Seeking Sex Advice? Where to Get Some

There are lots of "sexperts" doling out advice. Here's what's worth heeding.

ByABC News
May 3, 2007, 7:50 AM

May 4, 2007 — -- For those eager to talk about sex, there's no better time to do it. Talk, that is.

Gone are the days when cocktails with the girls or beers with the guys were the only suitable settings for candid conversations about what goes on between the sheets.On the Internet -- where more than 4 million sites are dedicated to adult content -- it's nearly impossible to avoid tips on how to raise her libido or enhance his prowess.

Thirteen years after Dr. Ruth Westenheimer revolutionized the airwaves by talking dirty in a Deutsch accent, TV and radio call-in shows continue to connect sex gurus with those in need across the country.

So the problem isn't lack of content or forums to chat -- it's sifting through what's out there and figuring out the advice worth heeding. Below are some of the best shows on TV, on the radio and on the Web, as judged by a team of sex specialists.

On TV "Talk Sex With Sue Johanson" has the market cornered. Johanson, a 61-year-old Canadian registered nurse, answers callers' questions about everything from S&M to ED with the same matter-of-fact manner with which most women her age would use to teach their grandchildren how to bake.

"What's titillating about Sue Johanson is that she looks 80-something-years old and she's talking about [anal sex]," said Jen Berman, psychotherapist and former call-in advice show host. "Sue is approachable. She's like your mom or your grandmother that you can go have tea or coffee with."

In the United States, "Talk Sex" airs on the Oxygen network at hours after the kids have, with any luck, gone to bed. That allows Johanson to address topics most stations would shy away from without mincing words.

"She's on cable so she can be really explicit," Ducky Doolittle, Museum of Sex educator and author of "Sex With the Lights On: 200 Illuminating Sex Questions Answered," told ABC News. "She's a beautiful feminist, a real groundbreaker."

With a sparse set decorated by little other than Johanson's 1980s-era outfits, "Talk Sex" defies the trend of graphically rich, highly produced, sex appeal-heavy TV shows. According to Doolittle, Johanson has a more powerful force working in her favor.

"Sue works because people are curious about other people's sex lives," she said. "So people get to hear others call in and ask these odd questions. It's voyeurism."

"Loveline" has set the standard in sex advice on the radio for 14 years. What began as a Sunday night segment on a local Los Angeles station became a nationally syndicated radio program by 1995 and an MTV phenomenon shortly after that. No longer televised, "Loveline" continues to captivate listeners across the country with its father-figure host, Dr. Drew Pinsky.