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Voyeurism Sex Therapy

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“All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare’s As You Like It), on which some of us love to play, and some of us prefer to watch. The players tend to get the glory, but without an audience there’s not much of a show.

Let’s face it: lots of us like to watch. We’re not talking Shakespeare here, though that can be erotic as well… we’re talking about sex. We’re talking about the thrill of watching another’s most intimate activities, getting turned on by seeing someone else get turned on.

Would you say this is you? If so, you might be a voyeur. Everyone’s a little bit of one, at least. We can all get turned on by the sight of something or someone really sexy.  But some of us are more voyeuristic than others.  Some of us like to cultivate our voyeuristic tendencies like wine connoisseurs cultivate their palettes, tasting different vintages.  Perhaps you like to look through the silver screen into erotic worlds you’ve never seen. Maybe it’s a film or a digital stream on your computer or phone. Porn, after all, is the most common kind of erotic voyeurism going on in the modern world. And despite its popular explosion in the early 21st Century, visual erotica has been with us since humanity first started cave painting.

Then again, maybe you like to see it live, perhaps in a strip club, or fantasize about the quintessential live sex performance, with you sitting back like a sultan with your harem of exhibitionistic sex performance artists titillating your fancy in every way imaginable to delight your eyes and ears.  Then again, maybe your favorite type of voyeurism is a bit more secretive. Do you like to sneak a peak through a keyhole, a hole in a shower wall or up through the floorboards of an old porch, like a child discovering something naughty?  Do you like to look through your neighbor’s window, catching them in an intimate moment: a couple arguing and then making passionate love, a he-man flexing his naked muscles in his home gym, a beautiful woman undressing alone in her bathroom, stepping into the Jacuzzi, spreading her legs and masturbating to an aquatic orgasm on one of the ferociously whirling jets?  Or do you like to combine exhibitionism and voyeurism, and just watch yourself in the mirror?

What does it mean to be seen?  To be seen is to be a star.  A sex symbol–immortal, if only for a moment.  So what about seeing?  To see is to glimpse a special secret, to go behind the curtain, to gain knowledge. Knowledge is power, and sexual knowledge is sexual power.  No wonder you feel so excited and even powerful when you see someone or something special in a sexual way.  No wonder we all can appreciate the erotic pleasures of voyeurism.

The passive delights of voyeurism are especially popular among the rich and powerful. Pope Alexander IX was one of history’s most decadent voyeurs.  That’s right, a Catholic pope was openly enjoying banquets such as what follows, as described by his master of ceremonies Burchard, Bishop of Ostia: “Fifty reputable courtesans supped at the Vatican…and after supper they danced about with the servants and others in that place, first in their clothes and then nude…candelabras and lighted candles were set on the floor and chestnuts were strewn about and the naked courtesans on hands and feet gathered them up, wriggling in and out among the candelabras…Then all those present in the hall were carnally treated in public… The pope gave prizes to the men who copulated the most times with the courtesans.”  Pope Alexander IX of the notorious Borgia family ruled the Catholic faithful from 1492 until his death in 1503 and was known for his libertine pleasures as well as for his relatively benign treatment of Jews, slaves and others.  Possibly all that voyeuristic entertainment helped to make him more “Catholic,” at least in the liberal, compassionate sense of the word. Other famous voyeurs from the annals of history include Lord Byron, Casanova, Charlie Chaplin, King Farouk, Errol Flynn, Maxim Gorki, Victor Hugo, Martin Luther and the notorious Marquis de Sade.

voyeur

Some call voyeurs “Peeping Toms,” stemming from the medieval story of Lady Godiva—obviously an aristocratic exhibitionist—who rode through town naked to protest her husband Lord Godiva’s unfair taxing of the townspeople (a bleeding heart liberal show-off if ever there was one). All the townspeople were supposed to close their shutters and not look upon the naked Lady on her horse. But one naughty, rather horny young man named Tom couldn’t resist taking a peep (can you blame him?), so that’s where we get the term “Peeping Tom.”

Though the word “voyeur” comes from the French, voir, “to see”, let’s not forget it really encompasses more than just the eyes. Sound is a big part of the pleasure of sensual observation.  Ever find yourself overhearing the muffled moans of a housemate or neighbor banging away across the hall? Maybe you put your ear up to the door for more? Perhaps you’ve passed by an open window and had to stop yourself, listening to the excited breathing, a headboard hitting the wall, heightened voices… coming from just beyond. Did it turn you on? How could it not? Feelings are contagious, after all, and sound transports feelings, especially if the sound is someone sighing or crying out in ecstasy.

Speaking of feelings, do you need to talk about your voyeuristic desires, experiences or fantasies?  Are your voyeuristic feelings getting you into trouble—or on the verge of trouble?  Are you watching “too much” porn—maybe to the point that you feel (or someone you love feels) you are “addicted”?  Are you spending so much time watching that you have no time or energy to actually do anything with your sex life?  Would you sometimes rather just watch porn than have sex with your lover, even if she’s right in your bed waiting for you?  Are you looking at stuff that’s illegal?  Are you spying on someone without their consent?  Do you find yourself going to strip clubs instead of doing the hard work of playing the dating game?  Are you spending all your money on erotic entertainers who dominate you, turning you into a helpless “money slave” to their demands?  Are they humiliating you, cuckolding you and taking advantage of your voyeuristic needs?  Has your voyeurism morphed into cheating?  Are you doing things that make you feel ashamed and guilty afterwards?  Are your natural voyeuristic desires spiraling out of control?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you would greatly benefit by talking with someone who understands your desires and can help you regain control and keep them from ruining your life—without being forced to “abstain” or give up the natural, positive pleasures of voyeurism.  This is a specialty of ours here at the Dr. Susan Block Institute.  Many “regular” sex therapists aren’t comfortable addressing these topics, or perhaps you don’t feel comfortable talking to a regular therapist about your most personal feelings.  Whatever your concerns, rest assured, you can talk to us. World-renowned sexologist Dr. Susan Block, a Yale graduate with two doctorates, and the therapists of the Institute, are all excellent in their various fields, utilizing telephone sex therapy to listen, talk to you and help you deal with all your voyeuristic pleasures, problems, questions and desires.  You can talk to us about anything, and usually we can help, as we have helped people all over the world for over two decades.

And yes, you can masturbate, if you like, during sessions.  And, no, there is no other sex therapy or phone sex service quite like ours.  Our form of sex therapy is unique in that we can discuss and help you with your real-life situations, and/or we can enter the Erotic Theater of the Mind (your mind or ours or a combination) and roleplay your voyeuristic fantasies—even the forbidden kind that would get you into serious trouble if you acted them out in real life.  In fact, one of our specialties is “the forbidden,” the stuff you can’t talk about to anyone else.  After all, pretty much everything is safe on the phone—where you can close your eyes and fantasize the wildest scenes possible through the hidden camera of your imagination. Moreover, rest assured that your secrets are safe with us.  Therapy with the Institute is completely private, discreet and confidential.  Of course, we can’t tell you their names, but we count many celebrities and world leaders among our clients, so we understand the importance of strict confidentiality.  We have been around and we intend to stay around, and we value your privacy as we value our reputation.

Voyeuristic phone sex therapy is fun, satisfying, edifying, defuses desires (so you’re less likely to get into trouble) and often leads to great insights into your sexuality and other aspects of your deeper self.  We’ve found the phone—private, intimate and essentially non-visual—to be an excellent vehicle for this kind of erotic insight.  Then again, voyeurism is primarily a visual interest, and you can also enjoy a very personal voyeuristic experience tailored to your desires with one of our webcam sex therapists.

Whatever your voyeuristic pleasure or problem, we’re here for you, 24/7, every day and night, including holidays, whether you need to talk…or just watch.  Give us a call anytime at 213.291.9497.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Tantric Phone Sex Therapy

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Do you seek a more spiritual approach to sexuality?

Are you dissatisfied with the sex-negative dogma of most organized religions, yet not entirely comfortable with the crass, objectifying, even soul-deadening lack of intimacy involved in most non-spiritual approaches to sex?

Do you want to find “pure bliss” in this lifetime? Do you desire erotic enlightenment?  Do you long to feel the deepest connection between your body and your partner’s, or between the universe inside and outside of you? Would you like to experience better, more frequent, and longer orgasms? Full-body orgasms? Touch-free orgasms? Or are orgasms not really the point for you? Do you yearn for the kind of soul-enlivening intimacy that can only be called “spiritual”?

Are you striving to make sex more than just a path to orgasm, more even than just something “enjoyable”? Do you have a sense that there is a more intense pleasure and deeper understanding and connection available through sex than you have yet experienced? Do you long to practice a more “sacred” sexuality?  Or, perhaps your desires are more down to earth… perhaps you are seeking a real solution to a real physical problem. Then again, maybe you are just curious by nature, and are eager to explore new regions of erotic knowledge and understanding.

In any case, if the answer to more than one of the above questions is “yes,” you would benefit from learning something about Tantric Sex.

Although there are many definitions, Tantra is a body of beliefs, practices, and teachings aimed at expanding consciousness, enhancing interconnectedness, and weaving the different natures of the universe into an integrated whole. In fact, the word “tantra” means “weaving,” and tantric ritual seeks to weave the supra-mundane or spiritual with the mundane or physical, identifying the microcosm with the macrocosm.  The Tantric practitioner uses yoga, mantras, mudras, mandalas, chakras, yantras and other systems to attempt to manipulate prana, an energy that flows through the universe (inside and outside of one’s own body) to attain goals that may be spiritual, material or both.

“Tantric Sex” forms a subdomain of this overall tradition that weaves the spiritual with the material. Some call tantric sex “neotantra,” identifying it as the “new age” variation or modern Western interpretation of traditional Eastern Hindu and Buddhist tantra. Tantric sex uses special mind and body techniques to cultivate ecstatic consciousness as well as increased spiritual awareness of the erotic consciousness that pervades one’s human nature.  Tantric sexual methods may be practiced alone, in partnership, or in the sacred sex rituals of groups.

Tantric sexual practices aren’t “just” about heightened consciousness.  They certainly have immediate, tangible benefits: they can make you more anatomically flexible, and can help solve many physical sexual problems. Tantric sex techniques can be a great help to women who have difficulty experiencing orgasm, men with premature ejaculation tendencies and couples who wish to attain more intimacy through sex. These practices can greatly help people to “slow down,” breathe deep and discover new and exciting sexual positions and techniques. Tantric practice can literally breathe new life into your sexuality.

However, Tantra is also about going even deeper…about connecting with the sexuality of your partner (whatever their sex, and whatever way you swing), and connecting with the orgasmic sexuality of the entire universe. Tantric sex practices not only teach us ways of prolonging and enhancing the pleasure of making love, but of utilizing potent orgasmic energies more effectively for your overall health, enlightenment and well-being. This is not only to increase your individual awareness and understanding, but that of the people around you. Overall tantric philosophy focuses on enhancing compassion and consciousness, so as to serve, heal and help others: one of the greatest pleasures in life. Indeed, serving, healing and helping others is exactly what the Block Institute is all about.

Dr. Susan Block, the founder of the Institute, has studied and practiced various forms of Tantra since she was a freshman at Yale University where she meditated and practiced Kundalini yoga and advanced deep breathing techniques for an hour every day before class.  She went on to study at Tantric ashrams and communities in Kathmandu, Nepal and Dharamsala, India, as well as with the late Tibetan Tantric Meditation Master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, eminent embodiment of the “crazy wisdom” (Tibetan: yeshe chölwa) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and other Tantric masters and practitioners at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado.  She has also studied the work of Guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh aka Osho, and follows Margot Anand’s “Skydancing Tantra,” Annie Sprinkle’s “Tantric Massage,” Diana Daffner’s “Tantric Sex for Busy Couples,” Dr. Judy Kuriansky’s “Idiot’s Guide to Tantric Sex” and Barbara Carrellas’ “Urban Tantra” and the harnessing of ecstasy.

