Humans crave belonging, it’s even smack dab in the middle of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This week, Dixie De La Tour of Bawdy Storytelling tells us about her years of building community. We learn how acknowledging your authentic self through community changes your self-perception; self-talk transforms from “it was all my fault, I’m a horrible person” to “I'm ok, I did the best I could, I’m not alone.” We touch on the power of vulnerability, cultivating empathy, and finding the courage to tell the stories people really want and need to hear. You’ll learn how to find community in unlikely places no matter where or how you live and why connecting with others in a non-sexual way is essential in sexual subcommunities. A supportive community is not only life-changing, it can also be lifesaving. Dixie also shares a powerful story about how the community she built and her use of the word “vagina” in that community not only healed trauma for an entire family but stopped a habitual abuser from continuing to commit unthinkable crimes.     Submit your BDSM & sex advice questions by email to americansexpodcast@gmail.com To support American Sex podcast, please visit patreon.com/americansex (plus you’ll get all episodes early, secret episodes, bonus stories from guests, on-air shout-outs, stuff in the mail & more!) Get friendly with us on Twitter at @AmericanSexPod or visit sunnymegatron.com or americansexpodcast.com Join our mailing list by visiting http://sunnymegatron.com/newsletter or texting MEGATRON to 444999   Sunny & Ken, xo! ____________________________________ Episode 102 Links Bawdy Website: www.BawdyStorytelling.com Listen to the Bawdy Storytelling podcast at  http://bit.ly/bawdypodcast Support Bawdy on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Bawdy Twitter http://twittercom/Bawdy Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bawdystorytelling/ Facebook  www.Facebook.com/BawdyStorytelling YouTube http://bit.ly/BawdyTV The Bawdy Storytelling Podcast is ON TOUR! Tickets now available: Seattle http://bit.ly/BawdySEALiveSept2019 San Francisco http://bit.ly/BawdyFolsom2019 Los Angeles http://bit.ly/BawdyLA Chicago http://bit.ly/BawdyChicago New York http://bit.ly/BawdyNYC VOTE for your city to be our next destination at https://bawdystorytelling.com/testtickle Kevin Patterson Love’s Not Colorblind Book about building inclusive sex-positive spaces https://www.amazon.com/dp/1944934464/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_t2_DiNUzbMDAA9EW Kevin Patterson episode http://sunnymegatron.com/kevin-patterson-loves-not-color-blind-american-sex-podcast/ Kinky Salon https://www.kinkysalon.com/ The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown free on Audible with 30-day trial http://www.audibletrial.com/aspodcast Diminuendo Movie https://www.amazon.com/Diminuendo-Dykstra-Robinson-Rebecca-Calvert/dp/B07XFQWHNZ/ Sex Educator Skill Share Conference http://sextoyradio.com/sex-educator-skill-share-conference Fire Woman Retreat http://firewomanretreat.com/sunny American Sex Podcast subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/americansexpodcast  Episode 102 Sponsor, Affiliate & Giveaway Info Get 20% off + free shipping at Manscaped.com with code SUNNY  http://manscaped.com 10% off American Sex Podcast & Sunny Megatron merch with code SUNNY (t-shirts, mugs, phone cases & more) http://bit.ly/sunnyshirts Sunny & Ken’s classes on Kink Academy http://bit.ly/kinkacademyelectric  & http://bit.ly/kinkacademyhumiliation 15% off your order at Lovehoney when you use this link http://bit.ly/lovehoney15 15% off everything at Lelo.com with code SUNNY 10% off everything (with minor restrictions) online from woman-owned, feminist, trans & queer-friendly Early To Bed http://bit.ly/sunnyearlytobed At least 25% off BDSM gear & sex toys with Stockroom’s daily deal (there’s a new product each day!) https://www.stockroom.com/dailydeal/?acc=7c590f01490190db0ed02a5070e20f01