I went on a roadtrip through Uruguay with some friends last week. Most days kind of looked something like this, not too bad. ;)
This is great stuff, dude. Love your style.
Ok, so…sex. It’s the reason why you exist, and also why our species exists. So I think it’s safe to say that, on the whole, sex is a good thing.
And yet, people don’t /really/ talk about it. Publicly anyway.
The perpetual taboo…it’s bad. It leads to confusion and crappy information and bad decisions and negative experiences. It turns one of biology’s greatest creations into something to be ashamed of.
I dislike this.
Now that the internet has enabled us to say whatever we want however we want to say to whomever we want to say it to it is extremely weird that our response has been to simply perpetuate the taboo.
Sure, there are people who talk about sex on YouTube, but they do it in the same “giggle giggle, that’s naughty” or shock factor ways that we always have. Somehow, in all the glory of YouTube (as far as I can tell, and please correct me if I’m wrong) there has been exactly one person enabling a responsible, educational dialogue about sex and sexuality. (Check out Sex+ here.)
Very soon, my little studio in Missoula will be launching a new show with the a similar focus. Obviously, it’s going to be much different than Sex+ (which, if you’re interested in this stuff, you should subscribe to now.) But the goals will be similar…to lift the veil and talk honestly about sex and sex-related stuff.
I’m 100% sure that I’ll catch flak for this. There are people out there who think that the mere mention of the existence of sex is enough to raise teenage pregnancy rates. The Vlogbrothers audience is young and, yes, some are too young to be watching this show (I’ll leave that decision up to you and your parents.) But not only is providing open access to reality and information the right thing to do, it’s also proven to be the best way to put people in control of their bodies and their lives.
The fact that there isn’t more content on YouTube discussing this stuff is depressing. It shows how deep the taboo goes…even when given a platform we can be completely free with, Laci is the only one (so far) brave enough to take it on in a substantial way.
I’m excited and terrified to take this step. I hope I don’t regret it, and I hope that it helps people…in fact, I know it’s going to help people, otherwise there’s no friggin way I’d do it. Here’s a link…there’s nothing on it yet…there will be soon.
It’s a perilous time for the people of Turkey. My thoughts go out to all of those fighting for a future they believe in.
It’s an interesting thought. Our ecosystems have a funny way of adapting to how we adapt to them, and this is no exception.