Dr. Block and some of our other more Tantra-skilled therapists here at the Institute can help you with your questions about this ancient and yet thoroughly modern philosophy of the erotic mind and body. We teach many Tantric practices and principles, as well as provide a Tantric Sexual Experience, with a customized combination of Erotic Hypnosis, Guided Masturbation, Erotic Theater Therapy:  Fantasy Roleplay, Bonobo Liberation Therapy, Sensual Domination, Sex Therapy, Phone Sex Therapy and Tantric techniques.  We teach and practice Tantra over the phone, on webcam and via text and provide in-person Tantric sex education classes and tutorials for some of our regular phone and webcam clients.

If you’re interested in Tantra or any kind of deep, meaningful sexuality, we’re here for you.  And you can talk with us any time of day or night, any day of the week, even holidays.  We’re ready to teach you, learn from you, guide you, serve you and heal you. We’re here to take your sexuality to a higher level physically and spiritually.  Don’t worry about concepts that seem complex or foreign, or even if you feel you’re far from the spiritual state you think you ought to be in.  We understand. And we’re here to help. It’s easy to talk to us, and you’ll be surprised how good you’ll feel when you do—body, mind and soul.

Call the Dr. Susan Block Institute anytime at 213.291.9497. We’re open 24/7, and we’re here for you.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

Sign Up For Therapy

Phallus Fetish – Phone Sex Therapy

Call 213.291.9497

Do penises turn you on? (It’s okay, you can admit it… to us.) Do you find yourself thinking about, visualizing, or  fantasizing about them (or one in particular), either a lot, or just a little? Maybe you spend time seeking out the male member in online or other forms of pornography. Maybe you’re considering having a physical, sexual encounter with one in real life (and we don’t mean just your own). Maybe you already have. Maybe it was recently, maybe it was from long ago… perhaps in your childhood, be it friendly or sensual, and now you’re thinking about it again.  Maybe you’re considering looking but not touching…or maybe more.

Attraction by a male to the penis of another male is quite common, and comes in an amazing number of variations. It could be just in the context of women; perhaps the idea of a threesome with a hot girl and another guy turns you on. You may have a cuckolding fantasy or a desire to be humiliated.  Maybe you like to watch women, but find lesbian porn a little boring.  You’d rather see the woman having sex with a guy… yep, there’s that penis.  That doesn’t make you weird or gay or even necessarily bi.  Not that there’s anything wrong with being gay or bi, but lots of straight men are turned on by looking at cocks. One reason that straight male/female porn is the most popular form for straight guys to watch is that most straight guys enjoy watching a hot woman having sex with a well-hung dude.  And the dude himself usually isn’t all that important.  It’s the penis.

You might be more turned on when this penis is very large and super hard, attached to a strong, muscular, dominant “real man” who knows how to use it.   Then again, maybe you like a penis attached to someone that looks and acts like a female, aka a trans or gender-fluid person… with a penis.  Maybe you want to worship what you imagine to be a “superior” penis, or let both your cocks and balls compete in a “sperm war.”  Maybe you enjoy being penetrated by a finger or pegged by a strap-on dildo, but feel a penis can do more for you.  Maybe your desire for the penis is oral.

Maybe sex isn’t even a part of it… perhaps you are simply fascinated by another man’s member, for reasons which aren’t just about lust.  Think about all the phallic objects in the world—from cannons to columns, skyscrapers to obelisks—most of it manmade, and you might realize how many other guys through history have had a bit of a penis fetish.

Either way, in today’s world, even with increasing tolerance for homosexuality, bisexuality, and a healthy sexual curiosity, the same sex attraction to a penis is still stigmatized by a cultural subtext that labels it “deviant.” Even labeling things as simplistically as “gay” or “straight” can actually serve to diminish our understanding, not to mention our pleasure.  The truth may be that human sexuality is nuanced, varied, and runs a wide gamut, taking on an infinite variety of forms. But “truth” and “reality” don’t always coincide. So you may find it challenging—to say the least–to work out your feelings or desires, realized or not, when it comes to your interest in penises.

Think about how many guys engaged in games that involved comparing members as little kids. Many go further… touching, playing and performing with them…after all, with a healthy curiosity comes a curiosity about sex, and our bodies. For some, the curiosity was just that. For others, it led to deeper, more long lasting feelings and desires. Now, after some time, maybe you still feel the need to satisfy some unfulfilled urge. Perhaps you want to know how to do this in your life, or maybe you want to gain control over those desires or just work out very confused feelings.

Over all, you just might need to talk with someone who understands and can help you sort out your feelings. Simply trying to repress these feelings can lead to your brain frying, as evidenced by all the closet “homosexuals” recently emerging in the harsh glare of the media from, say, the Republican Party, or the priesthood of the Catholic Church. All the inordinate time spent hypocritically railing against and oppressing feelings that are quite normal can lead to those unexpressed needs and wants festering and mutating until they cause real damage and pain… hence all the scandals that plague many of our most venerated institutions.

Whatever desires you have, if you want to simply learn more about them and what they mean, or if you are concerned that they are “deviant” (they’re not) or that you are “gay” or “bi,” you should know that nothing is wrong, and that we are here to help you cope with your feelings and your situation, your fantasies and your reality. If you just want to explore the aural pleasures of a penis-oriented, sexpert-guided masturbation or erotic hypnosis session, that’s also available to you.  Many of our male and female therapists have penis fetishes themselves, and have been through many growth experiences learning about this endlessly fascinating subject.  Speaking of fascinating, the Latin root of that word is fascinum, a penis-shaped amulet that ancient Roman men and women wore on necklaces for good luck.

But back to you.  Do you need to talk about this?  Whether you’re looking for serious therapy or a hot phone sex experience, you can talk to us.  In our work, we’ve talked to thousands of people of all kinds in different situations from many different places and cultures around the world—all strictly confidential.  We wouldn’t say we’ve “heard it all,” but we’ve heard a LOT. We don’t judge you. We help you.  If you don’t feel “normal”, if you need advice, or just want to express yourself, you can call us anytime.  Don’t be embarrassed.  You’d be amazed at the number of seemingly “mainstream” people who have hidden desires like this under the surface. Even if you’ve never really talked about this before, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to talk with us, and how good you’ll feel when you do. Call the Dr. Susan Block Institute at 213.291.9497. We’re open 24/7, and we’re here for you.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

Sign Up For Therapy

Virgin Phone Sex Therapy

Call 213.291.9497

Virgin, huh? That’s got to be tough. Whether by choice or by circumstance (or both), the overwhelming mythology we subscribe to in today’s society is that it’s the norm to lose your virginity by the time you’re out of your teens. Even as prudish, vanilla, hypocritical, and somewhat oppressed as some parts of this society may be, this is the undercurrent of the modern world. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, and maybe some people are happy as virgins. Maybe you’re one of them! Even so, if you’ve reached your 20s and you still haven’t had sexual intercourse, for better or worse, you’re considered “outside the norm.”

This has to impart some psychological toll. You might feel like a throwback, an outcast, a loser, confused or just plain frustrated.  Maybe you want desperately to lose your virginity, but don’t know how, under your circumstances. Maybe you’re not so eager, but you still want to talk about your feelings, desires and options with someone who understands and isn’t going to judge you or make you feel awkward. Perhaps you’re not sure what you want; you just know you need to communicate, to sort it all out.  But you’d feel weird talking about this to friends or family, let alone clergy, and understandably so.  You may not even feel comfortable discussing this with a regular therapist or counselor.  But you know you need to talk about it with someone with expertise and compassion, someone who can help you.

That’s what we’re here for at The Dr. Susan Block Institute. We’re cutting-edge sex therapists, and we talk to all types of people, with all types of sexual problems, issues, questions, kinks, desires, fantasies, fetishes and hang-ups. In fact, some of us have been through many of these issues ourselves. We speak from personal experience as well as professional expertise.  Dr. Susan Block and her team has helped thousands of men and women from all over the world, including a number of sexual virgins.

If you want to “lose” your virginity, we can help you to find an appropriate and desirable sexual partner, just as we’ve helped so many others in similar situations—sometimes after decades of trying with no luck (some of these have gone on, in fact, to become sexual dynamos)!

If, on the other hand, you want to remain a virgin—perhaps until marriage or maybe for life—we can help you to cope with your sexual feelings, frustrations, beliefs and fantasies in a positive, pleasurable and enlightening way.  Just because you stay a virgin doesn’t mean you have to be sexless or lonely. No matter what your particular situation, being a sexual virgin shouldn’t be a life sentence to emotional solitary confinement.

Does being a virgin or the fantasy of being a virgin, or perhaps being “deflowered,” turn you on?  What about the other side of the virgin sex coin? Do you have a “virgin fetish”? Do you want to do the deflowering? Does the sexual inexperience and erotic innocence of virginity turn you on? The “virgin fetish” has captivated the erotic minds of billions of men and quite a few women since the dawn of civilization. It’s one of humanity’s more common fetishes. And yet it can be extremely problematic, since once you’ve deflowered your virgin, he or she is no longer a virgin. So where do you go from there? Fantasy roleplay is a safe and exciting alternative. Therapy to help you understand where your virgin fetish comes from and how to handle it, also helps

Whatever your circumstances, whether you are a virgin, you fetishize virgins or you just had sex in the tiny WC of Virgin Airlines, whether you want to make a change, explore a fantasy or you just need to talk, you can talk to us.  For telephone sex therapy, webcam, sext therapy from anywhere in the world, or for in-person counseling at our offices in Los Angeles, you can call us anytime.  We’re here for you every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Call us now!  Whenever you need to talk, you can call the sex therapists of the Dr. Susan Block Institute at 213.291.9497.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

Sign Up For Therapy

Erotic Retreat for Couples at Villa Bonobo in LA

“The Lovers” René Magritte

Pleasure is a pursuit. Sharing pleasure is a delight. Sharing pleasure in a long-term relationship is an art form.
Susan M. Block, PhD

Take a break from your sex-stultifying routine. Go on an adventure together. Explore new worlds inside and out. Stimulate your libido. Open your heart. Rekindle your passion. Develop healthier, more effective communication skills. Gain insight into ongoing problems and develop a plan for solving or coping with them. Savor succulent, healthy cuisine and libations, play on amazing erotic furniture, immerse yourselves in art, romance and bohemian sensuality. Learn The Bonobo Way in Bonoboville. Get the 10 Commandments of Pleasure from the source of ethical hedonism and the home of the “long-term love affair.” Discover deeper intimacy and greater arousal. Discover each other. Fall in love again….

Do something special to enhance your relationship—erotically, therapeutically, artistically and romantically—at a very unique, private, erotic retreat, the “Hotel Bonobo” inside the world-renowned Dr. Susan Block Institute.

Enjoy a dynamic experience that feels like the best kind of vacation: an exciting, romantic getaway in a place some call the “adult Disneyland,” with a custom-made therapeutic structure designed to enrich your sexual connection. This is not a group program or workshop. This is a private, very personalized weekend getaway or weeknight retreat for you and your special someone at the Institute.

