Grad students at Boston University are trying to change the way college students think about sexual health by using Harry Potter as a tool for sex education.
Last week, Michelle Goode and Jamie Klufts led a course called Hogwarts Sex Ed as a part of "Frisky February," a monthlong initiative through BU's Wellness and Prevention Services.
"Sexual health is a topic that is often lacking education when students come into college, there is so much stigma and embarrassment that surrounds the topic," Goode told BuzzFeed.
"Harry Potter was the perfect vehicle to introduce the topic and have open conversation about important aspects of sexual health and to shift negative views into positive views."
Hogwarts Sex Ed covered a wide range of topics, like basic anatomy, self-pleasure, consent, contraception, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
"When you can talk about self-pleasure and refer to it as exploring your own Chamber of Secrets, you've automatically captured the attention of your audience," Klufts said.
"Likewise, using the unpredictable, sometimes undesirable nature of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour beans to talk about STIs is out of the box, but it works. J.K. Rowling provided us with the framework, and we worked to fill in the gaps."
The event apparently had a significant turnout, and the students have even been asked to bring their Hogwarts Sex Ed workshop to other universities and conferences.
"It is important to show people what healthy sexual interactions look like," Goode told BuzzFeed.
"I like to think that the characters in Harry Potter did receive a comprehensive sex education and it just did not fit into the scope of the books."
H/T: Huffington Post