October 2009 Insight Magazine

U N R I N S I G H T. C O M

INSIGHT [ The Universit y of Ne vada, Reno’s student MAGA ZINE]

THE SEXUALITY ISSUE + Sexuality and Religion • 6

+ Planned Parenthood • 10

+ Top Looks Not to Wear • 28

October 2009 Volume 2 • Issue 2 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UNR_Insight 1

Contents OCTOBER 2009

CAMPUS LIFE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 22 | sEX SYMBOLS

6 | THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE

Her come-hither gaze, always nearly entirely swathed by a flaxen blanket of curls, has the capacity to trigger whiplash because of its omnipresence. From posters to tattoos to puzzles to clocks, Marilyn Monroe’s face is everywhere even though her flame has long been extinguished.

Religion and sexuality seem at odds. How can one reconcile their desires ­­—struck down by scripture­­— with their faith and devotion?

10 | the price of planned parenthood Since 1970, the federal government has funded family planning through what is commonly referred to as Title X, a portion of the Public Health Services Act.

24 | Sex & violence Patrick Szucs’ latest painting features a man splayed out on a bathroom floor, shirtless and sweating, his eyes panicked and attempting to escape their lidded shelters. Or perhaps they are wide with ecstasy. Szucs prefers to leave it up to interpretation.

14 | MATE OR WAIT [perspectives] 16 | why i have sex [and] what i find sexy

27 | WHAT NOT TO FLAUNT

Insight magazine asked 50 students at the University of Nevada, Reno what intriques them most about sexuality. Sam DiSalvo, copy editor for Insight, asked students to share personal stories on virginity and what role sex plays in relationships.

Jon Fortenbury and Nicole da Roza examine sex, virginity and celibacy from two opposing angles: Fortenbury from the celibate-until-marriage side, da Roza intimating why Why wait?

Why not wait?

2

OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

Magazines always tell people the top fashions each season. Insight magazine decided to be different. We’re telling the University of Nevada, Reno what not to flaunt.

“The typical welfare birth costs the state $12,000 while the cost for contraceptives for a year is less than $400,” says Elisa Maser, president and CEO of Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood and Affiliates. She adds that the federal government pays only half the cost of a child birth but will pay 90 percent of the cost of contraceptive. “That’s the difference between $6000 and $40 per year,” she says of the cost to the state. “It just makes fiscal sense.”

“The Price of Planned Parenthood” Page 10

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LETTER {

FROM THE

} EDITOR

The University of Nevada, Reno’s student magazine

Editor-In-Chief DANA KUDELKA

editor@unrinsight.com

A

s I’m sure you can gather from the cover, October’s theme is sexuality. I must say this has been one of the hardest issues of Insight to put together. We feel we are tackling a subject that is prevalent in most students’ lives, but is often muted.

The staff didn’t want to focus on a general topic, so we splintered into an array of subjects. Jenna Small’s story, “The Sacred and the Profane” on Page 6, tackles religion’s influence on a person’s sexuality. Jenna interviewed working girls from the Moonlite BunnyRanch, as well as Denise Cordova, pastor at the Light of the Soul United Church of Christ. For a more in-depth interview with Denise Cordova, visit our Web site (www. unrinsight.com).

Katie Goodwin’s story, “The Price of Planned Parenthood” on Page 10, shows the controversy between the public funding of Planned Parenthood and how much access to affordable contraception women need. Brad Nelson’s story, “Sex and Violence” on Page 24, shows how artist Patrick Szucs attacks the sexual and the violent through his paintings.

My favorite story for October is hands-down “What Not To Flaunt” on Page 27. I don’t know which part was better: shopping and finding the looks or the actual photo shoot with the Insight crew. When work becomes filled with tacky outfits and numerous puns is when life is truly sweet.

Just as I thought with art in September, I must say I feel the same about sexuality now.

Sexuality is personal. People express it through their own muses.

