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Photo credited to Disabled and Here.

Kathryn collaborated with Dr. Jess Gagui again for this week's blog as a follow up to their last blog focused on the historical context of hypersexualization and fetishization of BIPOC women and femmes.  Be sure to give that a read if you haven't already.  This week focuses on intervention strategies you can use when working with folks who voice experiences of hypersexualization, fetishization, asexualization, and body criticism for not fitting the standard of beauty: for example, white, thin, able bodied.  While last week's blog centered BIPOC women and femmes, we think you’ll find these intervention strategies helpful for many other populations you work with. 

Clients’ experiences related to identity and culture aren’t off limits to clinicians:

Clinicians can, rightfully so, feel cautions to challenge what clients admit as cultural messages.  For example, "I grew up in a Catholic home and...

I’m SO excited to share my latest “Teach Me Sex” interview with you. It was juicyyy!

I had the pleasure of speaking with Sormeh, a fellow OT and recent OTD graduate. Sormeh's identities include queer, first generational woman of color, and hard fem. She has been active in the queer community for just over a decade and was previously active in the polyamory community.

To Sormeh, queerness falls on a spectrum. It involves all sorts of people, bodies, and includes whatever body parts those individuals do or don’t have. It also shouldn’t be dependent upon how others view you. I think this explanation is a great reminder that sexual identities aren't simply one size fits all terms. - they are identities NOT terms or categories. There are many qualities and traits that fall within an individual’s sexual identity that are unique to them. And sexual identity isn’t defined by how someone looks or how they are viewed by others....