Question 1:
What inspired you to become vocal about female sexuality -- a specific event, a general frustration, a philosophical imperative, a sexual desire . . . ?
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Question 1: What inspired you to become vocal about female sexuality -- a specific event, a general frustration, a philosophical imperative, a sexual desire . . . ? |
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 What inspired me to become vocal about female sexuality was a series of events. During my sexually diminished marriage that ended in '65, every time I sneaked an orgasm by masturbating I was filled with guilt, and blamed myself for being a sexual failure. I also believed my genitals were ugly and deformed. With my first post-marital love affair, my sex life became quite fulfilling. Having gotten beyond monogamy and jealousy, my lover and I were enjoying an active sex life that included threesomes and group sex which turned out to be an important part of my sexual healing. As an artist, I was a trained observer and watching how other people had sex was an invaluable source of information. My first one-woman show of erotic art was held in '68, and was very well received. During the two-week run, I heard many stories of sexual frustration primarily based upon lack of information. Since becoming sexually expressive had increased my self-esteem and greatly enhanced the quality of my life, I felt the same would be true for other women, so I began to share my story. Two years later, my second exhibition was devoted to masturbation. It was a financial failure, and there was a media blackout. That's when I felt I'd discovered the bottom line of sexual repression: the repression of masturbation. By then, I'd gotten involved in CR groups, the grass roots of feminism. Again I discovered the absence of orgasm in women's lives. It seemed obvious to me that any woman could learn with masturbation. That led me to creating my Bodysex Groups, and in '73, I left a fine art career to teach sex full time to women. The energy and passion of the early women's movement was one of the most romantic love affairs of my life. But like all romantic affairs, it eventually crashed and burned. I discovered my idea of women being responsible for their own orgasms was not acceptable to mainstream feminists. This rejection only fueled my commitment. I continued to run workshops, published and distributed a book about masturbation, and created a slide show of women's genitals for NOW's first sex conference. Throughout the decade of the '80s, I continued to teach women about orgasm, the beauty of their sex organs, and the importance of loving themselves physically and sexually. The work was its own reward. Meanwhile feminism had come to a halt with the porn wars, and the terrible specter of "politically correct sex" was at hand. After twenty-five years of running groups, I signed off, and began a private practice of Sex Coaching with individual women, men and couples, which I continue to do today. 
- Sallie's response to Betty |
Question 1 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 2 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 3 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 4 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 5 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 6 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale |
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