When I tell someone what I do for a living, there tends to be a lot of follow-up questions. Most of the time, people inquire about the reputability of nudity in therapy or the relevance of overt-sexuality in psychology. Why naked? Why sex? Why, why, why?

But every now and then, people want to know ‘how’. How they can find a job in the field of sexuality, how they can become a naked therapist or psychologist, how they can pioneer a profession out of life’s true passions: sex, love, and mental stimulation.

That’s why I love the “How I Became A…” series recently launched by Kinsey Confidential, a sexual health blog sponsored by the Kinsey Institute. In this series, the Kinsey writers–a variety of sex therapists, sociologists, and sex researchers–reflect on the path that brought them to their respective careers in the field of sexual scholarship. The blog’s description explains the impetus for the series:

“I didn’t even know you could make a career out of that!” is a very common comment that myself and many sex researchers/educators/therapists receive. This comment is quite often followed by the question “how exactly did you get into that?” or “how do I get into that field? A bunch of us Kinsey Confidential bloggers, educators, and writers got together recently and decided to do a series of “How I Became A . . .” to give our readers a taste of just how diverse each of our paths have been to get us into this field!

I love the idea of articulating how sexuality can be transformed into scholarship and life’s work. So often sex and musings about sex are dismissed as frivolous, recreational, or worse–shameful. But sex can be serious work. It can be a vocation… apart from what normally comes to mind when you hear about sexual professionals.

And that’s what the “How I Became A…” series focuses on: sexuality as a profession. The writers from Kinsey Confidential discuss the topic like any other professional field, making the series read almost like a recruiting session or a job fair–but the best job fair ever!

As you read through the entries, you’ll realize that the overriding theme of the Kinsey entries seems to be that there is no overriding theme. There is no set path to the field of sexual studies and therapy–just a common passion lighting the way towards satisfaction.

The Naked Truth Award is given to a person or organization that has somehow shown awesome bravery in standing up for truth, justice, health, freedom and/or coolness in our world.