Shan Boodram knows about sex. The 34-year-old is a sexologist or as she calls it — a “sexual badass” — and is the host of Quibi’s Sexology with Shan Boodram.
After finishing high school, the sexologist studied print journalism and after being told to “write what you know and what you’re passionate about”, she chose sex.
At the age of 34, she’s accomplished more things than most people would even dream of. After graduating from college, Boodram wrote a book called Laid: Young People’s Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture cementing her as a voice for millennials in the sexual space.
“That really positioned me as the voice for millennials who were learning to navigate their sexual identity and the sexual landscape as it was rapidly changing as a result of the Internet,” Boodram said in an interview with TheLatch—.
Currently, she is back in school (and almost about to have her first child), pursuing a degree in human development, however, her greatest teacher has come from other people’s experiences online.
“My greatest education has come from putting myself out there online and thus, getting to hear a lot of other people’s personal experiences and truths,” she said.
“It’s been amazing to be a part of incredible boards with leading minds like the National Coalition for Sexual Health [USA].”
Her current series, Sexology is the adult guide to intimacy, sexual identity and owning your sexuality — with sex only being one part.
“As sex is obviously a very big part of what I discuss, I also discuss the importance of and talk about proven methods of creating happy and healthy intimate bonds overall.”
Here, Boodram talks to TheLatch—. about the most taboo topic she’s covered, why it’s important for people to own their sexuality and talks about expanding our vocabulary to describe the various dating scenarios that people often experience.
SH: Being a sex educator means devoting yourself to being a lifelong student. For my Sexology show on Quibi, we wanted to make a show where people could come to in order to get a grasp on the fluid and often confusing world of sex and relationships!
AA: I love the premise of the series, particularly because high school was so long ago for me and I feel like I know nothing! Why is it so important to speak about taboo sex topics or just sex in general?
SB: I think the fact that sex is thought of as a taboo topic that we should only learn about in sex in high school is the primary reason why I threw myself into the career that I did.
It’s pretty crazy to think that here is part of your life that is going to be with you until you die and that is a big part of who you are that can play a huge role in your quality of life and yet people spend very little time learning about it talking about it. So, I thought that was a massive educational flaw that I could help to fix.
I wanted to make sex and intimacy education appealing to the average person so that they could see how taking control of this area could improve every area of their life as it had improved every area of mine.
AA: Why is it so important for people to own their sexuality?
SB: A lot of different psychological reports will attest that a large percentage of what makes up a happy life has to do with the quality of our intimate connections. That’s why in my work and also on my show Sexology as much as sex is obviously a very big part of what I discuss, I also discuss the importance plus proven methods of creating happy and healthy intimate bonds overall.
AA: What is the most outrageous topic you’ve covered?
SB: One of my favourite parts of the program I did while studying to be a Sexologist is that we had to complete SAR, which essentially is a program designed to adjust your attitudes around sexuality so that you don’t find topics outrageous and instead you develop an appreciation for the myriad of ways that people can find create and enjoy healthy consensual connections. Some of the topics on Sexology on Quibi that have surprised me are the ones that I didn’t realize could turn into a full episode or in some cases two! We actually did two entire shows answering questions and hearing experiences just about semen!
I also really love the show that we did on double penetration because I think it seems like a very outrageous topic, but once you have real conversations with real people and you get really practical about it you just start looking at it like another way to experience and enjoy your body if you choose to go that route. Any shows we do about non-conventional relationships or sexual identities are also very dear to my heart because these are stories we rarely get to hear.
WATCH: The official trailer for Sexology with Shan. Story continues…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSDA7UeUBZ8
AA: What is one topic that you have learned about that you never knew existed/didn’t know there was a need to talk about?
SB: It feels like every day there is a new dating term created. I learned the term “wokefishing” last week. This week we have shows on “phubbing”, we did a show on “cushioning” and we did a show on “benching entanglements”.
I think it’s great that we are expanding our vocabulary to describe the various dating scenarios that people often experience, but even more, often feel like they’re the only ones who’ve been through it. Nope! If it happened to you, it’s probably happened to others and moreover, there’s likely a term for it.
AA: How important is it to have an empowered female voice particularly during this time of revolution?
SB: I think it’s really important to have empowered voices across the board in 2020. This has been a year of so much uncertainty, so much change, so many lies coming to the forefront, so much pain coming to the forefront and people are realizing that they have to start looking out for themselves and also looking out for each other in ways they may not have realized before. I think that is the definition of what empowered is so we should all aim to be empowered and we should all aim to be empowered as intimate connectors because I think right now healthy intimacy is what the world really, really needs.
AA: Can you please tell me about being an AIDS Healthcare Foundation ambassador and why the cause is so important to you?
Any organization that’s working towards the sexual health of others and the destigmatization of those working towards being sexually healthy, is one that I applaud and am proud to work alongside if it aligns.
AA: You’ve had such a successful career thus far, what’s next for Shan (while working on Sexology, of course!)
SB: My favourite part about getting asked this question is that I get to answer by saying, what’s next for me is hopefully the same stuff I’m currently doing! There is nothing new that I want to add to the agenda. I just want to continue to create content that gets the average person invested in their intimate lives. I wanna keep writing books consulting, furthering my own education and hopefully by continuing this work I will get more new people invested in this journey along the way too!
You can watch Sexology With Shan for free on the mobile entertainment app, Quibi“.
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