Members of the Tufts community, including students, adults, and even some prospective students, packed into Braker Hall last night to listen to two experts discuss the female orgasm.
Marshall Miller and Dorion Solot spoke to students on a range of issues concerning female orgasms, from foreplay tips to female anatomy. The lecture both entertained and educated the audience.
"We're also a couple," Solot said. "That means we have both professional and personal experience. We think that's a pretty good credential."
Solot set a light tone for the discussion immediately after her introduction. "We just ask you to set your phones to vibrate," she said. "[The orgasm] is a really fun subject."
Solot first recounted the events leading up to her first orgasm experience. Early in college at Brown University, she bought a book titled "For Yourself," which gave masturbation tips. "At the end of the semester I had my first orgasm and I was like, 'That's the best $5.99 I ever spent,'" Solot said.
Miller complimented Solot's introduction by talking about the female orgasm from the perspective of a partner. "Some partners are completely oblivious," he said. Halfway through the lecture, he took male and female partners into another room to discuss the challenges to understanding the female orgasm.
After the partners left the room, the females had more open discourse. The group of women created a list of different ways to reach orgasm, which included such methods as: using vibrators and lubricant, remaining patient and warming one's hands.
Both speakers commented on the diversity of people they have addressed in their lectures. According to Miller, attendees were students who were heterosexual, gay, and transgender. Some students were still waiting until marriage to have sex. On the other hand, "there are people here who are planning on putting this information to use tonight," he said.
Audience involvement was an integral part of the event. Attendees offered that much of their understanding of sex and orgasm comes from pornographic movies and television.
Solot specifically referred to simultaneous orgasms when rejecting sex on television. "[Simultaneous orgasm] is not as easy as it looks on TV," she said. "It's perfectly fine to have sequential orgasms."
She discredited other conceptions about aspects of sex and masturbation, and particularly attacked middle and high school sexual education. "The way it is taught is that boys like to have lots of sex and girls are supposed to say, 'No,'" she said. "A lot of women don't even know how to say 'Yes' to sex, even if they wanted to." According to Solot, many women compensate for their fears by getting drunk.
Solot and Miller also took the audience through what Solot called the "nitty gritty" of the lecture - the science behind orgasm.
The two showed slides of female anatomy, particularly genitals. "The clitoris is the size of a guy's penis," Solot said. Only the tip of the clitoris, however, lies outside of a female's body.
"For most women, the center of all stimulation is on the outside of the body," Solot said, referring to the clitoris.
Finally, the couple discussed "how to" tips on reaching female orgasm. Above all, Solot and Miller recommended that women first investigate what feels good on their own. They often referred to and recommended experimenting with masturbation.
"If it takes a long time, your hand can get tired," Solot said. "We're talking carpal tunnel syndrome."
Another tip advocated that couples use other methods than just sexual intercourse. "Seventy percent of us can not have an orgasm through intercourse alone," Solot said. "Be healthy, but above all, have fun!"
The event was organized by Tufts Voices for Choice (VOX), a two-year old student organization that aims to educate the community about sexual health and rights.
According to VOX president Judy Neufield, Miller and Solot have spoken in corporate board rooms, church basements and numerous colleges. They have also appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on television.
