Midori discusses her cutting edge new Kink Awareness Certification program with the Sexual Health Alliance; easing into BDSM; and how to meet kink-curious people IRL. She also answers The Sex Ed community’s pressing questions about safe words, aftercare, the difference between pain and pleasure, and more!

Have you ever been curious about kink? Fancy a little extra spice in your sex life? Fantasized about being tied up—or tying your partner up—but don’t know where and how to start? Here, we break down BDSM basics with author, artist, podcast guest, and (s)expert Midori.

Writer, filmmaker and founder of The Sex Ed, Liz Goldwyn, hosts an evening of conversation with Dr. Kate Lister, owner of Whores of Yore–a living archive of sexual history, and sexual anthropologist Betony Vernon, as they gather with guests to discuss erotic dress and accessories.

Well, I’m 56 [years old]. I was born in Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley. Yeah, I’m 56 and I got into the adult industry 19 years ago. I created the genre of Trans-Male porn. It didn’t exist before I created it in the industry. I grew up a total little “Tomboy”. My parents raised me as a boy. Back in the 60’s, tomboys weren’t a problem.

As a certified, professional sex coach, I am frequently asked what is “normal sex.” Here is the truth—our sexuality is as unique as our own fingerprints.

“It burns,” she whispered into my ear. “I used a brand-new sex toy and I don’t understand why my entire vulva is on fire.”

A practitioner of BDSM, Mistress Velvet often made their straight, white male clients read and write essays about Black feminist theory. In 2019, Liz spoke with Mistress Velvet about the “whorearchy,” their post-work self care routine, why sex workers are being excluded from traditional sex ed, and how their academic studies have overlapped with their professional life.

This week, our guest is Midori, legendary sex educator, author and artist. Midori wrote the classic rope bible, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage— the first English-language book on shibari. Liz and Midori cover bondage’s roots in warfare, incarceration and slavery as well as why, when tying up a lover for the first time, it’s important to maintain eye contact.

Betony Vernon is a sexual anthropologist, mistress of the ropes, the author of The Boudoir Bible: The Uninhibited Sex Guide for Today, and the designer behind Jewel Tools—a line of haute couture erotic jewelry. In this episode, Liz and Betony discuss the time Betony professionally tied Liz up (!) as well as digital dating and how bondage can be a healing tool for trauma. Learn more at BetonyVernon.com. You can also see a video of a talk we had in London with MatchesFashion on TheSexEd.com.

Dita Von Teese is known as The Queen of Burlesque. She re-popularized the art form in the 90s and remains its most well-known performer. She is also an author, model and designer. In this episode, real life bosom buddies Liz and Dita chat about the first time she discovered kink, how working strip clubs can prepare you for the real world and the unbridled joy of taking a pie to the face. Follow Dita @DitaVonTeese. To see more Dita, visit TheSexEd.com for a talk we had at The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

Nina Hartley is a world-famous adult film actress, director, author, and educator. She first achieved mainstream recognition in the 80s and 90s for promoting sex-positive feminism. In this interview, we discuss Nina’s early training as a Registered Nurse, feminism in the 1970s, and sex as an artistic medium. You can find Nina at her website, nina.live and follow her on Twitter where she’s @ninaland. Watch a video here of a talk we had at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

What do you imagine when you hear the word celibacy? A monk taking a vow of chastity? Someone denying themselves pleasure? Do you imagine someone saving themselves for marriage or God? Do you think that if you go too long without penetrative sex, you’ll grow cobwebs? Do you consider celibacy the absence of all orgasms - including masturbation? Have you ever gone through a period of self-imposed celibacy? For our season three finale, Liz dives deep into the topic of Celibacy with the help of some friends and guests from this season.

Plays Well in Groups provides a historical and cultural history of group sex throughout the ages. From depictions in Paleolithic cave art to the Playboy mansion, Katherine Frank delves into the fields of sociology, biology, anthropology, and psychology to provide explanations for both, participation in group sex and the complex reactions to it—from fascination to fear. This book draws on survey research, ethnographic observation around the world, and interviews with participants to offer a cross-cultural look at the manifestations and meanings of group sex; who has it, and why.

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Mistress of sexual storytelling Carol Queen offers a fresh look at sexual lifestyles and choices that are misinterpreted and repudiated by the mainstream. Her perceptive and knowledgeable treatment inserts a new viewpoint into the carefully developed relationships of power play, destroying stereotypes and modeling open communication.

