Levkoff talks about sex, relationships

    Sexologist Logan Levkoff last night encouraged students to make a difference in a United States that she said desperately needs open sexual dialogue.
    Levkoff led off with a promise: "I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. I'm going to be very candid about what is going on in this country."
    Vitality, a Hillel health initiative group, sponsored the second annual "Ask a Sexpert" lecture in Pearson Hall.
    Last year, Drew Pinsky, known as Dr. Drew, spoke to students in Cohen Auditorium.
    During the talk, Levkoff worked in political issues regarding sexual health and education. She hoped to impress upon students "the importance of the upcoming election and what is at stake about sexual health."
    "We are seeing religious ideology taking over health and science," she said, arguing that the government is spending $1.5 billion on ineffective sex education programs throughout the country, many of which only teach abstinence.
    "This is crazy," Levkoff said. She went on to discuss federal legislation expanding refusal rights to pharmacists and doctors, which would allow them to deny a patient the morning-after pill or other types of birth control without giving a reason.
    Levkoff said the fact that 31 percent of girls will become pregnant before their 20th birthday and that only 25 percent of couples between ages 18 and 54 use condoms during intercourse show the severe need for open policies regarding contraception and sexual education.
    She went on to describe the effects of the media and technology on sex and relationships. "Pregnancy is becoming glorified by having people like a pregnant Jamie Lynn Spears on the cover of magazines," Levkoff said.
    She added that the news media and the film industry are not taking a serious look at the consequences of normal pregnancies or all the options surrounding pregnancy.
    She said that it is unrealistic in "Knocked Up" when a successful TV personality does not even consider getting an abortion.
    Additionally, a reliance on technology puts a disconnect in relationships, she said. "I am critical and cynical about how technology has changed the landscape of relationships," she said. Fox News recently cited that "one in four adults are okay without emotional connection if they have Web access," she said, declaring that this kind of thinking has to stop.
    "We do not talk face to face anymore. Instead, we update our relationship status on Facebook to convey our feelings about our situation," Levkoff said to a knowing chuckle from the crowd.
    She contended that part of this new mentality comes from the hookup culture on campuses.
    Levkoff warned that relationships must be grounded in verbal communication, and that a person's worth is not determined by whether he or she has a significant other.
    Touching on the use of alcohol, Levkoff said, "We use it to legitimize wanting to have sex."        
    She said people should not be ashamed of desires or needs. Levkoff believes that sex is so negatively portrayed in society that girls have second thoughts about going after what they want.
    "I think Logan did a great job of summarizing the college hookup culture," junior Laura Hoguet, co-chair of Vitality, told the Daily after the lecture.
    Hillel President Nathan Render, a senior, praised Levkoff's candidness.    
    "I went when I was a freshman to see her, and I think this is a fantastic opportunity to talk openly and honestly about issues that obviously affect the entirety of the Tufts population," he said.
    In her closing words, Levkoff said, "I am not a pessimist. We have a tremendous opportunity to change things. Start with your own life and then move up to a national level. Get involved and take a stand."