Let’s talk sex.

That’s what the LGBTQ Resource Center will be doing when it holds its Real Talk for Men who have Sex with Men event today on the fourth floor of the Student Union Memorial Center from 3-5 p.m.

“In a nutshell, it’s going to be a very informal talk,” said Greg Daniels, co-director of ASUA Pride Alliance and a public health senior. “The main intent is to just have an honest conversation about sex in general.”

Pride Alliance and LGBTQ Affairs designed the informal setting to promote genuine conversation about “anything and everything that people are interested in, especially with respect to risks for STIs, as well as healthy and safe practice,” said Tad Pace, an assistant professor in the College of Nursing. 

Pace and Daniels will be in attendance to give answers and offer life experience for those who have questions about sex, along with Wendell Hicks, the executive director of the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, and Miguel Soto, the HIV program coordinator at the Pima County Health Department.

“We essentially want to empower [students] with information,” Pace said.

It’s important to have professionals with years of experience at the talk to offer medical background, Daniels said. The organizers said they are hoping for upwards of 30 participants to attend but could potentially see that number rise. 

“The goal of the section is to communicate some information in a safe-space setting,” Pace said. “We want to let people speak openly about their own experience with their questions as well as with things that they’ve learned.”

“It’s a lot of things you don’t really learn when going through sexual education as a child,” said Ty Morgan, a psychology senior, intern and Pride Alliance member.

It can be difficult to find answers if you don’t know where to look and are not asking the right questions, Pace said.

“It’s not meant to be a panel, lecture or anything like that,” Daniels said. “If anybody’s curious and just wants to come and observe, they don’t have to necessarily participate — but it’d be great if they did.”

Pace emphasized the open atmosphere of the event, saying that attendees should expect an environment of community support while enjoying an agenda-free conversation. 

“Being knowledgeable is the first line of defense,” Pace said. “The best prevention is knowledge and knowing how to use that knowledge in a real-world setting. It’s a conversation that I think we need to have to move ourselves forward as a community here in Tucson.”

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