The Daily Dot is celebrating Woman Crush Wednesday, better known as #WCW on Twitter and Instagram, by highlighting female creators on YouTube whose work we admire.
Remember how terrible your sex education was in high school? There were analogies about cars, your football coach turning bright red every time he said “vagina,” and that one obnoxious kid in the back row raving about all the “sex” he was had with his “girlfriend” who went to another high school who we could never meet because she was “really busy.” Nice story, kid.
There are many regrets I have about my sex education experiences. Chief among them: My classes were not taught by Dr. Lindsey Doe, clinical sexologist and host of the YouTube channel Sexplanations.
Now before you even ask, yes, sexology is real. It’s the study of human sexuality, and as a field, it attracts individuals dedicated to making everyone’s sex lives consensual, pleasurable, and healthy.Through her channel, Doe embraces topics of sexual health, sex, and sexuality with the unlimited enthusiasm of a kid getting to go to Disneyland. It isn’t uncommon to find her chanting in her videos, “Get turned on!” like an undying fan dedicated to improving your sex game. There is just no way you can not love her.
Her videos cover all areas of the sexual experience including consent, anal sex, slut shaming, talking to your kids about sex, pregnancy prevention, and masturbation. But her most intimate videos are her Q&As, in which she answers viewers’ questions with the same genuine care and interest one feels from their oldest childhood friend.
In every video, Doe provides viewers the space to ask sex-related questions normally labeled as taboo. Her goal is simple: to eradicate shame and guilt associated with sex. And as someone who is one of her 163,000 loyal subscribers, I’d say she’s doing an amazing job achieving this.
Doe originally started making YouTube videos in 2013, three years after Hank Green (of Vlogbrothers fame) approached her about making her own sex education channel. She originally connected with Green in the most YouTube way. After a bad day, she began googling videos of cute animals, eventually stumbling upon the Vlogbrothers and dubbing them one of her heroes. She then asked Green to talk on a panel in her class, and three years later, after a bit of soul-searching, the pair started Sexplanations together.Outside of YouTube, Doe teaches at the University of Montana while simultaneously running her sexual health center Birds and Bees LLC. There she counsels, coaches, teaches, and nurtures a community passionate about improving sex education.
For me, Doe’s channel is not only an accomplishment in the world of sex education but the world of YouTube. Her channel provides YouTube’s huge demographic of young adults accurate, honest sex conversations that encourages them to pursue healthy relationships. This is especially crucial after last year’sstring of sexual abuse allegations reported between YouTube creators and fans. It’s creators like Dr. Doe who will continue to make this platform, and the world, a safer place.
So cheers to you Dr. Doe, and here’s many more years of keeping sex sexy.
Screengrab via Sexplanations/YouTube