Dana Kudelka Editor-in-Chief

Print Managing Editor BRAD NELSON brad@unrinsight.com

Online Managing Editor JESSICA PACHECO jessica@unrinsight.com

Multimedia Editor JESSICA ESTEPA

estepa@unrinsight.com

Campus Life Editor KATIE GOODWIN katie@unrinsight.com

A&E Editor CHELSEA HOUSTON chelsea@unrinsight.com

Head Photo Editor SCOTT BARNETT scott@unrinsight.com

Head Studio Photographer

SEBASTIAN DIAZ

sebastian@unrinsight.com

Webmaster DEREK JORDAN

webmaster@unrinsight.com

Copy Editor SAM DISALVO

sam@unrinsight.com

Design Editor Intern GEOFF ROSEBOROUGH geoff@unrinsight.com

Contributors Writers:

Jenna Small Jon Fortenbury Nicole da Roza

Photographers: Matt Buccambuso Gabe Herz

The opinions expressed in this publication and its associated Web site are not necessarily those of the University of Nevada, Reno or the student body.

www.unrinsight.com

COVER PHOTO BY SEBASTIAN DIAZ. 4

OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

katie GOODWIN

Katie Goodwin is the campus life editor for Insight. She is a junior with dual majors in journalism and political science and a minor in business administration. One day she hopes to do one or all of the following: work for a magazine, a non-profit organization, a political campaign or practice public advocacy law. In Katie’s spare time she loves to eat good food, play the piano, travel and read contemporary and classic fiction. Great music can always get her out of the worst kind of mood. Katie wrote “The Price of Planned Parenthood” on Page 10.

jessica ESTEPA

Jessica Estepa is the multimedia editor at Insight. She usually can be found dancing or singing in the office, often with a Flip cam in hand to record her escapades.

She hopes someone will hire her to do online journalism once she graduates in May. If that doesn’t pan out, don’t worry ­— she comes up with a new backup plan at least once a week. When Jessica isn’t working, she enjoys fighting with light sabers in her living room, waltzing with her roommates and singing “Don’t Stop Believin’” at karaoke bars.

BEHIND [insight] geoff ROSEBOROUGH Geoff Roseborough is the design editor intern at Insight.

He enjoys exploring new ways of incorporating technology into every day life. He’s a sophomore majoring in journalism and minoring in digital media. He hopes to one day be living in a way that allows him to travel all over the world to gain a better perspective on life. He enjoys design, photography and writing, and becomes a perfectionist when he’s working on something he cares about. After college, he plans to move away from Reno to start his career in a new environment.

sam DISALVO

Sam DiSalvo is the copy editor at Insight and a sophomore English major. She enjoys a well-inserted caesura and a steamy argument about the necessity of an Oxford comma, which really jumps her bones. She is minoring in Spanish so she can tongue-lash you in two languages. She also enjoys Mexican food and doing improv in the following locations: elevators, parking garages, the Sierra Spirit and in bathrooms of dance clubs. When she’s not stuffing tacos or making fiction, she enjoys throwing a log on the fire and kicking back with her friends. Sam wrote “Why We Have Sex” and “What We Find Sexy” on Page 16.

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THE (SACRED) + THE (PROFANE) WORDS BY JENNA SMALL PHOTOS BY MATT BUCCAMBUSO AND SCOTT BARNETT

RELIGION and SEXUALITY seem at odds with each other; Leviticus and similar passages in the Bible draw streets of division between faith and the pleasures of the flesh. How does one reconcile?

For a more in-depth interview with Pastor DENISE CORDOVA go to UNRINSIGHT.COM 6

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A

t a panel of sex workers, Micah, a porn star and Moonlite Bunny Ranch working girl, shared that, right before coming to speak with us, she had been asked by a client to cover her foot in saran wrap and shove her foot up his rectum.

Micah laughed, in part due to our reactions, and proceeded to nonchalantly gush about how amazing it was that she was able to fit almost the entire length of her eight-and-one-half-sized foot into his rear end.

She was as comfortable sharing these details with random strangers as one would share the details of a date with close friends over midday coffee.

“I’ve been in the porn business for 13 years and I’ve done over 850 adult and fetish films,” Micah says, between giggles as she playfully covered her eyes. “I don’t know if any of you know me… I’ve been busy.”

Upon hearing her resume, one would never guess that the bubbly seductress was raised in a religious household and attended Catholic school until the 12th grade. She even traveled to India with her grandmother for missionary work. During this time Micah started mainstream modeling. When she transitioned into porn with her husband years later, her family wasn’t surprised.

“At one time my grandmother owned

8

four brothels,” she says. “She still owns one.”

