College provides us four years of our lives to act on our adolescent impulses and ambitions. It provides the opportunity to drink in excess without societal judgment, pursue personal goals and dreams that would otherwise not be possible and -- more importantly -- it grants us a stage to voice sexual expression. A college campus, specifically one with a liberal slant, is the perfect outlet to discuss sexuality in the context of cultural, political and personal issues. Sexual expression is a significant part of the university experience, and without such opportunities, students can be left without adequate instruments for freedom of expression and for holding sexual knowledge.
Although there are several groups and social networks on campus that are specifically targeted toward issues of sexual representation, Tufts' efforts are inferior to other elite universities in this respect. Just when I thought porn was directed by pompous capitalists in the quaint studios of L.A., I was introduced to the creation of university porn. Harvard University and Boston University (BU) both have student-run porn magazines. They are two of many, as Vassar College, the University of Chicago, Yale University and others are all taking part in this growing interest. Although Harvard and BU share a similar desire to reach the student body through sexuality, their main objectives for the publications are vastly different.
Boink was established by a Boston University student who took the idea that sex sells and mass-marketed it to a greater populace. The publication began as a smaller project and escalated into a profitable business. The magazine is most relatable to Maxim and uses only BU students as its models. Although it is considered "softcore" pornography, it has created an infatuation among college students and media elite. The publication has been discussed on a slew of networks, and the co-founder recently signed a book deal with a potential reality television project. Although the creators and models are all students at BU, the magazine is available to the general public. Their Web site, Get-Boinked.com, allows anyone to purchase issues or to buy a subscription.
H Bomb has a completely different means of capturing its audience. While the publication contains racy and nude photos, its intention is to use art as a political organization strategy. The magazine is a democratic forum for students to talk about sexual issues. The goal is not necessarily arousal but instead a non-normative representation of sexuality produced by students. The magazine attempts to create alternative standards of sexy. It actively fights the media representation of sexuality and reaches out to established artists, academic leaders and student activists to contribute material that is both community specific and connected to larger social issues and hierarchies. The magazine is printed annually and distributed to students online. Hard copies are sold in the Harvard Coop and bookstores in New York City.
Student pornographic publications are empowering, entertaining and informative. While Harvard has a more academic outlook on the issues of sexuality, BU produces content that is geared towards college students, or as they say, "college sex by the people having it." Although BU's magazine is rather racy and scandalous, the fact is that college students have a sexual agenda, and we are interested in the provocative content that Boink provides. H Bomb is a fantastic outlet to voice concerns and to create new ideas of sexual expression and representation. The two publications give college students the opportunity to both voice and display sexual expression.
I must say though, it would be quite distracting to sit in class with the centerfold. It gives the idea of imagining the audience naked a whole new meaning. I believe a mix of both outlooks would be a beneficial idea for the Tufts community. A student-run porn magazine that touches upon both sexual issues politically and culturally while providing tantalizing photos for arousal could broaden our sense of sexual acceptance and approval.
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Logan Crane is a junior majoring in political science. She can be reached at Logan.Crane@tufts.edu.
