This article discusses consent and may be triggering for some readers. The Kingston Sexual Assault Centre’s 24-hour crisis and support phone line can be reached at 613-544-6424 / 1-800-544-6424.
On a cozy Saturday night in, Jerry* and his housemates were lounging on the living-room couch, immersed in an episode of Futurama, when a sharp knock echoed through the house. In a cloud of curiosity, one of Jerry’s housemates answered to find two unexpected visitors standing at the door.
“Someone who lives here gave me chlamydia,” one of the girls slurred, inebriated from a night out on the Hub.
Skepticism rippled through the room as the housemates tried to piece together the unexpected accusation—none of them had ever met the girl standing on their porch. It wasn’t long before they traced the source of the problem back to one of their own: a younger brother of one of Jerry’s housemates who returned from a visit to Kingston for homecoming.
Though unsettling for Jerry and his housemates, this incident reflects a reality often encountered within university hookup culture. The pervasive pressure to partake in such activities can inadvertently lead to precarious situations and unforeseen outcomes, such as the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Talks of STIs range across all corners of campus, from chance encounters between strangers to allegations on the @queensuconfessionss Instagram account that “the entire football team has chlamydia.”
Even when students take measures to test against STIs, there’s a knowledge gap on campus of where to get tested and what services are available.
“Where is the closest/best spot for walk-in STI testing?” u/skaorn posted one year ago on the Queen’s University subreddit, acknowledging they thought Mitchell Hall’s Student Wellness Services (SWS) has a three-week wait period for testing.
In reality, SWS offers a same-day clinic and recurring STI quick test walk-in clinics.
Some users responded to u/skaorn’s question claiming the wait period at SWS is only a few days maximum. The lack of knowledge of these services paired with uncertain sexual encounters fosters a greater need for precaution among students.
SHRC
As a nonjudgmental and confidential information and referral service, the Sexual Health Resource Centre (SHRC) aims to equip students with resources when navigating their sexual journeys at Queen’s.
“We are a place where Queen’s students and members of the Kingston community can come to receive vetted information from a trained volunteer on sex, sexuality, and sexual health,” SHRC Director Annika Bey, HealthSci ’25 said in a statement to The Journal.
Bey said the SHRC operates a drop-in centre, a confidential phone line, and offers a lending library with books on various topics within their mandate. The SHRC also offers free HIV self-test kits, and events around campus including sex trivia, pop-up sales, and boothing. The SHRC offers education teach-ins which can be booked for larger groups.
“The SHRC is nonjudgmental, and we allow clients to access our services on their own terms. We provide support, information, and resource referral for clients to help them navigate tricky situations and difficult decisions,” Bey said in a statement to The Journal.
“The very promotion and existence of the SHRC relays the idea that it’s okay to discuss and explore sexuality […] The SHRC seeks to reduce barriers to safer sex,” she added.
The SHRC uses a harm-reduction approach wherein they provide information and try to minimize barriers to safer sex and sexuality expression. For instance, the centre offers at-cost retail where clients can purchase $0.21 condoms, $4 pregnancy tests and menstrual products, as well as a variety of sex toys.
“Through this at-cost retail, we aim to reduce the financial burden of purchasing menstrual products, barrier contraceptives, and pregnancy tests,” Bey said.
Bey spoke to the stigma of STIs due to their long and complicated history, noting the SHRC always uses the term STI or sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) as these terms are more scientifically accurate.
“The term disease can have an inherently negative or isolating connotation,” Bey noted.
“When we discuss STIs and sexual healthcare in general (e.g. STI testing, treatment, prevention) in teach-ins or volunteer training, we remain as neutral and factual as possible. By reframing STI testing and prevention methods as another component of caring for one’s health, we hope to reduce the negative perceptions around STIs,” she added.
The SHRC is constantly re-evaluating their practices to ensure the centre remains nonjudgmental and supportive.
“Some clients may simply want a referral for an STI testing location, and that’s totally okay. Others might have some complicated feelings or concerns they’d like to talk about, and the SHRC is here for that.”
