By REBECCA WALSH
Ever wondered what an advertiser was trying to sell when all you can recall is the long-legged blond smiling out of your television screen?
There is no escaping it. Sex sells, and now, even universities are capitalising on that.
Next year, Victoria University will offer a paper titled Sexuality and Society.
Among the topics are queer theory, commercial sex in New Zealand, pornography, Maori sexuality and sex in Ancient Rome.
While cynics might see it as a crude attempt to attract students, course coordinator Dr Pat Moloney says sexuality has become a "useful lens" for looking at society.
It is not the first course to explore the topic of sexuality - Auckland University has a paper on the history of sexuality and many universities offer gender and women's studies - but it highlights the array of subjects now available at universities.
Dr Moloney, a political scientist, says the core assumption of the course is that sexuality is not an innate set of natural urges, but is socially constructed.
He says it will spark plenty of lively debate as it will challenge common sense assumptions that "since Adam and Eve" we are born gay, straight or bisexual.
"If you say sexual identities like being gay are socially constructed, then some conservatives might say you should deconstruct them and make them normal." he says.
The paper was initiated by a group of Victoria University academics, all of whom were teaching some aspect of sexuality within their courses.
Dr Moloney says that before the paper was approved they had to overcome resistance from within the university and show it that it was not a "crazy idea" but one with academic credence.
And it does seem the times are changing.
Since last year, Auckland University students have been able to study the history of sexuality, looking at areas such as the role of religionand changing definitions of homosexuality.
Professor Barry Reay, head of the university's history department, says the course - which is popular with a mix of students - is a "respectable academic subject" and is "where the action is" in terms of historical research.
"A lot of people think heterosexuality has been around for hundreds of years, but heterosexuality as we know it is fairly recent.
"People were much less defined in their sexuality in the past."
In America, students can study papers on pornography, he says.
Students at Canterbury University interested in something a little unusual might consider "Sex, death and salvation in Asian religion" while those at Otago can study "Gender, bodies, sexuality and selves."
Waikato University offers "Gender and the body."
Queer theories and ancient sex lure university students
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