I love talking about the intersections of folklore and sex, gender, and sexuality. Thus I was thrilled when Cooper Beckett, host of the non-monogamy podcast Life on the Swingset and author of My Life on the Swingset, invited me to be a guest on an episode of the podcast. This has been an interest of […]
Folklore
Take-homes from the AASECT Winter Institute on Trauma
As a budding sex educator, I was thrilled to discover AASECT (the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists). Better yet, they were having a Winter Institute on sexual trauma in a town near me in early 2015! I know, I know. It sounds weird to get excited about trauma. But recently, trauma has […]
Intersections of Folklore and Sex: My Mentor, Alan Dundes
Longtime readers of mine will know that I’ve written a lot on the connections between folklore and sex, sexuality, and gender, with topics including vaccines and public health, rites of passage, sexual slang, family meal practices, storytelling and sexual health, urban legends about sex, Little Red Riding Hood and sex, breasts in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales, and how […]
Of Witches, Butter, Breasts, & Sex
Okay, folks, let’s talk about witch butter. Which witch butter? I’m so glad you asked! (sorry, couldn’t resist) As a folklorist, I encounter a lot of intersections between folklore and sex. One of these intersections occurs in folk narratives, or stories, that circulate within a tradition but also display variation (unlike other types of media, […]