Sexual pleasure for men is considered to be less of a mystery than pleasure for women. Part of this might be because the part of male anatomy considered to be "most central" to sex, the penis, is pretty obvious. It might also be because men are assumed to start masturbating at a young age and are therefore considered orgasm experts by the time they might want to start teaching other people how they work. In reality, however, there is more to male sexual pleasure than the penis. Putting aside fantasies, preferences and emotions and focusing solely on anatomy, there are men who experience pleasure in their ears, nipples, fingers, inner thighs, balls and anus, to name a few locales. This doesn't mean that the penis isn't important, because it often is, but it does mean that the concept of foreplay can be just as enjoyable and important for him as it is considered to be for your average woman.

This time of year, we should all be aware of SAD. I am not only referring to seasonal affective disorder, but also to the rapidly approaching Singles Awareness Day, which "coincidentally" falls on February 14. We are now a week into February, the month when single people become acutely aware, and in some cases defensive, of the fact that we've been cuddling up to our body pillows for the past couple of days, weeks, months, or years. Usually we love our body pillows, but sending your body pillow chocolate for Valentine's Day is generally counterproductive because you wind up eating them all yourself and then feeling lonely and sick.

Out there in the world, the economic crisis looms bleaker every day. Both Wall Street and Maine Street are feeling the effects of our Titanic-esque economy. Even Bowdoin is beginning to bend under the pressure: our foundation of a fitness center is suddenly short on funds and athletic teams can't have overnight stays anymore. There's one thing that hasn't changed, however: condoms are still free.

It's a sentiment that I've heard expressed throughout my three years at Bowdoin College. The academics are wonderful, the campus is beautiful, the people are friendly ?but the dating scene sucks. Why is this? In movies and sitcoms, dates don't seem too scary. I know for a fact that my parents used to do it and I think that I am at least as brave as they are. Yet here we are, surrounded by interesting, intelligent, and passionate people, and we leave Bowdoin without ever getting to know them outside of class, Moulton, or the basement of a college house.

To open this week's column, which is written in honor of Coming Out Week last week, I'd like to start with a quote from one of my favorite movies, "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Dessert." A bit of context: the movie follows three drag queens as they drive to the center of Australia for a show. Along the way, they discuss everything from outfits to dance numbers to homophobia. Here's a choice conversation about sexual orientation: