Sue Johanson
Encyclopedia
Sue Johanson, CM
(born July 29, 1930) is a Canadian writer
, public speaker, registered nurse
, sex educator
, and media
personality.
, Ontario
, to a decorated British
war hero, Wilfrid Powell, and an affluent Ontario-born Irish
Protestant
mother, Ethel Bell. Her great-uncle was Lord Baden Powell. Her mother died when Johanson was ten. Johanson attended nursing school in St. Boniface Hospital Winnipeg, graduating as a Registered Nurse. Soon after, she married a Swedish-Canadian electrician named Ejnor Johanson. They had three children: Carol, Eric and Jane. The family moved to North York. Sue kept house and raised her children.
In 1972, Johanson opened a birth control
clinic in Don Mills CI
high school
, the first of its kind in Canada. She worked there as clinic coordinator until 1986. She continued her education at the Toronto Institute of Human Relations (a postgraduate course in counseling and communication), the University of Toronto
(family planning), and the University of Michigan
(human sexuality), graduating as a counselor and sex educator
.
on rock
radio station Q107
. Originally she had a one-hour phone-in radio show dedicated to advice on sex. Later, the show was increased to two hours. The show was called Sunday Night Sex Show
and existed for fourteen years between 1984 and 1998. In 1985 this radio program was turned into a TV talk show
with the same name on the community television
, Rogers Cable
. In 1996 it became a national show on the Women's Television Network (WTN) with a high rating.
The first seven seasons were delivered to American audiences by Oxygen Media in 2002. The recorded program was very popular, but American viewers missed the opportunity to call in and ask their own questions. The U.S. version of Sunday Night Sex Show, called Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, produced especially for American audiences, debuted in November 2002 on the Oxygen Media.
Talk Sex with Sue Johanson was an educational talk show airing every Sunday night. The program was divided into a several segments all covering the following topics: sexual life, love and relationships. Call-in segment includes viewers' live calls with questions immediately being answered by Sue. The discussions included the most common worries about arousal or erection
, pregnancy
, contraception
, infection
s, and disease
s. Johanson easily covered such topics as BDSM
, sex positions, sexuality trends, sex and age, and much more. The show also included a sex quiz, a sex poll where viewers could vote via the internet and see the results at the end of the episode, and included important sexual news and information before and after commercial breaks.
The "Hot Stuff Bag" segment of the show was dedicated to reviewing a new sex toy
which has been tested out by one or more members of the crew. The toy is shown and its usage is explained, as well its pros and cons. It is then rated on a scale of 1–4.
The show also usually includes a book review.
The educational format of the show combined with Johanson's profound knowledge of the subject and healthy sense of humour made the program popular with all age groups. Approximately 4.2 million Americans watch the show every Sunday. The show appears in Israel, Brazil, and twenty European countries in five languages.
Johanson made two cameo appearances in the teen drama Degrassi Junior High
as "Dr. Sally", essentially a fictionalised version of herself. She reprised the role a decade later for an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation
.
It was announced on May 7, 2008, that Sunday night's episode on May 11, 2008, would be her last, expressing a preference for radio. Johanson ended the show very emotionally and was joined by her staff on stage as she said goodbye.
Johanson is also the author of a weekly column published in the Health section of the Toronto Star
newspaper.
, and rabbit vibrator
s, anal stimulators, Ben Wa balls
, etc.
in 2001, for lifetime achievement, a decision that raised the ire of right-wing
activists.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born July 29, 1930) is a Canadian writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, public speaker, registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
, sex educator
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
, and media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
personality.
Early life
She was born Susan Powell in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, to a decorated British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
war hero, Wilfrid Powell, and an affluent Ontario-born Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
mother, Ethel Bell. Her great-uncle was Lord Baden Powell. Her mother died when Johanson was ten. Johanson attended nursing school in St. Boniface Hospital Winnipeg, graduating as a Registered Nurse. Soon after, she married a Swedish-Canadian electrician named Ejnor Johanson. They had three children: Carol, Eric and Jane. The family moved to North York. Sue kept house and raised her children.
In 1972, Johanson opened a birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
clinic in Don Mills CI
Don Mills Collegiate Institute
Don Mills Collegiate Institute is a high school in the community of Don Mills in Toronto. It serves an ethnically diverse student population of approximately 1000. As of 2006, 66% of students speak a first language other than English...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, the first of its kind in Canada. She worked there as clinic coordinator until 1986. She continued her education at the Toronto Institute of Human Relations (a postgraduate course in counseling and communication), the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(family planning), and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
(human sexuality), graduating as a counselor and sex educator
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
.
Career
Johanson's career rose rapidly since her first classroom teaching in one of the North York schools. Later some other districts of the country noticed her performances and began to invite her in schools and universities all over the country. Johanson's humour and frankness make her a popular speaker at Canadian universities. She frequently packs auditoriums to capacity, making even standing room hard to come by.Radio and TV programs
Johanson achieved popularity as a sex educator and therapistPsychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
on rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
radio station Q107
CILQ-FM
CILQ-FM is a radio station, broadcasting at 107.1 FM in Toronto, Ontario. The station broadcasts a classic rock format branded as Q107 and is also available through streaming audio....
