Dan Savage on Sex, Dating & Relationships

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, UC Irvine, from 7pm to 10pm

Lights, Camera, Action! UC Irvine presents MTV and Dan Savage live taping of a Question and Answer Session on “Sex, Dating & Relationships,” in the Crystal Cove Auditorium of the Student Center.

A long line is formed, just outside of the auditorium, where students are asked to fill a form, write their questions on a large green index card, and have the back of their hand stamped with “Dan Savage Audience” in black ink.

At 8:00pm, Dan starts answering questions from a thick stack of index cards, which are from the students who want to remain anonymous. His sidekick, Lauren Hutchinson, enters with her microphone, ready to move around in the audience toward students who have a question for Dan that they want to ask themselves on television. Halfway in the session, a male student suddenly runs down the aisle and splashes pink confetti glitter at the stage, toward Dan, because he didn’t like Dan’s answer about transgender issues. The guy felt that Dan was transphobic, even though Dan is gay. As the male student runs out the side door, two cops run after him. There is a short intermission, maybe about ten minutes, in order to sort things out between the male student, Dan, crew and cops who all went outside to discuss the issue.

Then, Dan enters to resume with the live Q&A show. Many students asked about meeting the right person, moving from friends to an intimate relationship, and performing better sex with their partner. Then, Lauren runs up into the audience for students who would like to ask their questions on live television.

Dan mostly talked about the importance of going out and meeting people, flirting, socializing, being honest and open with others about what they want in a relationship, making sure that the people involved have the same interests and goals in a relationship, and the willingness to experiment with different ways to satisfy their partner’s needs.

This Q&A session reminded me of a Sex In The City episode, where Carrie Bradshaw advises audience members about their sexual, dating, and relationship concerns at a seminar. But Dan Savage writes about relationships and sex advice in the column, Savage Love.