Betty Dodson, Sexual Revolutionary

A true era is coming to an end. If you have ever experienced an orgasm or know the location of the clitoris, you may wish to raise a glass or light a candle in honor of the Mother of Masturbation. The one and only Betty Dodson passed away—on Hallowe'en, under a blue moon, no less.

I really came to work at GV because of Betty's long-standing relationship with Good Vibrations—way back in the 1980s, we funded at least one of her Body sex courses! One could argue that Dr. BAD, as she likes to be called, had a significant impact on my life. (She also advised Robert and me to establish the Center for Sex & Culture.) When I was a teenager, around 1972, I first heard about her and her efforts to encourage others to embrace masturbation. I grabbed the vibrator that was collecting dust in the hall closet and never looked back. (In reality, I never returned it either. I was prepared to curate the Antique Vibrator Museum many years later with this and some book knowledge.)

Betty had nothing against partner sex, as she called it, and she participated in a lot of it, but she understood that women's sexual pleasure was connected to information about the clit and body image, including how they felt about their vulvas. I was not alone in feeling her influence as she pushed for a feminist sexual revolution that made masturbation the cornerstone of our sex lives. She was a really gifted fine artist who created stunning graphic works of art (including a significant solo exhibition in the 1960s). However, as her interest in feminism and the power of masturbation grew, she focused her artistic abilities on capturing the wide variety of vulva styles. In addition to being cool to draw, many women were distressed by vulvas since they didn't think theirs looked "normal." The goal was to show off how diverse vulvas are in order to provide sexual and bodily comfort to women whose capacity for pleasure was hampered by guilt.

She brought vibrator advocacy, this message, and its accompanying slide presentation to the 1973 National Organization for Women's convention on sexuality, where she amazed everyone and received a ton of orders for her new book Liberating Masturbation. During these years, she also spent a lot of time in San Francisco, and older residents who are sex-positive frequently have stories about Betty to tell about how she and the City by the Bay inspired one another.

It's one thing to write a breakthrough, straightforward book about sexuality, and more than a million people have read it and its updated edition, Sex for One. Betty's greatest innovation, however, might have been her recognition of the influence of the women's consciousness-raising group of the 1970s and her creation of Body sex workshops, which brought a group of nude women together to discuss their bodies and orgasms before masturbating. (She even performed a few of them with males—many men and people of different gender identities value Betty's efforts to eradicate the stigma associated with genitalia, sex, and masturbation.) Many of the writers, educators, and sex-positive activists who have contributed to the success of Good Vibrations (via our distribution of their books, hosting of their classes, and other forms of community building) claim that the Body sex workshops or simply knowing Betty motivated them to concentrate on their work on sexuality. Betty has had a significant impact on the sex-positive community.

However, Betty also provided one-on-one tutoring, so she had a significant impact on the lives of women who would never have come through her door to participate in a workshop full of nude, masturbating women. In order to expand her reach and provide her with a virtual platform to educate and impact her community, Betty partnered with lawyer Carlin Ross to create dodsonandross.com approximately fifteen years ago. Carlin will take on Betty's responsibilities now that she is gone, including managing the Betty Dodson Foundation's efforts to preserve and make Betty's work available for future generations.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Betty Dodson is still alive. Her legacy and spirit endure not only through the foundation and website but also in the hearts and legacies of the innumerable Body sex trainees, coaches, sex educators, writers, teachers, sexuality advocates, and others Betty impacted. Betty's influence will endure as long as individuals can locate the clitoris, know what to do if they come upon it, or masturbate without feeling guilty because they are found throughout the United States and other countries.

Beginning on December 18, 2020, the Museum of Sex in New York will host a lifetime retrospective of Betty Dodson's exquisite artwork.

Do you have a tale about how you met Dodson or how she impacted your life? Send me a message, and I'll put your name on the list I'm creating for a potential collection of Dr. BAD tales. (I'm not sure if I'll be the one to complete that project, but someone has to, and for the time being, I'm keeping a note of who is interested. Please get in touch with me at [email protected] if you would like to be updated.