We had the good fortune of connecting with Tatyannah King and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tatyannah, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?

People probably aren’t aware of how difficult it is to market myself through social media because of the “mature nature” of what I blog about. Even though I see nothing wrong with openly discussing sex in both educational ways and from a personal standpoint on public platforms, I’ve always known that anything involving sex comes with risks. I’ve always seen how accurate and comprehensive information about sexuality is seen as a threat rather than an enhancement or integral part of people’s lives, and I’ve always wanted to change that.

From a young age, my parents taught me a large chunk of what I needed to know about sex and relationships, and I loved to gossip with my peers about everything I learned in my household, so I remember chatting with my friends on the playground during the second grade, asking them “Did your parents teach you about where babies actually come from?” Much to my surprise, none of them had that conversation with their parents yet. So, I took it upon myself to tell them about the uterus, C-sections, what vaginas look like, and the basics of procreation. Next thing I remember, my teachers encouraged me not to talk about with my peers about sex yet. It eventually got to the extent that some of my friends’ parent asked my mom to tell me not to talk to her children about sex-related topics.

Ever since then, more and more instances made me realize that our society has an issue with confronting sexuality at its core. For example, due to community guidelines on social media, a lot of my content has to be censored on social media platforms like Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. If the algorithm senses that a topic is “inappropriate” (a category many sex education fall into, despite most of them being educational or comedic rather than explicit), that specific content may get restricted on the app and will get lower views, fewer likes, fewer shares, and less engagement overall, which of course, poses a risk to how I my marketing and branding. In order to prevent a post from getting banned on the app, sometimes I have to resort to spelling words like “porn” and “sex” incorrectly and avoid relevant hashtags like #sex, #sexed, or #sexualhealth. It’s very unfortunate, but I do what I can to work around it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
One day a friend suggested that I become a blogger, so I started writing for a publishing platform called the Odyssey in 2018. Right before I published my first article through the Odyssey, my exact words were ‘Nobody’s gonna read this stuff anyway. Might as well go for it.’ And boy, was I wrong. Week by week I got more views and engagement to the point where a former editor for Swoon, the Odyssey’s only published content channel for sex & relationships, reached out to me via email and asked if I wanted to join their editorial team to write specifically about sex, dating, and relationships. Not too long after joining their team, more editors from other publications noticed me and asked me to write for them. To this day, I’ve written for amazing publications like Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, Mashable, HuffPost and more!

One of the articles I’m most proud of was a collaboration with the world’s most famous sex expert, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Growing up, I didn’t have many role models in the field of human sexuality because it’s not as mainstream of a career yet. However, being able to interview her over the phone was mind-blowing for me, and I will always remember the advice she gave to me about how millennial couples can foster long-lasting relationships amid a time where it sometimes seems like old-fashioned courting has gone out of style.

I’m also really proud of the reviews and gift guides I’ve written featuring the most popular sex toys in the sex tech industry, seeing as those have been one of the most highly requested articles by both singles and couples. I enjoy giving suggestions to others no matter if they’re new to experimenting with sex toys or they have an entire drawer full of vibrators in their room.

Another one I’m extremely proud of is an article I recently published in Cosmo about how I’ve embraced rocking my natural hair in the bedroom as a Black woman. It’s refreshing to write about topics that not only aren’t discussed regularly on top platforms, but are near and dear to my heart.

My ultimate goals is to become a clinical sex therapist and help both singles and couples work on any issues related to sexual dysfunction, sexual satisfaction and relational satisfaction. Because of my ultimate career goals, I’m currently attending Widener University to get my masters degrees in Social Work and Human Sexuality with a concentration in sex therapy.

Until then, I’m happy to dip my toes in water of the field of sexuality through blogging topics that help people live their most fulfilling sex lives and eliminate shame and anxiety surrounding their most intimate relationships.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Because I travel around the world to go to different sex conferences, I’m gonna edit this question a little bit and share some of the most fun, interesting and exciting sex conferences people should go to whether they’re an academic looking to broaden their research or a person looking to deepen intimacy with their partner.

For starters, anyone who is the least bit interested in kink/BDSM should attend Kinky Kollege in Chicago, IL. During the conference, they host various classes that provide a deep dive into many aspects of kink/BDSM. Some the examples for classes include “Fire flogging 101”, “Yoga for Better Kink”, and “ Electrical Sensation Play with Electro-stimulation Devices.” The conference also hosts nightly parties in a 150,000 sq ft dungeon!

Another conference I suggest going to is Sex Down South in Atlanta, GA. This conference hosts various workshops about the intersectional aspect of human sexuality. If you’re in need of intellectual social gatherings with people from various backgrounds in the sexuality field and artistic and sensual nightly entertainment, this one’s for you!

Lastly, if you’re interested in going to an expo that gives you the opportunity to meet your favorite adult performers, consider going to Exxxotica which is hosted in 4 different cities throughout the year. Not only can you meet the top adult performers in the industry, but you can splurge on some of the top sex toy companies who exhibit during the expo.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shout-out to Widener University, the school I am currently getting my master’s degree in Human Sexuality in. Anyone who is thinking of perusing a career in sexuality would consider enrolling there too 🙂

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Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/taty_k_king?lang=en

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