Youtube star and blogger, Laci Green, discussed relationships and sexuality with BW students in her lecture, “Relationsh!t.” The event, held April 1, was hosted by Allies.
“The purpose of the event is to talk about how to foster relationships, no matter what type” Julie Wagner, Assistant Student Director for Allies, said. “This event does not only apply to the LGBT community.”
The program was mostly open-ended discussion with a Q&A session at the end about the different aspects of relationships.
“It’s really based on your experiences,” Green said of the discussion. “That’s kind of the beauty of it, that you can all bring something different to the discussion.”
Green opened the discussion by asking the audience about different things they have seen in the media about relationships and how the portrayal of relationships can affect young adults.
There were many answers, but she felt there was one in particular that was a huge issue: people tend to define their worth by their relationships. People often feel like something is wrong with them if they are single, or if they are in bad relationships.
“It really stops people from learning about themselves and developing relationships with themselves,” Green said.
Green believes that divorce is also a result of relationships defining self worth. However, Green believes there is a silver lining to divorce. “I think actually people just feel more empowered to leave relationships.  It’s a little less stigmatized to get out of relationships that aren’t working for you anymore.”
Some other topics that Green addressed were sexual orientation, safe sex and debunking myths about polyamorous relationships and asexual relationships.
The majority of her program was about healthy relationships, and what makes a relationship healthy or unhealthy. To Green, the essential parts of having a healthy relationship are support, communication, trust and respect.
Green also went over what abusive relationships are and how to spot them. Some of the main signals in abusive relationships are if your partner is checking your phone or email, if you are feeling unsafe or feeling monitored, if you are feeling down on yourself, or if you are just generally feeling uncomfortable in the relationship. One out of three teenagers will be or have been in an abusive relationship.
Next, Green moved on to answer questions from audience members.  Many people shared their own experiences and asked for Green’s advice.
At the end of the program, Green thanked the audience and commended them for their contributions to the discussion. “There’s really great dialogue, conversation and a supportive community here. I think that’s really awesome.  I visit a lot of schools and I don’t get it everywhere.”