Taboo Sex Show guest Dr. Teesha Morgan on sexy Vancouver
Dancer at a previous Taboo Sex Show.
The annual Taboo Naughty But Nice Sex Show returns to Vancouver Feb. 3-5. The three days of adult-oriented fun include performances (Brent Ray Fraser: The Penis Painter), seminars (Five Ways to Kickstart a Lacklustre Sex Life), workshops (Lap Dance 101 with Jessica Lyn), and exhibitors (all the sex toys one could hope to see in a lifetime). Among the guests at the show, at the Vancouver Convention Centre (999 Canada Place), is Vancouver sex therapist Teesha Morgan. We wanted to know, just how sexy is Vancouver? So we asked Dr. Morgan some questions via email.
Q: Have you appeared at a Taboo show before, or similar shows? If so, what are some of the most frequently asked questions?
A: This is my first time speaking at a TABOO show. However, I have done many public speaking events, from university-based seminars at SFU and Mount Royal to the TEDx Stanley Park event. However, those venues would struggle to live up to TABOO’s extensive and sex-citing lineup.
The most common questions I get asked revolve around the normality and frequency of sexual desire and arousal, generally referred to as low libido, as well as the effects of pornography and masturbation on erectile dysfunction.
Q: Is there anything you can say that is specific to Vancouver, i.e., do Vancouverites have more/less sex because it rains so much?
A: I don’t have specific data on Vancouverites’ sexual frequency rates. However, we can look at how Vancouver compares with other major cities on their masturbation tendencies. Globally, rates for men are consistently higher than women, yet there are interesting trends in the data when looking at this gender gap in urban areas versus rural areas.
The gender difference is small in larger cities. However as one moves farther away from urban cities and into rural areas, the gender gap becomes larger. Although both men and women report a decrease in the prevalence of masturbation in rural areas, women’s masturbation tendencies drop the most.
The data could implicate that larger cities may be more liberal, diverse, sexually open, and perhaps less shameful towards sexual behaviours, especially for women. That being said, people from more conservative cities may be falsifying self-reports due to social desirability bias.
When looking at Vancouver, a large, urban city, one would expect a small gender gap in masturbation prevalence. Surprisingly, the data* demonstrates quite a large gap of 32%.
Vancouver: 48% women, 80% men (Meston et al., 1996)**
This could suggest that perhaps it is not simply urbanism that determines the prevalence of masturbation, but rather conservatism. Vancouver is known for having a high number of immigrants that come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of these are socially conservative and considered to be religious cultures that may discourage masturbation for both genders.
Dancer at a previous Taboo Sex Show.
Q: Is Vancouver a “sexy” city, whatever that might mean?
A: I’m not sure how to answer this one.
Many call Vancouver the rainy “No Fun City” because it’s known for having a lackluster nightlife, when compared to other cities of its size. However, do we need an active night life to stimulate an active sex life? Sure, it can help, but sometimes too many bars result in too many late night drunken hookups, rather than actual intimate connections. Regardless of our sex stats, I know Vancouver is known – and rated to have – some of the most beautiful women in the world. Therefore, having a city full of visually stimulating, and in my opinion, intellectually interesting and inspiring women as well, can’t hurt our “sexy” city status.
Q: What can we expect from your Taboo appearance?
A: The TABOO Naughty but Nice Sex Show is full of exciting events this year. It has burlesque shows, tantric pole dancing competitions, educational seminars, diverse vendors, and on top of it all, is a fully licensed venue. My contribution will be to the educational speaking series hosted by We-Vibe, Canada’s very own award-winning creator and producer of world renowned pleasure toys for couples and individuals.
The topics I will cover range from Embarrassing Sex Questions to Oral Sex Techniques That Will Blow His Mind. I am also doing a presentation on How to Spice Up Your Lackluster Sex Life, which may sound somewhat G-rated. However, I guarantee everyone will gain something from the talk. I will first walk people through the “surface” questions that address this topic, such as What can we add? and What can we do? Then we will go deeper, by looking at the questions that help you get at the root of what’s happening, and where you need to go. Such as: How can we view things differently? How can we go deeper? How can we communicate about sex more effectively?
For ticket info and a complete schedule of performers and exhibitors, visit tabooshow.com.
* An important note is the reliability in this data collection. as self-reports may not be truly representative of prevalence rates.
** Meston, C. M., Trapnell, P. D., & Gorzalka, B. B. (1996). Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: Variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students. Archives Of Sexual Behavior, 25(1), 33-72. doi:10.1007/BF02437906