Since your retreat is highly customized to your needs as individuals and couples, every retreat is different. But there are certain similarities. Imagine staying in an art-filled private room at a beautiful retro 1950s motel surrounded by romantic balconies, a palm-tree garden, a friendly bar, pool table, Sybian machine, bondage crosses, monkey rockers and other erotic curiosities. Your private room with French doors (that don’t open) allow you to peek into the bar or, if you open your curtain, others could peek in on you. Just upstairs is the commissary serving complimentary gourmet meals to your taste. All around you is erotic art and sex furniture you can play on, as well as sex toys you can play with. Depending on the night(s) you’re here, there may be other couples hanging out at the open bar, partying in a sensual, clothing-optional atmosphere, or you may have virtually the whole place to yourself, except for the friendly, helpful Institute staff to serve your needs and desires.

Block Institute Director Susan M. Block, Ph.D.

Of course, the Erotic Urban Retreat for Couples at the Block Institute in LA is much more than a romantic getaway. The Institute is a place of learning in the erotic arts and sciences, directed by world-renowned sexologist, Dr. Susan Block, a Magna cum Laude graduate of Yale University with two doctorates, a Ph.D. in psychology from Pacific Western University and a Doctor of Arts Honoris Causa from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. Your Block Institute retreat would include at least one in-person therapy session with Dr. Block, who generally takes a three-pronged approach to sex therapy: 1) analysis, 2) technique and 3) adventure.

Though Dr. Block is best-known for her best-selling books, HBO specials and appearances on Oprah, Nightline and Playboy TV, she is deeply devoted to her private sex therapy work with couples, as well as singles, in person and over the phone. Your retreat may also involve some of the Institute’s other therapists. In keeping with our eclectic approach to life and sex therapy, the therapists of the Institute specialize in a wide variety of areas of expertise, from sexologists like Dr. Block to tantric sex practitioners, registered nurses, adult film stars, artists, acrobats, educators, masseuses, masters, dommes, interns and sex toy specialists.

If you’ve “never done anything like this” before, don’t be embarrassed. We all need help with sex at one time or another, especially those of us in long-term relationships. Besides, there’s no “shame” in staying in a super cool place like the Block Institute. Nevertheless, your total privacy and confidentiality is of utmost importance to us. Though Dr. Block herself is a public figure, she and all of our therapists are extremely scrupulous about maintaining the complete privacy and confidentiality of our guests and clients. Though we’ve got some great testimonials, we wish we could tell you about the wonderful things some of our famous guests have said about the Institute, but our lips are sealed.

So what are you waiting for? Book an erotic retreat at the Institute for you and your special someone right now! Or just get more information when you call 626-461-5950. Someone is always here to take your call.

Single? Ask about our Solo Erotic Retreats.

Please note: Retreats start at $750.00.

Hotel-Bonobo

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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“The Porn Star Experience”

The-Pornstar-Experience-Institute


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Do you crave a heightened sexual experience that goes beyond the ordinary? Do you fantasize about exciting, intense, athletic sex with an uninhibited, experienced partner who has a super hot body, smooth shaved genitalia and an insatiable libido?

Do you want to explore a variety of sexual positions—doggystyle (standing or on knees), cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, Asian cowgirl (cowgirl with the female’s feet flat on the ground, in case you didn’t know), missionary (with legs spread or up over shoulders), anal intercourse, analingus, 69 (in all its delicious variations), full-throttle deep throating, snowballs, facesitting, hairpulling, cream pies, ball licking, ATM, tittyfucking, footjobs, female ejaculation, screaming orgasms, rough sex, come in the face, bukkake, exhibitionism, interracial, threesomes, group sex,  gangbangs (and the list goes on…)?

Do you long to live out a sexual scene that’s as lusty, “dirty” and hardcore as the stuff you see in porn?

If so, count yourself among the many who desire The Porn Star Experience (PSE). Though it’s a common fantasy and can even be a fetish, it’s not as easy to achieve as most porn makes it look.  The first challenge is finding a genuine PSE partner, which either means someone who wants to have sex like a porn star, or who actually is a porn star.  If you’re a single guy (and yes, it’s mostly guys looking for the Porn Star Experience, as many of the gals who really enjoy it just become porn stars!), it’s tough enough to find a good PSE partner.  If you’re married, you might be able to interest your wife (or girlfriend) in trying some PSE moves (more on how to finesse that in a moment), but many women are uncomfortable, unwilling or physically unable to engage in these types of hardcore sex acts.

Positions and sex acts are just the start of what a porn star may be eager and able to take part in. Porn stars are also exciting because of how they sound and talk. Do you like moaning? Screaming? Dirty talk?  Do you want your name called out mid-orgasm? Or maybe you’d like to be called other, nastier names? Maybe you want to call her the nasty names without worrying about offending her.  Maybe you want her to beg you to give it to her good? To spank her? To cum on her? Or do you want her grab your cock with confidence and cum all over you?

If you’ve been fantasizing about this, then the PSE may be just what you need. You may not want the porn star life, but one advantage of the PSE is that it is just a temporary experience… you won’t deal with having a porn star for your girlfriend, you won’t have to be on camera in front of thousands of people (or a crew and hot lights), and you don’t need to worry about the actual art and business of pornography! But you do get to enjoy the erotic rush and unforgettable, confidence-boosting sexual experience that comes out of living the fantasy… for a bit, anyway.

So where and how do you get the PSE?  Many escorts, mistresses and call girls offer it.   Some are even actual porn stars who meet with private clients on the side.  Just google the Porn Star Experience and surf around until you find someone appealing in your area.  Entering the escort world is a gamble, of course—not to mention illegal in many locales—but you just might have the PSE of your life!

Then again, you might be hesitant to jump into a real-life PSE, for various practical reasons. Cost: a genuine PSE can be fairly expensive. Safety: who is this person you will be intimate with for an evening or other short time? Will they rip you off? Do they have an STD? Do they have a shady past that may catch up with them (and you)? Besides that, maybe you don’t want people to find out about your PSE. Maybe you have a wife or girlfriend, and don’t want to cheat on her (or don’t want to get caught). Maybe you don’t want anyone to know, because of the stigma that’s still attached to prostitution (and, to some extent, pornography). Maybe you don’t have the time or opportunity.

But there is a way to get the pleasure, excitement and the awesome, empowering carnal knowledge of The Porn Star Experience without the headache of hiring an escort or mistress, and it’s as close as your own phone.  You can experience the PSE in a telephone or webcam sex therapy session with the Dr. Susan Block Institute.  We’re therapists—some of us with PhD’s, Master’s, nursing and other degrees—but we’re sex therapists, and some of us are porn stars. All of us know porn stars and love them. They’re frequent guests at the Institute, especially on Saturday nights when we have our shows and parties. In the medium of the telephone—as well as webcam, email or text—we are the very best at delivering the most intense, visceral, creative, descriptive Porn Star Experience you can imagine.  Our sexy porn star and pornstar-friendly therapists—male, female and shemale—are ready to talk with you, listen and share that quintessential PSE with you.

We can also help you to bring out the “porn star” from within your wife or girlfriend—or yourself!—so you can have an actual PSE with someone you love.  Everybody has a wild porn star inside of them yearning to break free and get wild in some way.  Keep in mind that pornstar quality sex is not an all or nothing proposition.  In fantasy, you can do it all.  In real life, if you can learn just a few PSE moves, positions or tricks, and encourage your partner to really cut loose, you can really spice up your regular sex life.

You might even have a real Porn Star Experience if you come to see a show here at our LA Institute on Saturday nights when Dr. Susan Block interviews porn stars and other sexperts.  That’s right, you can meet real porn stars in person here (call 213.291.9497 for more information about attending our Saturday night shows).  So though the PSE might be pure fantasy, we’re very real and down-to-earth and you can see that for yourself when you visit.

But since we’re an international institute and most of our clients don’t live in LA, our most popular medium for the PSE is the telephone.  It’s  intimate, convenient, less expensive, and virtually pressure-free, allowing you to really relax and let your imagination go wild. Whether you want to have The Porn Star Experience over the phone or cam, or discuss some of the pros and cons of doing it in real life, you can give us a call right now or anytime that’s good for you.  Unlike most therapists, we’re here for you whenever you need us, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Call 213.291.9497.

The-Pornstar-Experience-Institute

The other side of the coin of The Porn Star Experience is often referred to as “The Girlfriend Experience” (GSE).  If you’re seeking a partner that’s more friendly than lusty, an experience that’s more emotional than physical, more about intimacy than excitement, perhaps you’d benefit from the GSE.  Here at the Dr. Susan Block Institute, we offer both The Girlfriend Experience and The Porn Star Experience, via phone, webcam, sexting and a whole lot more. Call us now to find out all about it (no charge for information!): 213.291.9497.

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“The Girlfriend Experience”

GFE_DrSusanBlockINstitute


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Do you long for an erotic experience that is more than just physical, but doesn’t require a major long-term commitment? Many of us, probably most of us, feel that there is much more to sex than just the carnal act…that goes for women and men.  So, what about you?  Do you feel that a physical encounter is heightened by what goes on before and after, not to mention during the “act” itself? Consider the things that go along with having a “girlfriend,” both in and out of the bedroom: a romantic evening, good conversation, humor, understanding, compliments, kissing, cuddling, playful foreplay, sharing secrets, the give and take of pleasure, intimacy. Closeness like this makes the sex between you that much more special, as well as more deeply orgasmic.

If this sounds appealing, you may be looking for the Girlfriend Experience (or GFE), an encounter that provides as much emotional satisfaction as physical.  GFE is a term used by some escorts, call girls, prostitutes,etc., made famous in the film by that name starring Sasha Grey, directed by Steven Soderbergh.  But it’s really about much more than hiring an escort. Who says that just because you pay for an erotic experience, it has to be sex without feeling, foreplay, afterplay, laughter, romance or intimacy? In The Girlfriend Experience, you can have it all.

Perfect Lover Banner v2

So…why not just go for a real girlfriend? Lots of reasons! The Girlfriend Experience is not a play by play of the experience of having a girlfriend…otherwise it would just be a bad imitation of the real thing. The GFE is the skillfully roleplayed fantasy of a girlfriend—the best parts, including the sexual parts—and when it’s over, there’s no grouchy, difficult, demanding, real girlfriend to contend with. Let’s face it: Having a real girlfriend can be a lot of work. In real life, many relationships are more trouble than they’re worth.  Even the best require commitment, sacrifice and responsibility, and they don’t always last.  The worst break your heart and often your bank account. Like a delicious cake without the calories, The Girlfriend Experience gives you the deep pleasure and warm feeling of intimacy without the work and wear-and-tear.

There are many reasons you might benefit from a GFE.  Maybe you don’t feel ready to settle down with a real girlfriend yet.   You might be between relationships, or working hard on your career without the time and attention that a real girlfriend requires.  That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve pleasure, positive attention, seduction and intimacy. For some, a GFE can even be good practice for the real thing, helping you to develop your game, build confidence and learn more about how women think.  Then again, maybe you already have a real girlfriend, or a real wife, but you need a little GFE that’s just for you, lovingly focused on your feelings, your desires, your fantasies, your needs.

If you feel the Girlfriend Experience could help you, the next question is how to go about experiencing it.  You have several choices.  The most straightforward path would be to contract with an escort or mistress whose webpage says she provides GFE service.  Then again, escorts and mistresses aren’t for everybody, maybe not for most people.  Even if you don’t mind spending money on your GFE (a real girlfriend is always going to cost you something anyway—often much more!), there may be some very good reasons why you don’t want to actually go out and pay for a pro to give it to you “in the flesh.” This includes the risk of getting caught (especially if you’re married and/or running for office), the general stigma associated with prostitution which is still illegal in most locales, the danger of STDs, the inconvenience, the possibility of getting stuck with a real dud, a psycho or someone who is a lot less attractive than her photo, the danger of meeting someone in a strange place or letting them into your place, the high hourly rate, and the list goes on.

