Education Quote by Sue Johanson

Johanson’s genius is that she wraps a moral argument in the plainest possible language. No euphemisms, no coyness, no “let’s talk about love” detours - just sex as a fact of life and, crucially, as a source of pleasure. That framing matters because it bulldozes the most common cultural maneuver around sex education: treating information as contamination. By insisting it’s “perfectly natural” and “pleasurable,” she’s not just normalizing desire; she’s rejecting the idea that ignorance equals virtue.

The line “it enhances a relationship” is a strategic bridge to skeptics. Johanson isn’t only speaking to the curious or already-liberated; she’s offering a pragmatic reason to learn that fits mainstream values about intimacy and partnership. It’s harm reduction with a romantic alibi: even if you’re uncomfortable with sexual autonomy, you can accept competence as relationship maintenance.

Her real target is shame. “Become comfortable with ourselves as sexual human beings” carries the subtext that discomfort isn’t innate; it’s taught, often through silence, stigma, or punitive narratives - especially for women and queer people. The closing move, “because we are all sexual,” is both inclusive and confrontational. It collapses the “good people” versus “sexual people” divide and reframes sexuality as a baseline human trait, not a special interest group.

Contextually, Johanson’s public-sex-ed persona thrived in a media landscape that loved titillation but feared candor. She used calm, matter-of-fact clarity as a cultural wedge: making the taboo boring enough to be discussable, and therefore learnable.