A Tribute to BAD & the Betty Dodson Method

Empowerment in New York City 2021

 

If you haven’t heard about the Betty Dodson method, or don’t know who she is, you are in for a treat!

I just experienced a weekend of empowerment, pleasure, sexual sovereignty, and remembrance in honor of the Baddest Lady around…Betty A. Dodson (yes – her initials are BAD and she loved it!).

For decades Betty Dodson, the mother of the internal clitoris, put masturbation with vibrators on the map for women. 

She helped women release the shackles put on them by society and free themselves from sexual shame.

Betty started running BodySex workshops in the 1970s out of her home until her last workshop in December 2019. I am blessed to have taken BodySex in November 2019. On October 21, 2020, the notorious B.A.D. passed away at 91 years old.

Her legacy includes hundreds of BodySex events that included women attendees from all over the world., creating a ripple of change. 

Her findings have helped thousands upon thousands of women find their sexual freedom and own their orgasm.

The power of pleasure and pussy is something you can feel just by looking at the Candy Store sign outside of Betty’s place. 

 

Memorial to Dodson in NYC 2021

The exhibit was a beautiful celebration and memorial to Dodson. 

The women who attended this beautiful celebration included:

• PhDs in sexology
• Bodywork practitioners
• Sexuality educators
• University professors 

As a group, some of us have been engaging in virtual erotic recess to get through the pandemic.

Early 2021, when the world appeared to be opening and there was hope of a vaccination, Carlin Ross (Betty’s successor) and the BodySex women began to visualize a weekend where we could all be together again. 

We wanted to honor, celebrate, grieve, and cherish Betty together. Being around a group of professional women honoring BAD is something that I will remember for a lifetime.

The privilege of being around a group of over 20 women who value pleasure and sexual empowerment to honor Betty Dodson is something that not all women are able to do. 

We all met at the Museum of Sex in New York City to celebrate Betty Dodson. I realize the honor I have to live and breathe the mission of pleasure – especially for those who identify as women. 

The exhibit was stunning, and Carlin was able to take us through each segment to explain different aspects of Betty’s life.

Betty Dodson was a phenomenal artist. I am grateful for her images, as I use them often in session and explaining the anatomy of sexuality to others. 

Some of the paintings in the exhibit are so detailed and beautiful, you can see the shadow of the muscle and even the fingers detailed perfectly. 

Dodson was known for her big personality and yet, her paintings are exquisite.

Particularly of interest were themes including:

• Betty’s love of herself and her dedication to her own self-pleasure
• The struggle of a sexless marriage in monogamy
• The conflict with her art being seen as “too much” 
• The complexity of the woman being a mother and a lover

Being around women who are empowered in their pleasure is a gift that keeps on giving. Women who can replenish themselves and then give in a healthy way to others is not only nourishing, it is healing. 

When celebrating someone who was such an influence on the field of sexuality, it is amazing to see how hours fade into minutes. 

Imagine… women of all ages, shapes, body sizes, heights and colors that join together to experience what Betty has taught. Betty’s legacy, of course, will live on forever. 

 

What I loved hearing about especially was the way in which Betty Dodson did her own thing. She didn’t need an organization to tell her she was on the right track. 

She knew what she was doing, and although she was nervous at times, she kept doing what she wanted to do. Her mission and legacy live on because of this. 

 

Erotic Recess Using the Betty Dodson Method

Some brave souls decided to meet for erotic recess in Manhattan Saturday afternoon following the tour at the Museum of Sex.

We live in a culture that glamorizes thinness, whiteness, and overworking. Many people have anxiety around orgasms and how their body looks.

BodySex creates a container of safety with an all-women group to shed decades of shame and hatred and replace it with knowledge around consent, joy, body empowerment, and pleasure. 

Within the sacred BodySex circle of erotic recess, women laugh, talk, cry, come, and more – all without wearing clothes. By spending time with other women, especially other women, Betty Dodson method fans, you see the beauty of the different nude female bodies. It was one of those moments of baring your soul before you undress and experience group self pleasuring. 

Betty Dodson would say things like “fucking is foreplay” because she believed that partnered sex could be fun and enjoyable, yet valued the art of masturbation to climax as a favored sexual act. 