. Originally she had a one-hour phone-in radio show dedicated to advice on sex. Later, the show was increased to two hours. The show was called Sunday Night Sex Show
Sunday Night Sex Show
The Sunday Night Sex Show was a live call-in Canadian television show which ran from 1996 to 2005. It aired on the W Network and was one of their most popular programs...
and existed for fourteen years between 1984 and 1998. In 1985 this radio program was turned into a TV talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
with the same name on the community television
Community television
Australia's Community Television is a form of Citizen media much like Public Access Television in the United States and the Community Channel in Canada...
, Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
. In 1996 it became a national show on the Women's Television Network (WTN) with a high rating.
The first seven seasons were delivered to American audiences by Oxygen Media in 2002. The recorded program was very popular, but American viewers missed the opportunity to call in and ask their own questions. The U.S. version of Sunday Night Sex Show, called Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, produced especially for American audiences, debuted in November 2002 on the Oxygen Media.
Talk Sex with Sue Johanson was an educational talk show airing every Sunday night. The program was divided into a several segments all covering the following topics: sexual life, love and relationships. Call-in segment includes viewers' live calls with questions immediately being answered by Sue. The discussions included the most common worries about arousal or erection
Erection
Penile erection is a physiological phenomenon where the penis becomes enlarged and firm. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular and endocrine factors, and is usually, though not exclusively, associated with sexual arousal...
, pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
, contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
s, and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
s. Johanson easily covered such topics as BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
, sex positions, sexuality trends, sex and age, and much more. The show also included a sex quiz, a sex poll where viewers could vote via the internet and see the results at the end of the episode, and included important sexual news and information before and after commercial breaks.
The "Hot Stuff Bag" segment of the show was dedicated to reviewing a new sex toy
Sex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
which has been tested out by one or more members of the crew. The toy is shown and its usage is explained, as well its pros and cons. It is then rated on a scale of 1–4.
The show also usually includes a book review.
The educational format of the show combined with Johanson's profound knowledge of the subject and healthy sense of humour made the program popular with all age groups. Approximately 4.2 million Americans watch the show every Sunday. The show appears in Israel, Brazil, and twenty European countries in five languages.
Johanson made two cameo appearances in the teen drama Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian CBC Television teen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school...
as "Dr. Sally", essentially a fictionalised version of herself. She reprised the role a decade later for an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
.
It was announced on May 7, 2008, that Sunday night's episode on May 11, 2008, would be her last, expressing a preference for radio. Johanson ended the show very emotionally and was joined by her staff on stage as she said goodbye.
Books
Johanson is the author of three books: Talk Sex (ISBN 0-14-010377-5), Sex Is Perfectly Natural but Not Naturally Perfect (ISBN 0-670-83856-X), and Sex, Sex, and More Sex (ISBN 0-06-056666-3). All of them cover the sex topics from different points and include the detailed answers of the most delicate questions asked commonly about sexual life, Johanson's advices and health information.Johanson is also the author of a weekly column published in the Health section of the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
newspaper.
Sue Johanson brand of sex toys
Her many years working as a sexual counselor helped her become a sex toy designer and in 2005 she created her own collection of items intended both for men and women. Johanson gave her name to a collection of sex toys manufactured by California Exotic Novelties called Talk Sex Royal Line that includes traditional, G-spotG-spot vibrator
A G-Spot vibrator is a sex toy with male and female varieties. The female version of the device is built to massage the G-Spot, a region in the anterior vagina that many women report to be hypersensitive to sexual stimulation and capable of eliciting powerful orgasms...
, and rabbit vibrator
Rabbit vibrator
Rabbit vibrator is a vibrating and rotating sex toy made in the shape of a phallus with a clitoral stimulator attached to the shaft. The name of the device is derived from the fact that the clitoral stimulator looks like a pair of rabbit ears...
s, anal stimulators, Ben Wa balls
Ben Wa balls
Ben Wa balls, also known as Burmese bells, Benoît balls, Orgasm balls, Venus balls or Geisha balls are small, marble-sized metal balls, usually hollow and containing a small weight that rolls around—used for sexual stimulation . Some may also be solid, or contain clappers or chimes within...
, etc.
Passion Parties Inc.
After participating in the 15th annual Passion Parties Inc. convention as one of the keynote speakers, Johanson joined the board and now mentors and coaches Passion Parties' Independent Consultants throughout North America each month via live conference calls.Awards and honors
Johanson's work educating and informing the public about birth control and sexual health earned her Canada's highest honor, appointment to the Order of CanadaOrder of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 2001, for lifetime achievement, a decision that raised the ire of right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
activists.