If you want all the pleasure and intimacy of The Girlfriend Experience without the headache of hiring an escort or mistress, you might consider picking up your phone and calling for a telephone sex therapy session with the Dr. Susan Block Institute.  We’re therapists—some of us with PhD’s, Master’s, nursing and other degrees—but we’re also some of the best girlfriends you’ll ever have.  We have some great guys here too, as well as transsexuals, but this page is about girlfriends, and we’ve got girlfriends of all ages who will talk with you, listen and help you with your problems, roleplay for you, share your fetishes and fantasies, come with you, commune with you, relax you, play with you and just generally give you the care and attention you need—body, mind and soul.

We do much of this over the phone.  But we can also chat with you via webcam, email or text—any of which can be as PG or X-rated as you like.  You can also visit us in person.  Yes, though TGFE might be a pure fantasy, we’re very real and down-to-earth and you can see that for yourself if and when you come to our center in LA.  But since we’re an international institute and most of our clients don’t live in LA, our most popular medium for TFGE is the telephone.  Why the telephone?  Because it’s so intimate, so very convenient, less expensive, and virtually pressure-free, allowing you to really relax and let your imagination go, sharing your thoughts, feelings, memories and fantasies with someone who can understand you. Whether you want to explore The Girlfriend Experience with us or discuss some of the pros and cons of doing it with one of our experts, you can give us a call right now or anytime that’s good for you.  Unlike most therapists—or girlfriends—we’re here for you whenever you need us, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Call 213.291.9497

The other side of the coin of the Girlfriend Experience is sometimes referred to as the “Porn Star Experience” (PSE).  You want PSE if you’re seeking a partner that’s more lusty than friendly for an experience that’s more physical than emotional, sizzling hot athletic sex in a variety of positions, dirty talk, large breasts, shaved genitalia, loud “performance” moaning and multiple orgasms.  We offer both the Porn Star Experience—with several real-life porn stars—via phone or webcam, as well as the Girlfriend Experience, and a whole lot more.  Call us now to find out more (no charge for information!): 213.291.9497.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Erotic Theater Therapy: Fantasy Roleplay

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 “All the world’s a stage.”  ~William Shakespeare

For adults, as well as children, fantasy is often a lot more fun than reality.  Whether it’s erotic, exotic or PG enough for Disney, your fantasy is your own self-contained little universe, in which you make all the rules.  Anything is possible; nothing is forbidden.  Here at the Dr. Susan Block Institute, we call this alternative, highly sexual universe within us all the “Erotic Theater of the Mind.”

Dr. Susan Block, a magna cum laude graduate of Yale University with Distinction in Theater Studies and a doctorate in philosophy with an emphasis in psychology from Miramar University and an honorary doctorate from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality), has developed a uniquely effective and exciting technique of “erotic theater therapy” over the past two decades.  She and the other therapists of the Institute practice erotic theater therapy both in the brick and mortar “Womb Room” studio in Los Angeles where she broadcasts her Saturday night shows and via the extremely private medium of the telephone and other communications tools.

 In so doing, she follows in the footsteps of her forebear, Dr. Iwan Bloch, the Father of Sexology.  In 1907, Dr. Bloch boldly proposed the new concept of a science of sexuality: sexualwissenschaft or sexology. Bloch’s colleague Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld helped to organize this science, and in the liberal atmosphere of Weimar Berlin, purchased a villa that became his institute which housed his immense library on sex (later burned by Nazis), provided educational services and medical consultations and featured theatrical presentations on various sexual fetishes and orientations.  These theatrical events were attended by therapists, patients of the Institute and dramatic artists of the time, like Christopher Isherwood and W.H. Auden.

Throughout history, many more have utilized the art of theater as a therapeutic and educational tool, including such venerated techniques as “psychodrama” based on Dr. Jacob L. Moreno’s “Theater of Spontaneity,” Dr. Fritz Perls’ Gestalt therapy, Jungian archetypal dramatization, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s system of “Nonviolent Communication,” and Michel Foucault’s concepts of Ars Erotica (“erotic art”) and Scientia Sexualis (“science of sexuality”), not to mention the famous Aristotelian view of theater as not just a form of entertainment, but as a means to understand the problems of life.  Ancient Greek tragedies and comedies—not to mention their theatrical athletic contests—were filled with sex, love, romance, fantasy and desire, as is classical mythology.

There are essentially two types of erotic theater therapy practiced at the Institute: the real-life Womb Room theater at the Institute on terra firma, where we conduct a variety of therapeutic erotic theater experiences, and the Erotic Theater of the Mind which we explore with individuals and couples via the phone, webcam and other media.  For more about Erotic Theater Therapy in the Womb Room, visit DrSuzy.tv.  For more about erotic theater therapy over the phone and webcam, read on.

Dr. Block’s phone sex therapy system takes a four-point approach to sex therapy, involving 1) confession, 2) analysis, 3) technique and 4) adventureThe theater actually *happens* at the fourth point, but is a part of process of all four.  Dr. Block and her other therapists, surrogates and fantasy roleplayers combine the theatrical elements of improvisation, storytelling, spectacle, the hero’s journey, archetype, hypnosis, exaggeration, confession, guided masturbation, “dirty talk,” erotic sound play and role-play, with more traditional forms of therapy and counseling.


Erotic theater therapy via phone sex fantasy roleplay can awaken, enlighten, stimulate, educate, liberate, challenge and comfort, as well as arouse you.  Here at the Institute, we believe in the healing power of pleasure, and we want to help you to experience it.  It’s the Bonobo Way.

Here are some other benefits of Dr. Block’s erotic theater therapy techniques applied through phone sex fantasy roleplay:

  • Gain insight into sexual dilemmas
  • Investigate unknown sexual situations
  • Revisit and reenact profound sexual memories—good and bad
  • Act out dreams with the therapist as aural collaborator
  • Try out new private activities
  • Explore taboo actions, objects and partners
  • Evaluate sexual behaviors:  fantasy vs. real life
  • Relax your defenses
  • Wake up your senses
  • Free your mind
  • Enhance your orgasm and your partner’s orgasm
  • Express your “wild side” without fear of judgment
  • Learn about your body
  • Improve sexual self-control
  • Allow yourself to experience total sexual surrender (lack of control)
  • Enhance your self-esteem
  • Improve your body image
  • Confront your greatest difficulties in and outside of the bedroom
  • Learn the art of seduction
  • Reveal long bottled up secrets in a safe, private, confidential supportive environment
  • Release sexual frustration
  • Get ideas for real life through playing out “what-if” scenarios
  • Develop confidence
  • Learn the truth about yourself
  • Rehearse new modes of behavior: learn how to “act” on the stage of your sex life
  • Learn how to cope with your more difficult sexual fantasies and fetishes
  • Strategize and plan for your erotic future

Interested in exploring erotic theater therapy through phone sex fantasy roleplay, but not sure what fantasy to explore?  Here are some common examples:

Romantic Lovers
Husband and Wife
Doctor and Patient
Teacher and Student
Boss and Secretary
Goddess and Worshiper
Mistress and Slave
MILF and Neighbor
Priest and Nun
Incest Fantasy
Rape Fantasy
Ageplay Fantasy
Animal Fantasy
More Topics Here
No Topic is Too Taboo!

Learn more about Secret Sexual Fantasies Here

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Anytime you need to talk, 24 hours a day, the world-famous telephone sex therapists of the Dr. Susan Block Institute for the Erotic Arts & Sciences are just a phone call away. Call 213.291.9497

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

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We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Secret Sexual Fantasies

by Dr. Susan Block

What’s your favorite secret sexual fantasy, the one you never talk about that always turns you on?  Your fantasies are always with you, playing hide-and-seek with your perceived realities, whispering wild ideas into your inner ear, showing movies in your mind, stirring your passions mysteriously, yet so powerfully. If you are imprisoned in any way–by your work, your family, your education, your religion, your government–your fantasies become your freedom. Sometimes your ability to fantasize is the only freedom you have.

Erotic Fantasy is the G-Spot of Your Mind

Where does fantasy end and reality begin? The English philosopher John Richter said, “Fantasy rules over two-thirds of the universe, the past and the future, while reality is confined to the present.”

Fantasy–the original “theater of the mind”–makes up a huge portion of human consciousness. Memory, as it filters through the mind’s eye, is a kind of fantasy that gazes backward, into the past. Hope, anticipation, fear and ambition are fantasies that look toward the future. Our sexuality is fueled by fantasies of the past and the future, as well as “pure” fantasies–wild dreams that never happened and that you never really want to have happen–that haunt and stimulate you like a kinky parallel universe.

A sexual fantasy can be a long, complicated story, a quick mental flash of erotic imagery or something in between. Whatever form it takes, it arouses your sexual feelings. As such, your favorite fantasy is the G-spot of your mind.

Experts agree that sexual fantasies are important, powerful and pervasive. But they can’t agree on much more about them. For every study that concludes that women or men fantasize one way, there’s another that concludes the opposite. If you look hard enough, you can find a study to prove any theory about sexual fantasies and another one to disprove it. Maybe this is because it is very difficult to measure fantasies except through questionnaires, and it is so easy and tempting to lie on questionnaires, especially when it comes to opening up about our deepest, darkest, most embarrassing, secret, sexual fantasies. Therefore, I will not use many studies to justify my points here. As a sex therapist with one of the largest private practices in the world and a sex-oriented radio and TV talk show host for over two decades, as well as an erotically-married woman for almost 18 years, I base my observations on my own professional and personal experience, which I believe is as good a “study” on fantasy as any.

Before we discuss where your secret fantasies come from and whether or not to share them with anyone, let’s take a look at some of the most common ones…

The Perfect Lover

The most popular sexual fantasies among men and women involve images of sex with a passionate, attractive, exciting partner who will do whatever you want, even if that means dominating you. Your Perfect Lover could be someone you know; it could even be your real-life partner. It could be someone you saw in class or at work but never talk to, a celebrity with whom you feel a connection, or a complete stranger you happened to face for two intense minutes in a crowded elevator. It could be someone that would be your ideal mate, if only you could be together. Or it could be someone very taboo: a relative, your best friend’s spouse, a MILF, a “bad” boy or girl, someone of whom you know your family would disapprove. Perfect Lovers run the gamut, but the universal characteristic is that you find this person irresistible and extremely satisfying, at least in fantasy.

Even very traditional ladies who prefer romance to porn enjoy the fantasy of the Perfect Lover. While such a scenario might involve nothing more than kissing, Perfect Lover fantasies can entail sexual intercourse in every position. Oral sex (giving or receiving) is a big favorite, followed by manual sex, anal sex (giving or receiving) and mutual masturbation. In addition to these basic physical sex acts, there are many other types of sex about which you might fantasize, especially if you feel deprived of a particular favorite activity. Your Perfect Lover will never deprive you…unless you have a deprivation fetish.

One popular variation on the Perfect Lover is what I call “Some Enchanted Evening”: sex with a sexy stranger. It’s not that I’m recommending sex with a real-life stranger, at least not without sheathing your body in a suit of latex armor, the shining armor of the knight of the 21st century, but the fantasy of sex with an exciting, attractive stranger is a delightful aphrodisiac that many women and men enjoy. One of the reasons these kinds of lovers are “perfect” is that you don’t know them at all.

