“No matter how hard you hit someone with this flogger, it will not hurt,” said Ann Slabosky, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as she unleashed a black leather whip on the forearm of her partner.
The duo was leading a workshop on sexual pleasure for nearly 15 classmates in the lounge of a residence hall. They had started with a discussion of body parts and were now on the subject of sex toys. The toys were being removed from a large red toolbox and passed around with glee.
“Can I whip you?” one participant giggled to another after the flogger landed in her lap.
It was all part of Sex Out Loud, a student organization causing a lot of, um, excitement at UW-Madison. Begun a decade ago to provide information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, the group has expanded to include graphic workshops on how to give and receive sexual pleasure.