Let’s Talk About Sex…

At one point during the semester, a student asked an interesting question . . . to which I replied, “That’s a great question, we need more research on [that topic].”  The student probed further and asked, “Why don’t you do that research?”

Cory Pedersen, Psychology

After joining KPU’s Psychology department nearly 20 years ago, Cory Pedersen is flying high on the tailwind of an extraordinary run of achievements. She is wrapping up two back-to-back terms as Chair of Psychology, plus an extra ‘victory lap’ for good measure. And, after having received the Senate Award for Service in 2016, she is now the latest recipient of the Senate Award for Distinguished  Scholarship. She has been selected to be the featured expert in an upcoming Crave documentary about the ‘Dick Pic’ phenomenon (‘Allo, voici mon penis,’ or in English, ‘Hello, this is my Penis’). And, as if the foregoing weren’t enough, she is also the founder of her very own made at KPU research lab, aptly entitled the ORGASM lab.

A glimmer of delight flashes across Cory’s eyes when asked about the name of her Lab. That grin turns into a full smile as she starts to recount the story of the birth of the lab, which she founded nearly ten years ago …

Well, way back in 2011, I had an especially engaging group of students in Psychology 3010 (Human Sexuality). They were fun, interested in the material, open to discussion about all the course topics, and very inquisitive. At one point during the semester, a student asked an interesting question about something – to which I replied, “That’s a great question, we need more research on [that topic].”  The student probed further and asked, “Why don’t you do that research?” And I balked a bit, explaining that I didn’t have anyone in my department to do research with and no students, either.  This student probed again, “Why don’t you develop a research lab then?”  I chuckled a bit, then replied, “Would anyone here be interested in joining a human sexuality lab?”  Hands went up all over the class.  I sent a classroom-wide email later that evening asking for volunteers, and by the end of the month, I had the beginnings of a research lab with a group of students from this class.  I owe my research lab to those students! Two of the first lab members, Amanda Champion and Michelle Dean, sat together and came up with the lab’s acronym: Observations and Research in Gender And Sexuality Matters. It is difficult to imagine a more collaborative undertaking than one which has the students come up with the name for the lab.

Tell us about your research lab…

My Human Sexuality Research Lab is the only undergraduate lab studying sexuality and gender studies in the lower mainland. We’ve been researching, presenting at conferences, and publishing our findings since 2012. We have 20 publications and 40 conference presentations at present (with 6 publications currently under review).  My lab currently has 10 students, but over the years, approximately 20 students have come and gone, with 11 having gone onto graduate school — just from this one lab. We have presented papers all over the world, and I have to say, one of the highlights is seeing the way that students have grown as scholars and thinkers through their lab experience.

What is sexology and how did you find your way into it?

When I began at KPU I was teaching primarily adolescence. The textbook I was using had a topical approach, a common approach – but one which presents the developmental timetable of sexual activity, or the order of events in sexual activity amongst teens, in a static way (intercourse often proceeds after oral activity, etc.). My students challenged the accuracy of this depiction based on their own experiences, and so we started to have a discussion. Someone said, ‘Hey, you should redo that research,’ and I thought – ‘Why not?’ At first, I tried to get into the Surrey school district but was denied, so decided to work with KPU students and rely on retrospective accounts. The research revealed that the sequence of sexual events had changed. From then on, I was intrigued. I got really interested in studying sexology and, coincidentally at that time, KPU had also just put out a call for the development of new courses. There was no course that anyone had on the books, so I proposed a course on human sexuality. It was so hugely successful that we had to put on extra sections. That opened the flood gates!

How does your lab connect with your teaching? 

In so many ways. For one, I draw new members to the lab from both my classes and my honour’s students.  These students benefit from the knowledge and mentorship of established student researchers – not to mention a community of like-minded students. This community builds the skills and engagement of these students in educational endeavors overall, producing stellar graduates of KPU.  At another level, practically every topic we study, and every presentation or publication we produce, I include this research in my lecture material. Sometimes, it’s topic-specific (for example, presenting the results of our research on the sending of unsolicited genital images in my lecture on sexual harassment, our findings on perceptions of female genitalia in my lecture on anatomy and physiology, or our findings on the experience of interpersonal violence in men during my lecture on gender-based health discrepancies). Other times, it’s more general – for example, I use my research lab data sets for classroom examples, exam questions, and assignments in my statistics courses – knowing that students will find the topics interesting and that there is no possibility of cheating or plagiarism!

