Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1988)
Sex without love is just sex Well, we finally went ahead and did it. The Daily Nebraskan has published a “Sex in Lincoln” issue of Diversions. Curious students and faculty members wondering about the mystery of sex in Lincoln have been wai^ng with baited breath to find out about it It’s been a long time coming, so to speak. Here’s the historical back ground, so you can put everything in perspective and understand it all. For the past three years, the DN has published a “Drinking in Lin coln” issue of Diversions. It’s sort of become a proud tradition down here. I’m not sure what that says about our staff, but it does confirm one of my primary suspicions about journalists — you’ve got to be ob sessed with knowing every little detail about what’s going on around you, a little bit crazy and abuse at least one chemical sub stance to be good. „ Anyway . .. The point in question is sex in tincoln. Does it exist? Who is hav ing it? Where are they having it? phy rv* they having it in the first place? Is it as much fun as it’s cracked up to be? S These are some pretty serious questions with heavy social and philosophical implications. Really, pesides, we’re college students and toe are being trained to think that feay, so you’d better get used to the Rea. * L Sex in Lincoln. If you didn’t Slow already, there’s an awful lot of it going on. Don’t be ashamed if you nad to ask. I wasn’t. I was down at O’Rourke’s the other night, drinking a beer and thinking about sex. It’s funny how the two seem to go hand in hand., isn’t it? At any rate, I was talking to this woman who offered me some insight into the subject of sex in Lincoln. She said that Lincoln is a pretty good town for having sex, because besides drinking, there’s not much else to do. Enough said. Lots of people get drunk and go home together. Sometimes it even leads to brief, torrid, hedonistic relationships based on mutual de sire. It’s the subject of many of the songs you hear on the radio and the jukebox down at the bar these days. But why do people do it? Of course there is the obvious reason. We are a highly social pri mate species, and promiscuous sexual activity is an important fact of life among social primates. It serves to both hold the group to gether, as well as, define each member’s social role within the group. Furthermore, sex is an ex tremely pleasant; highly rewarding experience. So here are the major reasons for all the sex in Lincoln, as far as I can see — not necessarily in this order — boredom, drunkenness, fulfill ing biological requirements and sensual pleasure. Don’t get me wrong, these are good enough reasons for me. Besides, I’m in no position to cast moral judgment. But there’s got to be more to the story than what meets the eye, I just know it. My sixth sense as a journal ist and nose for news tells me that there is a deeper force lurking behind all this behavior. Something in peoples’ lives is missing. 1 think what many people are really looking for in tneir sexual Quests is something to increase teir sense of self esteem, a feeling of intimacy and (dare I say it in this age of emotional nonchalance) love. Too many people are having sex without being in love. That de stroys the integrity, and ultimately the quality, ot sex. Without love, the novels v of a sex partner quickly wears off, and promiscuity runs rampant. Somewhere along the line, the meaning of sex and the meaning of love gets confused. At any rate, as individuals we can absorb ourselves in our sexuality and still come away from the expe riences feeling just as lonesome, empty and spiritually unfulfilled as we did before. And with the threat of AIDS becoming a worldwide problem, each new partner is a new risk. People are still taking a lot of chances, looking for something they just can’t seem to find. It’s a sad message about the un fortunate condition of our society. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I read an article recently where this guy was talking about how some of the most intimate, sensual and meaningful sexual experiences he had had didn’t necessarily in volve intercourse. I agree with him. These experiences involve some thing more than just physical sex — they involve love. That’s what it’s really all about. Think about it. P.S. Don’t forget to register to vote Let the World know you're alive! c—1 yourself a personal. i- ^ _ Daily - Nebraskan i South Basement City Union 472-2588 j A iVi W» mfiA ‘: " ; • ■ , }' ^ r- ~ • » -■» jr%f Step across the -■: border on Thursdays. Tkco Salad $3.25 Nachos $1.75 Blue Margaritas $1.25 Corona and Dos Equis $1.25 11:00 A.M.-1:00 A.M. I3th and Q Street ■ (lower koel of the Gunny i Building) Lincoln, NE 68508 I_