Mother-Daughter Duo Tackle Tough Topics in “Sex Ed Debunked”

The new podcast delves into everything you never learned in sex ed class.

February 15, 2022

Lauren Clem,

Mother-daughter duo Christine and Shannon Curley host “Sex Ed Debunked,” a podcast that tackles misconceptions and educational topics about sex.

A podcast about sex, where once-taboo topics are front and center and you can learn about the psychology behind human sexuality on your morning commute?

How about one created by a mother-daughter duo where the focus is on busting common misconceptions and giving others the tools to talk about a touchy but important subject?

That’s the idea behind “Sex Ed Debunked,” a podcast by local residents Christine and Shannon Curley. Every week, the mother-daughter team tackles a new topic as they try to fill in the gaps and educate their audience on subjects not often covered in your average high school sex ed class. Each thirty-minute episode focuses on a different “myth,” with the hosts sharing their own experiences and sometimes bringing in the experts before declaring the myth “put to bed.”

Christine, who lives in North Kingstown, and Shannon, who grew up in North Kingstown and now lives in Providence, say they didn’t always talk so openly with each other about sex. Growing up, Shannon says, her mother didn’t broach the topic except for one memorably awkward dinner when they went out together so Christine could have the “birds and the bees” talk with her daughter.

“It was something I didn’t really know much about, and I was super uncomfortable with it,” Shannon says.

“I wish I had better tools when my kids were ten, twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen,” Christine adds. “I think that our home was supportive, but conversations about sexuality and relationships didn’t happen on the regular.”

It wasn’t until Shannon, now twenty-eight, came out to her mom as queer in 2014 that sex became a topic they could handle comfortably. She discusses her experience of coming out in the fourth episode, “Myth #4: Coming Out Can Be Easy.”

Christine, fifty-five, says part of her hesitancy to bring up the subject was because her own sex education was lacking. Originally from Long Island, she was raised in a conservative Catholic household where sex wasn’t a regular discussion topic. She later moved to Rhode Island and became a lawyer, a traditionally conservative career field.

About six years ago, however, her outlook on the topic would change dramatically. In 2016, she decided to switch careers and went back to school to study psychology. She graduated from Rhode Island College with a master’s degree in psychology and now teaches at RIC and the University of Connecticut. She is also pursuing a doctoral degree in social psychology. Her dissertation is on the connection between sexual satisfaction and wellbeing across women and men.

“As I spoke to people about my research and as I was teaching college students, I realized there was a huge gap,” she says. “Even talking to adults, people are like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re researching this. This is so important to talk about positive sexuality and how important it is.’ ”

Shannon, meanwhile, was pursuing a career in branding and marketing, including working as a consultant for Providence-based Trailblaze Marketing. Last summer, the company approached her about creating a podcast on a topic of her choice. It was during a beach day at Goddard Park that the two realized they could combine their interests.

“As we sat there on the beach baking in the sun, the conversation turned into what you were doing in school,” Shannon says to her mother. “Halfway through that conversation, we both paused and said, ‘Huh. This could make a really good podcast.’ ”

The podcast, which launched in September, covers topics such as consent, arousal and why it’s better to communicate with your partner about sex. Sometimes the content veers into controversial territory — their most talked-about episode addressed whether parents should be able to opt out of school-based sex education for their children — but Shannon and Christine say their goal is not to shock or scandalize. Instead, they say, they’re two intellectually curious people looking to talk about sexuality with open-minded listeners looking to learn.

“It’s really not that edgy. It’s only edgy because we talk about sex,” Christine says.

“It’s less edge and more education,” Shannon adds.

Along the way, they incorporate academic research and talk to guests who work in related fields. Christine says one of her goals is to offer the kinds of tools she wishes she had when her children were teenagers.

“Sexual education should be across your lifetime. We’ve had people who’ve said is this for kids, is this for parents? We’ve said no, this is for human beings who want to be sexual and have a positive sexuality,” Shannon says.

The podcast includes a catchy theme song and promotional art inspired by 1990s-era sitcoms like “Full House” and “Saved by the Bell.” Christine and Shannon say they thought it would be fun to give it a “corny sitcom vibe” to play on the mother-daughter theme and because sex was such a scandalous topic when addressed on those shows.

“It’s a big episode that everyone remembers when they talk about sex,” Shannon says.

Eventually, they hope to expand their podcast into a community with events and host a booth at Rhode Island PrideFest. The series has twenty episodes so far, and new ones drop every Wednesday.

“Sex is a really interesting topic to people. Whether it’s because they approve of it or not, people always learn something new from it,” Shannon says.

“Sex Ed Debunked” is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and anywhere listeners get their podcasts. Follow along for updates on social media at instagram.com/sexeddebunked.