Sexology EP67 - One Woman’s Journey Through Sex Addiction
Welcome to episode 67 of the Sexology Podcast, today I’m joined by Erica Garza who talks to us about her book Getting Off, the connection between sexual shame and addiction and the story of her recovery from sexual addiction
Born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, Erica Garza has spent most of her adult life traveling and living abroad. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. Erica’s essays have appeared in Salon, Narratively, BUST, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, Bustle, Alternet, Vivala, HelloGiggles, the Los Angeles Review, and Australia’s Mamamia and The Motherish.
She has appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4, Thom Hartmann’s The Big Picture, and August McLaughlin’s Girl Boner Radio. In 2010, she earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Columbia University. Her memoir on sex addiction, Getting Off, is her first book.
Her addiction follows and transforms with her in each point in her coming-of-age, which spans the transition from dial-up to digital in the 1990s and early 2000s. From Playboys hidden discreetly under mattresses to softcore on late night cable to vast varieties of porn ubiquitous and easily accessible across the internet, Garza’s personal account is also a study of an era in which both technology and sex changed dramatically in our everyday lives.
GETTING OFF is as raw and unflinching a personal story as it is an insightful and modern perspective on sexuality and addiction. Garza doesn’t find a tidy cure for her obsessions, but in the absence of false hope and prepackaged redemption is a credibly imperfect and remarkably relatable journey toward self-acceptance.
In this episode, you will hear:
- The challenge of talking about her sex life openly
- Why Erica decided to share her story
- The perspective of sex addiction being an ethnic minority and female
- How sex addiction can affect anyone in life
- The ways in which porn can be used as a crutch
- How over-viewing porn can lead to desensitization
- The connection between sexual shame and addiction
- What made Erica comfortable disclosing her issues to her now husband
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