Drag queens, giant condoms, bad ’80s PSAs — Pauly Shore@@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHlOy5sQxc0@@ Announcements — and a whole lot of witty sex puns were all part of the fifth-annual Condom Fashion Show put on by the Cultural Forum. Although everything from dental dams to HIV/AIDS were discussed, the crowd was full of laughs.
“People can expect to have some good laughs and be entertained, see some good outfits and be inspired,” said Lingheshwari Kakkanaiah,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=+Lingheshwari+Kakkanaiah@@ the contemporary culture issues coordinator, before the show. “It’s a fun way to get people to think about sexual wellness and awareness and not be so scared to talk about it. It’s a little bit about education but more to get people to have a good time and not think of sex as a taboo topic.”
The fashion show opened with a dazzling rendition of “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” from the Disney movie “Hercules” by Alex Sylvester,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Alex+Sylvester@@ aka “Scarlette Ecstacy,” the host of the evening who is a member of LGBQTA and the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team. Sylvester kept the crowd laughing and smiling as he went through multiple wardrobe changes, played different roles in various skits and gave hilarious commentary to each outfit.
“Winter may only come once a year, but you can come as many times as you want in this outfit!” he said after a pair showed off “winter” condom fashion.
In addition to SWAT, Cultural Forum and LGBQTA, Students for Global Health were also present at the show. Members of the organization were tabling outside the event as promotion for their benefit concert tonight at The Lorax@@http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuosch/lorax.php@@ to help start a clinic in Rwanda.
“We want to be able to work with other groups on campus that have similar missions that tend to want to promote these issues,” Kakkanaiah said.
“We hope people realize that the HIV/AIDS epidemic isn’t over, and it’s still very much a part of the global health community discussion,” said Sarra Khlifi,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Sarra+Khlifi@@ member of Students for Global Health. “It’s been over 30 years that HIV/AIDS has been around. We hope that people go home and read about what they can do to help find a cure or help those with HIV/AIDS.”
The group hopes to meet their goal and donate $3,000 to the cause. All proceeds of the benefit show will go to helping build the clinic in Rwanda. “They don’t have the medicine to actually fight it,” Khlifi said. “Even five dollars can help buy medication for so many people in Africa.”
The evening concluded with the top three condom fashion designs, which walked away with a fitting prize: a glow-in-the-dark container full of condoms. Although the night was lighthearted, many serious topics were covered. A comical demonstration of the proper use of condoms and dental dams ensued, and those who attended may now have a larger-than-life attitude toward protection. The safe sex superhero group — including Fetish Woman, Consensual Woman, Dental Damsel, Dildo Girl and Doctor Condom — displayed the importance of safe and consensual sex during their skit.
Condom Fashion Show presents sexual wellness information with puns, costumes and chuckles
Daily Emerald
November 30, 2011
“We tend to pick issues to talk about that we think are kind of controversial because it tends to get more of a crowd to come in,” Kakkanaiah said. “And the condom fashion show is something we’ve done for five years now. We want people to be safe when they’re having sex and to not be afraid to talk about it or to step in if their friends are in a situation where they might not be safe.”
0
More to Discover