It’s even more common to fantasize about your real-life lover, who may not be perfect, but must be pretty hot and is certainly familiar and easy enough to conjure up in the erotic theater of your mind. But because it’s a secret sexual fantasy, you might imagine something different than the usual. Maybe you fantasize that your real-life lover is aggressive even though he or she is usually passive, or that the two of you are being watched, or perhaps you imagine yourself watching your lover have sex with someone else. This brings us to the next most popular type of fantasy…

Two Perfect Lovers—Or More!

Double your pleasure, double your fun; sex with two lovers is more fun than one! The threesome is another very common sexual fantasy. It’s often associated with the male erotic imagination, and it’s certainly one of the most widespread male fantasies, invoking images of double-wived patriarchs and the pleasures of the harem. But women are catching up as it becomes more acceptable for us to admit we’d like to be with two hot men at once, or perhaps a man and another woman.

The male standard is sex with two women, of course–often a girlfriend and another lady. This sort of ménage à trois fantasy is flattering to your erotic ego and gives you a sex-educational glimpse into the secrets of lesbian sex. Of course, these are not man-hating lesbians; in fact, they love your penis!

More and more men now also confess that they fantasize about having a threesome with a woman and another man. The level of imagined physical intimacy can run the gamut from barely touching the man while you both focus on the woman all the way to the two men having intense sex while the woman simply watches or “directs.” You might also imagine watching the other man have his sexual way with your woman, with you as the “cuckold,” creating what I call the “sperm wars” effect, a competitive rise in your sperm count that arouses you even if you feel jealous and insecure.

Threesome fantasies can be so vivid, especially if one of the partners is your real-life lover, that many people try breathing life into them. The resulting reality spans from having a beautiful experience which enhances your relationship, as well as your sense of your sexual self, to an awful, awkward incident that hurts everyone involved. One thing is certain: Everything in any fantasy is “perfect” as far as your libido is concerned. Reality, however, is not quite so in tune with what turns you on, let alone what turns on your real-life partner or the third party.

A threesome can become an orgy, which is another common sexual fantasy. One way to keep sexual monogamy from becoming monotony is to maintain an active fantasy life with as many different partners as you can imagine. I happen to have a personal soft spot for real-life orgies, holding them regularly at my Institute, giving me and everyone here not just the chance to live out a common fantasy, but the opportunity to experience real-life communal ecstasy. But that’s the subject of another bloggamy and another Master’s Tea. Back to fantasy…

Bisexual Fantasies

Sometimes when you imagine a threesome with someone of the same sex, it’s a prelude to fantasizing about a more intimate, same-sex twosome. Or maybe the third opposite sex lover is just there for show, to “guide” or even “force” the two same-gender lovers to play with each other. Or maybe your erotic theater of the mind will just combine the male and female into one and imagine sex with a pre-op transsexual or shemale.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re truly gay, though it could. It more often means you’re truly bisexual, which I believe most of us are, and that your fantasy life is making up for what you repress in your real life. Just because you fantasize about having sex with someone of your gender doesn’t mean you ought to do it. Same sex fantasies can signify a lot of different things for people who lead mostly straight real lives–from seeking personal validation to breaking societal taboos.

It’s funny; it used to be much more taboo for women to admit to any kind of fantasies, except the kind revolving around love and “bodice-rippers,” a.k.a. romance novels. But now that more women are creating porn and erotica, making it more romantic–that is, story and character-driven–younger women are unabashedly eating it up. Modern ladies also seem to have an easier time accepting their bi-curious fantasies than most men do. There are various sociopolitical, cultural, psychological and physical reasons for this. Women know that most men are turned on by two women together, whereas it’s still a rare, very open-minded woman who enjoys two men together. Our society is more homophobic than lesbian-phobic. Then there are the real-life, physical risks which tend to be greater between men, since penetration is more often involved, than between women.

When fantasizing about sex with another female, most women imagine the other woman’s whole body: her breasts, buns, hair, lips (both pairs), clitoris, soft skin, seductive eyes, etc. When men fantasize about other men, they tend to focus on one part: the penis. Usually, they envision a big one. So Freud was wrong about “penis envy.” Women don’t have it; men do. At least, a lot of men do. Certainly, Freud himself did.

Even, perhaps especially, the outwardly homophobic male has gay fantasies. Why do you think a guy like that is so scared of gays “converting” straight men? Because in his fantasies, that’s exactly what happens: a hugely endowed male dominates him, forcing him to have sex—usually giving oral or taking anal–and he likes it, at least in fantasy (again, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s truly gay). Masters & Johnson reported that heterosexuals often fantasize about homosexual encounters and vice versa, more often reflecting curiosity and other impulses than the desire to change the gender of one’s real-life lovers. Norman Mailer went so far as to say that “There is probably no sensitive heterosexual alive who is not preoccupied with his latent homosexuality.” I would add “at some point in his life,” since such desires come and go.

Our society tends to make things black or white, good or bad, male or female, heterosexual or homosexual. But the human sexual imagination is most definitely bisexual, even what you might call omnisexual. When Edna St. Vincent Millay went to a doctor for her headaches, he suggested they might stem from “an occasional erotic impulse toward a person of [her] own sex.”

“Oh, you mean I’m homosexual?” Millay responded, “Of course, I am, and heterosexual too, but what’s that got to do with my headache?” Maybe that’s what the Pulitzer-prize-winning poet and Vassar girl meant when she wrote “my candle burns at both ends.”

Men are not from Mars, women are not from Venus. We’re all from the same beautiful, wild, sexual planet Earth, and we’re far more alike than we are different. Dr. Alfred Kinsey was among the first to show that we’re all on a bisexual continuum with absolute heterosexuals on one end and absolute homosexuals on the other end. Very few of us fall at one extreme or the other. That doesn’t mean we like both sexes equally at all times. It just means most of us can potentially, under the right circumstances (boarding school, prison, a desert island, etc.), with the right person (the Perfect Lover), be aroused by either gender. Certainly, we can, and often do, enjoy being “bi” in fantasy.

Surrender and Power Trips

Power and surrender, or “dominance and submission” (D/s) fantasies are quite common among both men and women. They seem to be gaining in popularity, but they’re even older than the human race, probably flowing through the erotic minds of our bonobo and chimpanzee cousins. They can be crude or romantic, marvelous or dangerous. D/s fantasies may involve sadomasochism (S/M), bondage and discipline (B/D), an imagined abduction, a fantasy “rape,” spanking, whipping, tickling, torture, teasing, body worship and a host of other activities that may or may not entail actual sexual intercourse. In D/s fantasies, being “bad”–whether you are the nasty Dom or the naughty sub–feels really good. It’s another trick of the imagination that turns the “good” status quo on its head in order to turn you on.

It’s easy to understand why people enjoy dominating others. Power is a rush, especially in fantasy. You get to do whatever you want to the sex object of your dreams. What more could you desire? Many people pursue physical power over others in real life, often entering political, police or military careers. Others prefer to go on their power trips in their erotic imagination. Traditionally, “domination” is considered a male fantasy, probably most popular among young men who are relatively powerless in real-life society, even though they have testosterone-pumping energy to spare. But more and more women say they enjoy the fantasy of being dominant, “on top,” wielding a whip or even sprouting a penis (okay, Freud was right about some women) or other penetrative “weapon,” perhaps wearing a strap-on dildo in real-life sex.

But why do people long to submit? It’s certainly not all Stockholm Syndrome. As a therapist, I hear many more fantasies of submission than dominance, from both men and women. That’s partly because private therapy is expensive, and the men and women who can afford it tend to be successful professionals who dominate others in real life. Nature seeks a balance, often finding it through our fantasy life, making otherwise dominant people long to surrender, to be overwhelmed by someone else’s passion and power. In their erotic imaginations, and sometimes in a real-life role-playing session with a dominatrix, they surrender control for a brief period in their busy, power-packed day or week. They take a mini vacation from real life stress and the responsibility of being in charge, perhaps a time trip back into a childhood or adolescence under someone else’s control. Since society puts so much pressure on us to achieve–and achieving is hard work–deep in our secret erotic imaginations, many high-achievers long to surrender.

But there’s another, even more pervasive reason many people eroticize and even become addicted to submission: guilt. Forced surrender allows you to do something sexual without it being your “fault,” absolving you of guilt, at least in fantasy. No one likes to be raped in real life, of course, but the rape fantasy is extremely popular, as long as it’s being perpetrated by someone attractive. Usually, your fantasy rapist is a kind of Perfect Lover, someone you would actually be thrilled to have sex with in real life. But, in a rape fantasy, you give yourself the additional pleasure of resistance and the absolution of innocence (it’s the rapist’s fault, not yours!). Though, of course, it is your fantasy mind that creates the rapist and everything he or she does. For obvious reasons, the rape fantasy is most common among sexually repressed “good girls” and outwardly conservative men. It’s also an ego-boost to the sexually insecure, as it allows you to feel extremely desirable, so much so that your rapist finds you impossible to resist.

Whether you are being raped, ravished, abducted, tied up, spanked, teased, forced to dress like a slut or led around on a leash as the slave of a powerful, sexy Master or Mistress, in a submission fantasy, you get to be made to do or get what you secretly desire. So a foot fetishist will be “made” to worship feet, the nipple masochist “forced” to suffer extra painful nipple clamps and the panty lover “ordered” to put on the mistress’ knickers. Dominant/submissive scenarios may involve master/slave, goddess/supplicant, rapist/victim, boss/employee, teacher/student, parent/child, john/hooker, doctor/patient or guard/prisoner.

Men and women probably fantasize with equal passion about sexual surrender. But it’s still more socially acceptable for women (even feminist women) than it is for men, so men more often combine feelings of humiliation with submission. Politically incorrect as it may be, male submission fantasies often involve being dressed up in traditional, sensuous or “slutty” women’s clothes and called derogatory “sissy” names. This may or may not overlap with cross-dressing or transgender fantasies.

Keep in mind that some people have transgender fantasies that are not at all submissive; they really do feel that they were born into the body of the “wrong” gender, and their fantasies are sometimes a prelude to “becoming” the opposite sex in real-life through hormones, surgery and lifestyle changes. But very often, male transvestite fantasies aren’t about really wanting to be a woman; they’re about submission in the form of erotic degradation.

I could go on and on about the many different types of sexual surrender and submission that people enjoy. In love–as opposed to war, politics or business, where “surrender” conjures images of defeat and shame–surrender can be sweet and the ultimate, intimate fulfillment. The ancient Taoist masters said, “In yielding, there is strength.” In surrender, there can be power–certainly sexual fantasy power.

Exhibitionism and Voyeurism

Another common fantasy combo is seeing and being seen, showing off and watching the show, exhibitionism and voyeurism. It’s not all visual; you can be an audio-voyeur who enjoys hearing someone talk “dirty,” and you can be an aural exhibitionist who gets off on telling your sex secrets to the world. But most exhibitionism and voyeurism is about the joy of the erotic gaze and the thrill of being gazed upon, breaking through the strong social taboo of visual privacy.

The entire porn industry is based on people’s voyeuristic desires to see otherwise forbidden images of other people engaged in sex. We love to watch. There are obviously enough people who love to be watched that there are plenty of porn stars and strippers. Those are extreme professions to be in, but in fantasy you can do it all and bare it all before thousands or in forbidden places. Marilyn Monroe is said to have had recurring dreams in which she stripped off all her clothes in a church as a stunned congregation silently worshipped her naked beauty.

