Patti Britton, Ph.D., is a nationally board-certified clinical sexologist, sex coach, certified sex educator and president of the American Association for Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Through her couples workshops, books, columns, website, videos and clinical practice she has become one of the nation’s best known sex experts.

JZ:  Many believe that America is a very open and free nation for sexual expression. Would you agree?

BRITTON:  No. Actually, there’s a general societal taboo against truly open sexual expression. And that has a negative effect. Three out of ten men and four out of ten women report having a sexual dysfunction. There are several causes. One is the influence of conservative religious views. People are made to feel guilt, fear and shame. We need to remove the punitive tone around sexual behavior.

JZ:  How can that be accomplished?

BRITTON:  We need to get government off our backs and out of our bedrooms. It’s like a reign of terror. Sex therapists, for example, should be able to put images on their websites without having to watch their backs. It might not always seem like it, but the fingers of repression are deep.

JZ:  Please elaborate. How are people being hurt by government suppression of sexual speech?

BRITTON:  Sex education in school. It has to change. Students are getting misinformation because our own government has misappropriated sex education and promulgates inaccurate information about facts of life that can actually put young people at risk for STI’s, pregnancy and worse. Access to accurate sexuality information is a birthright, and students don’t have that in this country. It’s an atrocity. There’s absolutely no sex-positive information about how to be a good lover. So they often need a therapist’s help later. Government contributes to making us sex-phobic. So we can’t openly discuss with young people how to make sex safe or safe sex erotic, which would be a healthier direction.

JZ:  How about explicit adult video? Is that a form of expression that deserves First Amendment protection? Or, it is a negative force in our society, as some allege?

BRITTON:  As far as I’m concerned, there’s very little content that causes harmful results. There are no studies that demonstrate harmful effects from porn, except maybe with some kinds of violence, which is rare to find within adult content. Then again, violent content is rampant in R-rated movies that promote violence and often link it with sexual imagery or behaviors. Most real pornography is non-threatening, fantasy-based sex – another sexual outlet that may be good for some people. So I’m a pro-porn therapist. For many folks porn is their only positive role modeling for being sexual and offers that needed element of variety. One could even say that having a means to bring variety into sex for married couples saves marriages. The only harm I see is that in some cases it may steal time away from the primary human relationship. And of course, subtly men learn how to pleasure a partner or think what to expect from a woman based on what they feed on in porn. That’s not reality. It is mostly fantasy.

JZ:  So, if you controlled the Supreme Court, how would you apply the First Amendment differently?

BRITTON:  Erotic and sexual expression should be protected from government intrusion just like other kinds of speech. Sex is an important, highly individual aspect of life. One could make the case that sex is even necessary for your health. There are many different views about it. But government should not be free to take sides and dictate what is acceptable expression.  American couples today face an epidemic of low desire and other sexual dysfunctions. So there needs to be an erotophilic celebration in this country, not shame and intolerance. Maybe we could get to the celebration if government got out of the way.