Articles
Read articles and blog posts written by Betty Dodson, Carlin Ross, Bodysex Facilitators, and guest writers
Orgasms Aren’t One Way
Once safely out of the driveway, I unbuttoned my pants, grabbed the vibe from the passenger seat where I’d tossed it as I’d gotten into the car, and clicked it on. It felt good over my jeans. Driving masturbation is a delicate balance between your inner eyes settling...
The Work of Arousal: Learning to Stay with Myself
“Arousal” I hear the word and instantly I have parts of me blaring inside. These parts bounce around my mind, confused, looking for clues in the crevices of my brain, ruffling through old memories of things that were logged as turn ons at some point. It’s almost like...
My Arousal
I love feeling sexually aroused. My vulva feels warm and tingly. My breath and heartbeat quicken. My senses are alert.The sun shines brighter.Every aroma smells robust,My skin welcomes every touch.Foods taste delicious. I feel alive. Arousal isn’t a necessarily a...
Bodysex Is A Healing Force
As I packed my bags for our upcoming workshop, there was a certain heaviness that I couldn’t shake. Usually, I feel excited to meet the women and get a change in scenery. However, our new normal is crisis and chaos - unknown actors and undefinable risk. How would it...
Anger Has a Purpose
I find my power when I’m angry I saw him enter the building, walking past signs that read: Do not enter. Private event for women only. “Get out! No!” I shouted as I propelled toward him, pushing him with the energy from my body. Now I imagine myself in that moment as...
We Are the Fucking Sky
I started to experience overwhelming waves of rage upon the repeal of Roe v Wade. What made things worse was that no one seemed phased in the slightest. Deny women healthcare -after 50 years of clear precedent - just another day in America. There were no...
Anger is a Messenger
Anger is a destroyer of demons that obstruct your growth and happiness. Anger is a feeling that erupts sometimes as if out of nowhere.The boiling, bubbling tension just waiting to be triggered.It’s loud, it’s intimidating, even a nuisance.You should be ashamed to...
Anger and Our Wild Selves
“Betty used to say, ‘Women need to get in touch with their anger and they need to do it all the time,’” Carlin said as the group of us discussed this month’s blog topic over zoom. “Pleasure connects us to our anger,” said one writer. “I actually have a really hard...
My Anger Experience
Photo: A wood burning I made to remind myself to let my Heart unfurl and feel it all A couple of years ago, one of my best friends had her I.U.D. removed. Notoriously, I.U.D. insertion is painful and traumatizing. The cramps from insertion mimic labor contractions....
Ready to Pop
Right now, anger swells inside me like a balloon about to pop. But it doesn’t. Instead, it simmers just beneath the surface of my skin, perfectly expanding into every space of my being, yet so neatly confined. This anger—buried beneath sadness, or perhaps the sadness...
Carlin’s Bodysex Research
Covid lockdown happened on the heels of our Goop episode. We'd received thousands of emails - our workshops were booked with wait lists - then everything went dark. Betty was dying and I was making healthcare decisions over the phone. With a broken heart, I put...
My Menopause Story
I’ve been taking hormone replacement therapy for nearly 30 years. It’s improved my quality of life and physical health. I wouldn’t want to live without it. At age 37, my periods stopped abruptly. I would awaken at night, hot and drenched in sweat. These episodes...
Womanhood in a Broken System
When I was 17 I decided I was ready to have penetrative sex with my then boyfriend. I went to planned parenthood with my mom and they put me on the pill. I gave it a good try for a few months and the mood swings were not working for me. I went back in, told them and...
Is It Hot in Here or Is It Just Me?
Revisiting Menopausal Hormone Therapy When I was a new Nurse Practitioner (NP), the Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) evidence-based medicine guidelines scared the sh * t out of many prescribers. I was one of them. HRT went from being the miracle drugs for treating...
The Life Process of Menopause
Menopause is a Life Process not a medical condition. And it’s not something that’s unfortunately wrong with 51% of the human population and toothed whales. I’m still learning how to menopause in a good way. The last four years have been the hardest health years of my...
Hemorrhaging
As wild as they are, the hot flashes I’ve started having the past couple months are easier than the hemorrhaging I was experiencing the last couple years. Depending on who you talk to, hemorrhaging is a sign of perimenopause and also caused by environmental factors....
This Is How I’m Going to Do Menopause
The only information I had about menopause came from vaginal dryness commercials, sit com punchlines, and Betty’s description of her “heat orgasms”. At the stroke of 50, I started to feel like I was losing my grip on reality. I felt angry all the time. I woke up...
We Were All There to Heal, to Feel Something Other Than Fear
We thought we’d be celebrating the first Madame President but instead we packed up and headed out for Bodysex with heavy hearts. As my flight took off, I thought about how I would open the workshop. I feared that the election may create tension between the...
Abortion
We wrote about our experiences with abortion. Browse the links below to read the full post.Abortion: A Self-Reflection "Pregnancy can be a natural process until it goes horribly wrong."by Grace OasisThe Abortion Issue is a Red Herring ". . . our rightful place as...
My Abortion Experience
Amber Thurman, Carman Broedster, Candi Miller, Taysha Wilkinson-Sobieski, Nevaeh Crain, and Josseli Barnica bled out or succumbed to infection in hospitals since Roe v Wade was overturned. Most were carrying intended pregnancies – most were mothers who left children...
Gut-Punched by the Dobbs Decision
I was a teenager in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided by the Supreme Court. The 70’s was a time when women gained so many basic rights – The right to own a home The right to have a credit card The right to work while pregnant Just to name a few. I was optimistic about...
The Fullness of Motherhood and the Need for Choice
I have three amazing beautiful little kids aged 13, 10, and 6. Often times when I’m out alone with the kids or with my husband most people passing by make comments like “phew I bet you’re busy”, or “i bet your hands are full”. These people aren’t wrong, not only are...
The Abortion Issue is a Red Herring
During my fertile years I had one abortion, one miscarriage, and one foster daughter. Because of the diligent work of The Janes and the wise women in the 1960s and 70s, when I had an abortion at 21 in 1999, I had a different experience than many in the past. My mom...
Abortion: A Self-Reflection
As a child born in the early 1960’s the message was simple: abortion is a sin and so is sex outside of marriage. So, I never thought much about abortions or marriage. Then at the age of 12, I remember my teacher asking if there are any circumstances when abortion is...