What I love most about the concept of fucking as foreplay is that it shows the difference and importance of owning your orgasm. 

“Sexual energy is not only the life force that creates the next generation, but it is also the source of our creativity. Each orgasm can be a precious moment of joy, a prayer of thanks for being alive. As we awaken our bodies through the senses, we awaken our minds to the knowledge that we are all related and connected to every living thing on the planet and throughout the vast universe.” – Betty Dodson

Taking the skills you learn in self-pleasuring with the Betty Dodson method, I believe this prepares us for better more fulfilling long-term or short-term partnered sex experiences. If you own your orgasm and can have them alone, then you can have partnered sex for discovery and fun (instead of focusing on an orgasm). 

This isn’t to say you cannot orgasm with a partner or partners. 

“Run The Fuck”

Betty Dodson would actually say you have to “run the fuck.”

What this concept means in general is that in partnered sex. Something else other than the body response of orgasm can be the focus of the interaction. 

What do you want the focus to be? Well, that is different for ALL individuals. 

Talk to your partner(s) and ask them what they most want to feel before going into a partnered sex scene. 

The takeaway point is that pleasure – self or partnered – is important to living a fulfilled, satisfying life. 

Many people take pleasure for granted – it is our right to experience pleasure. 

 

BodySex Magic During Erotic Recess

We all put towels down, get lube out, vibrators, and anything else that would be needed for solo sex and pleasure. 

BodySex leaders, women from all over the world trained in Betty’s method, went around the circle taking the turn leading the rituals that happen before the “erotic recess” part of the BodySex weekend takes place. 

Grounding in the breath of fire, we use our oxygen to have access to our sense of groundedness within the body. 

Sitting in a circle, we can reveal who we are rather than conceal. It is a place where bodies, sensuality, and expression are safe. If you have followed the work of the late Gina Ogden, women require feeling safe as a prerequisite to attaining pleasure. 

Two hours of bliss and nudity with other women in the sexual field. Women who are revolutionizing and changing the world by helping other women unleash the goddess within. 

Listening in the circle, there is a difference in how women breathe, orgasm, and position their bodies for self pleasure! 

Betty Dodson’s method of self-pleasure within erotic recess helps women have an experience that undoes YEARS of sexual shame and the cultural fear that women’s bodies are “not enough.” 

Within erotic recess, women gather as one community – as a sisterhood. 

If you would like more information on how to get the Betty Dodson method, contact Carlin Ross here! 

 

Talking About Sexuality With Dr. Juliana

Revealed on Sunday was an interesting new view of sexual sovereignty. 

Not everyone is like Betty Dodson, so Dr. Juliana created a program where women can share their sexual stories – while clothed – in a community of women. 

Sexual sovereignty, also known as “agency,” is about owning who you are, making decisions, being confident in those decisions. Some of the women in the circle that day actually are trained to lead both BodySex circles and Revealed workshops. 

One woman even expressed that Betty Dodson showed her agency, while another woman reported that Dr. Juliana herself was the one who helped her attain her own sense of agency. 

What is agency? 

Being able to say no when you mean no, and saying yes when you mean yes are two examples of ways to have sovereignty in your life. 

Similarly, seeing yourself as a person who is capable of making empowered choices is paramount to having a sexual conversation. The point of revealing is to take your sexual journey and own it as a part of who you are. 

Instead of just being the busy mom, the employee, or the soccer coach, this is about seeing your empowered sexual self and reclaiming the moments of sexuality within your life. 

Moving away from shame and indulging by sharing your erotic stories is healing. It brings them out of the dark and into the light as something to own. If you want more information, contact Dr. Juliana or visit here.

Life Coaching and Therapy (LCAT) is a relationship coaching and sex therapy practice that transforms our clients lives through our flexible, multi-technique approach and pleasure-skills training provided by systemically-trained and licensed therapists! 

Our team of compassionate, licensed therapists and certified sex therapists help Millennials and Baby Boomers alike who visit us for a variety of relationship, intimacy and sex problems. 

LCAT provides on-site appointments, as well as video chat and text therapy programs. 

Learn more about how LCAT can help improve your life at What We Do.