With the advent of reality shows, erotic blogs and obsessive, sexy photo-posting on social networking communities, exhibitionism and voyeurism are busting through the erotic theater of the mind and into that half-way house between fantasy and reality: the media. More and more, natural exhibitionists are just making and posting their own porn, turning everyone on their “friend list” into voyeurs.

In our society, we tend to think of exhibitionism as female and voyeurism as male. After all, due to the hot politics of cold cash, most strip clubs have female performers for male customers and the great majority of straight sex magazines and websites have pictures of women for men to admire. You can post anything on the Internet but, still, women tend to be the ones who get paid for sex as a stripper, prostitute, porn star, mistress or other sexual performer. Whether this shows that women are dominant–making money doing what they already enjoy as they call their own shots–or submissive–allowing themselves to be exploited and made to do things they don’t like for the sake of money–depends on the woman. Likewise, whether “paying for it” shows that men are dominant–wealthy and powerful enough to pay and get what they want–or submissive–forced to pay because that’s the only way they’ll get what they need–depends on the man.

Most people would say the He-Pays-To-Watch-Her scenario is the natural relationship between male and female, but is it? In nature, it’s usually the male of the species that’s the exhibitionist, the classic example being the peacock. His sex drive programs him to strut his sexual stuff for the female who watches him voyeuristically and quite critically, deciding whether he’d make a good sex partner based largely on the beauty of his tail. Since there aren’t too many opportunities for men to sexually display themselves for women in our society, many men secretly fantasize about exhibitionism. They desperately want to show themselves off, with special emphasis on their taboo penises that are so forbidden everywhere except hardcore porn. In fact, there’s a fetish that is gaining in popularity on the Internet known by its initials CFNM: Clothed Female, Naked Male.

Animals and Angels

Your wild erotic nature may emerge in animal fantasies. Don’t worry, having animal sex fantasies doesn’t (usually) mean you want to have sex with animals in real life. You may just revel in the ultra-taboo, bestial wildness. Horses and dogs figure commonly in men’s bestiality fantasies which usually involve them submissively receiving sex from the animal or voyeuristically watching a woman engaged in sex with the animal. Female fantasies tend to involve the woman being the animal, often something in the wild “pussy” family, such as a lioness, tiger or cheetah. No wonder wildcat patterns are so popular in women’s fashion.

Of course, real-life bestiality is appalling to most people. But animal sex fantasies connect you to your animal nature, often freeing your mind from the all-too-human sexual oppression that lurks within you.

On the other end of the sexual fantasy spectrum lies the spiritual. Sacred sex. You might fantasize about an Eros angel with wings to take you flying. Dreams of flying are often considered symbols of orgasm. You might imagine a divine threesome with you, your lawfully wedded spouse and the all-embracing presence of God or the Goddess. Your sacred sex fantasies might be influenced by a religious upbringing, the Bible, the Koran, the Tao Te Ching or other spiritual teachings that elevate the sex act to something heavenly, such that you might imagine your sexual union as a cosmic merger of two souls becoming one. Religious people don’t tend to characterize their ideas about spiritual union as fantasies, but if the holy robe fits, wear it. Fantasies of sex with space aliens and superheroes go into the “angel” category, though some might be a bit more animal.

These are the most basic types of secret sexual fantasies. There are many more variations, and I’d love to hear some of yours. But first let’s answer a few fundamental questions about sexual fantasy, where it comes from and where it can take you.

Where Do Fantasies Come From?

Your fantasies begin in the cradle, perhaps even in the womb. By the time you reach your teens, they get really intense. Many of your erotic fantasies stem from early memories, the first images you find arousing. If for no other reason than constant proximity, these images often come through interactions with family: your mother’s lingerie hanging on the clothesline, your father spanking you, catching your sister naked in the bathroom, your brother wrestling you to the ground. That’s one reason why incest fantasies of all kinds are so common. But don’t worry; just having incest fantasies doesn’t mean you’ve ever really had incest or ever will.

It’s true that real-life incest victims and perpetrators tend to be preoccupied by such imagery, often arising from traumatic memories. But most people who have incest fantasies have never acted on them. Oedipus complex, anyone? Freud may have been off on penis envy, but he was right on the money shot when he theorized that Oedipus and Electra, Mommy and Daddy complexes, and other types of terribly taboo incest fantasies permeate the secret spaces of many of our erotic minds.

Of course, the family is not the only source of secret sexual fantasy. You might pick up images from friends, neighbors and school experiences, as well as from your favorite fairy tales, movies, TV shows and popular music, not to mention Internet porn. These early images are very powerful, because they impress themselves upon you when you’re very impressionable. They become blueprints for your desire, repeating themselves in your memories and activating your imagination, infusing your natural sexuality with meaning and excitement. They alternately confuse, excite, please, comfort and torment you. And they become secret sexual fantasies.

Your erotic fantasies might be influenced by aspects of your early years that aren’t so obviously sexual. We human beings are masters at finding silver linings in black clouds, and we often do this through the “magic” of sexual fantasy. For instance, if you were very sick as a child and confined to bed, you might go on to fantasize about bondage or sensory deprivation. If you were abused or bullied when you were small, then later in life you might turn being bullied into something pleasurable and fantasize about erotic submission or humiliation. On the other hand, your fantasy mind might rather turn the tables on reality and eroticize domination.

What Are Fantasies Good For?

Sexual fantasies can be keys that unlock the doors of your repressed personal history. They can help you to cope with your real-life problems, just as your dreams do, though they tend to do it when you’re awake. They can help you work through past trauma or abuse, operating like an erotic painkiller on negative, hurtful memories. Of course, that can lead to other problems, such as wanting to act out the fantasy and perpetrate the abuse that you experienced onto someone else. But it doesn’t have to. Sexual fantasies and erotic dreams, especially when accompanied by orgasm and perspective (not necessarily in that order), can help to release the stress and trauma of the past. They can also help you relive good sexual memories. You appreciate this benefit of fantasy more as you get older. And no, you don’t have to act out anything in real life; you can keep your secret sexual fantasies and memories locked up in your mind for safekeeping.

But fantasies aren’t just about the past. They can also prepare you for the future. Fantasies can be hazy or detailed rehearsals in the erotic theater of the mind for sexual acts you haven’t yet experienced. That’s probably a pretty common use of fantasy at Yale, or on any college campus. Just as athletes imagine playing and winning the Big Game before it actually happens, so you might imagine seducing or being seduced by your Perfect Lover before the Big Date–or the Big Hook-Up. Some Casanovas and Cleopatras combine fantasy with strategy to entice any partner they desire. This is part of the Mystery method that Matador represented at Sex Week at Yale in 2008. If you can dream it, you can do it.

On the other hand, your secret sexual fantasies can trip you up. Fantasies can be very perverse, enhancing your insecurity, even as they arouse your passions. If you tend to fantasize about being humiliated by people you desire, then you might have a hard time–so to speak–psyching yourself up in a positive way for a date with someone you’d like to impress.

Understandably, people often would like to get rid of troublesome fantasies. Maybe they fantasize about being embarrassed when they’d like to be confident, or having gay sex when they’d like to be straight, or doing their partner’s sister when they’d like to focus on their partner. But deleting a secret sexual fantasy from your mental hard drive is much easier said than done. In fact, it really can’t be done. Very often, the harder you try to banish a bad fantasy from your head, the more insidiously it will wrap itself around your every thought and feeling. You simply can’t control your fantasies, at least no better than you can control your dreams.

But your fantasies don’t have to control you either. Just because you imagine doing some crazy, kinky thing doesn’t mean you have to do it. You can’t control what you imagine. But you can, more or less, control what you do in real life. So don’t make like the Thought Police and bust yourself for your fantasies! Hold yourself accountable for your actions, not your thoughts. Your favorite, secret, sexual fantasy is a gift you can’t return, though sometimes, with time, it fades.

To Share or Not to Share?

Make friends with your fantasies. Don’t vainly attempt to control them, and maybe they won’t take control of you. Then you can use them as safe outlets for dark, naughty or forbidden desires that you can’t, or wouldn’t, want to live out–perhaps because you know that doing so would hurt you or someone you love. For some people, fantasies are great mental sex toys, interactive mind-movies, playgrounds for the libido. We grow up playing as children, but gradually all our games become serious and there’s very little playtime left in our adult lives. The erotic theater of the mind is a place for you to play. Do try to play safe, though that’s not always as simple as it sounds.

What about sharing? Opening up about otherwise secret sexual fantasies with your partner can make lovemaking more exciting. Sharing fantasies isn’t usually necessary when you first have sex together. So much is new in reality, your mind doesn’t have to go much farther than the present moment for stimulation. But after a while, when you’re in a long-term relationship, you get to know each other’s bodies so well that your mind is bound to drift…into fantasy. After all, there are only so many physical positions into which you can bend your bodies, but there is an endless array of mind-games you can play, or role-play. On the other hand, your secret sexual fantasy could hurt, anger, scare or disgust your lover. One person’s fantasy is another’s nightmare.

So, to share or not to share? It really depends on you, your partner and the fantasy. In other words: proceed with caution. Take baby steps…

If you’ve never shared a fantasy with your lover, and you’d like to try, start by sharing a memory, a thrilling erotic experience you actually had together. Reminisce about it in bed, then embellish the memory by imagining something that could have made the experience even more exciting. You can also stimulate the sharing of fantasies by reading or looking at erotica together. Be poetic, be explicit, be romantic, be outrageous, be honest, but be sensitive. Try tossing out small parts of your secret fantasies like test balloons; if it floats, keep embellishing; if you can see it sinking by your partner’s negative reaction, switch gears. It’s risky business, but nothing great in life comes without taking a chance. If you can share your fantasies with your lover, you can get to know each other deeply, weaving powerful strands of feeling into the fabric of your relationship, blending fantasies with memories and ever-expanding possibilities.

Your secret sexual fantasies evolve and change as you do. Of course, it’s your prerogative to keep them a secret. But if they haunt, obsess or hurt you in some way, it might be a good idea to share them with a sex therapist, if not your lover. Troublesome fantasies discussed and explored in a safe, enlightening but nonjudgmental manner tend to lose some of their obsessive, dangerous qualities. Sharing difficult, recurring fantasies with a good therapist might help you to put them in perspective, reducing their negative power over you, so you can make friends with your fantasies and learn to use them to release stress and come to terms with the many layers of your sexuality.

Need to Talk PRIVATELY about Your Secret Sexual Fantasies?
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Bonobo Liberation Therapy

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Based on The Bonobo Way of Peace through Pleasure

Dare to Free Your Inner Bonobo & Be All You Can Be!

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 People are going bonobos.  It sounds like a hot new dance and, in a way, it is.  But if you don’t know a bonobo from a banana, you really should read Dr. Block’s new book The Bonobo Way to learn the basics about our “Make Love Not War” Great Ape close cousins who swing through the trees as well as with each other.

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  Then, when you’re ready to liberate your inner bonobo and be all you can be—in the bedroom and everywhere else—call the therapists of the Dr. Susan Block Institute at 626-461-5950.

 The Dr. Susan Block Institute and Block Bonobo Foundation are dedicated to protecting, promoting and researching bonobo chimpanzees, as well as educating people in The Bonobo Way; that is, how these great apes use sex to maintain peace, playfulness and gender equality in their societies, and how we can learn something from them about sex, love and peace on earth.

