Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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Aloha Betty and Carlin.

I've been interested in sexual health education since my college years when I was a peer counselor in sexuality. After working in a different field for a bit, I've moved out here to Hawaii and am trying to reinvent myself. I've taken up a health ed position with the american lung association to learn about health education and promotion on a larger scale, and I've taken a position as a sales associate for the local women friendly adult store here in town. I'm very much interested in furthering my education in sexuality and sex research in all aspects--this is a fairly new revelation for me as I've now found a more specific future route than just 'public health/community education'. I know i'd like to focus on adult sexual health education, with things like the after hours education classes put on at Good Vibes in SF as my sort of 'ideal' type of job in the future.

The thing is, i've moved far far away from the bay area and feel that the opportunities available there to learn are unavailable here in Oahu. I hope to 'revolutionize' the adult store once I become more than a worthless peon (in their eyes it seems) and offer adult ed classes--something i mentioned in my interview with them. But seeing that i have no means for a formal higher education with it, i was wondering what you might recommend to do for further education. I've been getting loads and loads of books dealing with sex, sex toys, etc. (i.e. guide to getting it on, clitoral truth, sexploration, the nerve's big bang, sex for two, etc etc) but i'd like to know what other opportunities there might be other than self-learning by reading.

I feel so satisfied leaving my job knowing that i've passed on important education to our customers--and am satisfied even if i get paid minimum wage (shoot peeps, I'm a smart woman with a college degree and I am worth so much more than minimum wage), so it must be something that i do indeed want to do. Well, sorry i'm sort of all over the place, but i've just been a bit frustrated with all of this lately and thought I'd write to see if you could provide some guidance. Thank you so much...you ladies are truthfully amazing. I pass on the word about your website often, it's hilarious and so educational, really matter of fact and approachable. I appreciate you for it. Thank you!

Dear SF,

You are not in the best place to pursue your ideal career. Otherwise you are doing all the right things to move forward. I'd recommend moving to SF for more opportunities like becomming a sexologist instead of a licensed therapist that is more restrictive.

Modern sexology is a multidisciplinary field that uses the techniques of many fields including biology, medicine, psychology, statistics, epidemiology, pedagogics, sociology, anthropology, and criminology. One of our best sex researchers, Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist studying gall wasps. Alex Comfort who wrote The Joy of Sex was a zoologist. My background was the study of fine art. Sexology is considered descriptive, not prescriptive: It attempts to document reality, not to prescribe what behavior is suitable, ethical, or moral.

My Ph.D. in clinical sexology came from The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco (IASHS), a private school offering advanced degrees. Mine was based on twenty years of field work running sexuality workshops for women, a book I'd written on female masturbation and a video documentary I'd produced of the workshops. All of this took place long before I had any credentials in the field of sex. I was simply a brazen feminist determined to change the way society viewed sexuality by liberating masturbation. It's been quite a ride and I'd do it again in heartbeat. Keep me posted on your progress. We need all the available sexologists we can get to heal our troubled world.

Dr. Betty