Kink trailblazer Midori joins us for episode 165. Now at the helm of the first Kink Informed Professionals Certification of its kind, Midori recently partnered with the Sexual Health Alliance to bridge the gap between BDSM and mental health/care professions. Once pathologized, kink has recently become a serious area of professional interest and study. In this conversation, Midori tells us how myths from popular culture and those perpetrated by the BDSM community itself have contributed to bias in care professions. We pinpoint why the mental health field is beginning to see BDSM as a healthy outlet for creativity, resilience, and valid erotic expression. We also touch on the ways abuse hides within kink and how stigma around that affects our relationships with therapists, doctors, social workers, attorneys, and other care professionals we come into contact with.  ____________________________________ --Submit your BDSM & sex advice questions by email to americansexpodcast@gmail.com --To support American Sex podcast, please visit http://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               Sunny & Ken, xo! ____________________________________  Episode 164 Links  Kink Informed Certification - Sexual Health Alliance https://sexualhealthalliance.com/kink-informed-certification-program Midori Twitter https://twitter.com/PlanetMidori Midori Instagram https://www.instagram.com/planetmidori/ Midori Newsletter https://www.fhp-inc.com/newsletter Midori class/event calendar http://www.FHP-Inc.com/classes Midori’s Patreon https://www.patreon.com/PlanetMidori/ KPACT The Psychological Appeal of BDSM 10/15/2021 https://www.kpact.xyz/product/the-psychological-appeal-of-bdsm/ Consent Dojo w/Midori & Sunny Megatron (free!) 9/14/21 11am PT https://shibaristudy.com/authors/midori Midori History of Shibari (free!) 9/4/21 11am  https://shibaristudy.com/programs/histories-and-cultures-of-shibari Creative Living Coaching and Private Sexological Consultations: ask@planetmidori.com Sex Down South Virtual Conference Fri 9/10-Sun 9/12 https://hopin.com/events/sex-down-south-conference-2021 Open Deeply Podcast http://opendeeplypodcast.com Ken’s charity DnD game Monday’s 4pm-7pm PT https://www.twitch.tv/thunderpantsacademy American Sex Podcast Discord Community http://bit.ly/discordasp American Sex Podcast subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/americansexpodcast American Sex Podcast Patreon http://patreon.com/americansex   Episode 165 Sponsor, Affiliate & Giveaway Info 30% off ANY SATISFYER when you use this link https://us.satisfyer.com/us/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=SUNNY&utm_campaign=2H AND enter code SUNNY30 at checkout. 30 day free trial of Dipsea Stories when you use code SUNNY http://dipseastories.com/sunny Get 20% off + free shipping at Manscaped.com with code SUNNY http://manscaped.com Get 20% off everything from http://gvibe.com including the limited edition Gbulb with code SUNNY Hot & Healthy Erotic Humiliation recorded class https://gum.co/humiliationclass Prostate Play for Beginners (recorded class) from Sugar Baltimore https://www.sugartheshop.com/prostate-milking-for-beginners.html Sunny & Ken’s classes on Kink Academy http://bit.ly/kinkacademyelectric & http://bit.ly/kinkacademyhumiliation 10% off American Sex Podcast & Sunny Megatron merch with code SUNNY (t-shirts, mugs, phone cases & more) http://bit.ly/sunnyshirts 15% off your order at Lovehoney when you use this link http://bit.ly/lovehoney15 (This link can be a little wonky and does not keep tracking cookies. If the discount does not show up in your cart (or disappears after you shop around on the site), access the site with that link again. Your items will still be in your cart & the discount w