Sex and Science at this year’s ScienceTeller Festival

21 October 2015

Sex and Science at this year’s ScienceTeller Festival

The third instalment of ScienceTeller, the popular biennial festival celebrating science communication and storytelling, kicks off on Friday 30 October in Dunedin. Hosted by the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago, this year’s event is all about sex and science.

Headlined by noted American sex columnist Dan Savage, the three-day event also features an array of Otago’s top researchers talking about their work on all aspects of sex and sexuality – both human and non-human.

A renowned writer, activist, and TV personality best known for his political and social commentary, as well as his honest approach to sex, love and relationships, Mr Savage will kick off the festival with a keynote address on Friday evening, before taking part in three panel discussions the following day.

Leading up to the festival, organisers are collecting anonymous questions from the public via the ScienceTeller website (www.scienceteller.com) and ballot boxes posted around the Dunedin campus. A selection of these questions will be answered by Mr Savage during a Q&A following his keynote address.

Festival organiser and science writer Associate Professor Jesse Bering, author of the books Perv and Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?, says festival-goers can also expect a scintillating look at the provocative work underway by Otago academics doing ground-breaking scientific research on sexuality.

“We’ll cover everything from weird sex in the animal kingdom to the science of kinks and fetishes,” he says.

Highlights of this year’s festival:

FIFTY SHADES OF BLACK AND WHITE
Professor Lloyd Davis, aka Professor Penguin

This talk pulls back the curtain on the penguins’ boudoirs to reveal rampant infidelity, prostitution, homosexual behaviour and a wide range of sexual aberrancy.

FROG KAMA SUTRA

Professor Phil Bishop
Out of more than 7,400 species of amphibians, only one species of frog has anything that slightly resembles a penis. Yet many have internal fertilisation and many use unusual and sometimes bizarre positions and movements to achieve successful fertilization.

KINKS AND FETISHES

Associate Professor Jesse Bering

Why are some people kinky? Where do kinks come from? At last count, there were more than 500 certifiable paraphilias (forms of sexual deviance) in the clinical literature, from erotic attraction to honeybees ("melissaphilia") to obtaining gratification by falling down stairs ("climacophilia") to arousal from amputees ("acrotomophilia").

SEX AND MENTAL HEALTH

Dr Sandhya Ramrakha

Insights from the Dunedin Study, which has followed the lives of 1,000 Dunedinites from birth to adulthood. Come and explore the links between mental health and sexual behaviour throughout the course of life.

In addition to panel discussions, talks and Q&As, the festival programme also includes a book signing on Saturday afternoon and three film screenings on Sunday: “Life Story: Courtship” by David Attenborough, “Out There” by Stephen Fry, and the biopic “Kinsey” featuring Liam Neeson.

The festival is being held at the University of Otago College of Education Auditorium, 145 Union St East. Entry is by gold coin donation.

The festival programme includes a range of events designed to attract a wide variety of audiences, though the adult themes of this year’s event may not be suitable for all attendees.

Background

ScienceTeller was established in 2011 by the Centre for Science Communication at the University of Otago. The festival is unique in that it combines storytelling and science, celebrated through film, writing and other creative media.

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