Ahead of the February 11 Residence 11 Desire Summit on Sex and Relationships (get tickets here!), we’re conducting a series of livestream interviews with Summit speakers. You can watch them live or after the fact on our YouTube channel, Facebook page or Twitter account, and ask questions for our interviewees.
Allison Moon is the author of five books including the critically acclaimed sexual education guide Girl Sex 101, Getting It: A Guide to Hot, Healthy Hookups and Shame-Free Sex, and the erotic memoir Bad Dyke, as well as the novels Lunatic Fringe and Hungry Ghost.
Allison is a popular sex educator, leading workshops on sexual pleasure and technique, polyamory, LGBTQ+ issues, and more. She has been quoted in Cosmopolitan, New York magazine, and The Washington Post. Allison has presented her workshops — on strap-on sex, polyamory, sexual self-expression, erotica writing, and more — to thousands of people around the US and Canada. Read the first two chapters of Girl Sex 101 for free by signing up at Girlsex101.com.
Watch our interview with Residence 11 contributor Danielle Gage and Allison Moon as they discuss what lead to her career, alternative sexuality in fiction, and the importance of experience in writing. Allison Moon is going to be a speaker at the upcoming Residence 11 Summit talking on the topic of Alternative Sexuality in Fiction. She will be among the many talented contributors speaking at the Residence 11 Summit in 2023 about The State of Modern Online Dating. Watch the full interview here:
On her early inspirations to become a sex educator:
“My father was a nurse so it was very important to him that my sister and I know all the right words. By teaching me that it allowed me to become a bit of an oracle to my fellow students, because I was the one teaching the kindergartners the words ‘scrotum’ and ‘vulva.’
As I got older the questions became more about romance, and relationships, and queer stuff, and kink and I just kept on learning and kept on enjoying being able to share that information learned and distill it down to reasonable and shameless conversations with my peers.”
On sexuality in her fiction writing:
“There are a number of different scenes around sexuality that I wanted to explore. I want to explore what I think is an authentic lesbian experience. Around a lot of sex using hands because I think that is something that is often not seen in either pornography or fiction.
I wanted to share a version of sexuality with readers who might not get in a lot of other types of romance books that they might read.”
On the responsibility of experience when writing:
“When you’re writing a text, even if it’s just pure fantasy, people are going to be coming to it with curiosity about that thing that you’re exploring sexually. I think that it is imperative that the author do their due diligence to actually understand how the thing works in order to represent it accurately.
You can have the freedom for fantasy within there, but I think that people need to understand that they have a responsibility to represent communities [and] groups [and] sex acts with accuracy, because otherwise, you’re basically doing an injustice to the reader but also to yourself as a writer if you don’t do the research required.”
Watch the whole interview above and be sure to subscribe to our channels to catch all our interviews!
About the Desire Summit: The Residence 11 Desire Summit, sponsored by sex toy companies FUN FACTORY and Blush, intimate audio platform BLOOM, romance novel publisher Avon Books, and yoga teacher training company Ganja Yoga, will feature extensive educational sessions with over 20 diverse authors and subject matter experts across psychology, physical intimacy, technology innovation, sexual health, music and narrative storytelling. Speakers include writer Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, author of The Sex Lives of African Women, polyamory expert Kevin Patterson, author of Love’s Not Color Blind, sex educator and dating expert Erin Tillman, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling romance author and TikTok favorite Sierra Simone (Priest, American Queen), Mia Hopkins (author of Tanked, one of The New York Times’ best 2022 romances, romance novelist Suzanne Park (The Do Over, The Christmas Clash), and Taylor Hahn, author of swinging novel The Lifestyle, among others. Keynote speakers will be intimacy coach Zoë Kors, author of Radical Intimacy: Cultivate the Deeply Connected Relationships You Desire and Deserve, speaking on 6 Questions That Will Get You Instantly Connected to Anyone, and sex educator Dirty Lola, who appeared as a sexpert on Netflix’s The Principles of Pleasure, speaking on The State of Modern Dating. Get tickets here for the Desire Summit.