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Whether or not you liberate your inner bonobo, we urge you to help save the real bonobos in the rainforest from imminent extinction.  Here are some places where you can donate:

Lola ya Bonobo
Bonobo Conservation Initiative
The Great Ape Trust
Block Bonobo Foundation

The BONOBO WAY
Peace through Pleasure

PartyLikeABonobo

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

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Striptease Therapy

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Are you turned on by a good striptease?  Do you love the seductive style of a sensuous exotic dancer?  Do you get a voyeuristic thrill from the bawdy bounce of burlesque?  Do you crave the devastating tease and denialof the skilled ecdysiast? Or do you go for the “amateur,” the sexy girl on the dance floor who lets the music flow through her body like a shimmering stream of pure rhythm?

Do you like to watch your lover dance for you just before you make love?  Or do you prefer to gaze upon a stranger, a hot, untouchable, superstar stripper high up above you on the strip club stage?  Do supple pole dancers drive you crazy? Are you a helpless fan of the femme fatale? A sucker for a supple lapdance?

Have you ever watched a sexy dancer—on the stage, at a club or in your dreams—wishing you could get to know her better?  Do you fantasize about getting her alone and having her deliver on what her dance seems to promise you? Do you imagine her dancing all over you, stripping off your clothes along with hers, then rhythmically riding you into a series of orgasms that has both of you screaming with deep wild pleasure and harmonious erotic energy?

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Or do you worry that you (or a loved one) might be “addicted” to strippers?  Are you hanging out in strip clubs whenever you can, cheating on your partner or missing work, sticking all your hard-earned cash in those irresistible little G-strings or just giving the stripper of your dreams money shower after shower, until your wallet is empty and dry?

Or perhaps you prefer doing the striptease to watching it.  Are you a secret exhibitionist who longs to strip upon a stage, to reveal what you so often conceal?   Would you like to be an exotic dancer—professionally or just for fun?  Do you need advice about the “business” or encouragement to strip for personal, private pleasure?  Are you having trouble handling your desires for exhibitionism?  Are you a stripper that wants to transition into a different kind of life?

Do you need to talk about it? 

You can talk to us.  Call the Dr. Susan Block Institute now or anytime, 24/7,  for Striptease Therapy. What exactly is  “Striptease Therapy”?  It can take a variety of forms, depending on you and your needs.  Whether you need help disciplining your out-of-control stripper fetish, getting up the courage to do a seductive striptease for your husband (or wife), or roleplaying an exotic dancer domination fantasy, give us a call at 213.291.9497.

Dancing is the world’s oldest art form. People have been dancing since shortly after they started walking, and some of the first dances they did were erotic dances, also known as “fertility dances.” Essentially, these were dances to make the crops grow along with the men’s erections, dances to make the rain fall as the women got wet.  Some say that any kind of dance is erotic.  George Bernard Shaw famously called dancing “a vertical expression of a horizontal desire.”

Stripping is also very old.  Probably as soon as people started wearing clothes, some people started taking their clothes off in a sexy, seductive way.  Keep in mind that for many thousands of years, we humans were as naked as all the other animals in the forest.  As we started to wear clothing, human nudity became taboo.  Unclothing—or stripping—became theteasing “gateway” between the acceptable, civilized, clothed world and the realm of forbidden, primal nudity.

Thus stripping is one of the most basic, powerful aphrodisiacs there is. The gradual, sensuous removal of articles of clothing reveals the natural mysteries of the human body in a viscerally exciting way that takes us from our cultured world of clothing to a naked realm of primeval pleasures and our deep evolutionary origins.  A well-known University of Chicago Sex Survey found that the second most common turn-on, next to regular sexual intercourse, is watching someone sexy taking off their clothes

Slowly…as one of the greatest American strippers, Gypsy Rose Lee said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly” (though, if you’re in a hurry, a quick strip can also hit the spot!)….

Speaking of Gypsy, in response to her request for a “more dignified” way to refer to her profession than “stripper,” H. L. Mencken is credited with coining the word “ecdysiast” – from “ecdysis”, meaning “to molt.”

Striptease in mythology goes at least as far back as the ancient Sumerian story of the descent of the goddess Inanna into the Underworld where, at each of the seven gates, she removes an article of clothing until her naked arrival in hell. Inanna’s cosmic striptease is carried on in the Dance of the Seven Veils of Salome, who danced for King Herod in the New Testament (Matthew 14:6 and Mark 6:21-22). Though the Bible records Salome’s dance, the first mention of her actually removing seven veils occurs in Oscar Wilde‘s play Salome in 1893 and Richard Strauss‘s operatic version in 1905, which some claim as the origin of modern striptease.

In the Gay Nineties, striptease and burlesque flourished in Paris at the Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergère, and in 1905, the notorious and tragic Dutch dancer, Mata Hari, later shot as a spy by the French authorities during World War I, was an overnight striptease success at the Musée Guimet. In the 1920s, an American in Paris, Josephine Baker, stripped to nothing but a “skirt” of bananas in her sensational danse sauvage.

The 1960s saw a revival of striptease in the form of topless go-go dancing. This eventually merged with the older tradition of burlesque to create modern stripping. Carol Doda of the Condor Night Club in San Francisco is given the credit of being the first topless—then bottomlessgo-go dancer.  In the past, the performance often finished as soon as the undressing was over, but today’s strippers usually continue dancing, pole-dancing and lapdancing in the nude.

Meanwhile, burlesque or “neo-burlesque” has branched off from stripping into a separate, somewhat more “dignified” and more humor-infused dance form, maintaining the old striptease traditions with new twists.  Then there are the modern temple dancers who perform “striptease therapy” in the sacred traditions of Aphrodite and ApsaraSo many ways to strip and tease!

One of the most famous striptease artists of modern times, Dita Von Teese, has appeared twice on The Dr. Susan Block Show, including once when Dr. Block interviewed Bettie Page, the late legendary American striptease, pin-up and fetish model, in 1996.

Dr. Block also wrote the definition of STRIPTEASE for the new Wiley-Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality.

But back to you…and your stripper fetish

Do you need to talk with someone who’s been on both sides of the lapdance?  For serious sex therapy or a pleasureable phone experience or help with your—or your loved one’s—stripper habit, give us a call right now or anytime you need to talk.  Call 213.291.9497.  We’re here for you.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

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We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Religious Sexual Abuse Therapy

 

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Are you a victim of religious sexual abuse?

Were you raised in a strict religious environment?

Call Us 24/7 at 213.291.9497

Has your sexuality has been hurt, warped or excessively restricted by a harsh, authoritarian, “divinely” inspired, anti-sex  upbringing?

Are you concerned that an unhealthy, fundamentalist, orthodox and/or hypocritical religious approach to life is repressing, oppressing, distorting or destroying your sexuality, your marriage, or your life in general?

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The Dr. Susan Block Institute specializes in treating victims of religious sexual abuse and others whose sex lives have been damaged by strict, religious, anti-sex indoctrination.    Institute Director Dr. Susan Block, a Yale University graduate with a PhD from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality,  is one of the world’s foremost experts in issues pertaining to sex and religion.  If you need help, or if you just need to talk, give us a call anytime 24/7 at 213.291.9497.  You can talk to Dr. Block herself or one of our many other telephone sex therapists.  Someone is always here for you.

Of course, there are important differences between the many religions of the world and their specific rules governing sexual conduct.  But whether you were raised Christian, Catholic, Sunni, Sufi or Shi’ite Muslim, Jewish (ethnic or Orthodox), Hindu, Mormon, Coptic, Buddhist, Born Again, Scientologist or any other faith worshipping a heavenly higher power, clergy and other authority figures may have used unreasonable, anti-sex and/or self-serving interpretations of scripture or religious law to control your sexuality and  inflict deep, long-lasting damage.

Religious Sexual Abuse can take many forms.  It may be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.  Most often, it begins in early childhood.  The scars may be lasting, but the pain can be healed with a little bit of reason and a lot of love.

Religion is a powerful, yet easily manipulated force in many people’s lives.

Were you abused by a misuse of the power of religion?

Were you taught as a child to fear sex, your naked body, your genitalia, your feelings, fantasies or desires?

Were you beaten as a child for being bad?  Were you threatened with eternal damnation, told that God would punish you for your natural erotic curiosity?

Were you ever pressured or forced to do sexual things by a member of the clergy or other trusted adult authority figure who coerced you in the name of God?

Were you ever pressured to not do sexual things by a member of the clergy or other trusted adult authority figure who coerced you in the name of God?

Were you pressured to accept things that didn’t make sense just because they were in the Bible, Koran or other Holy Book or scripture?

Were you told that masturbation was a mortal sin?

Do you feel controlled by your religion?

Do you feel that you can’t “be yourself,” sexually speaking, for fear of how God, your family or your religious community might react?

Are you tired of the heavenly lies and clergy-serving fairy tales?

Is excessive religiosity driving you in the opposite direction, toward what some people call “sex addiction,” an obsession with porn or other types of illicit sex?

Are you aroused by breaking taboos?  Do you find yourself fantasizing about engaging in sexual activities that go against your moral code?

Are you attracted to people of other faiths or ethnic groups, even though your family would disapprove?  Are you turned on by  “extreme” ethnic Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Atheists or others–partly because your religious community considers them to be the forbidden “other”?

Do you find yourself obsessed with humiliating your own or other religions, like the “Innocence of Muslims,” the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” or “Christian-bashing?”  Do you have sexual fantasies about Christian Crusaders, Arab-Israeli Conflicts, Jihad, martyrs or other types of eroticized Holy Wars?

Do you find yourself getting aroused by fantasies of violent sex or violence against people of *other* religions? Or do you imagine them committing violence against you?

Have you developed sexual “hang-ups” or unwanted fetishes that might stem from your religious upbringing?

Do you find you are unable to “perform” or enjoy sex because of deep feelings of guilt and/or shame?

Do you feel that your sexual desires might condemn you to burn in hell for eternity?

Do you ever fantasize about erotic acts of blasphemy?

Have you done or fantasized about doing kinky things in church, temple, mosque or synagogue?  Have you ever had or fantasized about having sex with nuns, priests, imams, ayatollahs, mullahs, rabbis, yogis, monks or other clergy?

Or are you, perhaps, a member of the clergy leading a double life?  Preaching a strict abstinence-only doctrine by day and practicing your secret sexual fetish by night?

Do you feel alone, confused and/or concerned about this?

Would you like to talk about it with someone who understands, who won’t *judge* you, but will listen and talk to you, in complete privacy and confidentiality?

Need to talk to someone about something you can’t talk about with anyone else?
You can talk to us.

Block Institute Director Susan M Block, Ph.D.

Experience Telephone Sex Therapy
More private than a “confession booth,”  and a lot more helpful.

Perhaps you’d like a fresh perspective on the relationship of sex and God, or sexuality and spirituality.  Maybe you need help with processing religiously inspired, sex-negative messages in yourself or in your loved one.  Perhaps you need the strength to stand up for your personal sexual “rights” against unreasonable religious dogma.

Then again, maybe you just need some help from a real “sexpert” in finding ways to explore, express and satisfy your sexual desires without breaking the rules of your religion or compromising your faith.

For information about our telephone sex therapy, webcam and sext therapy services, call 213.291.9497.

You won’t go to hell for it.  But you just might feel a whole lot better.

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Sexual Surrogate Therapy

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Have you been considering working with a sexual surrogate?

Are you experiencing performance anxiety, erectile difficulties, inability to orgasm, premature ejaculation, an extreme lack of confidence, severe shyness, a sexless relationship or other sexual “complications” that you can’t seem to work out on your own?

Have you wondered if there is a serious, therapeutic, “hands-on” way to improve your sex life?

If you’re thinking about working with a sexual surrogate or “sex surrogate,” our staff of trained phone sex therapists is available to discuss your desires and needs. If you’re interested in learning, ready to start working with a sexual surrogate or if you need help deciding if sexual surrogacy is right for you, call The Dr. Susan Block Institute anytime 24/7 at 213.291.9497

What do you know about sexual surrogacy?

