake, Penn's first literary erotica magazine, allows students to discuss sex in an open intellectual forum.

Fortunately, with so many programs, students are becoming increasingly open-minded about sex in all its different costumes.

Yet when it comes to using props, we all shy away.

However, the use of sex toys should not be taboo. Rather, sex toys provide a safe way for both women and men to gain sexual control of their bodies so as to not be dependent on others for pleasure.

Penn should provide support for student groups that work to elevate sex toys from their salacious standing and to educate students on their many benefits.

For some students, sexual aids can be a way to safely alleviate tension.

You know the scene: it's been weeks since your last hook-up and you're so desperate for action that the guy outside Wawa is starting to look attractive. But the Wawa guy has seven teeth and smells like a viking, while your vibrator is made from non-porous silicone and guaranteed to be free of sexually transmitted diseases. Which do you choose?

"You can't get an STD from a vibrator," points out College junior Rachel Aronson.

According to David Schkade, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, a healthy sex life highly correlates to overall happiness. Our sex lives are important and should be as fulfilling as they possibly can be. The careful employment of props can help guide this fulfillment.

Not to mention, for all the ladies, an admitted openness toward sexual playthings will pretty much ingratiate you to any male between the ages of 15 and 85.

Now I'm not advocating that every Penn student should go out and buy a sex toy -- of course not. But events like the Sex Toy Box Social are important because students can gain knowledge about what exists and learn to make healthy and informed choices.

It may be taboo -- but until you know the difference between a silicone vibrator and a water-proof jelly one you can't possibly know which one you'd like better or which is better for you.

And while giggling at erotic dice in a South Street store window can be deliciously sinful the first time, learning to discuss sex toys in a mature fashion is an important part of growing up and developing one's sexuality.

Because even though they are toys, one has to be mature enough to play.

Kate Bracaglia is a junior English major from Basking Ridge, N.J. e-mail is . Static Quo appears on Wednesdays.

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