There’re a variety of challenges in promoting safer-sex practices and sexual health awareness, Bey said.
“Students aren’t a homogenous group, it’s important the SHRC tries to understand their concerns
as individuals.”
The SexLab with Caroline Pukall
For Caroline Pukall, each day in the SexLab looks different, looking at various aspects of sexual health—a broad term encompassing a range of topics.
Pukall is the Director of the Sexual Health Research Laboratory (SexLab) and the Director of the Sex and Relationship Therapy Service at the Queen’s Psychology Clinic. Pukall is the Canada Research Chair in Sexual Health.
The SexLab explores participants’ experiences on many fronts: fertility, sexuality, healthcare, and intimate relationships.
“Some of our studies [in the SexLab] involve recruiting students and community members to participate in research conducted in the lab. Participants may be asked questions and have their genitals imaged while watching porn to report on their level of arousal,” Pukall said in an interview with The Journal. “We conduct brain imaging studies and pelvic floor imaging.”
The research in the lab includes both healthy and clinical populations, consisting of individuals with sexual or pain issues, intersex conditions, or other diagnosable medical conditions. The lab conducts remote surveys and interview studies to explore participants’ lived experiences, including how sexual experiences manifest in their daily lives.
“Our studies aim to represent underrepresented groups in psychology, including sexual and gender minorities and racialized individuals. We strive for diverse representation in our research to promote sexual health and develop interventions to help manage distressing sexual concern,” Pukall said.
Sexual health, as explained by Pukall, encompasses physical well-being, satisfaction, navigating sexual experiences, and freedom from distressing issues like stigma and STIs. It emphasizes understanding and managing risks, promoting safe practices, and fostering open communication. Overall, sexual health involves embracing one’s sexual identity, making informed decisions, and evolving in alignment with personal values throughout life.
During the exploration phase of sexual health, Pukall noted many university students experience living away from home for the first time. This period coincides with gaining access to peers of the same age, attending parties, and navigating social interactions. Students are simultaneously learning how to engage in these interactions safely and consensually.
“There’s almost a carefree attitude [among students] with the idea that you’re coming to university, you’re gonna be having lots of sex, and everyone’s immune to these [sexual] issues that may come up,” Pukall said.
Navigating the roads of sexual wellness is like driving a car—you learn the rules of the road over time and communicate effectively to ensure you’re being safe, Pukall explained. Just like checking your blind spots, it’s crucial to be aware of the risks and communicate them to your partners.
Pukall’s analogy likens safe sex to wearing a “seatbelt” in a car, emphasizing the importance of protection. Just as seatbelts safeguard us in case of accidents, safe sex entails taking precautions to minimize risks. This involves using condoms to reduce the chances of STIs and unintended pregnancies. Just as accidents can be unforeseen when driving, the potential risks of sexual encounters can be overlooked. Just with driving, taking precautions to protect oneself is necessary given it’s not always clear if everyone is following the rules.
“If something bumped you [along the way], you may get an STI [for example]. You’re aware of those risks, and you come out of it, being able to talk to a doctor about it, get appropriate treatment, make different decisions the next time and have communication with future sexual partners,” Pukall explained.
While some STIs are completely curable, some aren’t, Pukall said, noting some are a bit more cyclic—HPV is one of them and herpes is another.
“Unfortunately, not a lot of people have good knowledge about STI contractions and transmission. They may not have been screened themselves and may not know how to communicate. Maybe they have great communication skills, but at the moment [during sexual activity], those communication skills aren’t a priority. Maybe their expectation is that condoms will be part of sexual activity, but maybe that’s not the expectation of their partner,” Pukall said.
As an advocate for sexual adventures, Pukall believes safe sexual practices involving informed knowledge of risks and comfortability with your partner are paramount.
“Part of that involves comfort talking about sex, either with a healthcare provider, with a trusted person or with a partner, even if it’s something like asking if your partner has a condom. A lot of people think that it may ruin the moment, but in fact, a little bit of awkwardness can save people from unwanted risk in the longer term.”