Sexual surrogate therapy is an alternative method of sex therapy which a therapist may recommend for those individuals who have serious problems engaging in fulfilling sex. Sexuality, while a natural and rich source of pleasure, is generally at its richest when expressed with a partner. But sex with a partner, or even the prospect of obtaining a partner at all, often comes with compromises and complications.

For some, emotional trauma, low self-esteem, fear of intimacy or many other social barriers can make the act of sexual intercourse a near-impossible achievement. For others, there are physical obstacles, such as impotence or delayed or “premature” ejaculation. And then of course, there are the social skills and opportunity required in acquiring a sex partner in the first place. Surely, the pressure of obtaining a partner can worsen existing issues with nervousness, anxiety or depression.

Sexual issues can be psychological and emotional matters where regular “talk” therapy is the best treatment. On the other hand, sexuality is, in part, also physical, and sometimes physical help is required and beneficial. This is where sexual surrogate therapy comes in. Working in conjunction with a therapist, the trained sexual surrogate takes a step-by-step, hands-on approach based on the classic work sensate focus therapy of Masters & Johnson, in combination with other traditional and nontraditional therapies. A sexual surrogate will spend the time it takes (usually several weeks) to work slowly with the client to help them work through all the issues of concern, emotionally, and when appropriate, physically as well.

The Block Institute works with California state-certified sexual surrogates.  Of course, we always stay within the strict confines of the law on these matters.  We also recommend that you contact the International Professional Surrogates Association (IPSA).

But if you need help deciding if sex surrogacy is right for you or if you just need to talk about your problem, you can give us a call anytime 24/7.  Someone is always here to talk with you, and we may be able to get you started working with a sexual surrogate and/or therapist.  Sexual surrogacy is not legal in every state or country, but talking about it always is.
Call us now at 213.291.9497

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

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We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Crossdressing Phone Sex Therapy

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213.291.9497

Gentlemen: Do you like wearing women’s clothing?

Do you get aroused, have fun or just feel comfortable wearing feminine lingerie, stockings, dresses, skirts, lacy or silky panties, bras, garter belts, wigs, high heels and/or makeup?

Do you crossdress openly or is it a big secret?

Would you like to share your secret crossdressing fantasies with someone–perhaps a lover, therapist, friend or  understanding stranger–with your complete confidentiality absolutely guaranteed?

Ladies: Did you find a lacy thong stashed in a hidden compartment of your husband’s briefcase? Don’t jump to conclusions.  They may not be another woman’s–but his!

Do you want to learn more about why you (or your lover) enjoy crossdressing?  Would you like to find out where your transvestite or transsexual fetish or fantasies come from, or how you can best cope with your crossdressing desires?

Maybe it’s time you call the world’s foremost Crossdressing Phone Sex Therapy Specialists.  We’re always here for you, anytime you need to talk, 24/7.  You can call us now at 213.291.9497.

Crossdressing is nothing new. From ancient Greek drama, which featured men in all the women’s roles, to Victorian Bloomer Girls to modern drag queens, ever since men and women started wearing different clothes, they found excuses to wear each other’s clothes. Currently, unlike men, women who wear “male” clothing have few social problems. Tomboys are accepted.  Sissies are not. Women wear pants and nobody even blinks, but when a man wears a skirt (unless perhaps, its a kilt), its usually a big deal.  It doesn’t seem fair, but such are the decrees of socio-sexual fashion.

How does male crossdressing start?  Every crossdresser has a different story, but most begin their lifelong love affair with feminine apparel around early adolescence. The first glimmers of the fetish often revolve around Mama‘s sensual, forbidden panties  or nylons. Many teenage boys get aroused by touching or smelling Mom’s or Sister’s lingerie, usually hanging tantalizingly over a towel rack or lying nestled in a hamper. Crossdressers take this common interest a step further by actually trying it on.

Some say the desire to crossdress starts as a sort of security blanket when a boy seeks comfort in Mom’s clothing to escape a harsh or absent Dad.  If he’s caught in the act, he’s often humiliated which makes him feel guilty, but enhances the excitement of crossdressing. Some say crossdressing is partly genetic. Regardless of the cause, most experts agree that the desire to crossdress is not something someone can simply eliminate, even with therapy, especially if it’s been going on since childhood.

What do men feel when they crossdress? Many thoughts, feelings, sensations, desires and fantasies may course through their veins and penetrate their brains as they wear feminine clothing.  They might feel it’s exciting, relaxing (even tranquilizing), mystical, dangerous, taboo, irreverent, erotic and more. Some really want to be women (and may eventually become transsexuals). Some are gay.  But most are straight or bisexual. Many say they feel that deep inside, they are lesbians. Some might have trouble connecting with women, so they dress up so they can be the kind of lady they’d like to go out with, but can’t find. Then there’s James, a retired judge (male), who just married Sharon, an attorney (female).  It was a beautiful crossdressed wedding: James wore a full-length bridal gown, and Sharon wore a top hat and tuxedo.

Why is it that so many closet crossdressers are judges, fire fighters, construction workers, police officers, attorneys, and CEOs?    Usually, they’re overcompensating or trying to *disguise* their feminine desires by working in a field that’s traditionally ultra-male. Many feel that ladies are pampered.  Whether that’s accurate is irrelevant. The fact is when these men crossdress, they feel pampered. They forget the manly stresses of the board room, fire station or construction site, and simply relax and have fun.  It’s ironic that when most women want to relax, they take off their high heels and garters, and put on a T-shirt and shorts.  The fact that some men get comfortable by taking off their jeans and putting on a corset is one of the great paradoxical joys of crossdressing.

There is nothing ethically “wrong” with crossdressing, thought many people, societies and religions maintain that its wrong.  The biggest problems arise when, because of these social pressures to conform, crossdressers feel they must stay in the closet, which most do.  Many lifelong crossdressers have girlfriends, or even wives of many years they wouldn’t dream of telling about their undercover fashion passion.  Their desire for secrecy is understandable, since the potential for stinging rejection or worse is immense.

Your secrets are safe with us, and your confidentiality is absolutely guaranteed.  Anytime you need to talk, 24 hours a day, the world-famous telephone sex therapists of the Dr. Susan Block Institute for the Erotic Arts & Sciences are just a phone call away. You may talk with a male, female or shemale therapist.  For more information, call 213.291.9497.

Though we completely understand and honor the need that most crossdressers have for complete secrecy, there’s no doubt that most crossdressers are happier and healthier–and less likely to get into trouble–if they can share their fetish with someone they are close to.  If you are a crossdresser and you want to open up to a partner, we can help you turn this exciting thought into a reality.

We also understand that some wives might have a tough time coping with the revelation of their husbands’ crossdressing. Though transvestitism itself is very difficult to stop, with a little knowledge and a lot of love, wives have been known to change how they deal with their husbands’ fetish. Usually this requires modification on the husband’s part as well, not necessarily of the crossdressing itself, but of some other aspect of his behavior toward his wife.  Keep in mind that though some women are horrified to discover their husband is crossdressing, some not only tolerate it, they love it.  You may, despite your assumptions, find that you enjoy it too.  And hey, if your sizes aren’t too different, you two can trade panties!

Whether you need serious crossdressing therapy, guided masturbation, erotic hypnosis, knowledgeable advice, counseling, help with a problem or just a hot phone sex therapy experience, call us at 213.291.9497.

 

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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Tease & Denial Phone Sex Therapy

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213.291.9497

Do you like to be teased? Does it arouse you to be made to wait for that sweet moment of release?  Or would you rather do the teasing, prolonging your seduction to make the object of your desire crazy with lust for you?  What is it that can make the art of “tease and denial” so irresistible, it’s as if it weaves a magic spell around its helpless, happy victim?

Everyone needs a little tease, at least sometimes.  Men need to be teased because it makes them slow down. Women need to be teased because it makes us come around.  Teasing puts the pizzazz and mystery into sex.  Otherwise, we’d just be rutting animals.  Even animals tease!  Look at the stop-start, pounce-retreat mating dances of birds, cats, apes, even snakes.

A good tease is erotic but indirect, slowly building up to total seduction and surrender. As that consummate strip tease artist Gypsy Rose Lee once said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”  A great tease has all the time in the world. And with a great tease, you never know if you’re going to get the gold you’re going for.  You might, but then again you might not.  You have to be flexible with a tease.  You have to remember the Golden Rule of TeaseYou never know.  The best laid plans may not get you laid the way you planned.  You have to be willing to go with the tease, please…

Teasing wears a variety of masks and hats.  There is the innocent tease who doesn’t even know she’s a tease, and is all the more devastating for it.  There’s the experienced tease who spins her webs of seduction with great skill and sensitivity.  I say “her” because, though men can tease too, teasing is a feminine wile.  It is manipulative and circuitous, womanly attributes.  Some teasing is spontaneous, light as a feather.  Some teasing is calculated, steeped in the art of salacious sorcery.  Some teasing is loving and sweet, almost nurturing, like tickling a baby.  Some teasing is playful and charming, dazzling and devastatingly witty.  Some teasing is mean and nasty, even vicious and cruel.  Teasing can also be humiliating and torturous.  And some teasing really hurts.  Rapes, murders, even MASS murders have been committed by people—even children–who say they did it because  they were teased.  Teasing can be dangerous.  It can be quite harmless too, of course.  That is why we say “I’m just teasing!” to insist we’re harmless.  But it is the dangerous aspects of teasing that make it erotic.  That, and the sensuous nature of revealing something slowly, gradually, then maybe not at all, then maybe a little more.  It is too dangerous to show more.  Too hot to handle.  That is the Art of the Tease.

One of the greatest teases of history, believe it or not, is Queen Esther of the Bible. The shrewd and seductive Esther of Shushan, in what is now Iran, teased the great and powerful Persian King Ahasuerus into such an erotic frenzy that he freed her people from genocide.  Queen Cleopatra of Egypt was also a great tease; it was her extraordinary teasing ability that kept the Romans guessing and ultimately kept Egypt governed by its own people (that is, herself) until her death.

In modern times, teasing is the stuff of stars, Marilyn Monroe being the most legendary tease.  Bettie Page, sometimes called the Dark Marilyn, was also a most delicious tease. Now Dita Von Teese continues the legacy of the tease.  I was privileged to have Bettie Page as a guest on my show a few years ago–with Dita (when she was an 18-year-old Heather Sweet) in my studio audience!  Though Bettie spoke with me on the air for over an hour, she refused to show her face.  What a tease.  She said she wanted us to think of her the way she was, forever young and beautiful; she wanted control of her image.

And, yes, teasing is about control.  Once you lose control, you’re not teasing anymore. It’s tough to tease when you’re in mid-orgasm.  Once the orgasm is on, the tease  is over….unless you’re a really good tease.

Does all this talk about teasing make you yearn to be teased?

Call the telephone sex therapists of The Dr. Susan Block Institute for Tease and Denial Phone Sex Therapy. Whether you’re looking to be teased yourself by one of our sweet, charming, experienced, degreed and/or deliciously cruel sex therapists, if you’re in need of some teasing advice to seduce that someone you’ve been wanting for a while, or if you want to better understand, explore, express, limit and/or control your desire for tease and denial, we’re here  for you 27/7. We are the world’s foremost experts in the fine art of tease and denial.  Call now at 213.291.9497

The Dr. Susan Block Institute Established 1991

For more information, call our recorded line.

213.291.9497

We’re available 24/7, including all holidays.

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