Audio Disclaimer from Anne Marie: I am still learning how to record and edit with two live microphones and unfortunately in the transfer and editing process, I deleted the original file with the better audio quality. The episode you’ll hear is a result of this mistake (only my microphone became the driving audio of the playback track). I apologize for the unevenness in the quality, but sincerely hope you stick around for the content! It was an incredible conversation and I’m glad I can still share it in some capacity.

Episode Summary: This week, Anne Marie Gunn welcomes her former high school history teacher, Jane Thompson, as a guest to talk about the American Sexual Revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s. The conversation begins with how World War II, Margaret Sanger/the (white) women’s suffrage movement and movement towards family limitations, and the 1950’s all led to an American Sexual Revolution. Jane and Anne Marie discuss the influence of culture on politics and vice versa (ie. through language about gender and sex changing over time). Their conversation highlights key figures in the Sexual Revolution including researcher Alfred Kinsey and author Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique). Other topics covered include: the Civil Rights Act of 1965, Roe v. Wade (1972) and its overturn (2022), Vietnam War protests, free love/drug culture of the hippie movement, Title IX and its impact on higher education, women’s sports & equal pay, and girls’ agency over their bodies, the Equal Rights Amendment not being signed, the LGBTQ+ movement, the AIDs crisis, the disability rights movement, the 80’s mirroring the 50’s, and the development of technology and the internet impacting American music and sex. Finally, Jane and Anne Marie discuss how the paradox of American individualism and idealism of unification impacts societal progress.

In this episode, host Anne Marie Gunn highlights the book “Pleasure Activism” by adrienne maree brown and shares her own lineage of who taught her how to feel good. 

“Hot & Heavy Homework” Prompt from “Pleasure Activism”:

“Write up your pleasure activism lineage! Who awakened your senses? Who politicized your experiences of body, identity, sensation, feeling good? If they are still living, have you thanked them properly? If yes, good, do it again. If not, reach out. If they are ancestors, honor them with a pleasure altar covered in sticky fruit, sweet smalls, sacred water, and thick earth, centered around fire. Gratitude is part of pleasure too.” 

Additional sources mentioned/shared:

PLEASURE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster 

SENSUAL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster 

The Tool Shed 

“Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver

“Holy Hurt” by Hillary McBride

“The Vagina Monologues” by V Ensler

“Your Body is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor

“Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde, specifically the essay “Uses of the Erotic”

Other authors: Taylor Jenkins Reid and Patti Smith, Haley Jakobson, Jenny Slate, Cheryl Strayed

Visual artists: Frida Kahlo, Hilma af Klint, Martha Jungwirth, Etel Adnan 

Musical artists: Bon Iver, Dijon, Rihanna, Janelle Monae, Chappell Roan

Queer Sex Therapy on Instagram (Casey Tanner)

With a focus on how sex is for all bodies, Sex is Yours host, Anne Marie Gunn, explores media representation of sex plots for people with disabilities, a sex education resource guide for people with disabilities, the documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, and shares an expounded statement by author and educator, Denise Sherer Jacobson. You can also read Denise’s statement provided for this episode on the Sex is Yours Website. 

https://deniseshererjacobson.com/ 

Denise’s Instagram account: @ deniseshererjacobson

Bio from her website: Author and educator Denise Sherer Jacobson, M.A., is passionate about  “Weaving the Disability Experience into the Tapestry of Living.” She has worked as an activist, counselor, administrator, and oral historian in the Independent Living Movement for over 50 years, all the while keeping her sense of humor.

Additional Sources:

Glee: Season 1 Episode 4, Season 3 Episode 5, & Season 3 Episode 10

Love on the Spectrum

Sex Education: Season 3 Episode 4

Blogpost: Further Exploring Disability and Sexuality in Netflix’s Crip Camp

Exile and Pride by Eli Clare

Our Sexuality, Our Health: A Disabled Advocate's Guide to Relationships, Romance, Sexuality and Sexual Health made by Melissa Crisp-Cooper

2020 Netflix documentary CRIP CAMP: A Disability Revolution, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s company, Higher Ground.

It's a fact that men masturbate more than women. But where did this masturbation gap come from? How is it being perpetuated? What impact does it have on peoples' sex lives? This episode explores these questions and more.

Sources:

https://refreshtherapynyc.com/guilt-vs-shame-why-understanding-the-difference-matters-for-your-mental-health/ 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/insight-therapy/201009/the-masturbation-gap 

https://www.lelo.com/blog/the-masturbation-gap-what-women-can-learn-from-mens-masturbation-habits/ 

https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/masturbating-stats-are-there-gender-differences-and-why/ 

https://sexualbeing.org/blog/masturbating-while-trans-how-to-get-off-and-stay-gender-euphoric/ 

https://www.autostraddle.com/33-queer-women-and-non-binary-people-on-their-first-masturbation-experiences-436240/ 

https://blog.womanizer.com/equal-masturbation-day/ 

Content warnings: rape, sexual assault

This episode gives the background of host Anne Marie Gunn and her personal reasons, as well as broader reasons, for starting this podcast. Some topics that are covered include: Christian messaging about sex, finding personal sexual ethic, coming out as bisexual, queer and trans rights, masturbation, the ways patriarchy is preventing people from having good sex, and how talking about sex can result in people having better sex. Anne Marie touches on her decision to stop her original launch of the series in 2022 and why she has ultimately brought it back today.