Leading artists, philanthropists and activists have been applauded for their talents in a flurry of 2023 round-ups over the past fortnight. But as we move into 2024, I wanted to shine a light on my own list of people who I feel have made a difference in the field of sex.
Whether it’s OnlyFans stars sharing their experiences, change-makers campaigning for better working conditions for sex workers or archaeologists revealing 2,000-year-old dildos, there is so much to be learned about our sexuality.
Without further ado, here are the top five contributors to sex knowledge and sex positivity that are worth keeping an eye on this year.
Rebecca is a British TikTok sensation and OnlyFans superstar from Mansfield, Derbyshire. I have been following her on social media for the past few years and she never fails to make me laugh. Her deft handling of trolls and haters is nothing short of masterful.
Rebecca is a fabulous social media influencer but her success as a porn star has allowed her to purchase her own studio and produce her own films including The Little Spermaid and Barbie’s Creamhouse.
Rebecca is on my list not just for her sexual athleticism, but because she is using some of the money she makes through sex work to help low-income families. Just before Christmas, she told those who were struggling to provide toys for their kids this Christmas to send her their Amazon wish lists so that she could buy them. How can you not love her for that?
In what is undoubtedly my favourite piece of research published in the field of sex history last year, the two Robs reclassified a “darning tool”, excavated at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in the 90s, as a dildo.
The phallus dates to the 2nd century AD and is just over six inches long. After carefully examining the shaft, the Robs concluded that Roman women were most likely using it hoeing, not sewing.
The resulting research paper garnered headlines around the world, and more than a few giggles, but I cannot overstate how rare and important this find really is. Finding real sex toys is so unusual and tells us a great deal about historic sexual practices. For me, this is the Dead Sea Scrolls of sex history. Just think of that the next time you’re trying to ditch your Rampant Rabbit in the recycling bin.
She been called a “senior sexpert” and “the woman leading a sex revolution for seniors”, but if you ask her, she will tell you she is an author and advocate for ageless sexuality. I like to call her “Mama Joan” because if there was a woman who wanted the very best for you, its Joan.
Mama Joan has been writing and campaigning for better sex as we get older since she was 57. Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex should be compulsory reading for everyone, regardless of age. As Joan herself puts it, “sex might not feel or look the way it did when our hormone rush propelled us into jet-stream sex, but it can be highly arousing and satisfying”.
Joan turned 80 in 2023 and I was lucky enough to interview her for my podcast. Her passion for helping older people to enjoy sex shone through, and her stories about buying her first vibrator in Macy’s Department Store in the 50s will keep me chuckling for a long time to come. She was so insightful, warm, and witty, I could have kept her there all day. She also looks incredible! If this is what good sex in your golden years can do, then to quote When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Rubina and Poppy are hosts of the hugely successful Brown Girls Do It Too podcast. The show is designed to get people, especially Asian women, talking (and laughing) about sex by sharing their own personal stories.
Rubina and Poppy say that for many Asian girls, openly chatting about sex is firmly off limits. The podcast is a taboo-busting, stigma-shattering riot that creates a space for much needed conversations to take place.
Last year, the dynamic duo brought the show to the Soho Theatre, as Brown Girls Do It Too: Mama Told Me Not To Come, and it was a spectacle to behold. Their candid coming-of-age stories as British Asian women were brutally honest, often heartbreaking, and genuinely hilarious. It had never occurred to me to bounce on a Space Hopper to make myself cum before, but after watching their show, I’ve definitely become Space Hopper curious.
That night, I learned so much about the experiences of young women of colour who have struggled to come to terms with their sexuality and cultural identity. Not just from Rubina and Poppy, but from their audience who clearly relished seeing their own experienced discussed on stage. Both Rubina and Poppy have paid a high price for talking so openly about sex, and the online abuse they have been subjected to featured heavily in the show. I already admired them, but left that theatre in awe of their bravery.
The SWU is a branch of sex workers in the UK, who are organising with BFAWU, campaigning for better working conditions and “fighting to change the industry from within”.
The union formed in 2018 and has been fighting for worker status for sex workers in the UK ever since. Worker status means access to employment rights such as sick pay, pensions, regulated hours and health and safety standards. Although sex work is legal in the UK, and all sex workers are required to pay tax on their earnings, they are rarely regarded as workers and protected by employment law.
I am a huge admirer of all the work they do, but their unwavering support for the women working in Edinburgh’s strip clubs has been nothing short of heroic. In 2022, Edinburgh council moved to enforce a cap on the number of clubs in the city, which would be set at zero. This would effectively mean the banning of strip clubs and the forced unemployment of over 100 workers.
There is no evidence that the presence of these clubs increases violence against women or negatively impacts the surrounding area. The only objection to them is moral. It seems insane to me that in 2023 hundreds of women can be put out of work with no consultation simply because local councillors don’t approve of how they make their money.
The SWU raised funds and forced a judicial review on the move in Edinburgh’s Court of Session. In February 2023, Lord Richardson ruled that councillors had made the call on the “basis of erroneous legal advice” after a two-day hearing. The women working in these clubs are now facing a renewed threat as councillors once again are attempting to ban them from the city. The SWU will continue to fight for the right for sex workers to unionise, work in safety, and protect their members from discrimination.
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