Testimonials
Testimonials
We were incredibly lucky to come across Sarah Byrden’s work and her approach with The Body of Sex. Becasue we work so closely with young people, we felt a responsibility to inlcude sex-education in our Wellness Curriculum. In addition, our organization was experiencing sexual assault within it’s student body and we felt ill-equipped to create an effective curriculum around sex and consent that we could integrate within our programs. We researched many options and possibilities and Sarah’s work was by far the best we could find. Sarah created materials for us to use with our students that were powerful, disarming, effective, holistic and better than we ever imagined. Her materials were empowerfing and reliveing to our instructors becasue they didn’t require them to become experts in sex or consent, but allowed them to champion this essential conversation. I recommend The Body of Sex wholeheartedly.
I used the Body of Sex Digital Curriclum when issues with unhealthy masculinity arose in our group. The boys in our group didn’t recognize or believe this was an issue, but after listening to Sarah’s recordings, they realized how deeply engrained those ideas were, how they were connected to sex and consent and and how they had to do with everything. The recordings were super helpful- it was like having another facilitator step into the room, and Instead of needing to be the expert, I was able to bring in powerful material and then have a powerful discussion.
The sense of calm in the room [during your lecture] was incredible considering some of those women were physically sick due to trauma in the 24 hours preceding your talk – I could not be more thankful.
I just want to thank you so much for coming and speaking. I am sure you can tell from the turn out and the sincerity with which my peers speak, but people my age (especially women) are really craving these kinds of conversations, especially with strong, adult women role models. I think you bring a certain literacy and vocabulary to the table to speak about these kind of issues that is important in itself just to begin having these dialogues, and secondly, for naming and identifying the very real experiences of sexual trauma, frustration, and insecurities women face here.
You may or may not be surprised that most people in that room have probably never heard that they can be sexually empowered without having sex or that sex is beautiful. There is truly such a need for female empowerment, sexually and otherwise, and your words really made an impact for a lot of folks in the room. I know they did for me. Thank you.
I was deeply inspired by your talk and feel that you have a real, world-changing movement building. I think your outlook will provide the much searched for solution to issues of sexual culture on college campuses, and I hope that your voice will touch the lives of so many more.
One of your points that I found particularly relevant was about listening to your innermost voice and trusting that it will lead you in the right direction. Particularly when it comes to romantic relationships, I know that there have been many times where social pressures and the desire to fit in have drowned out that voice inside me. Your talk helped validate my instincts, which I hope will allow me to make better choices for me in the future.
It was a truly powerful seminar and your message really resonated with a lot of happenings and conversations on campus.
So much of what you said resonated deeply with me and came at a point in my life in which I badly needed to hear it.
Please know that [your work] has already made an impact in so many people’s lives.
One of the biggest things that I got out of your talks was [about] the emotional connection..[that it] makes the relationship better physically and that is not something that men are ever told …And even if it is for one night, the ability to feel comfortable and have a deeper connection than just sexual intercourse is not something that men are told about, but that was definitely something valuable about your workshop.
That was an amazing moment for me.. when you describe what it’s like to be a man and express your sexuality. And how we’re taught to behave in a very limited and certain way. I was able to self-reflect and learn that, “wow, she’s right about that, that’s exactly what it’s like!” I was actually kind of stunned, because I was like, how is she speaking to the male experience but she personally hasn’t possibly lived through this?
One of the best parts about what Sarah brought to CC: finally, a real person who wants to talk honestly and openly about the potentials and dangers of sex and sexuality, and is not bound to a strict code or rule book. It’s safe to say that sexual assault and sexual encounters that are not 100% consensual and satisfying to both parties can be found in any college campus or small community…
I walked away from your all-female talk being absolutely blown away – by you, your poise, your openness, your ideas, what you shared and how. I felt so welcomed and whole in your workshop…Thank you so much for the work that you are doing… it’s so important, I wish everyone at my school, every teenager, every human could be in those workshops…
I just want to say thank you SO much for coming to Middlebury to speak with all of us young individuals about sex, pleasure, and loving yourself. I think your work is extremely integral in empowering all individuals, regardless of gender, to take ownership of their body and really explore and enjoy it.
I was actually speechless leaving your talk….your talk really gave me a refresher on what it means to be a woman- and that is SO empowering. You were able to paint sex and sexuality in a positive light, encouraging conversation around a topic that, as you mention, is incredibly misrepresented in society. This is why your work is so important and should spread because it is essentially the Language Arts of sexuality.
I left your talk today brimming with emotion because over the course of an hour, I walked myself through every jarring, uncomfortable, wonderful or confusing sexual encounter I’ve ever had and managed to do something that I’d never even considered an option: forgive myself.
I experienced an inward compassion that I’d never allowed, where I acknowledged how important those negative sexual feelings were and suggested that there was a reason for them other than me being broken.
I’m not, nor have I ever been, broken.
When I decided to come to your talk today, it was mostly to ask how, as a feminist, I could ever enjoy sex again.
I left with the understanding, and the tools, to know that I can enjoy sex, not again, but, more likely, for the first time.
As I was processing all you said and how my view of sex, sexuality, pleasure, etc. was completely altered. When I talked to my boyfriend I found myself explaining that, although I am a woman, I literally know NOTHING about [my own anatomy] – I get the general idea of it’s parts/shapes but when I am to reflect on it, I realized how little I actually knew. And
I feel so, so alive talking about this stuff. It’s like the language I needed so badly. I’d love to find a way to learn more/continue this healing exploration of sexuality. I feel like the hour with you brought me to the cusp of learning this language, and I don’t want to stop.
Thank you, thank you, thank you
I left your talk today brimming with emotion because over the course of an hour, I walked myself through every jarring, uncomfortable, wonderful or confusing sexual encounter I’ve ever had and managed to do something that I’d never even considered an option: forgive myself.
I experienced an inward compassion that I’d never allowed, where I acknowledged how important those negative sexual feelings were and suggested that there was a reason for them other than me being broken.
I’m not, nor have I ever been, broken.
When I decided to come to your talk today, it was mostly to ask how, as a feminist, I could ever enjoy sex again.
I left with the understanding, and the tools, to know that I can enjoy sex, not again, but, more likely, for the first time.
Having Sarah around me has helped me regain whatever confidence I lost, and then some. She radiates love and confidence and has inspired me to love every inch of myself physically and mentally. Sarah is so great at making the people around her feel loved.
She just cares, and that is the best medicine.
Sarah, It is because of you that I could care less about how I look. It is because of you that I have a new fire inside of me.
Something about the concepts she introduced soothed a part of me that had been agitated for a long time. Growing up in a society that looks on sex with shame and embarrassment, I never really knew how to appreciate sex, though clearly it’s something that should be appreciated. [After your workshop] I feel more comfortable, aware, and empowered as a living creature, and I’m excited to continue developing my awareness in this realm.
Having Sarah around me has helped me regain whatever confidence I lost, and then some. She radiates love and confidence and has inspired me to love every inch of myself physically and mentally. Sarah is so great at making the people around her feel loved.
She has helped me to feel confident in this body that I have so frequently called ugly.
Sarah Byrden has a way of making you feel safe just by being present. She is one of the most inspirational and admirable people I have ever met. She has shown me the kind of person I hope to someday become.
I always felt safe with Sarah. She is so grounded and down to earth and she made me feel so comfortable.