Northwestern Professor John Michael Bailey sparked controversy after he allowed his human sexuality lecture to view a live after-class sex-toy demonstration.

In an e-mail sent to his 600-person lecture on Wednesday, Bailey recounted allowing the “articulate, open, knowledgeable, entertaining and yes, ‘kinky’ guest speaker Ken Melvoin-Berg to demonstrate female ejaculation to a group of about 120 students on Feb. 21. Sources say the woman was stimulated to orgasm using a mechanized dildo known as the “Fuck Saw.”

Bailey wrote that Melvoin-Berg’s presentation followed a lecture on sexual arousal, the g-spot and female ejaculation. On his way to the stage, Melvoin-Berg asked the professor if his co-presenter and his fiancée could demonstrate female ejaculation.

“I hesitated only briefly before saying ‘yes,’” Bailey wrote. “My decision to say ‘yes’ reflected my inability to come up with a legitimate reason why students should not be able to watch such a demonstration.”

The “Fuck Saw” consists of a rubber dildo attached to a handheld saw. According to sex-toy website Stockroom.com, the toy has six speeds that can run up to 2,500 “strokes per minute.”

“The Fuck Saw supplies a great machine powered fuck,” the site said.

Bailey noted in the e-mail that “Student feedback for this event … was uniformly positive.”

All 120 students were clearly warned that the optional lecture would involve kinky acts.

University spokesman Al Cubbage released a statement noting that the university “supports the efforts of its faculty to further the advancement of knowledge.”
According to Bailey, he did feel “some apprehension” while viewing the presentation.

“None of this apprehension had to do with the possibility of harm to any observer, and none of it had to do with a lack of educational value,” he wrote. “Rather, I was worried that there could be repercussions that would threaten the valuable speaker series that I have built over the years.”

Bailey said “it is mostly too early to say” whether he regrets allowing the demonstration.

“To the extent that this event provokes a discussion of my reasoning … I welcome it,” he wrote. “I expect many people to disagree with me. Thoughtful discussion of controversial topics is a cornerstone of learning.”

— Staff Report

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