Director Alex Liu wants to strip away sexual shame and ignorance. From church pews to biology labs, join him as he uncovers the naked truth about sex.

From rape on college campuses to the anti-gay mass shooting in Orlando, it’s impossible to ignore the damage of a culture steeped in sexual ignorance and shame. Thus, gay science journalist Alex Liu launched a Kickstarter campaign to finish filming his feature documentary, A Sexplanation. By telling the stories of the premiere sex educators, researchers, and thinkers, the film will demonstrate the pleasure and power of comprehensive sex education.

“I can’t stop thinking about how things might have been different for all of us if we all were guaranteed good sex ed,” Liu says.

There’s evidence Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter who took 49 lives, struggled with his sexuality. Study after study finds outwardly homophobic people are likely to harbor repressed same-sex attractions. But it’s not just extremists who struggle with their sexualities.

“Most people have way too much shame simply about feeling what they feel or thinking what they think,” says Rutgers University neuroscientist and sex educator Nan Wise. “Pleasure is a dirty word.”

Despite research confirming that comprehensive sex education is necessary in order to ensure human health and safety, most Americans lack access to such information.

“There’s so much ignorance,” says Barry Komisaruk, Wise’s research partner at Rutgers. Together, the two scientists are working on mapping the neural pathways of sexual response and orgasm. “People get hurt by ignorance. They don’t get hurt by knowledge”

After a rigorous, global analysis, the United Nations declared in a 2014 report—and again in 2015—that access to “comprehensive sexuality education” was crucial in order to promote “the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.” They concluded that sex education needs to be medically accurate, inclusive of all genders and sexual orientations, sex positive, and rights-based. However, in America, 49 out of 50 states do not require such sex education. The one state that does—California—started comprehensive sex ed only in January of this year.

Since graduating from the Science, Health & Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) at New York University, Liu has been producing videos on drug and sex education for his Science of Sin YouTube channel. Slate recently named it as one of its “Brilliant Ideas To Fix Science Education”. Four years and over 50 videos later, Liu now feels ready to move to the larger canvas of a feature documentary, using his accessible and slightly irreverent style of reporting to engage and entertain.

“I started Science of Sin because of my own frustration at how biased and shame-based drug and sex education is,” said Liu, who studied molecular biology and worked developing cancer drugs before changing careers. “As a gay man who is obsessed with science, I’ve always struggled to find unbiased and accessible information when it comes to my own biology and health.”

To finish the film, he plans to interview experts at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, attend comprehensive sex education classes with 12-year-olds, and speak with sex workers, asexual activists and sexual consent educators.

The Kickstarter campaign launched June 25, 2016 and has already surpassed its basic target of $7,000. It will now seek to double its funding with a $14,000 stretch goal. The funds will not only help finish the post production but also facilitate outreach activities and free screenings of the documentary around the country.   The Kickstarter campaign will end July 29, 2016.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/asexplanation
Instagram/Twitter: @asexplanation

For Interview Requests and Further Press Materials Please Contact:

Press Contact

Valerie Veteto
Campaign Outreach
vveteto@gmail.com
Tel: (415) 845-2220