Pukall spoke to the gender representation in sexuality-related classes, explaining a predominance of female-presenting individuals—around 80 per cent of students in her experience teaching.
“I have a predominance of women in my lab as well. I tend to also have a lot of non-binary or trans-identifying individuals, but I have very few cisgender men in my lab [SexLab],” she said.
“There’s something about the topic of sexuality, which I think there’s a narrative that it’s almost the burden of feminine-identified individuals,” she added.
The risk of female dominance in learning about sexual health is the narrative that it leads to privileging male sexual pleasure.
An academic study on the risks associated with self-reported STIs among postsecondary Canadian students claimed 3.88 per cent of participants had an STI, with the highest rates observed among females and individuals aged 21 to 24 years old—the age of university students.
In 2012, Canadians aged 20 to 24 years old reported the highest rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, HPV, and HSV infections with females having higher rates than males, the study found.
Pukall pointed out the spotlight on the male climax in heterosexual encounters, highlighting the orgasm gap. This phenomenon, where men are more likely to reach climax than their female partners, reinforces societal beliefs that pleasure is primarily for men. It’s as if women are handed the keys to sexual responsibility and risk mitigation while men sit back and enjoy the ride.
Although Pukall believes this stereotypical message is changing over time, it’s still the dominant message out there.
Research shows the orgasm gap is worse in one-night stands and very casual sexual encounters but gets better with longer term communicative relationships.
“In this case of a heterosexual couple…if you’re a man and you’re engaging in sex with a woman, you have her come first, you come last—everybody comes and everybody’s happy,” Pukall said.
“If you’re sharing in the pleasure, you need to share in the risk management.”
Navigating Gender Roles in Sexual Health with Mary-Louise Adams
Mary-Louise Adams, a professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, discussed her HLTH 333: Contemporary Issues in Human Sexuality course.
In the course, there’s discussion at play about the kinds of cultures around sexuality at the University—a topic which will be prevalent at the course’s end. This discussion will include how students understand what sexuality is.
Students bring varied experiences, knowledge, and hopes regarding sexuality at university, Adams explained, highlighting discussions on bar and hookup culture intertwined with party dynamics and associated sexual behaviours.
“There’s tons of other stuff at the university that is not so visible, and it’s maybe not the mainstream version of a culture,” Adams said. “When we talk about sexuality at Queen’s, we’re also talking about a growing queer community who don’t feel the need to invest in the bar culture and the kind of sexual relationships that goes along with that.”
Not all students participate in bar culture, she noted. There’re large numbers of students who feel the exclusion in it, a narrative that has become clear in Adams’s classes where she gets students to write about their experiences.
“There’s a lot of pressure to participate in relationships and to enter sexual cultures through this more visible and public bar culture. But there’re a lot of students who aren’t interested in that,” she said.
People have different attitudes towards relationships; what they’re looking for in terms of sexuality and different attitudes.
“I think a lot of young women look around at what’s expected of them…Queer students certainly, often don’t feel any desire to participate in that scene, given the kinds of gender norms that are expected,” Adams said.
This can be applied to behaviour seen in a bar-setting, paired with expectations around appearance, clothing, talk about body counts and so on.
Adams said there’s awareness of sexual harassment and violence on campus and numerous aspects of our culture, such as language and general attitudes, reinforce these issues.
Noting she hasn’t spoken to young women about their actual practices, we do know from provincial, federal, and international research that there’s a lot of sexual harassment and violence on university campuses.
Akin to Pukall’s experience with unbalanced gender ratios, Adams too experiences an influx of female-identifying students in her courses.
Adams believes there’s a lack of visible, organized public anger about the misogyny and sexism that shapes women’s experiences on campus. However, there’s a lot of potential for collective action among women to strategize around these issues and to support and learn from each other for better experiences and relationships.
“I think there is a lot of interest in having open dialogue on how to promote collective efforts to change the dominant cultural norms at Queen’s, and to recognize and acknowledge the unique experiences of different groups within the community.”
*Name changed for privacy reasons
Tags
condoms, HIV/AIDS, sexual health, Sexual Health Resource Centre, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Student Wellness Services
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