Micah is now a divorcee and practices Buddhism. I couldn’t help but wonder if her choice of sexual expression was influenced by the confines of her early religious beliefs or if her religious beliefs were influenced by her sexual expression.

Dr. Carmen Martina Fausch, a Swiss clinical sexologist and a private sex education practioner, feels that her job as a sex worker makes her freedom of sexual self-expression impossible to ignore. She works with helping men, women and transgender people explore their sexuality through her unique “talk-touch” therapy.

She sees her job as a medium for spiritual growth—it makes it impossible not to continually spread her horizons as a sexual being.

“Being a sex worker allows me to establish a loving relationship with my own body and gives me a chance at unconditional love,” she says. “My clients have given me the strength to remove my own chains of social-imported sexual suppression and to remain free of any kind of prejudice of what sex should be.

My lifestyle as a sex worker has taught me to nurture my sexuality and draw life force from it as we draw water from a well.”

She radiated a cool confidence and compassion as she shared the details of her profession and the spiritual elements

OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

she incorporates into her practice.

“Elements of lost pleasures, acceptance of anticipated climax, exploration of hidden erotic zones and ultimately the client’s acceptance of their own sexual beauty is the accolade of a good day’s work as a sex worker,” Fausch says.

“Being able to witness the intensity of emotional excitement has given me a front row seat of the spectacle of human kindness—a chance to believe that sex, indeed, is good.”

Having grown up in a sexuallysuppressed society, Fausch didn’t always feel this way. It wasn’t until she lost her job that she had a major shift in perspective.

After six months of soul-searching, she came to the realization that she wanted to teach sex. For the past eight years she’s been able to not only heal her clients but also discover her own self-love.

“Through my schooling and the physical experience of my practice I am able to understand how beautifully unique human sexuality is,” she says. “ I have learned to be non-judgmental and permission-giving to every human that steps into my practice.”

She feels that being a sex worker gives her the opportunity to live a sex-positive lifestyle, a lifestyle that Tory Clark, who teaches advanced human sexuality at the University of Nevada, Reno, feels society doesn’t nurture.

“Our society isn’t sex positive,” Clark says. “Being SCOTT BARNETT sex positive, something that is huge, is inclusion. When we label someone as good or bad, they’re not included.”

In Clark’s class she guides her students through the world of human sexuality by exploring sexual origins in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Polynesian belief that reaching orgasm is our closest connection with the divine and how the world’s view of sex has morphed over time.

“Education is key—it’s the key in everything,” she says.

“That’s what I try to get across to my students. If you don’t read about it, if you don’t dig through history and just take it all for face value from what you learn from the media without doing

{

“It seemed from everything that I had heard from the pulpit, that you can’t be gay and you can’t be a Christian. I lived a self-condemning life for basically 35 years.”

—DENISE CORDOVA

your own research, where are you?”

Clark’s passion to inform is apparent.

She hopes that her students will be able to spread awareness on topics such as how religion and spirituality affect a society’s views on sex, what causes someone to be transgender or homosexual and why people are driven into fields like prostitution.

She shared an interesting historical observation on how modern society’s view on sex is greatly influenced by beliefs stemming from Christianity.

“Over the course of history, the whole ‘sex is sinful’, thing has stuck,” she says.

For Denise Cordova, pastor at the Light of the Soul United Church of Christ and equal opportunity specialist at UNR, believing in the teachings of Christianity wasn’t a choice. She has had a close relationship with Jesus since childhood.

Cordova was raised in a Catholic household in Colorado by parents of Mexican origin. At an early age, Cordova was stirred within by God and received a calling to join the church.

“In the Catholic church women cannot be the pastor or the priest,” Cordova says.

“So when I told my dad, he laughed and told me to become a nun.”

To cause further confusion, at age twelve Cordova knew she was a lesbian.

“It seemed from everything that I had heard from the pulpit, that you can’t be gay and you can’t be a Christian,” she says. Up until 17 years ago, Cordova wasn’t open about her sexuality.

“I lived a self-condemning life for basically 35 years,” she says. “That self-condemnation came from my misunderstanding and the perpetuation of misinformation from religious entities. As I have studied the Greek and the Hebrew, as I’ve studied the New Testament, I found out that I wasted a lot of years of my life not accepting the call on my life because I felt like I couldn’t.”

