Here is what we believe:
- Sex and sexuality are related to hope and vitality and should be celebrated and talked about without shame.
- It’s not all about the sex, but sex is important.
- Trust and communication and authenticity are the Most Important Things
- Knowing how to make meaningful relationships is not instinctual or inherited, but takes work.
- Just because a relationship ends doesn’t mean it was a failure.
- How we are with each other is significant on both a personal and political scale.
- Queering is beautiful, valuable, and necessary. (Challenge the status quo, but don’t rule it out!)
- Relationships are strongest when they are crafted and defined by the people in them.
- YOU SHOULD TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT THINGS! (We know on the Internet all-caps is shouting. We are shouting this!) This is vital even (especially!) when it’s hard or fraught or complicated!
- That above all, there is no one right way to be, other than considered and considerate.
We’re looking forward to talking to you about stuff. Let’s all decide to be smart about this and keep making one another smarter.
Our Story
Sex For Smart People (That Means You!) is a podcast by us (Ryan and Dave!). We think that authenticity and communication are the sexiest. We were partners (like sexy partners!) for six years. While we were partners — and also now that we are not — we created our own vocabulary around our connection, in such a way that inspires friends and friends of friends and people we don’t even know come to us all the time for relationship and sex advice.
OK, so, we think that advice is sort of silly, since what the hell does any human really know about what’s good for another human anyway? But we are both fiercely dedicated to the expanding conversation around love and sex and families in America, and adding noise to the throng of folks who celebrate the idea that we are allowed to think about alternatives (sexy alternatives!). So we’ve decided that it’s about goddamn time to formalize our ideas and apparent advice-giving skills. Hence: the podcast.
Stephanie Ryan Johnstone (Ryan) is an NYC-based human / composer / organizer / theatermaker / muckraker / sexuality educator with a fierce commitment to celebrating and cultivating interdependence.
David McGee writes mostly plays but other things too, sometimes. His writing has been published by n+1 in the book “Trouble is the Banks: Letters to Wall Street” and cited by Against Equality (Queer Challenges to the Politics of Inclusion).
