Let’s talk sex.
That’s the premise of MTV’s newest series, “Savage U,” premiering tomorrow night, which follows Dan Savage and Lauren Hutchinson as they tour 12 U.S. colleges to discuss an array of sexually charged issues with students.
Savage is a veteran of the sex advice field with two decades of experience writing his “Savage Love” column, and now he said he and Hutchinson, his producer, hope to enlighten a wider range of youths through their television show.
“When it comes to sex, everyone tries to pretend they already know everything,” Savage said in a conference call with The Daily Reveille. “Part of that problem is that culture holds sex as a natural thing that just happens.”
Savage said this attitude of blissful ignorance among teens and young adults toward sex can lead to serious and health-endangering problems. He attributed part of the blame for the youth’s poor attitude toward sex to the nation’s sexual education programs.
“If we taught driver’s ed like sex ed, it’d be about internal combustion, and nobody would know how to drive,” Savage said.
Savage said he would prefer a sexual education program including less talk about biology and more discussion of the social aspects of sex – but for now he’ll have to settle for his show. Each half-hour episode of “Savage U” is anchored by a Q&A session in which Savage and Hutchinson answer questions submitted by students anonymously.
“An overarching theme of the questions we tackled in these sessions was how to communicate better with sexual partners or just in a relationship in general,” Hutchinson said.
Savage said he also addresses questions in the show about homosexuality. As an openly gay man, Savage said his voice on LGBTQ issues is present throughout the show.
“My gay self is not being pushed back in the closet to make me suitable for television,” Savage laughed.
The pair tackle many misconceptions about sex throughout the series and, in retrospect, have found that there were several common misconceptions among students throughout the country.
“There is this false belief that if you are in a loving, monogamous relationship that you won’t still be attracted to others,” Savage said.
Savage said he offers sensible and applicable advice for this and other problems in the show. Topics that consistently drew questions included abstinence programs and sex in relation to religion.
Savage was raised with a Jesuit education in a Catholic household. However, he disagrees with the abstinence approach by which many parents govern their offspring. He said the policy is exceedingly difficult for youths to abide by, and he argues those who do have sex after abstaining are often poorly informed on sexual health concepts.
Lindsay Barleycorn, nutritional sciences junior, said she agrees with Savage’s view on abstinence, having been taught the concept in religious classes growing up.
“Knowledge is power,” Barleycorn said. “It’s likely going to happen regardless, and parents should try to be less naïve about it.”
 
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Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]