ONE® recently partnered with Elizabeth Ashford, a sexual health and female empowerment advocate who created Beyond The Beez. It’s a sexual health education blog that aims to destigmatize, empower, and include people in the conversation.
To hold herself accountable and continue her work in sexual health education advocacy Elizabeth has begun hosting BTB Book Club series. We sat down with Elizabeth to learn more about what inspires her to do this important work.
What inspired you to start this book club?
After starting Beyond The Beez, I thought the book club was the perfect way to bring the content I’ve been teaching online to life. I wanted to engage people and create an in-person community around sexual health and sex positivity.
Who all joins the book club?
I start with friends and then I post it on social media and encourage friends to spread it around!
What were you hoping to gain from your book club?
My goal is to give people a place where they can engage in the topic of sex in an approachable, open, and comfortable way. I want to normalize the discussion and allow people to feel safe to ask questions and reflect on their experiences.
Furthermore, I hoped to show attendees that they matter in their sexual experiences. So often, the typical sex script is penis and vaginal intercourse until the man finishes (if you are in a hetero-experience). BTBz is here to remind you that sex is just as much for you as it is for your partner. Therefore, one of my favorite parts of book club is the raffle because it allows people to walk away with concrete tools to better their sex experiences and open doors to a new sex script where foreplay and external play are just as central. And finally, book clubs are also meant to bring people together, build a community and make new friends.
Can you expand on the agenda of your BTB in what goes on or how it is run?
Beyond the Beez is a sex-positive online resource that helps you answer those hard-to-ask questions and build confidence in your relationship with sex through the power of information, all in one easy-to-navigate and approachable place. We curate research and recommendations to help you explore sex at your comfort level, and we also host events and create educational programs that help make sex education engaging, informative, and free of judgment – the way we think it should be. As I continue growing I am focusing on expanding on the events and building out the NYC community with book clubs, as well as artistic experiences (such as drawing bodies, clay molding, boob molding, etc). I am always looking for new and fun ways to make sexual health activities engaging, informative, and fun.
Want to partner with ONE Condoms or have an idea for an outreach event? Contact us!