Campus Women’s Organization promotes ‘sex-positive’ events

Pitt’s Campus Women’s Organization wants women to have better orgasms, among other things.

Dorian Solot, a speaker on embracing sexuality and healthy sex, will speak at Pitt on Oct. 22 as a part of CWO’s “The Female O” presentation. CWO President Erin Case, a senior majoring in history and fiction writing, thinks the event will be a huge hit.

“It’s going to be very sex-positive,” Case said. “It should be a really fun event. I’m excited.”

For CWO, informing women about their own bodies and what is normal and healthy is a primary goal. Last year, the club hosted a biology professor in September who spoke about the menstrual cycle.

CWO is not a feminist group, Case said, but wants to create a safe space where individuals can feel comfortable talking about anything.

She added that the group welcomes men, who provide another perspective on issues.

Case also said the organization wants to make everyone feel welcome this year.

“My largest goal is to work on collaborating with other student organizations,” Case said. “We are open to collaborating with anyone who wants to collaborate with us.” 

One of those collaborations is coming up soon, according to sophomore women’s studies major Eleanora Kaloyeropoulou, CWO’s business manager. 

CWO will host a “condom casino” jointly with Rainbow Alliance and the Interfraternity Council on Sunday evening in the William Pitt Union.

“In place of poker chips we are using condoms,” Kaloyeropoulou said. “The goal of the evening is to educate the campus on safe sex and the proper use of condoms.”

Creating a welcoming environment for everyone is part of the idea of intersectionality, according to CWO Vice President Emily MacLean, a senior majoring in psychology. Intersectionality refers to the experiences of people who are part of multiple demographics and therefore might have a different perspective on gender issues.

With the help of allies from other communities, CWO will participate in the annual Take Back the Night march and rally against domestic violence Oct. 8. For MacLean, Take Back the Night is about making women feel safe on the streets at night.

“We go out into the streets of Oakland and march and chant and make a ruckus,” Maclean said.

But CWO is not just about heavy discussion and important rallies, Case, Kaloyeropoulou and MacLean said.

They agreed that they appreciate entertainment as well. CWO has movie nights, speakers to talk about toxin-free makeup products and a session of Strip Aerobics to reduce the stress of finals week.

For Case, MacLean and Kaloyeropoulou, issues that affect women have been important to them for several years. MacLean has been interested in women’s rights issues since high school, and Case said she wrote a paper on the suffragettes in elementary school. For Kaloyeropoulou, it has been an interest for nearly her entire life.

“I came to college with the intention of joining this club,” she said. “I went to a girls’ school for a really long time and the ideas of feminism were just ingrained.”

CWO also offers resources such as free condoms, tampons and pregnancy tests in their office on the sixth floor of the William Pitt Union. Any student can take advantage of these options, not just CWO members.

Campus Women’s Organization holds general body meetings Tuesday nights at 8:45 p.m. in the William Pitt Union. 

“I really think it’s a good place to get info and to meet people with open minds,” MacLean said. “It’s just a really good social space to talk about issues that you might not get to talk about in your classes.”