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Erica Smith, Sexuality Education and Consulting

I developed the Purity Culture Dropout™️ Program to help people learn all of the sex education that they missed growing up in purity culture- sex ed that is accurate, queer inclusive, trauma informed, compassionate, and comprehensive. I have worked with hundreds of people to help them learn about healthy sexuality after high control religion. Subscribe if you're curious about / invested in shame free sexuality education that's specifically tailored to the needs of people coming out of high control religions and purity culture. Expect information not just about healthy sexuality and upcoming programming, but also cultural commentary on sexual politics in the US. I'm a sex educator with 25 years of experience and I'm excited to share that with you.

Featured Post

World Sexual Health Day is a BFD

Hi everyone! There are three major holidays in my personal world today. 1) Beyoncé's birthday (I'm Beyhive all the way in case you didn't know) 2) The Philadelphia Eagles home opener against Dallas (Go Birds!) 3) World Sexual Health Day Don't worry, I won't bore you with facts about Beyoncé or Philly sports (unless you want some- reply and let me know lol), but I do want to talk to you briefly about World Sexual Health Day, what it means to be sexually healthy and why sexual health cannot...

My last email had the wrong link for preorder! This one has the correct link. SO sorry for the double email but ya know...it happens. The Purity Culture Recovery Guide: The Shame-Free Sex Education You Deserve coming February 2026 from Bloomsbury Press My book finally has a name and a publication date! This is the biggest news of the week other than the obvious celebrity engagement :) What's more... You can preorder it now! Preorders are REALLY important for authors, so if you're thinking...

The Purity Culture Recovery Guide: The Shame-Free Sex Education You Deserve coming February 2026 from Bloomsbury Press My book finally has a name and a publication date! This is the biggest news of the week other than the obvious celebrity engagement :) What's more... You can preorder it now! Preorders are REALLY important for authors, so if you're thinking that this book is for you (or a friend, family member, etc)- it would mean a lot to me if you purchased it before it's officially...

I woke up today to two texts from friends whom I originally met because they were Purity Culture Dropout™ clients. (I love y'all!) The texts were ecstatic declarations that James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has passed away. If you're one of the people feeling a range of emotions from ecstatic celebration that he's gone to grief for a childhood that would have been different if his ideologies hadn't been adopted by your parents, I see you. If James Dobson and Focus on the Family...

JK of course one conversation didn't "fix me." That's a massive exaggeration, but have you ever have a conversation that just sets you on the right course? A conversation, a realization, and a time when you felt really seen and heard? I had one like that with my best friend recently. And then another with my cousin. As humans we need connection, and we need to feel seen and heard. When I work one-on-one with people, I make it my business to make you feel seen, heard, and supported. I will be...

Hello Newsletter Friends. I'm always so grateful you're here. I'm going to talk about pet loss for a minute. If you don't want to read that, skip to the bottom where I'm offering more discount sessions til the end of August). Last week, my husband Andy and I had to say goodbye to our dog, Archie. It happened so suddenly. She was only five years old and never had any health issues. One day we noticed she wasn't interested in her dinner (VERY unusual for her), and six days later we were saying...

As summer moves into August, I'm offering discounted sessions (almost 30% off) ONLY to my email subscribers. The link to book these sessions is not public and won't be made available to anyone but y'all/ youse/ yinz! The only limitation is that you have to book it (and complete it) between now and August 14th. Book a Discount Summer Session by August 14 Is there something you've been wanting to talk about, learn about, or process but haven't got around to booking? This is for you! Were you...

Scared Cat Meme Template — Kapwing

"I literally can't believe you said that" That's something I've NEVER said to a client or even thought in my head about anything someone's told me about a sexuality matter. Nothing shocks me. Nothing surprises me. In 25 years of sexuality work, I've heard it all. But I literally can't believe you said that has popped into my head when people tell me about all the lies they were told about sex and relationships, especially the ones from religious purity culture. "...what did you say that youth...

A recent client testimonial <3 Oh shit I forgot to tell y'all that I was featured in The Guardian recently, highlighting the often ignored stories of purity culture's effects on men. A snippet from the article: Purity culture enforced rigid gender roles: men were cast as aggressors; girls were told not to tempt them. Both ended up alienated from their bodies and desires. But rarely do we hear about heterosexual men raised in this ideology. Purity culture “tells men they’re supposed to lead”,...

I'll be honest, doing regular every day stuff including running a sexuality education business in 2025 sometimes feels just like this meme. I'm paying attention to the US and international news, doom spiraling in my own brain, thinking will anyone still want to talk to me about sex and relationships when all this is happening? Oh, duh... Then I had a breakthrough while running one of my Purity Culture Dropout™ private community support groups ...despite everything happening around us, we...