Please complete your profile to unlock commenting and other important features.

Please select your date of birth for special perks on your birthday. Your username will be your unique profile link and will be publicly used in comments.
Narcity Pro

This is a Pro feature.

Time to level up your local game with Narcity Pro.

Pro

$5/month

$40/year

  • Everything in the Free plan
  • Ad-free reading and browsing
  • Unlimited access to all content including AI summaries
  • Directly support our local and national reporting and become a Patron
  • Cancel anytime.
For Pro members only Pro
Summary

6 Wild Moments From The Sue Johanson Sex-Ed Show I Can't Believe Aired In The '90s (VIDEO)

"Vaginal farts are wonderful things."

Canadian sex educator Sue Johanson on David Letterman's show.

Canadian sex educator Sue Johanson on David Letterman's show.

Senior Writer

Canadian sex educator and icon Sue Johanson recently passed away, but her teachings will live on for decades to come.

On June 29, the former host of Sunday Night Sex Show and Talk Sex with Sue Johanson died at the age of 93, according to reports, which prompted many Canadians to share memories of the impact that she had on them.

Her work was so important in the country that in 2021, she was awarded an Order of Canada for being a "strong, successful advocate for sex education in Canada."

This article contains graphic content that might not be suitable for some readers.

In both of her shows, Sue answered people's questions about sex in a no-nonsense way and often used dolls, dildos and phallic-shaped objects to illustrate the answers she gave, which was talked about in a recent documentary about her life called Sex with Sue.

While this may not seem too risque in 2023, in the early 90s and 2000s this was basically unheard of.

Unfortunately, the old episodes aren't around anymore, but there's quite a bit of her content that's been uploaded to YouTube on various accounts. Here are six times she gave people the unapologetic answers they were looking for.

When she explained why you shouldn't have sex in a hot tub

When a caller asked whether it was a good idea to have sex in the hot tub with their girlfriend, she immediately gave him a big "no."

"Now the hot tub has got chlorine in it," Sue explained. "And so you're having sex under the water, right? You're thrusting penis in vagina. You are forcing water into her vagina."

Apparently, this can lead to her vagina getting "sore, raw, red" and "irritated."

"And then they're worried that there's a possibility that the water will go up through her cervix, through her uterus and into her fallopian tubes and then drip into her abdomen. And there is some concern that that might cause endometriosis."

The more you know!

When she talked about vaginal farts

Next up, who could forget when she tackled the hot topic of "vaginal farts."

"I just called to ask, when my girlfriend and I have sex, either with a dildo or with her fingers, when I'm getting ready to have an orgasm I often have vaginal farts," explained one caller. "I was wondering, is there any way to stop doing that?"

Sue had a very quick answer.

"No! Why? Vaginal farts are wonderful things. It's something we can do, guys can't do it," she said. "And ours don't stink. Theirs do."

When she lectured someone about not using condoms for "bum sex"

When someone confirmed that they weren't using condoms for "bum sex," Sue laid out the facts.

"Now, Lisa, Lisa: think. He is putting his penis in your rectum, right? That rectum has feces in there," she explained. "Feces are loaded with bacteria. Now he's gonna pick up some of that bacteria on his penis, right? And then he's gonna have intercourse with you, vaginal intercourse and he hasn't washed his penis and he wasn't using a condom."

"You're gonna get the infection. I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about you."

When she was bamboozled by a camera on a dildo

"Well, you know what? They couldn't leave well enough alone," Sue said while showing off a sex toy. "And what they've done is put a tiny camera into the end of the dildo. Yes, you heard right. A camera that hooks up to your TV."

She then demonstrated how it would work by using her hand to simulate a vagina.

"Well, all I can say is thank god it's in black and white."

When she made David Letterman blush

This moment didn't actually happen on her sex-ed show, but while sitting down and chatting with David Letterman on the Late Show, Sue did not hold back.

"What are people talking about?" Letterman asked. "What do they want to know, what are they worried about? What are they concerned about? Are there any really new questions about sex?"

"Oh, yeah, there are quite a few new ones," answered Sue. "But the old preoccupation with penis size, you know, bigger is better, and if you're going to be a good lover, you've got to have a 12 inch —"

Before she could finish the sentence, Letterman cut her off, saying "Easy!" and tried to loosen the collar of his dress shirt in apparent discomfort.

He then proceeded to look around in disbelief and fan himself with a piece of paper.

"When that question comes up, how do you resolve it?" Letterman asked.

"You see, what people don't realize is that penis size does not matter. Because the top two-thirds of the vagina has no nerve endings," she explained. "There's nobody home up there."

"Bottom one-third. That's where the action is."

When she shared a story about peanut butter

And when asked about memorable calls to her show she's had, Letterman prompted Sue to chat about a question she had received about peanut butter.

"Well, you had to ask, didn't ya?" she said. "You want to go there?"

She then explained what happened.

"This guy phoned in and asked if it was okay if he could masturbate into a jar of peanut butter," the educator shared.

"That'll get you thrown out of the supermarket," remarked Letterman.

Sue then explained that during the calls, she wears a piece in her ear that connects her back to the control room of the show.

"And my director is saying 'ask if it's crunchy or smooth,'" she said of the situation, which caused Letterman and the audience to break into laughter.

"Well sure," said Letterman. "It makes all the difference."

"I've never eaten peanut butter since," Sue said.

An absolute icon — rest in peace, Sue.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Senior Writer

    Sarah Rohoman (she/her) was a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. She has worked at BuzzFeed Canada, Yahoo Canada, and CBC Radio in news, lifestyle, ecommerce, and social media. She has an MA in Journalism from Western University and a BA from McGill. She loves libraries, alpacas, and all things witchy.

You're not a true Vancouverite unless you've experienced these 13 things

How many can you check off? Tally your score at the end!