Shannon Boodram, 32, is making the topic of sex less taboo with her Shan BOODY YouTube channel. Her channel has nearly 300,000 subscribers and explores having a good sex life on an individual standard versus the societal standard.
Boodram grew up in Toronto, Canada in a strict Catholic household. She was always told to abstain from sex physically and verbally. The topic of sex being forbidden made Boodram want to explore it even more. For her, this meant reading novels along with watching pornography and television shows to get an idea of what sex is.
“Growing up, I went to Catholic school where sex was extremely repressed. Then at home, my Barbies were even banned from being naked,” said Boodram. “I was always sexually precocious and just naturally had an interest in physicality. When you have someone who has an interest in something and there’s repression, they tend to find whatever they can.”
Once Boodram started having a sex life of her own, she realized that the shows and videos that she watched were not accurate. As a 19-year-old college student, she started doing more research on what a healthy sex life is and it led her to deciding to write her own book about how to get the best out of your sex life.
“When I started researching, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, there needs to be somebody who makes this information as interesting and gripping as porn, TV and mass media does,'” said Boodram. “I wanted to make sex ed intriguing.”
After graduating, Boodram published her book, Laid: Young People’s Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture, and started her YouTube channel where she goes by the name Shan BOODY. She also started booking gigs speaking at different events and television shows. Her idea is that sex does not have one way of being right. She views everyone as an individual and supports people tapping into their own mind and trying out different techniques to see what makes them happy.
“Because we don’t talk about it a lot, people tend to have a mono culture that there is only one right way to do it. Just like there are millions of careers out there based on peoples’ interests, I think that it’s the same way when it comes to sexuality,” said Boodram. “There are millions of different ways to express yourself and to find a sex life that is happy and healthy.”
Boodram landed a pilot for a talk show about sex with BET a few years ago that gave her the opportunity to come to Los Angeles, where she currently resides. The show didn’t get picked up, but Boodram’s ideas have got her television appearances on The View, TLC’s Let’s Talk About Sex, E! News and more.
“There are always these two extremes that you see. You see the extreme from elders and authority figures saying, ‘don’t do it, it’ll ruin your life,'” said Boodram. “Then you see media saying that it’s going to make you better, more attractive and likeable. Finding balance and truth between the two extremes is what I do.”
Along with her YouTube channel, Boodram currently hosts a Facebook show called Make up or Break up where a couple comes on and discusses their relationship problems. The 71,000 followers of the show then weigh in and let the couple know their opinions on if the couple should make up or break up.
She is also currently working with the American Sexual Health Association on increasing awareness of sexually transmitted diseases through their YES Means TEST campaign. This campaign is educating young adults on the importance of getting tested and the many ways that diseases can be transferred. To find out more information on sexually transmitted diseases and to find the nearest free clinic, visit yesmeanstest.org.
For more information about Boodram, visit shanboody.com. You can also find her on all social media @shanboody.