Sue Johanson

Sue Johanson, CM, RN (born March 16, 1930) is a Canadian writer, public speaker, registered nurse, sex educator and media personality.

Early life
She was born Susan Powell in Toronto, Canada to a decorated British war hero, Wilfrid Powell, and an affluent Ontario-born Irish-protestant mother, Ethel Bell. According to Johanson's official biography, her age is the only thing she will not openly discuss; various websites place her year of birth as 1936 or 1946. However, during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman on October 11, 2007, she revealed that she is 77 years old. Her mother died when Johanson was ten. Johanson attended nursing school in St. Boniface Hospital Winnipeg, graduating as a Registered Nurse. Soon after, she married a Swedish-Canadian electrician named Ejnor Johanson. They had three children: Carol, Eric and Jane. The family moved to North York. Sue kept house and raised her children.

In 1972, Johanson opened a birth control clinic in Don Mills CI high school, the first of its kind in Canada. She worked there as clinic coordinator until 1986. 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), graduating as a counselor and sex educator.

Career
Johanson's career rose rapidly since her first classroom teaching in one of 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. She frequently packs auditoriums to capacity, making even standing room hard to come by.

Radio and TV programs
Sue Johanson achieved popularity as a sex educator and therapist on rock radio station Q107. She presented a two hour phone-in advice radio show dedicated to sex and its problems. The show was called Sunday Night Sex Show and existed for 14 years between 1984 and 1998. In 1985 this radio program was turned into a TV talk show with the same name on the community access television, Rogers Cable. In 1996 it became a national show on the Women's Television Network (WTN) with a high rating.

The first seven seasons were delivered to American audiences by Oxygen Media in 2002. The recorded program was very popular, but American viewers missed the opportunity to call in and ask their own questions. 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 the Oxygen Network.

Talk Sex with Sue Johanson is an educational talk show airing every Sunday night. The program is divided into a several segments all covering the following topics: sexual life, love and relationships. Call-in segment includes viewers' live calls with questions immediately being answered by Sue. The discussions include the most common worries about arousal or erection, pregnancy, contraception, infections and diseases. Sue Johanson easily covers such topics as BDSM, sex positions, sexuality trends, sex and age, and much more. The show also includes a sex quiz, a sex poll where viewers can vote via the internet and can see the results at the end of the episode, and includes important sexual news and information before and after commercial breaks.

The "Hot Stuff Bag" segment of the show is dedicated to reviewing a new sex toy which has been tested out by one or more members of the crew. The toy is shown and its usage is explained, as well its pros and cons. It is then rated on a scale of 1-4.

The show also usually includes a book review.

Johanson was also a guest star on the popular CTV and Noggin show Degrassi

The educational format of the show combined with Johanson's profound knowledge of the subject and healthy sense of humor made the program popular with all age groups. Approximately 4.2 million Americans watch the show every Sunday. The show appears in Israel, Brazil and 20 European countries in 5 languages.

Books
Sue 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). All of them cover the sex topics from different points and include the detailed answers at the most delicate questions asked commonly about sexual life, Sue's advices and health information.

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

Sue Johanson brand of sex toys
Her many years working as a sexual counselor helped her become a sex toy designer and in 2005 she created her own collection of items intended both for men and women. Johanson gave her name to a collection of sex toys manufactured by California Exotic Novelties called Talk Sex Royal Line that includes traditional, g-spot and rabbit vibrators, anal stimulators, vaginal balls, etc.

Awards
Johanson's work educating and informing the public about birth control and sexual health earned her the Order of Canada in 2001, the highest honor of the country for lifetime achievement.