Fighting stigma at SEXPO event

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The conference room in Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus Cedar building was filled with euphemisms at the “SEXPO” event held on Sept. 27. 

Attendees asking whether you can fan someone in the consent workshop, a sexual wellness coach telling the panel audience that not everyone likes chocolate cake when it comes to the bedroom, and a man in an eggplant costume were just a few of them. 

The event was put on by the Kwantlen Student Association’s Peer Support Resource Centre, which aims to foster optimal mental health and holistic well-being. “SEXPO” was broken up into three sections. The first part of the day was a room with tables run by different organizations where folks could spin the wheel of consent and determine if what came up was a yes or no, learn about sexual wellness, and pick up an eggplant pin.

The goal of “SEXPO” was to create a fun and inviting environment for students so they wouldn’t feel uncomfortable at an event focusing on a topic that is generally considered taboo. 

“We just wanted to really reduce the stigma on campus and destigmatize the taboo of sex,” says Lovlina Prasad from the peer support team. 

“At the moment there’s limited exposure and access to sexual health, wellbeing resources, and educational tools.”

Prasad says this isn’t the first “SEXPO” peer support has hosted. The last one focused more on consent whereas this year’s highlighted sexual wellbeing and de-stigmatization.

One of the organizations at the event was Health Initiative for Men (HIM) which offers support for 2SLGBTQ+ people across the province. Kartik Arora, program coordinator, health promotion for HIM, says his organization went to the event to promote sexual health education.

“We offer mental health groups, social groups, STI testing, vaccination information, and much more all across the province,” Arora says. 

The second part of the day included a panel on sexual wellness which featured the president of the KPU Pride Society, a sex therapist, the KSA’s policy and external affairs coordinator, and a sexual health consultant. The panel discussed healthy boundaries in relationships, how to combat sexual shame and stigma, and the cultural differences in sexual education between domestic and international students.

“We’re dealing with not just students that are not educated about these issues, but we’re dealing with cultural aspects,” says Diamond Obera, the KSA’s policy and political affairs coordinator and former KPU international Student. 

Obera says living in a conservative household where sexual topics are taboo can make it hard to have important conversations about sexual wellness with family.

“One of the big perks with KPU and the kind of community we have is that we’re a very diverse group of communities,” Obera says. 

“Opening up to friends to get advice, if you feel comfortable enough, that may very well be helpful.”

Obera also says there are many resources available to KPU students through the university that they aren’t aware of. 

One of the ways to access those resources is through the Peer Support Resource Centre where students can make an appointment to talk to a volunteer or peer support coordinator if they feel stressed, overwhelmed, or isolated.

“Having one safe person to talk to can open the door for you to be more open with other people,” Prasad says. “Especially if a student has experienced a history of sexual trauma for instance, so they don’t know what safe is.”

The event ended with a workshop on consent where people discussed the different ways both verbal and non-verbal consent can, and can’t, be given.

Prasad hopes the event helped fight stigmas, allowed students to realize what a healthy relationship looks like, and gave them access to resources within and outside KPU for sexual health.

“Talking about sexuality, it goes beyond just having conversations about safe relationships and understanding consent culture,” she says. “It’s really recognizing sexual wellbeing can be a form of self-care, self-love, into creating a stronger bond and relationships with others in your community.”