The Observer, September 9, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 2
Lauded sex columnist to speak at Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll
The 18th Annual Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll conference will be held 14th through 16th, featuring a keynote address given by world renowned sex columnist and author Anka Radakovich. The address will be held at noon on Friday, Sept. 16 in Thwing Center.
Born in Ohio, Radakovich attended the University of Maryland and moved to New York City shortly after graduation to pursue a career in journalism. Since then, she has published two books, The Wild Girls Club: Tales From Below the Belt, and Sexplorations: Journeys to the Erogenous Frontier. Her articles have appeared in Maxim, Playboy, Harper's Bazaar, Seventeen, Cosmogirl, Arena, Glamour, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, and The Village Voice.
Radakovich has also appeared on shows such as ABC News, The View, E!, The Today Show, Dateline NBC, and is a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. On the big screen, the film rights and screen play of her first book, The Wild Girls Club, have been purchased by Paramount Pictures and the movie is currently in development.
The transcript below features Radakovich's sex advice to college students and her opinions on sex and the lack of sex education in the country.
What prompted you to become a writer?
There were many reasons why I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write and tell stories. I also just wanted to give my opinion.
The first things I wrote were humorous stories and I started to write for underground and alternative magazines. I eventually wrote for The New York Daily News, different fashion magazines, and Harper's Weekly. I was obsessed with magazines; the first one I read was MAD Magazine because my older brother always had them. I became obsessed with Cosmo when I got a little older and that's when I started reading articles about sex and sex tips.
How did you become a sex columnist?
I got a job with Details magazine and it's a magazine for young men. They asked me to write an article about what women think of men. I wasn't really given any direction, but I wrote about what I thought about men and it eventually grew into a sex column. At that time, no one was writing a sex column because it was so subversive. I was writing a sex column before Sex and the City came out.
As my monthly column evolved and I started investigating the various aspects of sexuality, I realized how endlessly fascinating sex is! I've been writing about sexuality for almost 15 years now. Our culture is saturated with sexual imagery, yet many people are still clueless about sex.
Do you watch Sex and the City? What do you think about Carrie Bradshaw? How is your life parallel with hers?
Being a female sex columnist you get perceived in a certain way. When women write about sex they get judged but when men talk about it, it's a different story. It's like a double standard.
Why do you think people should be educated about sex?
I think this country is in desperate need of sex education. We have a terrible sex education system and it needs to be more comprehensive. The Bush administration has spent millions of dollars on advocating abstinence. But in reality, kids want sex and it's their natural desire. It just doesn't seem practical. I make college students aware of sexual issues. That's one of the reasons why I speak at colleges…to make