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The notorious Marquis de Sade wrote this story of the beautiful and devout Justine, whose steadfast faith and naive trust destine her from the outset for sexual exploitation and martyrdom. The unending catalog of disasters that befall her, during which she is subject to any number of perverse practices, illustrate Sade's belief in the primacy of Nature over civilization.

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A Curious History of Sex covers topics ranging from twentieth-century testicle thefts to Victorian doctors massaging the pelvises of their female patients, from smutty bread innuendos dating back to AD 79, to the new and controversial sex doll brothels. Podcast guest Kate Lister deftly debunks myths and stereotypes and gives unusual sexual practices a historical framework, as she provides valuable context for issues facing people today.

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As soon as she graduated from high school, Pamela Des Barres headed for the Sunset Strip, where she knocked on rock stars' backstage doors and immersed herself in the drugs, danger, and ecstasy of the freewheeling 1960s. Warm, witty, and sexy, this kiss-and-tell–all stands out as the perfect chronicle of one of rock 'n' roll's most thrilling eras.

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After earning a good living by stripping and working as a dominatrix at a sex dungeon, Asa Akira built up a reputation for being one of the most popular, hardworking, and extreme actors in the porn business, winning dozens of awards for her 330+ movies. In a wry, conversational tone, she talks about her experiences shoplifting and doing drugs while in school, her relationship with other porn stars (she is married to one) and with the industry at large, and her beliefs about women and sexuality.

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The sequel to Insatiable is a new book about turning thirty in the adult film trade. Internationally known as a porn star, Asa Akira's perceptive, funny, and straightforward writings on love, sex, death, marriage and celebrity come together in a surprising book of essays. Personally revealing as well as universal, Dirty Thirty marks the coming of age of a new literary star.

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Revealing the performance art's glamorous gemini sensibility, Von Teese builds equally compelling cases for both the naughty and nice sides of burlesque. You'll grow to enjoy both the sweet taste of the tradition's sugar and the sting of its vixen-sprinkled spice.

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A sexuality explorative of the "sinister side" is cataloged in Bataille's seminal work of literature. The lines between mortality and sensuality are both disturbingly and stimulatingly blurred. 

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Ecstatic pleasure, consensual pain, and awe-inducing precision: traditional Japanese rope bondage is not for the faint of heart or short on time. That said, those up for the challenge will find Midori's tour of this storied tradition as mesmerizing as it is thoroughly informative.

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"To have and to hold till death do us part"...We ask a seemingly tall order of creatures that might not be instinctively wired to mate for life. Perel's techniques identify active work couples can do in order to sustain love's (and healthy lust's) enduring flames.

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Valerie Steele irons out the complex connections between the cultures of fetish and the cliques of couture in this masterful articulation of how we dress desire. From lingerie to lederhosen, no seam is left unsurveyed. 

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Those who note the divine within sex—deeming bedrooms (and perhaps bathrooms and kitchens too) their places of worship—will view this "how to" guide as sacred scripture. Now let us play ;)

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Temperatures rise and complexions grow flushed within these bawdy, Victorian tales of the erotic. Potentially hyperbolic flourishes hint at tinges of satire, but only for the purpose of spicing pleasure with giggles.

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Wanna play in the big leagues? Ya gotta learn from a "Pro". Nina Hartley has "been there and done that" (both figuratively and literally) and in the process has compiled this encyclopedia of so-good-ya-gotta-try-it sex. Let no stone be left unturned (on). 

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Living just enough for the city? Barbara Carrellas coaches you through unlocking your tantric capacities, even when the urban hustle and bustle are getting you down. Part "how to" and part "why to", hers is a philosphy built upon embracing the rhythms of modern life within time-honored spritual and erotic practice.

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At science and spirituality's intersection, sits Judith's guide to harnessing the benefits of chakra assessment. Explore your holistic self via the books chapter-per-chakra structure.

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These letters between lovers chronicle the arc of a deviant brand of desire, as it manifests within coitus-correspondence. Von Sacher-Masoch's penchant for a femme-dom in fur-trimmed frocks, adds delightful sartorial flair.

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From 1946 to 1959, the periodical, Bizarre offered up a glimpse into S&M's wickedly glamorous, burgeoning subculture. Via photos, illustrations, and prose you are taken on tour of a bygone era's most pleasurable pains.

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