On Friday, The Post published its most recent edition of BedPost, a sexual wellness and advice column geared toward decreasing sexual stigmas and opening up conversations about sex. BedPost, which has been around for several years now, has never been met with entirely open arms. However, the most recent BedPost stirred the pot more than usual.
The column, which was about the benefits of rough sex and the importance of consent, led to an Instagram comment war. Some people found humor in the column; others tagged the Ohio University Instagram account with the intention of trying to get us to take the column down.
I truly appreciated the discourse. Not only does it help educate people about consent and how to have a happy romantic life, but every comment helps our social media analytics, even the ones trying to get The Post shut down.
But why would BedPost, a sexual wellness column, be the thing to get The Post brought down after being in print for over 100 years? How could the university even do that if The Post receives no funding from it and operates entirely on its own?
It’s a well-reported fact that Generation Z is having less sex. For some, this decline in sex has to do with the lack of access to healthcare options such as abortion. In Ohio, where a constitutional amendment and not the state legislature protects the right to have an abortion, we are incredibly lucky. However, the stigma around Plan B pills and using contraceptives is still prevalent.
This is not the only thing driving the decline in sex, though. Just two years ago, when “Oppenheimer” came out and Florence Pugh was naked for a small portion of the movie’s gargantuan run time, young people were livid. When Sabrina Carpenter released the cover art for “Man’s Best Friend,” there was immediate backlash from her primarily Gen Z audience, with many calling the artwork degrading.
Carpenter’s photoshoot with Rolling Stone received similar feedback. One of the top comments on the Instagram post with the magazine’s cover with Carpenter’s nude but covered body says, “I’m so over every celebrity being so over sexualized.”
If you can’t acknowledge the artistic uses of sexuality in film and music, you will not be able to talk about sex. If a semi-nude photograph of a singer whose live performances are full of sexual innuendo is where you draw the line, you will not have a happy sex life.
Many people have asked my personal thoughts on BedPost, and I often don’t know how to respond in a way that doesn’t make me seem too polished. Part of me wants to go with the sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll argument; we can publish whatever we want because The Post is completely independent. But that would be a disservice to the importance of talking about sex openly, in any capacity.
The Post does not publish BedPost just because we can or with the intention of making people uncomfortable. Talking about sex helps reduce stigma and helps people understand what they’re doing. Previous BedPosts have explored how to balance relationships with other commitments in college and what to do when your sexual encounters are recorded without your consent.
On a college campus where sexual assault often goes unreported, it is important to have conversations about sex and consent. When people talk openly about vanilla or rough sex, they can reflect on their own experiences and understand whether their encounters were fully consensual or not. This helps people communicate with their partners and potentially helps someone seek out the resources they need on campus.
Sex impacts all of our lives in some way, and it deserves reporting on, whether that’s through a column in The Post or a different article somewhere else. People, especially young people, need to be able to talk about sex without getting uncomfortable or angry. Sex is something that will be part of everyone’s lives for the rest of their lives, so talking about it with an open mind is key to having good relationships and being happy.
Jackson McCoy is a junior studying journalism and environmental studies at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts? Let Jackson know by emailing him at jm049122@ohio.edu.
