Tuppy Owens
Encyclopedia
Tuppy Owens is a British
sex
therapist, consultant, campaigner, and writer.
Tuppy Owens was born in Cambridge
. She gained a degree in zoology
from Exeter University, and then worked in ecology
in Africa
and Trinidad
during three years
as a scientific administrator at the Natural Environment Research Council
.
She settled in London
, where at first she continued that work. Then, in the late 1960s, she established a sex education book publishing company, for which she wrote and published The Sex Maniac’s Diary successfully between 1972 and 1995, and which she operated as a thriving and attention-grabbing business from her Mayfair
flat — for example, the 1975 Sex Maniac's Diary was launched in August 1974 with a reception at the Bristol Hotel in London which was reported on the following day in the Financial Times
.
From 1974, Owens also began lecturing on the subject of sex.
In 1979, Tuppy Owens started Outsiders, for people with disabilities seeking new friends and partners.
From 1984, the diary was published as The Safer Sex Maniac's Diary and provided the first visual instructions to the public on how to put a condom
on securely; it
also reviewed condoms and offered safer sex
advice, all at the beginning of the outbreak of HIV
.
Also in the 1980s, Owens trained as a sex therapist at St George's Hospital Medical School in London, where she gained a diploma in Human Sexuality in
1986. She was also subsequently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.
In the 1990s, after more than 30 years living in London Dr Tuppy Owens moved away and has, since then, lived in a croft in the North of Scotland.
In 2005, Tuppy Owens founded the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA) to bring together health professionals
interested in sex and disability. In November 2009, a conference with the title "Disability: Sex, Relationships and Pleasure" was held by SHADA with the
Royal Society of Medicine
.
Dr Tuppy Owens remains active in running Outsiders. She also runs the Night of the Senses to fund Outsiders, and is the founder and a judge for another fundraiser, The Erotic Awards
. She is agony aunt for INSIDE, the magazine for Outsiders members, and Foreplay. She is the chair of the Sexual Freedom Coalition
also runs the Sex and Disability Helpline.
Owens also:
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
sex
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
therapist, consultant, campaigner, and writer.
Tuppy Owens was born in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. She gained a degree in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
from Exeter University, and then worked in ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
during three years
as a scientific administrator at the Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
.
She settled in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where at first she continued that work. Then, in the late 1960s, she established a sex education book publishing company, for which she wrote and published The Sex Maniac’s Diary successfully between 1972 and 1995, and which she operated as a thriving and attention-grabbing business from her Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
flat — for example, the 1975 Sex Maniac's Diary was launched in August 1974 with a reception at the Bristol Hotel in London which was reported on the following day in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
.
From 1974, Owens also began lecturing on the subject of sex.
In 1979, Tuppy Owens started Outsiders, for people with disabilities seeking new friends and partners.
From 1984, the diary was published as The Safer Sex Maniac's Diary and provided the first visual instructions to the public on how to put a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
on securely; it
also reviewed condoms and offered safer sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
advice, all at the beginning of the outbreak of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
.
Also in the 1980s, Owens trained as a sex therapist at St George's Hospital Medical School in London, where she gained a diploma in Human Sexuality in
1986. She was also subsequently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.
In the 1990s, after more than 30 years living in London Dr Tuppy Owens moved away and has, since then, lived in a croft in the North of Scotland.
In 2005, Tuppy Owens founded the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA) to bring together health professionals
interested in sex and disability. In November 2009, a conference with the title "Disability: Sex, Relationships and Pleasure" was held by SHADA with the
Royal Society of Medicine
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine is a British charitable organisation whose main purpose is as a provider of medical education, running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.- History and overview :...
.
Dr Tuppy Owens remains active in running Outsiders. She also runs the Night of the Senses to fund Outsiders, and is the founder and a judge for another fundraiser, The Erotic Awards
Erotic Awards
The Erotic Awards is an annual British event that honours achievement in erotica worldwide.Founded in 1994 by sexuality campaigner Tuppy Owens, the awards were first called the Erotic Oscars, until the name had to be changed. The awards ceremony are held during the Night of the Senses, an annual...
