On Oct. 18, Dan Savage came to Boston College to talk about sex. Savage, the homosexual, once-seminarian, author of four books and writer of the column "Savage Love," visited Boston College to address 200 eager listeners of all different ages, religions, and sexual orientations.
Created 16 years ago, "Savage Love" is a sex advice column without limits, discusses any subject, that is brutually honest in all regards. When asked if there was anything he would not talk about, Savage, with a chuckle, gavea decisive "No." His penchant to write about anything and everything is something he attributes to one of three things: a vicious head injury from the fourth grade, Tourette's Syndrome, and plain old spite.
When Savage first took the podium, he said that he had received an e-mail from his scheduling agent instructing him to "not disparage the Catholic Church in any way" during his lecture. With that said, Savage said that he would be following the crowd's lead, answering any and all questions; should those questions require answers at odds with church teachings, blame the crowd. "Where we go is up to you guys," he said. This policy was tested thoroughly over the course of nearly two hours.
Some may contest that a homosexual sex columnist is not the ideal speaker candidate for BC. Why, then, was Savage invited? Benjamin Lynch, chief of staff of the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) and LSOE '09, said the answer lies in the much-needed discussion. "People are reluctant to be open about sexuality. An authentic dialogue about sexual health needs to be opened up. I was hoping that Dan could create a safe space for this discussion."
While Savage's visit was designed to fulfill a need in an intellectual setting, there has been opposition from some within the administration. When asked about the resistance he received, Lynch explained that he had been trying to get the columnist to visit since June. He said that advertising the event had been made difficult due to objections over the word "sex" appearing in the publicity posters that were to go around campus. Consequently, no ads were displayed until the Friday before the lecture.
Lynch ran into another difficulty concerning subject matter. "A few days before the event, I received a call from an administrator in the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) concerning a staffer who had read some 'Savage Love' pieces and was concerned about the topics," he said.
Savage applied his background in giving advice, responding to questions asked by both brave volunteers and anonymously provided by listeners. During his time, Savage addressed the ignorance that persists in society today about sex. Topics that were brought up ranged from the limited sex education in America and society's obsession with "normal" sexuality, to problems that arise in monogamous relationships and the differences between men and women.
These responses were all to satisfy questions from the student body. Savage also discussed the ignorance that plagues many people in regard to their own sexuality. "In the absence of real sex education, people make [stuff] up. Abstinence education does not work," he said.
On the topic of sexual history, Savage asserts that gay and straight people have had a reciprocal relationship in the past. While the ignorant may giggle at "reciprocal relationship," Savage is referring to a transfer of lifestyle that occurred in the late 1960s and early '70s when each culture assimilated part of the other.
He said that heterosexual people, instead of moving to the suburbs after high school or college, looked for the "extended adolescence" that gay men and women once sought.
Yet those who were gay soon desired the opposite. They wanted the opportunity to settle down after their extended adolescence. Thinking back on the lecture, Paul Breines wrote, "What I found so remarkable about Mr. Savage's presentation is precisely his sharp, sensitive, and thoughtful sense of the dynamics of the relationship - that gay and straight are not opposites, but intimates."
Other faculty members praised the event in letters submitted to the ODSD. "Savage may just have saved some lives and souls last evening," wrote Charles Morris, professor in the communication department.
"My experience as a teacher tells me this kind of evening genuinely served our students," said John McDargh, professor in the theology department.
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