Cordova was freed from her inner turmoil when she discovered how the Bible was applicable to her life, and the life she wanted to live.

“The Bible is beautiful,” she says.

“The teachings of the Bible hold modern relevance if you don’t take them literally and you see it metaphorically.”

She brought up the scripture Leviticus in which God commands that a man shall not lay with another man as he does with a woman.

“In that culture during that time, women were chattel,” Cordova says.

“They were looked upon as the lowest of the low. Children may have been a little bit lower. At the time marriage wasn’t even marriage as we know it, it was an exchange of property. So, what that scripture is saying is if you have a patriarchal society where men hold all the highest offices, why would you as a king, you as somebody in the hierarchy, put yourself in a position of a woman?”

She also feels that if you are going to take the Bible literally you have to take everything it teaches literally.

“I see so many lives ruined by religion,”she says. “It’s easy to condemn

somebody when you don’t have to look at them in the face, eye to eye. (Leviticus) not only talks about man shall not lie with a man, but it also talks about you’re not supposed to wear clothing that’s made from two different fabrics. You’re not supposed to eat shell fish, you’re not supposed to eat pork.”

In Cordova’s eyes, we are all a part of God and being homosexual is not a choice. What she does feel we choose is whether to live as our authentic selves or not.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, gay, lesbian or straight, you have to be comfortable and have strength in who you are as a person,” she says. “There came a time in my life where I said, ‘You know what? It doesn’t matter how much I pretend; I am not my authentic self.’ If I am not my authentic self I cannot be strong. I cannot have a strong foundation. So if I lose people, I’m going to lose them because I’m being authentic, and once I made that decision all these opportunities for ministry came into my life. It was really amazing. I wish that I could’ve known before what I know now.”

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THE PRICE OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD WORDS AND ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE GOODWIN PHOTO BY GABE HERZ

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S

ex is one of the most universally loved activities, especially among college students. It engulfs much of the world around us in the internet, movies, music, books, and television. Its effects rain down on our lives, positively and negatively. As fun as sex is though, most people think about what would happen if that “if” became a reality—the one that results in a child. And it scares them. Alison Gaulden, the vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte says that women spend over 30 years trying to not get pregnant, even the women who do want children. Those who have the advantage of health insurance most likely have already taken the precautionary steps to prevent this “if”.

In a society where many young people are living paycheck to paycheck, and often without benefits, it is impractical to ask them to spend more than $200 for an office visit to a gynecologist and then spend $75 a month on contraception. Many people believe that because of this, publicly supported family planning is necessary to help prevent unintended pregnancies. Sometimes, this family planning is provided by county health districts, but the iconic reproductive health care provider is, of course, Planned Parenthood.

Since 1970, the federal government has funded family planning through what is commonly referred to as Title X, a portion of the Public Health Services Act. According to the U.S. Office for Public Health and Science, “Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.” By law, these funds may not be used by any grantee for abortion or related services. Historically, Planned Parenthood has had access to these funds. This summer, U.S. Representative Mike Pence sought to change this and offered an amendment to House Resolution 3293 that would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funds. He reasons to his colleagues in a speech to the United States House of Representatives that “The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the

largest recipient of federal funding under Title X.” On July 24, 2009 the Pence Amendment failed with 247 votes against it and

The breakdown of votes

183 in support 247 against 183 votes in support. This amendment, had it passed, would have left 1.7 million women without a reproductive health care provider, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute.

Many religious based news agencies reported the failure of this amendment with disappointment. Web sites belonging to organizations such as Catholic News Agency and Life Site News report that Planned Parenthood has and will use funds provided by Title X for abortions. This information is conflicting, though. Elisa Maser, CEO and president of Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood and Affiliates, said, “Planned Parenthood probably gets audited in terms of its use of government funds use more than any organization on the planet”. Don Nelson, president of Nevada Life Issues Forum and Education (LIFE), disagrees. He believes that this money is subsidizing abortions. But how can both sides and their corresponding conflicting information be correct?

“Federal funds given to Planned Parenthood are fungible,” explains Nelson referring to Planned Parenthood’s ability to substitute the federal funds to services allowed under Title X, leaving other resources available for abortions. “Not one dime given to Planned Parenthood stops abortion.”

