“Sex-pert” Susie Bright says risqué celebrities such as Britney Spears aren’t the only ones who can be erotic.

“The celebrity machine is built around portraying sexuality,” she said. “Britney Spears epitomizes the American obsession of being erotic, but yet having nothing happen.

“Lets face it — we can each be erotic in our own way right now.”

A sex expert, author and editor from California, Bright, 42, told about 80 students in Harris Hall 107 on Monday night that they need to be more open about their sexuality.

The event, sponsored by Women’s Coalition, kicked off the group’s Women’s Week celebration. The group invited Bright to NU to talk about a more positive women’s issue than is usually discussed, said Blaine Bookey, Women’s Co programming director.

“Bright tells women to take control of their sexuality, and through that, they can take control of other aspects of their life,” said Bookey, a Weinberg sophomore.

Bright, author of “The Sexual State of the Union” and a monthly advice column for Playboy Online, started her lecture by calling for greater societal openness with regards to sex.

“There’s not a lot of places on a college campus where you can talk about sexuality,” she said. “In fact, there’s not a lot of frank talk or honesty about sex anywhere.”

She asked audience members to fill out survey cards with questions about any subjects they wanted her to address. In her responses, Bright touched on everything from her experience working in a vibrator shop to her views on President Clinton’s sex scandal.

One student asked if it was possible to be in love without having sex.

“It’s absolutely possible for that to occur, and it’s also possible to have great sex without being in love,” Bright said. “The important thing is to get in touch with your voice. And sometimes it is hard to do that with so much pressure from the outside.”

Bright related her own sexual experiences to connect with her audience’s concerns. Openly bisexual, she admitted she was “desperate to lose her own virginity” and was “on cloud nine” after her first threesome. But after that experience, she came to a realization.

“I knew next time I had to be more me, and less scared of making the wrong impression,” she said. “Nothing excites your partner more than you being yourself during sex.”

Another question, about the secret behind having an orgasm, drew a smile from Bright, who told the student that sometimes “it just doesn’t happen.”

“You need to have arousing thoughts in your mind and be comfortable in finding the sexual things that please you,” Bright said.

She also said women should stop blaming their sexual escapades on alcohol and not shy away from their desires, saying sexual experiences with someone you’re attracted to should be looked upon with pride. Women shouldn’t use liquor to justify perfectly normal actions, she said.

“The idea is if the bottle did it, then it’s not your fault, and you let yourself off the hook,” she said.

Speech freshman Lindsay Scherr, who relates her own views about sex on “Straight Up,” a show broadcast over the Internet, said she loved hearing Bright’s advice about being open when discussing sex.

“She is really interesting, and her views show that it isn’t wrong to be sexual,” Scherr said. “It’s time that we celebrate something that has been looked on for so long as negative.”

Although the talk was geared toward women, about 10 to 15 men showed up for the talk. Ben Scully, a Weinberg sophomore, said he found Bright’s views on sex interesting.

“I was here with my girlfriend and found (Bright) to be really informative,” he said. “She gave a wonderful message about being open to men or women.”

As she closed her talk, Bright pleaded with women to stay in touch with their emotions and not back down from society’s expectations.

“For a woman to admit to having a sexual appetite is quite remarkable,” she said. “But admitting we are sexual is simply admitting we are human.”