Today, the leading sexual guru of Canadian television, Sue Johanson, has passed away at the age of 96.
The renowned Canadian television sex educator, Sue Johanson, has passed away today at the age of 96. Her straightforward approach to discussing sex earned her a loyal following on her advice call-in shows, first on radio and then on Canadian and American television.
Director Lisa Rideout, who made a documentary about Johanson last year, confirmed on Thursday that Johanson died at the age of 93.
People delighted in calling into "The Sunday Night Sex Show" and its American counterpart, "Talk Sex with Sue Johanson," with their most scandalous sex questions in the hopes of shocking Sue, commented her daughter Jane Johanson in an interview prior to the release of the documentary "Sex with Sue."
"She was brilliant. She never reacted in a critical or disgusted way," said Jane Johanson. "Sometimes she would laugh, or her eyes would widen in surprise, but it was lovely how she treated everyone with respect. Their questions were valid, no matter their kink or interests."
But all that excitement served a greater mission: destigmatizing sex. Johanson believed that informed sex was safe sex.
She spread that message widely, writing three books on sexuality and touring Canada to give talks at schools.
Johanson made a name for herself in Canada and the United States by discussing sex on radio and television, but she started by opening a birth control clinic at a high school in Toronto in 1970.
In 1974, she began traveling to schools in Ontario to offer sex education, and her radio program hit the airwaves in Toronto a decade later.
After the American version of her show started airing, she became a favorite on the American late-night talk show circuit.