Passionately, Nelson describes how he and Nevada LIFE concurrently believe that while Title X does fund very important health care concerns such as gynecological exams and prenatal care, it is difficult to support due to its involvement with abortion and other controversial issues.

In Nevada, 251,290 women are in need of contraception services or supplies, according to a

12 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

“The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X.”

{

How They Voted

Representative Mike Pence

Nay Dean Heller (R) Ay Dina Titus Na y(D)

Shelley Berkeley (D)

study done by the Guttmacher Institute. Nearly half of these women need these services or supplies to be publicly funded due to low incomes or minor status. “In a certain way, the state is libertarian, it’s a pro-choice state,” says Maser of Nevada. “At the same time, we’re not an especially generous state.” She explains that in the past, public funding from the state has been lacking compared to others states, such as California. Julianna Ormsby, the lobbyist and policy analyst for the Nevada Women’s Lobby, says that the 2009 state legislative session dealt mostly with the budget, making it difficult to accomplish any legislative goals that would add new costs to the state. Maser experienced this as well during the last state legislature session, but adds that many legislators agree that increasing funds for family planning would save the state in the end. “The typical welfare birth costs the state $12,000 while the cost for contraceptives for a year is less than $400,” says Maser. She adds that the federal government pays only half the cost of a child birth but will pay 90 percent of the cost of contraceptive. “That’s the difference between $6000 and $40 per year,” she says of the cost to the state. “It just makes fiscal sense.”

Learn more about how many women depend on publicly funded contraception in Nevada at UNRINSIGHT.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @UNR_Insight 13

PHOTO BY SCOTT BARNETT

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NICOLE DA ROZA

W

here do I begin?

I was raised Christian and still consider myself one. I believe in God and Jesus and all that good stuff. When I was younger, my family went to church every Sunday ­— that is, until something happened. A hoard of resentments was built up around this specific church and, well, a lot of churches. My mother witnessed her pastor announcing to the entire congregation he had had an affair. I guess there are pros and cons to everything.

My family has seen some extremely difficult times.

Throughout it all, my faith has never once weakened.

Unfortunately, there are too many Christians out there doing more harm than good and I react by not being supportive of a lot of organized churches. I have my own personal relationship with God and no one can take that away from me. God knows that I blog about sex. He knows I enjoy it, the writing as well as the act.

I did go through a phase of feeling guilty once, but that didn’t last long. I know I am a good person. I also know that I could be making better decisions and I certainly respect those who are able to wait to have sex until marriage, but this life is for me. I am confident in my faith and I am also confident in the decisions I make. I do not consider myself a hypocrite because I do not force my beliefs on others. If there are consequences to my actions, then I will pay for them. Until then, I am going to enjoy my life and enjoy the act of talking about and participating in sexual activities. And on top of it, I know that my God loves me.

God made rules for us. He made rules for us so that we do not harm each other and ourselves. These rules are for protection, not for damnation if they are broken. If someone wants to judge me for being so open about my sexuality and participating in pre-marital sex, then so be it. God is my only judge.

Want to hear more?

Hear a discussion between NICOLE DA ROZA and JON FORTENBURY about their views only at UNRINSIGHT.COM

WORDS BY

JON FORTENBURY

L

ying naked on the bed, she looks at me and says, “You can do whatever you want with me.” Possibilities flood my mind as I walk over to her. Somehow in the midst of fantasizing over her beautiful tan skin, luscious lips and impeccable curves, a sobering thought comes over me: This isn’t how I want my first time to be.

“We’re not having sex,” I say, sounding confident yet feeling reluctant.

A surprised look covers her face and I walk away. It’s not the only time I’ve made that statement and it probably won’t be the last.

No, I’m not gay, nor do I play World of Warcraft. I’m not legalistic with my Christian faith. I’m not trying to look good to my pastors or earn God’s favor. I’m not some prude. I’m not old-fashioned. I don’t suffer from “sexophobia.”

Now that we’ve cleared up those common assumptions, let’s move to the real reasons why I’m 22 years old and still a virgin. I don’t resist sex to earn brownie points or avoid condemnation from God. I resist because, through the work of Jesus on the cross, I’ve received brownie points and have avoided condemnation. My obedience is my reaction to this gift that I never earned, this gift that I don’t deserve.

