xxx ~ Dr. Kate Dawson ~ Sex Education

The DODcast

Dr Kate Dawson is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at National University of Ireland, Galway. Her study primarily focuses on sexual health promotion and educating the youth on key areas like consent, communication, and intimacy. Her PhD was based upon the development of a pornography intervention programme for young adolescents in an effort to improve sex education in Ireland. Kate is no stranger to the media eye, in her efforts to de-stigmatise conversations on sex. She has featured on ITVs daytime talk show ‘This Morning’ speaking about the benefits of sexual health promotion and why we should talk more openly about it. She recently completed a Ted Talk, talking about her research, that focuses on how we can approach the topic honestly with our children, communicate things better with our partners and feel more at ease with ourselves. In today’s podcast, we talk about the most common questions asked in a primary and secondary school settings, relating to sex. We explore the reason why it has been seen as shameful for women to want sex and why men have been afforded more sexual freedom in the past. We discuss the reasons why kids may feel uncomfortable talking to their parents about sex and some useful approaches that can be taken. Kate also debunks some of the myths that exist around sex and pornography. She explains how much is too much masturbation, the importance of genital compliments, and how important body exploration is.