Welcome to The Talk

The Sex Talk, an event hosted by the George Fox University’s Spiritual Life Office, addresses various aspects of humanity sexuality. There are separate panels for men and women, but the event is held during the same time: same day, same hour, with faculty members serving as panel members and offering their testimonies.

After hearing the panelists’ stories, the attendees get the opportunity to ask anonymous questions, written on index cards, about their personal inquires related to the topics of sexuality, gender, and life at a Christian college.

Well, during my work study shift at the Spiritual Life Office, I was given the task of typing up the Sex Talk questions. As I typed up the questions written on the index cards, I encountered a paradox of emotions. On one side, I thought the questions that many women wanted to ask were laughter-provoking and reflected the taboo nature of conversing about female sensuality. And while many questions were written to make some of the faculty panelists blush, the other side of the paradox I encountered while typing was that a lot of the probing questions went unanswered that night.

These weren’t questions that could be answered at one annual George Fox Sex Talk. These questions seemed like they should be thought about and reflected on in a continued dialogue, allowing women with various perspectives to give their feedback on the experience of being created women.

With that fervency to prompt more discussion, I sought out Abigail Rine, a literature professor who was on the panel that night, and asked her what could be done. She directed me to Melanie Mock, another literature professor, and we corresponded about setting up a blog where we could continue vocalizing our questions, answers, and stories.

I had always seen the sex talk as a means for the women on our campus to discuss the relationship we have with God and humanity through our sexuality. But the problem is, I know that many women, younger and older, yearn to talk about these things and listen to the experiences of other women, and not for just one night.

So this blog was created to present a place where others could listen and have conversations about sexuality, gender, and life at a Christian college. A group of us have decided to dedicate our time to this vision of seeing women gather together in the willingness to be vulnerable and open about our views in an anonymous and safe place.

At the beginning of the Sex Talk, a panelist prayed for the night to become the foundation for further dialogue. That night created the safe space for women to have an opportunity to address questions about sex and participate in conversation about the many complications of relationships. Now, it’ll be nice to broaden the content of our conversation and hear what anyone willing to speak has to say about their views on sexuality, gender, and life at a Christian college. Even if you have just want to share your own story and address themes and motifs important to you about the experiences in your life, please feel free to express yourself so that we can continue a fruitful conversation through this blog: about the things important to you and probably, more importantly, to others you have yet to meet.

Love, Joy, and Peace,

Mona (Kaa'Mona Roland-Browne)