I also believe that God doesn’t make rules to suck all the fun from our lives. I have practical reasons for avoiding sex before marriage. I’ve engaged in every act of foreplay that doesn’t have the word sex in it and have seen the consequences of those actions.

One consequence I’m glad to be avoiding is bias in a relationship. In my experience, adding sexual contact to a relationship increases feelings, adding more pain to the breakup. It’s made something from nothing. I want my feelings for a girl to be sincere, not a result of my blindness. I don’t want to love a girl because of sex; I want to have sex with her because I already love her.

I don’t believe that you have to test drive the car before buying it either. The car always works. To speak more bluntly, a penis fits into a vagina every time. The engine of the car can always receive maintenance if there are any problems.

I cling to the idealism of my future wife and I losing our virginities to each other and having no previous partners with whom to compare. No jealousy arising from the thought that she did this with someone before me. No worries of STDs. If my future wife is not a virgin, then I would still be honored to give my whole self to her and not just the parts that I haven’t yet given away.

Sex is the most intimate act you can share with another human being. The Bible describes it as two fleshes becoming one. I don’t take that lightly.

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[perspectives]

WORDS BY

[WHY] WE HAVE SEX

MODEL ELANA ASSELIN

WORDS BY SAM DISALVO PHOTOS BY SEBASTIAN DIAZ

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[WHAT] WE FIND SEXY F

rom sensual ear caressing to lively and throbbing intellect, sex appeal can be defined in copious ways.

Traditional definitions of what makes a person sexy are constantly fading, producing a unique, enticing spread of both physical and personal desires.

“I’m rarely attracted to those who are considered ‘attractive’ by societal standards,” says Ryan Bugg, a 19-year-old English major. “I’m attracted to females who break social convention with their style and outlook on life.”

Attraction to a person who is not considered the good-looking prototype allows the definition of alluring to perpetually expand, perhaps to a prodigious magnitude.

“I’m abnormally turned on by intelligence,” Bessette says. “I’m easily wooed by guys who know how to debate.

I suppose I like pretty talkers.”

Being confident is appealing, but a subtle confidence is preferred. Like most of the finer things in life, moderation is key for maximum satisfaction. “(It’s a turn-on) when a man is goodlooking and doesn’t know it,” Romo says.

“When a man has a big ego, I can’t help but be turned off as much as possible.”

Cockiness and many of the other stereotyped “macho” characteristics are looked upon as something to avoid.

“Excessive muscle mass and generally unpleasant attitudes like acting like a bully or a show-off (are turn-offs),” says Casey O’Lear, a 19-year-old English major. “(It’s also unattractive) to talk about how awesome it is to drink, hate homosexuals or listen to the Jonas Brothers.”

Poor music selection can actually be just as big of a dealbreaker as jealousy, dependency or, say, bad grammar. “(My turn-offs include) the big four,” says Ray Eliot, a 19-year-old English major.

“A bad taste in music, not knowing the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re,’ terminal clinginess and paranoid

“If you touch one or both of my ears, I’ll get an erection in .3 seconds,” says Robert Rohm, a 21-year-old English major.

behavior.”

Originality without arrogance and being a smooth talker are some of the most coveted traits in a person, but if you’ve got a phenomenal record collection and you’re a good speller, the world already salivates.

18 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

Fifty students were asked to divulge their top three attractions.

{

what GALS like 73 % love the eyes 57 % love nice teeth 50 % love height 50 % love style 43 % love voice

{

what GUYS like 75 % love the eyes 59 % love the hair 41 % love nice teeth 41 % love breasts 36 % love style FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

@UNR_Insight 19

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|THE GREAT BALLOON RACE 2009| SCOTT BARNETT

To hear advanced human sexuality instructor TORY CLARK discuss sex symbols and their history more in-depth, visit UNRINSIGHT.COM

WORDS BY CHELSEA HOUSTON ILLUSTRATION BY GEOFF ROSEBOROUGH

SEX SYMBOLS 22 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

Her come-hither gaze, always nearly entirely swathed by a flaxen blanket of curls, has the capacity to trigger whiplash because of its omnipresence. From posters to tattoos to puzzles to clocks, Marilyn Monroe’s face is everywhere even though her flame has long been extinguished.

