As part of our Sex Blogger Directory, we're profiling sex bloggers about their work and, of course, sex! This month, we're soooooooo pumped that we got to talk to Erika Moen, the writer and cartoonist for Oh Joy, Sex Toy. Not only is this funny, adorable blog one of our very favorites, it's also topping our directory thanks to its huge fan following. Oh, and did we mention that this sex blog is a comic strip?
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Check out our interview with Erika below. You can also see our past profiles here.
Kinkly: Give us three words that describe your blog.
Erika Moen: Cute, funny, friendly
Kinkly: What inspired you to start the blog?
I wanted to make the kind of sex ed resource that I needed when I was learning about sex. Something entertaining and friendly, that made me feel like I was part of the conversation and not being lectured at. I want to help portray the silly, funny, joyful, friendly, awkward side of sex, which usually feels overshadowed by the seriousness and intensity that can come with it.
Kinkly: What’s behind the name?
Erika Moen: I’m the woooooorst at naming things, so I asked my friends to help me come up with some titles that would communicate the feel of my comics. Silly and fun and sexy. Amy T. Falcone (http://cliquerefresh.com) popped right back with Oh Joy, Sex Toy, which was perfect.
Kinkly: Who’s your target reader?
Erika Moen: People who want to laugh while they learn. People who like terrible puns. People who like to see a diverse display of bodies.
Kinkly: What’s unique about your blog?
Erika Moen: It’s comics! All my "blog" posts are 4-6 pages of comics stacked on top of each other to create a towering column of illustrated dicks and vulvas and sex toys. Because my blog is visual, I have the unique opportunity to portray a very wide variety of body types, races, and gender presentations being happily sexually active. I also regularly feature guest cartoonists to further broaden the perspectives and types of subjects covered on my site.
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Kinkly: What is the topic you find yourself covering most often and why?
Erika Moen: Sex toy reviews, because companies send me so many and those posts help pay my bills through affiliate sales. After that, sex education.
Kinkly: What was your most popular post ever? Why do you think it drew so many readers?
Erika Moen: How to Eat Pussy. There are so many written resources about cunnilingus, but if you don’t have a vulva right in front of you to reference, those instructions might as well be telling you how to operate the Mars Range Rover. You need to SEE what those guides are talking about. Before my first girlfriend, I had absolutely no clue how you were supposed to perform oral sex on a vulva and I very actively wished there was an illustrated guide for people like me. Well, after a decade and plenty of time spent in the trenches, so to speak, I decided to create that resource for everyone else who may need it too.
Kinkly: What’s the best thing about writing a sex blog?
Erika Moen: Making people laugh, helping people to see sex as funny and joyful. Oh my gosh, and hearing from people who bought toys based off my recommendations! I can’t believe I’ve helped so many strangers get their first sex toy, it makes me so happy. Hearing from people who say my comics helped them or helped their relationship. It’s amazing to me.
Personally, it’s helped keep things interesting in my own relationship, too! My husband and I HAVE to try all these new toys and contraptions together, it’s fun to explore new stuff with him. And we work on this site together, so it’s given us a project to develop together. We’re always talking about comic ideas and editing each others’ scripts. Getting to collaborate with my husband is the best.
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Kinkly: What’s the worst thing about it?
Erika Moen: The update schedule is kind of punishing. It takes me an entire week to make each comic and I have no buffer. I work all the time, easily seven days a week (although I’ve been trying really, really hard to make sure I can take the weekends off.) After a year, I’m … actually not that keen to try a new sex toy every week? That sounds insane saying it, but it’s true.
Kinkly: OK, now for the good stuff: Give us your best tip for great sex.
Erika Moen: Communication! Always talk with your partner (whether it's your partner for the evening or your partner for life) about what you both want and don’t want, and keep that dialog going throughout your encounter. In a long-term relationship, your tastes can change - keep your partner up to date!
If you love Oh Joy, Sex Toy, head on over to Kickstarter and chip in a few dollars (or a few hundred, whatever) for the first Oh Joy, Sex Toy book. It would make great bathroom reading, no?
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