Artwork by Ted Nunes
Karen Beale: LinkedIn - Facebook
Why do women have Lamborghinis and men, Swiss Army knives?
Who feels the guiltiest about sex among Catholics, Mormons and Baptists?
Why does God want women to feel pleasure?
Why should we stop always linking lubrication and arousal in women?
And where can you get a vibrator necklace?
These are just some of the questions that Dr. Karen Beale answers in this week’s episode. She’s a professor of psychology at Maryville College, a liberal arts school in a pretty conservative part of Tennessee, and her students are damn lucky to have her.
Along with wielding a highly infectious charm and curiosity, Karen is president of one of the oldest sex research societies in the US, the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, also known as Quad-S.
She’s also a certified sex educator who provides inclusive, community-based sex ed. She’s held numerous leadership and service positions, including for a domestic violence shelter and as a consultant with public school sex educators, And she leads travel courses on sexuality in the Netherlands, which have got to be a blast.
Drawing on her clinical collaborations, research background, and extensive experience working within religious and culturally conservative contexts, Karen is committed to helping people engage with sexual topics with clarity and curiosity, and helping mental health professionals deliver culturally-responsive care.
I originally interviewed Karen for a Nashville Public Radio mini-series on sex and aging, and was going to include this as part of my mini-series on that topic (Getting On and Getting Off), but her research and information and her wit span all ages that it just had to be a regular episode.
Last, but not least, I hope you’ll consider supporting this fully independent – i.e, no-string budget – podcast and the community sex ed events I’ve begun holding (WLS live!), at patreon.com/Women Like Sex. Thank you!