Claiming the title as the sex symbol that puts all contenders to shame, Monroe’s absence, yet unexpected glossy presence on various articles of kitschy memorabilia, puts the spotlight on the fact that she has yet to be dethroned. With her crown still intact after nearly 50 years since her death, it’s natural to wonder what made her so special and obviously irreplaceable.

M

ore modern women, such as Farrah Fawcett and Angelina Jolie, come to mind when considering who could challenge Monroe for her title. But what becomes most clear is that there are few contenders within Marilyn Monroe’s category.

“People value rarity,” says Courtney Bee, a sexual health and relationship expert and author of Sticking It to Courtney Bee on Examiner.com. “Angelina Jolie is thinner, taller, and has more voluminous lips than the majority of women, and therefore she’s looked at as a unicorn in a sea of horses.”

According to Bee, Angelina’s predecessors also stood out from the pack but for different reasons. “Marilyn never looked the part of the ‘50s housewife. Her look implied an unabashed enjoyment of sex and her body.”

The idea of a wow-factor, a combination of striking physical characteristics and an attitude that laughs at the petty rules of society, must evolve as cultural norms evolve.

“Cultural change (reflects) what the industry deems sexy,” says Tory Clark, who teaches advanced human sexuality at the University of Nevada, Reno. “You have to realize the way models look now. Designers want someone that doesn’t have any curves so that the clothes fit nicely on them.”

This idea of continuous change of what is acceptable in terms of sex appeal leads to the issue of why certain traits are sought after by the public.

What makes a sex symbol and most things in general exciting and desirable is the idea of “the new.” Starlettes and celebutantes like Paris Hilton, Megan Fox and Lindsay Lohan exhaust their potential for a mystique with every photograph snapped of them.

“Now, sexiness in Hollywood is earned through exposure,” says Bee, who also contributes to Kush, a Los Angeles-based magazine. “Pamela Anderson, Megan Fox and Paris Hilton are known for wearing extremely revealing clothing and posing in magazines nude or wearing next to nothing. Today’s message is that the more you show and do, the sexier you are.”

Amy Lauder, a 22-year-old music and medieval and renaissance studies major at UNR, believes that sex appeal is a reflection of acceptance and the progressiveness of the general public.

“A certain amount of the feminine ideal has remained constant between Monroe’s time and our own,” Lauder says.

“Some things have changed. For example, you would never

have seen Monroe or Farrah Fawcett in a catsuit shooting down villains, but when Jolie does it, it’s sexy, and that’s part of our culture today.”

It is unlikely that Marilyn Monroe will ever be seen as outdated or redundant because she is an archetype of a sexual ideal. Promising contenders for her title today have different concentrations.

Angelina Jolie is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Farrah Fawcett served as the American Cancer Society’s chairperson for Women Against Cancer in the ‘80s and was an activist in organizations that benefited victims of domestic violence.

There are countless others that make a point to do right in the world. What could be sexier than that?

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WORDS BY BRAD NELSON PHOTOS BY SEBASTIAN DIAZ

SEX

& VIOLENCE

From left to right, PATRICK SZUCS’ paintings Shower and Town Hall.

24 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

Patrick Szucs’ latest painting, unfinished at the time of interview, features a man splayed out on a bathroom floor, shirtless and sweating, his eyes panicked and attempting to escape their lidded shelters.

Or perhaps they are wide with ecstasy.

Szucs prefers to leave it up to interpretation.

“I’m just trying to be subtle—put a lot of different ideas into a painting but very subtly so the viewer can decide what’s going on,” he says. “That guy might be on the ground because of doing heroin. I’m not saying one way or the other.”

T

he 27-year-old fine arts major’s paintings range from the violent to the sexual, and sometimes depict both at once. One painting, entitled Silver 1: A nude model prostrate on a bloody blanket. Just above looms a figure of pale menace clutching a saw, his other hand in a blood-stained glove and stroking the weapon adoringly.

Some are also of bracing intimacy and care, like Repose, a painting of Szucs’ then-girlfriend nude and in the fetal position. Even in this portrait, though, Szucs aims for the ambiguous.

“When you look at the painting, you ask yourself, ‘Is that person comfortable? Why is that person in a fetal position?’,” he says. “There could be a little modesty. There could also be some fear.”