. She is agony aunt for INSIDE, the magazine for Outsiders members, and Foreplay. She is the chair of the Sexual Freedom Coalition
Sexual Freedom Coalition
The Sexual Freedom Coalition is a pro-sex campaign organization and political pressure group based in the United Kingdom that challenges the laws which take away the sexual freedoms of consenting adults and also challenges the media and official bodies that show disrespect for sex.The Sexual...
also runs the Sex and Disability Helpline.
Publications
Owens was author of:- Photographs of caterpillars in Trinidad Scientific American: August 1967
- Sexual Harmony. London: Highbury Press, 1969
- Love in the Open Air. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1970
- The Sex Maniac's Diary. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1972-1995 (from 1987 called The Safer Sex Maniac's Diary)
- Column in Club International. London: Paul Raymond Publications, 1975–6
- Take Me I'm Yours. Edinburgh: Paul Harris Publishing, 1978
- Mothercare Diary. London: Readers Digest, 1980
- Practical Suggestions. London: Outsiders Trust, from 1980 to present
- Emotions in Focus — catalogue of the Exhibition of the same name which opened at The Round House in 1983 (International Year of Disabled People). London: the Outsiders Trust, 1983
- INSIDE. London: the Outsiders Trust, 1984–1998 and 2002–present
- The Sex Maniac's Bible. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1989
- The Sex Maniac's Address Book. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1989
- Little Book of Delights (annually). London: the Leydig Trust, 1989–present
- The Organ monthly. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1990–1993
- The Making of Sensations. New York: Rhinoceros, 1993
- Introduction to Half Dressed, She Obeyed. Stockport: Divine Press, 1993
- The Politically Correct Guide to Getting Laid. London: Cand Haven Ltd., 1995
- The Sexual Skills and Needs of Disabled Men — A Female Perspective Sexuality & Disability Journal. New York: Kluwer Academic/Human Sciences Press, 1996
- Planet Sex — The Handbook. London: Cand Haven Ltd, 1996
- Disabled People Make the Best Clients presented at the ICOP Conference, Los Angeles 1997 and then globally
- A column in Desire 2000–2008
- Contributions to The Sex Book. London: Cassells, 2002
- Foreword to Baby Oil and Ice. London: The Do-Not Press, 2002
- Columns in Forum and Erotic Review, 2005–2009
- Content for the Sex and Disability section of the Lovers' Guide website 2007
- Philip's Aspidistra: the Owens' Bequest in About Larkin, Journal of the Philip Larkin Society No 24, October 2007
- Sex and Disability, an article on TheSite.org, Youthnet, 2009
- Chapters in A Guide to Sexual Dysfunction in Men. Leicestershire: Troubador Publishing Ltd., 2010
- Ten Things to Know About Sex and Disability. London: Royal College of Art and Imperial College, 2010
Owens also:
- Edited and wrote much of Consenting Adults, a free newspaper. London: Sexual Freedom Coalition, 1998–1999
- Was European correspondent of crew (magazine)|Screw magazine. Milky Way Productions, New York 1982–92
- Co-authored (with Linda Lewis) eight sets of Guidelines for Implementing a Policy on "Sexuality and Relationships for Disabled Adults" aimed at colleges; residential homes; nurses, social workers, case workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists; disability agencies; consultants; GPs; spinal and other rehabilitation units. SHADA on www.shada.org.uk 2009
- Co-authored (with Linda Lewis) a policy on the Use of Sex Workers. SHADA on www.shada.org.uk 2009
- Serves as Agony Aunt for Foreplay magazine, 2010 to present.
External links
- Website of Dr Petra Boynton, interview with Dr Tuppy Owens
- Website of Outsiders
- Website of SHADA (the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance)
- Website of the Night of the Senses