Tuppy Owens

Tuppy Owens

Tuppy Owens
Born Rosalind Mary Owens
November 12, 1944
Cambridge, England
Occupation Writer, therapist, campaigner
Years active 1970–present

Dr. Rosalind Mary "Tuppy" Owens (born 12 November 1944) is a British sex therapist, consultant, campaigner, and writer.[1][2]

Tuppy Owens was born in Cambridge. She gained a degree in zoology from Exeter University, and then worked in ecology in Africa and Trinidad.[1] She settled in London, and worked as a scientific administrator at the Natural Environment Research Council.[3] Then, in the late 1960s, she established a sex education book publishing company, for which she wrote and published The Sex Maniac’s Diary[4] successfully between 1972 and 1995, and which she operated as a thriving and attention-grabbing business from her Mayfair flat[3] — for example, the 1975 Sex Maniac's Diary was launched in August 1974 with a reception at the Bristol Hotel in London which was reported on the following day in the Financial Times.[5]

From 1974, Owens also began lecturing on the subject of sex.[6] In 1979, she started Outsiders Club, for people with disabilities seeking new friends and partners. From 1984, the Sex Maniac's Diary was published as The Safer Sex Maniac's Diary and provided the first visual instructions to the public on how to put a condom on securely; it also reviewed condoms and offered safer sex advice, all at the beginning of the outbreak of HIV.[7]

Also in the 1980s, Owens trained as a sex therapist at St George's Hospital Medical School in London, where she gained a diploma in Human Sexuality in 1986.[2] She was also subsequently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.[2] In 2009 Tuppy was named one of the Family Planning Association‘s 80 most influential achievers in the field of family planning.

In the 1990s, after more than 30 years living in London Dr Tuppy Owens moved away and has, since then, lived in a croft in the North of Scotland.[8]

In 2005, Tuppy Owens founded the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA)[1] to bring together health professionals interested in sex and disability. In November 2009, a conference with the title "Disability: Sex, Relationships and Pleasure" was held by SHADA with the Royal Society of Medicine.[9] Tuppy produced the Sexual Respect Tool Kit and started the sexual advocacy service, ASAP. Tuppy also answers the Sex and Disability Helpline. Her book "Supporting Disabled People with their Sexual Lives will be published by Jessica Kingsley on 19 November 2014.

Dr Tuppy Owens remains active in running Outsiders.[10] At the same time, she also runs the Sex Maniacs Ball to fund Outsiders, and is the founder of another fundraiser, The Erotic Awards,[11] now called The Sexual Freedom Awards and run by Charlotte Rose. Tuppy is the chair of the Sexual Freedom Coalition[12]

Publications

Owens was author of:

Owens also:

Wrote chapter on disability in Queer Sex Work', edited by Mary Laing, Katy Pilcher and Nicola Smith (Routledge)

References

(Web links retrieved 20 November 2010.)

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cole Riley, SexIs magazine & website, 18 November 2010: article Dr. Tuppy Owens: The Sensual Patron Saint of the Disabled
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tuppy Owens: Interview with a Love Doctor". The Skinny. 17 June 2008. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Observer Review, 24 September 1972: article by Pendennis Tuppyware
  4. ↑ Excerpt at allmediaScotland, 2 October 2008 from memoirs of Scottish war correspondent Paul Harris More Thrills than Skills — A Half-life in Journalism, Part 68
  5. ↑ The Financial Times, Thursday 22 August 1974
  6. ↑ The Evening Standard, Tuesday 9 April 1974, page 5: article by David Bentley Tuppy finds a way with the little red love book
  7. ↑ The Sex Maniac's Diary and The Safer Sex Maniac's Diary published annually 1972–1995.
  8. ↑ Highland News, 8 June 2008: article about Dr Owens
  9. ↑ "Disability: Sex, relationships and pleasure". Royal Society of Medicine. 13 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009.
  10. ↑ The Realist, Number 136: article by David Steinberg The Hookers Convention
  11. ↑ Grayson Perry (30 August 2006). "I'm all for good, clean dirty fun, me". The Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009.
  12. ↑ Marie Claire March 2009: article Meet the Sex Professionals

External links