We spoke to the King’s student behind the ‘Big Clit Energy’ Instagram page
She’s just as cool as you’d expect.
Olivia VosperBig Clit Energy is the work of 3rd-year Classics student Nicole Gleeson, aiming to spread information and awareness about sexual health and sex-positivity. She also runs a blog alongside the Instagram account, featuring interviews on sex positivity and intersectional feminism. The Tab King’s sat down with Nicole to discuss why she made the page, and how it’s affected her own life.
What made you want to create Big Clit Energy?
I wanted to create a sex-positive blog to act as a resource for young people to read about other young people’s experiences surrounding sex and relationships. A few years ago when I needed this it didn’t exist so I think about what would my younger self have liked to know. The blog is always open to submissions so if you have anything to say about sex, relationships, intersectional feminism, self-love, please feel free to send it to me via Instagram.
How good do you think sexual health awareness is at King’s, and amongst uni students generally?
Not great! If you asked a student where can you go to get tested for STIs I’m not confident that they would know. That’s not their fault! The King’s Health Centre is really efficient. You can pick up an at-home test kit and send it off OR you can book an in-person appointment which will take 5 minutes to take a blood sample and then you do the swab test yourself. If you are not registered at King’s, SH:24 or SH London provide free at-home test kits to some London boroughs.
Your page is full of great feminist content. What challenges do you think women specifically face when it comes to sexual health?
Women do face challenges when it comes to sexual health and particularly BME women. Phoebe Boateng talks about the racial bias in childbirth in her blog post about Intersectional Feminism. Statistics show that black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth due, in part, to a bias that black women can handle more pain. Decolonising Contraception is an amazing sexual health charity that aims to increase awareness of the colonial influences in sexual and reproductive health, so check them out!
Do you think being so open about sex online has ever affected the interactions you have with people in real life?
Yes! I’ve found it more difficult to date now that I share so much personal information about my sex and dating life. A date once stalked me beforehand and started quoting things I’d said about dating apps. I felt uncomfortable that they had access to so much information about me but I could know hardly anything about them. I’ve now set a boundary that I won’t share this account with someone before going on a date.
If people take one thing away from your page, what do you hope that it is?
Talk to your friends about sex! The chances are that they want to talk about it too.
You review quite a few books on the page – what are your top recommendations?
Ooh so many but I’ll pick three: Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given; Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton; Mask Off: Masculinity Redefined by JJ Bola.
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