FEATURED
Group promotes masturbation, erotic poetry, but opposes Israel
A University of Wisconsin-Madison group focused on “sex-positive education and activism” could receive more than $130,000 in mandatory fees from the student government.
The Associated Students of Madison Student Services Finance Committee allocated $132,991 for the club’s operations in the 2026-27 academic year. Nearly $95,000 of this year’s funding was allocated for salaried positions within Sex Out Loud. “Supplies” accounted for more than $22,000.
Planned events for this current school year include “Condoms and Candy” and “National Condom Week.” The data come from publicly available student government records.
Student government press director Drew Wesson told The College Fix he “sent a request for information out to others” for further information in the past several days, but he ultimately did not provide further comments.
The group has a history of hosting erotic events and using student fees to purchase sex toys.
Events hosted by Sex Out Loud last year included a burlesque performance, an HIV bootcamp, “Sex Jeopardy,” “Sexy Bingo,” and “Drag Bingo.”
For “Kinky November,” the organization hosted a “Kink Advocate Talk,” “Paddle Painting,” and “Rope Tying.” For “National Condom Week,” the group hosted events such as “Yoga for Better Sex” and “Queer Speed Friending.” It also hosted a lecture called “Sex After Dark” that was sponsored by sex toy company Lovense.
Sex toys are frequently listed as prizes for their game-style events, but program coordinator Evan Loftus told The College Fix no student fees were used to purchase sex toys. The group has, however, purchased sex toys with student fees in the past, and the homepage of its website features a row of dildos.
Sex Out Loud “did spend money on condoms and other contraceptive barriers, but no money was spent on emergency contraceptives,” he told The College Fix in an emailed statement. His group did not receive any donations from Planned Parenthood last year, but it has collaborated with the organization. Plan B was provided by Planned Parenthood in the previous academic year.
Members of Sex Out Loud wrote a column called “Hump Day” for the Badger Herald, a progressive campus newspaper. The club publishes an annual zine that contains erotic poetry and artwork for students. The 2024-25 issue was titled “F*ck Me” and contained numerous graphic sexual drawings. While the group announced a 2025-26 zine and collected submissions, it has not yet been published. Loftus confirmed it eventually will be.
Students at UW-Madison can request short courses taught by peer facilitators. One course explores “masturbation techniques” and seeks to “normalize self-stimulation.” Another one teaches about “sex toys and how to use them.” Other courses explore topics including BDSM, “birth justice,” “reproductive justice,” “ethical porn,” and “sexual accommodations” for disabled people.
Students can request “sex supplies” including glow in the dark condoms, anal lube, a “Slippery Stuff Pillow,” nitrile gloves, and dental dams. They can also order UTI tests, pregnancy tests, and Plan B from an online order form.
While sex and abortion are two of the club’s main causes, it has other interests that are not as clearly connected.
It endorsed a student government resolution that called on the university to divest from companies that do business with Israel in March. “As a sex-positive student organization, one of our core values is social justice,” read the organization’s statement. “We cannot truly celebrate autonomy, empowerment, and equity until we can achieve the collective liberation of ALL people.”
UW-Madison University Health Services “has maintained a longstanding advising relationship” with Sex Out Loud, campus spokesman John Lucas told The College Fix. UHS “manages the sexual health clinic and prevention services for campus” and has partnered with SOL as recently as April. Sex Out Loud is listed as a campus resource for obtaining “safer sex supplies” in SexWIse, the university’s sex education program for first-year students.
ASM allocated funding to 18 student organizations for the academic year. The only student organization that received more funding than Sex Out Loud was Badger Supports, which hosts peer support groups and mental health awareness events. It was allocated $140,134.
The Black Power Coalition received about $19,000; the Latine Student Union received $62,000; the Black Student Union received $68,000; the Muslim Student Association received $40,000; Animal Advocacy received $32,000; Badger Catholic received $73,000. Other organizations that received funding include the Formula SAE racing team, the Student Voters Union, and NeuroPride.
Funding must be viewpoint-neutral, expert says
This funding came from the General Student Services Fund, which is supported by mandatory student segregated fees. ASM was limited in its funding discretion because decisions must be made in a viewpoint neutral manner.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia “says that a pool of money set aside by the government for the purpose of supporting private expression” is “a limited forum,” UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber told The Fix.
This means that the student government can restrict the type of content or people eligible for funding, but not which viewpoints are eligible.
“The government (UW) arranges for the collection of money to be independently administered (so not government speech) for the purpose of supporting expressive activities (student orgs),” Schweber said in an email. “In that situation there can be personnel restrictions (‘student orgs’ have to involve students) and content restrictions (there could be a rule saying only political or only educational orgs will be supported) but not viewpoint.”
While ASM can have rules for administering grants, “They can’t contradict the basic principles of a limited forum: once an org is eligible, it cannot be denied a grant because of its viewpoint.”
If a student organization believes a funding decision was not made in a viewpoint-neutral manner, it can appeal to the university chancellor. According to Lucas, “The chancellor and Universities of Wisconsin have authority to override ASM funding decisions, typically only in cases that violate applicable policies or statutes.”
Schweber noted, however, “In practice, to show discrimination at either stage is a very fact-intensive process unless you have an ASM official publicly saying ‘I won’t vote in favor of this grant because it’s from a group of liberals and I hate liberals.’”
Sex Out Loud’s funding was slightly less than the $135,706 allocated in the 2026-26 academic year. According to an earlier analysis by The Fix, SOL has received more than $1.1 million in student fees since 2014.
