When I was in high school, I was on the debate team, and the topic my sophomore year was whether sex education should be taught in high school. My partner Mike Nelson and I wrote our briefs using research from the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a fine institution promoting sexual health. None of that research prepared me for an evening of “Sexually Speaking with Dr. Ruth.”
After a sexceptional, sextraordinary, and sextremely funny introduction by David Marwell, Dr. Ruth was joined by fearless colleagues Jamie Kenney and Peter Mones who posed the questions to her. Readers of the blog will know that we have been soliciting questions to ask the unflappable Dr. Ruth for two months now. Topics ranged from the proposed coed rooms at Columbia dorms to the downside of hooking up. Dr. Ruth, self-described as “old-fashioned and a square,” believes firmly that people need to know and like one another before jumping into bed together.
She also dispensed advice about how busy, overworked, and preoccupied couples can still make time for sex. “Put all of your worries in a box and leave them outside the bedroom. They will still be there when you’re done. No one is going to take them.” There were clinical questions, humorous questions, questions about size, and questions about the effectiveness of toys the names of which I can’t even type without blushing, although Jamie was able to ask the question with nary a titter.
Dr. Ruth weaved Torah into her responses about sexuality, and left no one to guess how she felt about circumcised penises. She kept the tone light and informative. Of all the sexual organs and sexual responses discussed last night, the brain was talked about almost as much as orgasms.
For those few questions that Jamie and Peter didn’t get to ask, you should know that Dr. Ruth took all the questions with her for possible inclusion in future books. She just signed three new contracts at the Frankfurt Book Fair and she has a new iPhone App, called the iRuth.
Dr. Ruth signed books last night and left at about 8:30. I left shortly thereafter. I often bring work home, and I have to say that last night my husband didn’t object to my bringing work home at all.
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1 comments:
My favorite piece of advice she gave that evening was on how to encourage your partner to read her books in their entirety. To paraphrase: "The whole book may be too much, but, if your husband likes cookies, just put a cookie in each section that pertains to you."
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