Students having condom races with bananas, a life-size woman with 3-D features and a model village made out of tampons and cosmetic products were just a few of the things students could find at the women's studies fall forum yesterday afternoon.

About 500 students from 10 different sections of women's studies classes displayed their projects in HUB Alumni Hall.

The displays covered a wide range of topics such as body image, homophobia, stereotyping, violence, sexuality in the media and human trafficking.

The only requirement for the projects was that they were feminist in nature, women's studies lecturer Marla Jaksch said, adding that it was up to the students to decide what their idea of feminism is.

"The point is to make links that sometimes aren't apparent," Jaksch said. "I hope it's a space where people talk and see things that are typically taboo."

Wearing T-shirts that said "Pleasurable Sex University: Having better sex than you since 1855," one group talked about ways to make sex pleasurable for both people in the relationship.

"We did a lot of research on sex and how women don't get to have equal pleasure; we took the idea and ran with it," Nina Agnello (freshman-journalism) said, pointing to Kama Sutra cards. "Sex should be something that's a good thing for two people, not one."

Another group took turns reading a piece from The Vagina Monologues called "My Short Skirt" while wearing T-shirts that said, "The way I dress has nothing to do with you," to show how society sexualizes women based on their appearance.

"We're trying to relay the message that you should not judge me because of what I wear on the outside; I'm still the same person inside," Dana Friedman (junior-public relations).

Friedman said that after interviewing students, she was surprised to discover that more men said women dress provocatively because they want to, whereas more female students who responded said women do it for the attention.

Rebecca Roan (senior-human development and family studies) was a member of a project that compared pictures in magazines of models from the '50s with those today.

Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, while models in today's society are required to wear much smaller sizes, she said.

"Back then it was about the features; they're looking more at weight now," Roan said.

"It's demeaning that we've actually gone back a step [from the '50s]. We need to start speaking out for things we don't want to see and encourage companies like Dove who are portraying women in a positive light," she added.

Another of the groups had students competing in condom races with bananas.

Next to them was a sign that said, "1 in 4 Penn State students has an STD," a statistic provided by Planned Parenthood, 3091 Enterprise Drive, said Julie Thompson (freshman-nursing).

"Hardly anyone knows how to put a condom on properly," Thompson said. "You're supposed to squeeze the tip -- a lot weren't doing it."

Brian Jara, women's studies lecturer, said students who walked through the forum might have been affected in different ways.

"Some might be intrigued, offended or frustrated," Jara said. "But if they walk away still thinking about it, then we've done our job."

Steve Neuman (senior-bioengineering) said he told his friend Desiree Wagner (senior-bioengineering) to come and see the forum.

"It's very informative," Neuman said. "I told her we should come. I thought it would be interesting. I'm all for women's rights. I wouldn't want my girlfriend to be a victim of violence. I'm interested in the stats and what's going on."