What have you valued most about being involved with this initiative? 

I have met some of the best people of my life through this lab.  I have forged research partnerships with these students – yes – and have helped many of them pursue graduate school and employment opportunities beyond KPU. But more importantly, I have developed lifelong friendships with some of these students. That is irreplaceable. 

Where do you see yourself heading in the next couple of years? 

I was just awarded the Distinguished Scholarship Award and have my fingers crossed that I will be a Research Chair in Sexology Studies at KPU.  That would be the icing on the cake. 

Tell us about the students who end up working in your lab…

This opportunity attracts students who are inquisitive, dedicated, and ambitious. It’s a type of student that inspires me as a professor and lab director. When I see that kind of engagement, it in turn inspires me and makes me want to keep going, keep recruiting, keep researching. I want to help them get into grad school or – just as equally important – into employment settings or fulfill other ambitions. My work has been helping them find their way by providing them with learning and development opportunities that would otherwise be unthinkable…

What are some of the issues that you have worked on in your research?

My work is generally devoted to debunking or addressing misconceptions. I have canvassed misconceptions related to exotic dancers, pornography, and interpersonal violence. I am also interested in health-related and perceptual social-psychological domains: I have done three different sets of studies around body image and have demonstrated that there are predictable sexuality traits associated with body types. The purpose of these studies is to expose that we have these ideas about people on the basis of the ways that they look – we know where some of these biases come from – and we can see some of the effects they are having. Similarly, I have completed three separate studies on perceptions of female genitalia to reveal the generally negative view held about this particular part of the female body.

How does your lab work?

My lab operates differently than the other labs in Psychology. Although the overarching theme is sexology, specific research areas are driven by the students: they have a much greater degree of freedom and autonomy. This has worked to the advantage of the students – though it’s harder to make the case that I have benefited to the same extent. I have accepted that I may not be able to boast one unifying focus for the lab so that the students can be the guiding forces. I have learned so much by affording the students this wide berth – it has countered the narrowing that can sometimes accompany the process of specialization. We still do have foci, but it is not top-down. That’s not my agenda. They then have this experience that shows some benefit to saddling them with making those initial decisions.

Research on sexuality seems like it would be a challenging area of work. What are some of the challenges and how you have overcome them?

There is a tendency to see or think of people who study sex as somehow perverse – that they have a prurient interest.  Everybody always thinks that if you study sex, you are a dirty dog! I address this within the first couple of weeks in my human sexuality course. I impress upon the students the importance of this subdiscipline and emphasize that sex – in all its forms – is foundational to our happiness as human beings, and so it is tremendously important to study this stuff. We do so for the health and well-being of our society – not just for interest in studying sex acts. Sex is vital to our functions as human beings, and I am always astounded at how many students don’t know even some of the most commonplace of things – such as their own body parts – they don’t know about their own sexual anatomy or physiology. One thing I always hope to do through my teaching is to help them to demystify their own bodies – to disabuse them of this sense that sexuality is dirty. And we look at the effects that taboos around talking about sex can have. We talk about sexual coercion – rape myths—and the ways that power relations are deeply embedded in our way of inhabiting our bodies. I try to push the envelope of their understanding of gender and sexual stereotypes.

What have been some of the most rewarding experiences associated with this kind of work?

There have been many powerful moments in and out of the classroom. Moments, when I have witnessed and understood just how unaware people may be, and just how empowering and life-changing it can be for those learning about aspects of their own sexuality. I have had people realize their biases, confront false beliefs that they took for granted as given – and I have had people acknowledge many myths and misconceptions. Over the years I have had many students tell me about how their lives have changed and improved. Students have also been changed and transformed not simply by working in the lab, but by participating in the research studies as participants.