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BETWEEN

THE

re SHEETS

Talking about
our education

By Viv Steele,
Hot For Teacher

ere at The Other

Press’ sex-style
column, we have two
priorities: sex and educa-
tion. So when I read in
News 1130 that a local
expert psychologist
Alison Jones thinks that
pornography should be
included in sex educa-
tion in British Columbia
schools, my interest was
piqued. Jones’ opinion
follows a UK study out
of Plymouth University
that found kids as

young as 11-years-old
are “addicted to porn.”
Now I know you’re
probably thinking, “That
must just be those crazy,
sex-addled Brits! It can’t
be so bad in Canada!” I
thought that too. But then
I thought about my own
pre-teen years of yearn-
ing for sexual knowledge
and having nowhere to
get it but the Friday night
soft-core staple Red Shoe
Diaries that used to air
on Showcase (thanks,
David Duchovny). It was
out there, and there was
no way I wasn’t going
to watch it. imagine
most young teens prob-
ably feel the same way
about the flood of easily
accessible porn on the

Internet—porn that
shows a skewed sexual
reality that can give teens
the wrong impression.
Experts like Jones feel
that kids need to be edu-
cated about what they
see onscreen so they can
take the right approach to
their personal sexuality.
Take condoms for
example. If sex education
in schools these days is
anything like it was in
my day, we were taught
how to put a condom
on a wooden penis.
However, the vast major-
ity of pornography on
the Internet shows actors
engaging in sex without
condoms. Currently in
Los Angeles, California,
citizens are preparing to
vote on something called
Measure B, which, if
enacted, will require porn
industry actors to wear
condoms. Proponents of
this measure say it’s both
for the protection of the
actors and for the educa-
tion of the public viewer-
ship. The idea is if you
see your fave male porno

An ode to my gumboots

By Laurel Borrowman,
Life & Style Editor

hen I moved to

Vancouver in 2002
to start university, I was
under the impression
that it was a city similar
to Victoria, where I had
lived for both middle and
high school. In terms of
weather, geography, cul-
ture, and ethnic diversity,
I was oblivious to any
major differences aside
from sprawl and popula-
tion of the two. What a
sad, naive Vancouver-
Islander I was.

As I progressed
through my three-year
career at UBC, I was
slapped in the face with
all four of these differ-
ences. Even though I
was living in the teeny

bubble of campus for
half that time, I real-
ized there are about
three times as many
people in Vancouver,
and more notably,
that it rains about
twice as much here.

I grew to loathe
Vancouver very quickly.
I’m sure now that popu-
lation and weather are
the two main reasons
that the majority of my
Islander friends hate
this city, and make as
few trips over to the
Mainland as possible.

I feel for them. But I

no longer empathize,
as I have discovered
the secret to loving this
city like your very own
chubby, little baby.

Yes, the plethora of
cheap concerts, cheap
Thai food, cheap thrift

stores, and wicked local
bands have a hand in my
now-undying love for
the V-dot. Along with
that, we’ve got myriad
wicked independent
galleries, cheap studio
spaces, establishments
open past 10 p.m. on any
given evening, the bike
paths kick ass, the buses
run more than once every
hour, there is always
something entertaining
on the streets (I’m look-
ing at you, East Van), and
I have made some friends
who are unique and won-
derful humans. These
are all important, but
above all, I would like
to thank my gumboots.
My beautiful, $40,
black rubber steel-toed
CSA-approved, 100
per cent waterproof
gumboots. People get

star thrusting away at
his leading lady with
his pecker protected, the
public might be more
likely to suit up as well.
Using condoms in
porn makes a lot of sense,
but members of the adult
entertainment industry
say otherwise. The indus-
try has mandatory testing
for HIV and sexually
transmitted infections
(STIs) every 28 days, and
some actors choose to get
tested more frequently.
Because condoms are not
100% effective against
STIs, regular testing is
the best way to keep
everyone in that specific
industry safe (inciden-
tally, regular testing is
also the best way to keep
sexually active citizens
safe). It’s also been said
that because performers
engage in sex that is more
rigorous and lengthy
than standard civilian
sex, condom use can be
painful and damaging
to the delicate mucous
membrane of the vagina.
Whether Measure

miserable here for a
bunch of reasons, but
I’ve come to strongly
believe that it is simply
because they get wet feet.
Here is my math:
wet feet = gushy feet =
squishy sounds in shoes
= noises akin to flatu-
lence = social shunnery
= isolation = nobody to
go puddle jumping /
snow activity-ing with
during a long winter.
Similarly: wet feet
= cold feet = cold legs =
cold body = cold posture
= frowning face = folks
on bus telling you to
smile = your fist in Talky
McTalkerson’s face =
general bad news-ish
with law... and so on.
In short, wet feet are
a lose-lose situation.
Don’t even try to
tell me that umbrellas

B is voted yay or nay,
it’s clear that there is a
disconnect between real-
ity and what people view
for their own pleasure.
There is also a disconnect
between what kids are
learning and what kids
are doing. I think more
education can never be a
bad thing, and that’s why
I’m doing this column: to
educate you, dear reader.
How was your sex
education experience in
high school? Was there
anything you didn’t
learn but wanted to? Or
maybe you didn’t learn
anything you didn’t
already know. Feel free to
send me an email with a
question or a suggestion
about what you’d like
to see in this column!

Inquiries, comments,
complaints, compliments,
and snoggings can be sent
to editor @theotherpress.

ca. Remember, we keep all
information confidential,
and never use names or
contact information, unless
requested. We got your back.

are the way forward.
Umbrellas suck. They’re
a waste of money, valu-
able sidewalk space, and
have put many precious
eyeballs in clear and
present danger too many
times to count. Get a
jacket with a hood on it.
Wet feet are awful.
They will ruin yout life,
and you won't realize
how beautiful this part of
the world is—because it
truly is—until you invest
in a good, sturdy pair of
gumboots or waterproof
footwear of some form.
And if you are one of
those people who never
go outdoors, or don’t
have to walk more than
10 feet in your daily rou-
tine, ever, well, you don’t
know what you’re miss-
ing. Get outside. Just get
some gumboots to do it.

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