Introducing Hannah Witton, YouTube Vlogger and author of “Doing It: Let’s Talk About Sex…”, as part of our Sextech Salon Series on how important sex education is for our own pleasure and healthy relationships.
Tell us a bit about your YouTube Channel and your book “Doing It: Let’s Talk About Sex…”? How did you get started?
My YouTube channel is a real mixture of things. It’s a place to discuss taboo topics such as sex, periods, our bodies, but it’s also my diary. I shared a lot this year about my illness, needing surgery and now living with a stoma.
“Doing It” was my first book published last year all about sex and relationships. It’s aimed at teenagers and young adults and covers everything from healthy relationships to pornography, masturbation, contraception, consent, LGBTQ+.
It’s full of information, advice and stories. I got into this subject when I was a teenager and became aware that mine and my peers’ sex education was extremely lacking. I learned most of what I know from the internet. When I started a YouTube channel just for fun, and started growing an audience, I knew I wanted to use my platform to educate and talk about sex.
What is your vision for your future in sextech?
The main thing I love doing is communicating. Whether that’s in video form, social media or book form, I just love taking ideas and knowledge and letting more people know about them or discussing them with more people. So I’m excited to see what happens in sextech so I can talk about it!
What are the key trends you’re seeing at the moment that influence your work?
YouTube is no longer the place where you sit down for a minute and watch a viral video. It’s a lot of people’s main source of entertainment and they will tune in for longer periods of time. So recently I’ve experimented with longer form content. For instance, I made a video about sex and disability – that was an hour long round table discussion.
What’s the biggest surprise you’ve had since starting to work in sextech?
Ooh interesting question. I am repeatedly surprised by how powerful social media can be in bringing people together, sharing experiences and helping people feel less alone.
When it comes to sex, what’s the one thing you wish everyone knew?
That there’s lots of different kinds of sex and you do as much or as little of it as you like!
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Lots of things! I wanted to be a singer, dancer, actress (obviously), I also wanted to be a shopkeeper or a baker. And as I got older I thought I’d quite like to be a TV producer. Which is kind of the job I’m doing now, except for my own channel.
What was your sex education like growing up?
It existed but it was pretty minimal and very fear-mongering when it came to STIs. We had to put condoms on test tubes (very unrealistic) and were taught about different types of contraception.
But in terms of the emotional side – about healthy relationships, pleasure, consent etc. there was nothing.
What are you currently working on that you are willing to share?
I’m currently working on a project relating to my video series “The Hormone Diaries”. I can’t explain fully what it is yet but I’ve been asking people to share their stories of periods, contraception and hormones on instagram and on my blog and the response has been incredible so far.
How do you think the industry has changed in the past five years?
Well five years ago I was still doing this as a hobby whilst I was at uni. It’s exciting to see how social media and tech are changing the conversations we’re having around sex.
When I first started there was barely anything out there and now there’s new apps, new toys, new platforms related to sex, our bodies, relationships popping up all the time and it’s really cool.
What do you think is the next big step for sextech?
Do you know what, I actually have no idea but I can’t wait to see!
Who else in the industry do you admire or look up to?
I love everything that Dr. Lindsey Doe is doing with “Sexplanations”. She’s such an inspiration.
What advice would you give someone who is looking to break into the industry?
Have a look at what’s already out there and do your research. What unique perspective can you offer?
What wider changes do you think sextech can have or is having on society?
I think it can make having conversations about sex more accessible, more normal and less scary.
Do you have any practical tips that someone could use tonight to enhance their pleasure?
Organise your sex toy collection and storage system. I say this because it’s something I desperately need to do and I know it’ll increase my pleasure knowing everything is neatly organised.
We love that pleasure comes in so many forms. Though, we aren’t 100% sure if a tidy sex toy draw cleans a dirty mind. Thank you so much for chatting with us Hannah!
