Best Sexual Health and Sex Education Resources
21 Sexual Health and Education Resources That Will Blow Your Mind
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you never got comprehensive sex education.
Why? Because, well, almost no one does — at least not when they’re still young.
In order to really know a wealth of facts about sex, most people have to grow old enough to reach the age of majority — at which point they can access a wealth of resources about sex, anatomy, infections and pleasure that we deny to young people.
But, because there’s no standardized approach there either, it’s easy to be an adult who doesn’t know a ton about sex, or, worse, believes in untrue things and other myths about sex they learned young and never bothered to explore further.
So if you’re someone who realizes they don’t know as much about sex as they could, where do you start? Well, AskMen has a lot of articles about sex for you to peruse, but if you want to explore some personal sex education in other media, that’s valid too. We spoke to a handful of trusted sex experts about which resources they’d recommend (including, at times, their own work or resources they’re affiliated with). Here’s what they had to say:
Sex Education Websites/Online Courses
Beducated
“Beducated is a great resource,” says Kayla Lords, co-host of the Loving BDSM podcast. “You can consider it the SkillShare of sex. (Full disclosure: I’ve partnered with them in the past.)”
Beducated’s classes, Lords notes, “cover a broad range of sexual topics, including kink, and are easy to get through, with each lesson being fairly short and sweet.”
Luna Matatas
Luna Matatas is a source of “practical, punny and digestible sex ed,” says Jess O’Reilly, sexologist and relationship expert. “She is brilliant, funny and a top-notch sex educator.”
Sex Smart Films
Sex Smart Films features footage that’s “educational and real,” says Chelsie Reed, Ph.D., LPC, author of Sexpert: Desire, Passion, Sensations, Intimacy, and Orgasm to Indulge in Your Best Sex Life. It’s “not over-edited or out-of-order,” she notes, and that makes Sex Smart Films a “great place to get answers in a visual way.”
Scarleteen
“Scarleteen is a long-time favorite of mine for general sex education,” says Lords. “It’s one I’ve used myself, to check my understanding of a topic, and a site I’ve recommended for my teenage children to use when they want to learn more.”
Happier Couples
Happier Couples boasts online courses tackling subjects like “premature ejaculation, mindful sex, oral techniques, communication and more,” says O’Reilly.
Sex Education Books
Becoming Cliterate by Laurie Mintz
Becoming Cliterate, says SKYN Condoms’ sex and intimacy expert and author Gigi Engle, teaches readers “about desire, both male and female, and gives special attention to the clitoris — which is lacking massively in modern education.”
It’s a great read if you, like so many men who sleep with women, are still over-focused on penetrative sex and want to start exploring other ways of pleasuring your partner(s).
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
Engle says Come as You Are provides “practical information related sex and sexuality that we don’t often get from parents and (basically never) in school,” and, like Becoming Cliterate, is a fantastic resource for expanding your mind with regards to non-penetrative sex.
Tongue-Tied by Stella Harris
This is “a book I recommend to anyone and everything who struggles to communicate about sexual desires and kinks,” says Lords. “I’ve read it multiple times, and it’s a great resource for anyone who’s trying to both figure out their own desires and then share those desires with a partner.”
The Ultimate Guide to Seduction and Foreplay by Jessica O’Reilly & Marla Renee Stewart
“This is a sexual communication and erotic theory handbook that goes far beyond seduction into topics of personal values, boosting confidence and exploring new techniques,” says O’Reilly.
Playing Well With Others by Lee Harrington
Playing Well with Others, which O’Reilly recommends, is subtitled “Your Field Guide to Discovering, Exploring and Navigating the Kink, Leather and BDSM Communities,” which gives you a strong sense of what it brings to the table — it’s a great read if your tastes lean more kinky than vanilla.
Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown
Adrienne Maree Brown has gotten much acclaim in recent years for her work as a writer and activist. O’Reilly recommends her essay collection Pleasure Activism, which explores, among other things, the political nature of sex and pleasure.
Sex Education Podcasts
F*cks Given
Sex education is more than just fact-sheets and anatomy diagrams — there’s also the human, emotional side; how we experience our sex lives. F*cks Given and its sister podcast, Come Curious, “are more of a personal journal of the two hosts, which is very interesting,” says Engle.
The Sex With Dr. Jess Podcast
“Our podcast isn’t just about sex,” says O’Reilly. “It’s about all the topics that intersect with pleasure and relationships. We discuss everything from interracial relationships and emotional literacy to communication skills for bigger, better orgasms, orgies and anal pleasure.”
Check out the Sex With Dr. Jess podcast
In Touch With Ruby Rare
“In Touch With Ruby Rare is a wonderful, well-made look at lots of different aspects of sexuality,” says Engle. She notes that it covers everything “from porn, to nakedness, to our bodies, to the education we did and didn’t receive.”
Check out In Touch With Ruby Rare
Royal Fetish Radio with Jasmine and King
O’Reilly recommends this podcast starring sex educators Jet Setting Jasmine and King Noire, which touches on things like porn, kink, sex work and giving one’s kids “the talk.”
Check out Royal Fetish Radio with Jasmine and King
Sex and Psychology
Curious about the interaction between the brain and desire? “Sex and Psychology brings in experts — mostly doctors and psychologists — from all around the world to focus specifically on the psychology of sex in different avenues,” Engle says.
Savage Lovecast
Dan Savage is a giant in the field of sex advice thanks to his long-running advice column in The Stranger, “Savage Love.” Whether you’re familiar with his name or not, Engle recommends checking out his podcast, where he answers listener questions on all manner of thorny sexual subjects.
Naughtylicious
O’Reilly also suggests Carli de Ville’s podcast, Naughtylicious. It boasts scandalous stories from real-life sex workers, as well as deep dives on kinks and fetishes even other sex podcasts are too vanilla to touch.
Assorted Sex Education Resources
Sex Down South
Ever been to a sex conference? No, it’s not an orgy. “This is the conference of the year for academics and enthusiasts alike,” says O’Reilly. (Of course, given it takes place at a hotel, it’s fair to assume that group sex isn’t totally out of the question.)
SLAM
Hungry for more sex conferences? Look no further than SLAM, another suggestion of O’Reilly’s. A BIPOC-run conference, it aims to be inclusive and accessible in ways many conferences fall short of.
Sex Education
You may have already heard of this one, but if you haven’t watched any, it is worth checking out. The Netflix show Sex Education, Reed says, is both funny and a good source of accurate sex information. Which means that, well, it lives up to its title!
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