076: Healing Religious Trauma and Creating Sexual Freedom

Desire on Fire

One of the things that consistently brings women into the Desire On Fire community is shame.

Shame around sex for sure — wanting it, knowing what you want, asking out loud for what you want (often the most difficult and vulnerable part of our journey).

But it’s not just about sexual shame. It’s also about shame around all kinds of desire — for any kind of pleasure, fun, abundance, agency, freedom, or satisfaction.

Where does this shame come from? And how is it that even people who were raised outside of traditional religious environments and in sex-positive families (like Aimee and Ellie) still carry trauma and fear around sex and desire?

Our guests today have a unique perspective, because they grew up inside the conservative evangelical structures that gave rise to purity culture.

And through the long journey of exploration, unlearning, and finally being trained as sex therapists themselves, they’ve found a way forward towards healing, freedom, and wholeness — not just in their sex lives, but in the fullness of all kinds of desire.

If you grew up in purity culture (and spoiler alert: we all feel the effects of this paradigm, whether we grew up with religion or not), we think you’ll find this conversation with Juila Postema and Jeremiah Gibson to be enlightening and deeply encouraging.

Julia and Jeremiah are currently the hosts of the Sexvangelicals, a sexual health podcast and education platform with the mission to support relationships in reclaiming sexuality following adverse religious experiences.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Julia and Jeremiah found their way to freedom (and to each other)

• What exactly is purity culture?

• How purity culture affects even non-religious people

• Why early + clear conversations around sex, pleasure, and desire are so important

• How you can begin your journey to break free from sexual shame

Explore our website: https://www.desireonfire.com/

Come and join our FB community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DesireOnFire/

And connect with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desireonfire/

Connect with Aimee:

Check out my instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/aimeebatuski/

Connect with Ellie:

Check out my instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/elliemontgomerie

Connect with Julia and Jeremiah:

Sexvangelicals website

Julia and Jeremiah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexvangelicals/

Sexvangelicals podcast

People + resources mentioned in this episode:

DOF Episode with Elena Rossi on sexual healing after trauma

AASECT (American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors, and Therapists)

Multi-Orgasmic Man, by Mantak Chia

Extended Massive Orgasm, by Steve Bodansky

Dr. Wednesday Martin

Sexvangelicals podcast episode with Kara Haug - Reframing Our Stories

Apple Podcasts summary:

If you grew up in purity culture (and spoiler alert: we all feel the effects of this paradigm, whether we grew up with religion or not), we think you’ll find this conversation with Juila Postema and Jeremiah Gibson to be enlightening and deeply encouraging.

Julia and Jeremiah are currently the hosts of the Sexvangelicals, a sexual health podcast and education platform with the mission to support relationships in reclaiming sexuality following adverse religious experiences.

We’re looking at the roots of purity culture, its far-reaching effects on everything we do — and how to find healing and freedom in truth, love, and community.