Szucs achieves this largely by painting blank faces.

“They’re almost dead stares,” he says. “I think it’s a way to force the viewer to examine the body for the cues and not just the facial expression. We are hardwired to read everything about the way a face is. So you could say anything with just facial expressions.”

Szucs invokes sexuality in his work for its universality.

“Sex is something that everybody’s interested in,” he says. “Most people can relate to a painting that’s about sex or sensuality or eroticism or anything along those lines. It’s fun to paint that shit—you explore a huge aspect of what it is to be human.”

Szucs has insomnia and is often awake for 36hour episodes, but it’s when he gets his best ideas, including those for his new painting.

“I was awake and thinking about how many times I was laying on a floor just like that for whatever reason,” he says. “Also how many times I’ve seen people like that. There’s almost a violent quality to it, but it’s peaceful, it’s also sexual.”

The man on the bathroom floor is modeled after Szucs himself.

“I’m glad that I’m a bit out of shape,” he says. “If I were fit, that painting would be too sexual.”

Szucs also paints a variety of nonsexual subjects.

In two mirrored untitled paintings commissioned for a show in San Francisco, Szucs detailed Iggy Pop and Tom Waits as portrayed in the Jim Jarmusch film Coffee and Cigarettes.

Those two characters reflect certain sides within Szucs.

“I’ve played both sides of that situation,” he says. “Like someone else is making the situation uncomfortable and I’m trying to make it less so. And I’ve also been in the situation where I couldn’t figure

PATRICK SZUCS’ thus far unfinished and untitled painting of a half-naked man splayed out on a bathroom floor.

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out how to make it comfortable, so I just made it less comfortable.”

Szucs started painting in November of 2003. His desire to paint was motivated by a girl.

“One day I went to her house and she was painting,” he says. “I thought, ‘(If I paint) we’ll have something in common. So I started painting. That was the last time I ever saw her paint, and I just kept going.”

{

“Sex is something that everybody’s interested in. Most people can relate to a painting that’s about sex or sensuality or eroticism or anything along those lines . . . you explore a huge aspect of what it is to be human.”

PATRICK SZUCS and his painting Silver 1.

26 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

WHAT [not] TO FLAUNT

WORDS BY DANA KUDELKA AND CHELSEA HOUSTON PHOTOS BY SEBASTIAN DIAZ

Check out more photos of looks not to flaunt at UNRINSIGHT.COM

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FOOTWEAR

2

1

28 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

[1.] CROCS. Alternatives: Any other shoe.

Seriously, you can only go up from here. No other decision you make could be worse than the decision you made when you bought those damn Crocs.

[2.] MANDALS. While UNR’s campus may be hilly, there’s no need for thick treading on your hiking sandals, guys. For every day life in civilization, stick to clean classics. Alternatives: Try clean flipflop or tennis shoes or polished wingtips.

NEON 3 [3.] FAD OVERLOAD. Neon is a fad. These tones clash with 90 percent of skin tones and body shapes. Neon accentuates problem areas instead of hiding them. Alternatives: Stick with colors found in nature. Highlight your notes and textbooks, not your problem areas.

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LEGGINGS [4.] PATTERNED OR COLORED LEGGINGS. Colored leggings are great if you’re an extra on Gossip Girl. Just because Charlotte Russe showcases cheetah print leggings on a mannequin doesn’t mean you should buy them. Fortunately, the mannequin doesn’t have to leave the store.

Alternatives: Black leggings. Keep it simple. Wear prints in more inventive and flattering areas than your legs. Create a streamline silhouette that hides problem areas instead of magnifying them.

4

30 OCTOBER 2009 / GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM

5

PAJAMAS [5.] PAJAMAS ON CAMPUS. Stop looking like a slob. Take a shower and do those around you a favor by looking like you are a part of a functioning society. It’s not hard to exchange your pink and white striped pajama pants for a pair of pants not made of flannel. You never know who you’ll meet.

Alternatives: Normal clothes. Wear something to school that you would not wear to bed. You have endless possibilities.

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SEBASTIAN DIAZ

This publication is made possible by the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, Reno.

GET MORE INSIGHT AT WWW.UNRINSIGHT.COM