Consent
Essays
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.
For the second part of our series on Cybersecurity, we are going to hear more from ethical hacker and cyber defense expert Thèo Anastos, as well as victim’s rights attorney and founder of cutting edge law firm C.A. Goldberg & Associates, Carrie Goldberg.
It’s long been a priority of The Sex Ed to provide our community with Cybersecurity tips—practical information on how to keep yourselves safe online. Here are some tips to protect your digital privacy from passwords to protecting your location settings.
Podcast
What does sex, love, intimacy and consciousness look like in the digital age? For the Season 2 finale, Liz talks to three experts about where sex and artificial intelligence intersect, and where we’re going: Gray Scott, a techno-philosopher; Stephanie Dinkins, a visual artist interacting with AI as part of a revolutionary ongoing project; and Bruce Duncan, the managing director of the innovative and mysterious Terasem Movement Foundation.
This week’s guests are Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg, who are life-long friends as well as co-creators and writers of the hilarious, Emmy nominated animated Netflix series, Big Mouth, Season 3 of which premieres October 4th. Liz, Nick and Andrew discussed writing comedy about the awkward stages of puberty; Hormone Monsters; enthusiastic consent; andhow to be a woke man in the 21st century.
This week’s podcast guest is Carrie Goldberg— victim’s rights attorney and founder of C.A. Goldberg; a cutting edge law firm that helps victims fight pervs, assholes, psychos and trolls. Carrie details how her own experience with a vengeful ex changed the course of her career; why the internet is outpacing law enforcement; what to do if you are being harassed online and her new book, Nobody’s Victim, which is out now!
This special episode pays homage to rock’n’roll of the 60s and 70s with legends Bebe Buell and Pamela Des Barres. Pamela and Bebe are icons who have written groundbreaking, NY Times bestselling memoirs about their wild times loving, and leaving, some of the biggest rock stars of our time. This week, Liz talks to Pamela and Bebe about the free-love innocence of days gone by for this special episodeon sex, drugs and rock’n’roll!
Mykki Blanco is an internationally renowned performance artist, LGBTQ activist, and musician who’s worked with the likes of Bjork, Kanye West, Madonna, Kathleen Hanna, Major Lazer and more. Liz sat down with Mykki in Milan in February shortly before the COVID-19 outbreak to chat about how transitioning has changed their sex life; sending letters to their heroes; being HIV positive and touring in the Middle East.
Peggy Orenstein is the author of the groundbreaking NY Times bestseller Girls & Sex, and its followup, Boys & Sex. Her byline has appeared in the NY Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post and more. Liz talked to Peggy about “feminist fuckboys”; teaching boys to embrace their vulnerability and process complex emotions; why hookup culture isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, regardless of gender; and what we can do to raise boys away from the shadow of toxic masculinity.
Books
With Sex, Health, and Consciousness, Liz Goldwyn, founder of the thriving online platform and podcast The Sex Ed, has created an inclusive, holistic, and much-needed guide to sexual well-being—and the pleasure that's possible when we embrace our sexuality as a natural part of a healthy human experience.
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This book redresses the balance, revealing the history of the sex trade through the eyes of sex workers. These tales are brought to life by Whores of Yore creator Kate Lister’s witty and authoritative text, and illuminated by a rich archive of photographs, artworks, and objects offering insight into sex workers’ lives, challenging assumptions about this age-old trade.
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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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A journey into the Big Questions that will turn you into a thinking person about sex and consent, with the ability to wrestle towards the answers that work for YOU and continue to wrestle towards them for the rest of your life. What is the meaning and purpose of sex? How does it intersect with who I am? Why are people so afraid of it? What does a healthy and joyful approach to sex look like for me? Why is consent so much more than a yes or no question?
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This is an all-encompassing, no-holds-barred exploration of CBD and sexual wellness. This sex positive book is full of helpful information on sexual health, empowering advice, and tips and tricks on using CBD in the bedroom.
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In defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another—and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own.
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The Mindful Masculinity Workbook: A Practical Guide To Healthier Masculinity provides an intensive and immersive step-by-step self-guided, solution-oriented tool bag for all men.
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C is for Consent follows expert recommendations about letting kids make their own decisions regarding physical affection. The book teaches babies, toddlers, parents, and grandparents that it is okay for kids to say no to hugs and kisses, and that what happens to a person's body is up to them. This helps children grow up confident in their bodies, comfortable with expressing physical boundaries, and respectful of the boundaries of others.
Ages: 3-5
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50 Real Heroes for Boys teaches young boys everywhere that being a man only requires being yourself―but your best self. Bright, colorful portraits by over a dozen international artists accompany true stories of men who knew that character―things like integrity, kindness, empathy, courage, respect for women, and more―mixed with their own unique gifts―art, athletics, creativity, dance, music, curiosity, and more―could make the world a better place.
Ages: 7-10
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An important book for readers of all ages, this beautifully illustrated and engagingly written volume brings to life true stories of black men in history. Among these biographies, readers will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include writer James Baldwin, artist Aaron Douglas, filmmaker Oscar Devereaux Micheaux, lawman Bass Reeves, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, and musician Prince. The legends in Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History span centuries and continents, but each one has blazed a trail for generations to come.
Ages: 8-12
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A comic book for kids that includes children and families of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities, Sex Is a Funny Word is an essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers. Much more than the "facts of life" or “the birds and the bees," Sex Is a Funny Word opens up conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about boundaries, safety, and joy.
Ages: 8-10
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In this poignant memoir of personal transformation, season 2 podcast guest Jill Soloway takes us on a patriarchy-toppling emotional and professional journey. Jill pushed through the male-dominated landscape of Hollywood to create the groundbreaking and award-winning Amazon TV series Transparent.
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In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger—before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love.
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A comprehensive and judgment-free pregnancy companion: Nurture is the only all-in-one pregnancy and birthing book for modern mothers-to-be and their partners who want a more integrative approach. Season 1 podcast guest Erica Chidi Cohen has assisted countless births and helped hundreds of families ease into their new roles through her work as a doula.
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Victim’s rights attorney Carrie Goldberg shares the diabolical ways her clients are attacked and how she, through her unique combination of advocacy, badass relentlessness, risk-taking, and client-empowerment, pursues justice for them all. With breathtaking honesty, Carrie also shares her own shattering story about why she began her work and the uphill battle of building a business.
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In Girls & Sex, Peggy Orenstein examines the ways in which porn and all its sexual myths have seeped into young people's lives; what it means to be the "the perfect slut" and why many girls scorn virginity; the complicated terrain of hookup culture; and the unfortunate realities surrounding assault.
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In Boys & Sex, Peggy Orenstein dives back into the lives of young people to once again give voice to the unspoken, revealing how young men understand and negotiate the new rules of physical and emotional intimacy. By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world.
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For decades the comprehensive exploration of female bodies, minds, and sexualities has remained a definitive source of thoughtfully culled information for women ranging in age from early adolescence to late adulthood. Updates in 2005 and 2011 shed vital contemporary light on the book's many considerations.
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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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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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A "girl's best friend" delivered as a roadmap for the twisty, turny, tumultuously unpredictable rollercoaster ride that is puberty. The mind, body, and soul's hands are held as the reader is primed on everything from periods and pregnancy, to surviving crushes and sex-for-1.
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Witnessing modern life's detonation of the nuclear family (and along with it the promise of monogamy as an indefinitely satisfactory finish line), Witt sets forth entertaining the alternatives (sexual, romantic, digital, and otherwise) offered to her in a rapidly evolving techno-mantic ecosystem.