Sue Johanson

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Susan Johanson
CM RN
BornSusan Powell
(1930-07-29) July 29, 1930 (age 91)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationPublic speaker, sex educator, writer
NationalityCanadian
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
GenreSex education and health
Website
www.talksexwithsue.com

Sue Johanson CM (née Powell) (born July 29, 1930) is a Canadian writer, public speaker, registered nurse, sex educator, and media personality.

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

Johanson was born Susan Powell in Toronto, Ontario, to Wilfrid Powell, a decorated British war hero,[1] and an affluent Ontario-born Irish Protestant mother, Ethel Bell.[2] Her great-uncle was Lord Baden-Powell.[citation needed] Her mother died when Johanson was ten.[2] Johanson attended nursing school in St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, graduating as a registered nurse.[3] Soon after, she married a Swedish-Canadian electrician named Ejnor Johanson.[2] They had three children: Carol, Eric and Jane.[2] The family moved to North York, where Johanson kept house and raised her children.[4]

In 1970, Johanson opened a birth control clinic in Don Mills CI high school, the first of its kind in Canada.[2] She worked there as coordinator for 18 years.[5] She continued her education at the Toronto Institute of Human Relations (a postgraduate course in counseling and communication), the University of Toronto (family planning), and the University of Michigan (human sexuality),[6] graduating as a counselor and sex educator. Johanson's career rose rapidly since her first classroom teaching in the North York schools. Later, some other districts of the country noticed her performances and began to invite her in schools and universities all over the country. Johanson's humour and frankness make her a popular speaker at Canadian universities.

Radio and TV programs[]

Johanson first achieved popularity as a sex educator and therapist hosting her own show on rock radio station Q107 during the 1980s.[7] The show, entitled Sunday Night Sex Show, transitioned into a TV talk show of the same name on the community television, Rogers TV in 1985.[4][7] In 1996 it became a national show on the Women's Television Network (WTN).[6] It ended in 2005.[8]

In January 2002 reruns of the show began to be replayed to American audiences on Oxygen Media.[2] The recorded program was very popular, but American viewers missed the opportunity to call in and ask their own questions.[2] The U.S. version of Sunday Night Sex Show, called Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, produced especially for American audiences, debuted in November 2002 on Oxygen.[2][6] Talk Sex with Sue Johanson was divided into several segments, all covering the following topics: sexual life, love and relationships. Call-in segment included viewers' live calls with questions being answered by Johanson with discussions on a variety of sex topics. The show also included a sex quiz, a sex poll where viewers could vote via the internet and see the results at the end of the episode, and included important sexual news and information.[citation needed]

On May 7, 2008, it was announced that the next Sunday night's episode of the show would be its last, ending the show's run after six seasons.[9]

Books[]

Johanson is the author of three books: Talk Sex (ISBN 0-14-010377-5), Sex Is Perfectly Natural but Not Naturally Perfect (ISBN 0-670-83856-X), and Sex, Sex, and More Sex (ISBN 0-06-056666-3).[10] All of them cover the sex topics from different points and include the detailed answers of the most delicate questions asked commonly about sexual life, Johanson's advice and health information.

Johanson was also the author of a weekly column published in the Health section of the Toronto Star newspaper.

Awards and honours[]

Johanson's work educating and informing the public about birth control and sexual health earned her Canada's fourth highest honor (after the Victoria Cross, Cross of Valour, and the Order of Merit), appointment to the Order of Canada in 2001, for lifetime achievement.[11] In 2010, Johanson was presented the Bonham Centre Award from the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies for her contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "Powell, Wilfrid Bayley". Kenora Great War Project.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Deziel, Shanda; George, Lianne (June 10, 2004). "Sue Johanson (Profile)". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  3. ^ Joundi, Talia (February 1, 2011). "Campus Beat: Sue Johanson proved a popular personality among U of M students". The Manitoban.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Hampson, Sarah (January 25, 2003). "The lady's not for blushing". The Globe and Mail.
  5. ^ Navarro, Mireya (February 19, 2004). "Instead of Dr. Ruth, a Nurse Called Sue". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Sue Johanson, RN". webmd.com.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Sexual diversity centre at U of T to give citizenship award to renowned Oxygen network sex educator Sue Johanson". media.utoronto.ca. University of Toronto Media Room. September 9, 2010.
  8. ^ "Johanson's sex show cancelled". The Globe and Mail. July 11, 2005.
  9. ^ "Oxygen's 'Talk Sex' is ending run". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. May 7, 2008.
  10. ^ "Talking sex: Sue Johanson getting a doctorate from LU". sudbury.com. October 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "Order of Canada". archive.gg.ca.

External links[]

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