Sue Johanson was a champion of reliable sex education in this country at a time when talking about sex in public was far from OK.
And back in 2015, Laurentian University presented her with an honourary doctorate highlighting the important role she played in dragging sex ed. out of the darkness and into the light, telling youth it was not only was OK to talk about it, but if you’re going to have sex, you better have all the information you need to make good choices.
Sue Johanson passed away this week at the age of 93.
She was best known for her long-running television series, “Talk Sex with Sue Johanson,” where she frankly discussed all aspects of sexuality.
In her remarks to students during the October 2015 LU convocation where she received her doctorate, Johanson said she realized after she became a nurse that she had a passion for learning and teaching others about sexuality.
She said she's always been very comfortable talking frankly about sexual health, but she would have to behave herself at the convocation ceremony.
“And that makes me nervous,” Johanson said, drawing laughs from the crowd at the Fraser Auditorium.
After she became a nurse, she heard about a birth control clinic that had been set up on a high school campus in Sweden – and she wondered why there was no such thing in Canada.
“So we decided we were going to have the first birth control clinic in Canada for teenagers,” she said.
Johanson worked with the public health nurse in North York – who gave her a budget of $100 – and set one up at an area high school in North York, the first of its kind in Canada.
With such a tight budget, she had to “beg and borrow” equipment, and raided the local hospital for supplies.
“I stole everything,” Johanson said, using the rule of thumb that if it wasn't nailed down, she could take it for the clinic.
She lined up eight doctors to volunteer there once every two months, as well as six nurses who were friends of hers to volunteer there, as well. The clinic was popular right away.
“We were flooded,” Johanson said.
The success of that clinic led her to discover she was passionate about teaching people about sex and sexual health. She continued with her studies on the topic, and eventually landed on Q107, a rock station in Toronto with a weekly two-hour call-in show.
“It was me, Van Halen and Guns n' Roses,” she said. “I was answering questions and I loved it … I took to radio like a duck to water.”
That led to her the Sunday Night Sex Show on Rogers TV, where she quickly “learned how to do TV.” And despite some initial fears, viewers were very accepting of her frank approach to the topic.
“I was able to be pretty explicit,” Johanson said. “Nobody complained. Nobody pulled me off the air. And I loved it.”
The success of the show eventually landed her on U.S. TV, she wrote three books on the topic and received the Order of Canada.
“Imagine getting the Order of Canada for talking dirty,” Johanson quipped.
And so, she encouraged graduates to, like her, find what they really enjoy doing and are good at and pursue it. They were passionate about learning, and now they have successfully graduated from Laurentian.
“Now is the time for the antenna to go up and for you to find your next passion,” Johanson said, placing her hands behind her head like they were mini-antennas. “Go for it!”
Sudbury.com also spoke to Johanson earlier in 2015 about Ontario’s then-controversial new sex ed curriculum.
She said she thought the new sex ed curriculum is “going to be great.”
“I am upset by parents who feel that it should be done at home,” Johanson said. “As a parent, talking to your own kids about sex is very, very difficult. How do you explain to your kids what a blow job is? You really don't have a clue how to explain that one.”
Do you have any memorable Sue Johanson moments to share? Tell us about it in the comments below.