Betty Dodson is an American sex educator, author, and artist. Dodson held the first one-woman show of erotic art at the Wickersham Gallery in New York City in 1968. She left the art world to teach sex to women. She is widely known as a pioneer in women's, and to a somewhat lesser extent men's, sexual liberation, having sold more than 1 million copies of her first book, Sex for One. Much of her fame has come from her work not only advocating masturbation, but conducting workshops for more than 30 years in which groups of about 10 or more women (and at least once a group of men) would talk, explore their own bodies, and masturbate together. She hosted a Public-access television cable television program in New York City in the early 80's, and conducted her workshop - a dozen or so nude women discussing and practicing masturbation - on TV.
Dodson's books include Liberating Masturbation, a self-published book that became a feminist classic[citation needed]. Sex for One: The Joy of Self-Loving and Orgasms for Two: the Joy of Partnersex. She also produced four videos: Selfloving: Portrait of a Sexual Seminar, Celebrating Orgasm: Women's Private Selfloving Sessions, Viva la Vulva; Women's Sex Organs Revealed and The Orgasm Doctor": Two Private Hands-on Sex Coaching Sessions.
She is a founder of the pro-sex feminist movement[citation needed], having left behind the more traditional feminist movement because she considered it banal, antisexual and over-politicized. Dodson considers too much is made of sexual labels and embraces them all by calling herself a heterosexual, bisexual lesbian. She looks forward to the day we can all be just "sexual."
Dodson has a degree from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality for her research work on sexuality.
Dodson maintains a private practice in New York City. While she doesn't presently offer her Bodysex Workshops, she is available for private individual and couples coaching.
Dodson appeared in a Season 4 episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit! that dealt with abstinence. She was also on The View, and has appeared in numerous sex documentaries.
Most recently, Dodson has partnered with Carlin Ross and created a sexuality portal for women under the brand Dodson and Ross. Together, they're launching an online video series "Basic Sex Skills: The New Porn.