"Dry Mouth, Wet Pussy" Will Use Genital Pipes to Explore Cannabis and Sex

Fans of oral, rejoice: The Sexploratorium wants to help you make vulva and penis pipes.

Just a few weeks after opening on August 1, Denver's sexual education and art venue at 1800 South Broadway is gearing up for a sexual ceramics class that will include a discussion of the plant's impact on sensuality and intercourse. The class, dubbed "Dry Mouth, Wet Pussy: Cannabis & Sexuality," is scheduled for August 25 and is part of the Sexploratorium's ongoing curriculum to make sex talk more approachable.

According to co-founder Stina French, Denver's acceptance of legal cannabis provides a window for the Sexploratorium to hold more conversations.

"Cannabis is legal here, but it's still this 'hush-hush' activity for so many people, just like sexuality," she says. "We're in Denver, y'all, so we may as well play to the home team's strength. Based on the response, we might hold this class every couple of weeks."

The Sexploratorium staff loves crafting, so the pipe-making class is especially exciting, French says. She and her team are partnering with local ceramist Evey Vakauta of Glazed Ceramics Studio for the course instructions; students will make functional pipes in the shape of penises and vulvas, with little glass cutouts for applying the labia. After the class, the Sexploratorium will fire the pipes in a kiln, and students will be able to pick them up several days after the class (the pipes will be shipped to out-of-state attendees).

The class will also include professional talks about how cannabis can impact your sex life. Although the team is still ironing out the details, the discussions will focus largely on the impact cannabis can have on anxiety and trauma connected to sex, French notes.

A 2019 study published in the journal Sexual Medicine found that some women reported increased sexual desires after smoking cannabis, and that "marijuana appears to improve satisfaction" with orgasms for both men and women — though other research found that frequent use could make reaching one more difficult for men. Consumers have also said that certain cannabis strains have aphrodisiac effects.

French believes the plant helps with mental blockades.

"Cannabis brings a lot of untapped resources in helping people overcome anxiety and tap into our bodies. Cannabis has this beautiful way of drawing oneself in and becoming more in tune with your body," she says.

A sexual education author and professor, French and Sexploratorium co-founder Fawn O’Breitzman hope that naked yoga, pole dancing and arts-and-crafts classes will open Denverites up to sex — but only the yoga and human body classes involve nudity, according to French. There "are no sex parties up in here, and this is not a dungeon," French says.

Whether catering to couples on date night, bachelorette and bachelor parties, or simply people who are struggling to become less inhibited about sex, French believes connecting sex with cannabis and other novelty spins will help grow the Sexploratorium's profile in Denver.

Dry Mouth, Wet Pussy: Cannabis & Sexuality will be held on Friday, August 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sexploratorium, 1800 South Broadway. Tickets (18+) start at $60 per person.