The vivacious Dr. Victoria Reuveni has been volunteering with the Center for Positive Sexuality for a just about a year. However, her relationship with the Center goes back to when she saw two of our panel presentations as a student at Cal State Northridge. She recalls seeing Ms. Diana, Bo Daddy and slave Debbie as well as other educators on BDSM panels for her 400 level classes back in the Fall of 2009 and Spring 2010. The experience was a revelation and opened her mind to the possibilities of sex. Interesting how things come full circle but like most of us, the path she took to get where she is today was far from straight.
Victoria identifies as culturally Jewish now but was raised & educated Orthodox which is much more conservative and strict. The Orthodox schools she attended didn’t offer much in the realm sex education which lead her to learn about sex from reading Cosmo & having a very active imagination. Growing up in West Hollywood, her schooling couldn’t shield her from witnessing the exploding LGBTQ community surrounding her which only sparked more interest and questions. After a few years of trying to figure out the next stage her life, she transferred to Cal State Northridge to find some direction. Quite by coincidence, she noticed that several classes she enrolled in during her first semester qualified for the Human Sexuality minor. She quickly and enthusiastically took the steps to add this coursework to the B.A. in Psychology she was already working towards.
Victoria admitted to taking her first formal sex education class at the age of 22 which as you can imagine was impactful. She took any and all human sexuality classes she could realizing that she was much more interested in this field rather than psychology or therapy. After graduating from CSUN in May of 2010, she chose to further her education at the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) in San Francisco. Originally entering to only obtain a master’s degree, she was encouraged by Dr. Hernando Chaves to go for her Doctorate in Human Sexuality (DHS).
As eye-opening as studying at IASHS was, she felt a disconnect; like something was missing from the coursework they were focusing on. Simple exercises in sensate focus highlighted this missing puzzle piece. She started to wonder “How can we talk about sex and intimacy if contact is left out of the equation when everyone agrees touch is essential to pleasure?” As if the universe had an answer to her concerns, the Institute was offering Sexological Bodywork training. She participated in a four month long training that included a two week intensive working with her classmates on incorporating various kinds of breath and touch to move through ingrained shame and expand pleasure potential. The cornerstones to this important work are conscious breath, movement, sound, and touch. She only intended to go through Sexological Bodywork training to add to her toolbox as a sexologist, but this is where Victoria found that she may have some promise after someone complimented her touch. She completed this training in June 2013, graduated from her doctoral program in October 2013, and joined the Association of Sexological Bodyworkers in winter 2014.
Since graduation, Dr. Victoria has been focusing on building her sexological bodywork practice as she finds it extremely gratifying to help someone finally BE SEEN and to give them permission to experience the delight of their bodies. When helping someone feel comfortable in their own skin, often it’s the journey and not the destination that matters. The work is not orgasmic-centric and sometimes the genitals are not involved at all, but it is important to note that there are boundaries in this work. It is always one-way touch, with her as the practitioner clothed, and gloves are always worn if genital touch takes place. It can be a long process and various emotions can arise. But what she’s trying to do is awaken her clients from within.
Vibrant Victoria emanates light and compassion from her smile and touch. She’s a multi-talented, multi-faceted individual who is not only a sexologist, but also an informative & passionate blogger and sex toy reviewer. Her mission is encouraging embodiment & acceptance and to try to bring accurate and comprehensive sex positive information to folks from all walks of life. Her dream is to one day start Orgasmic Yoga Women’s & Mixed Gender groups. With so many jobs she’s juggling, she tries to make time to play, travel and for her own pleasure too!
We are honored to have a former student as a sex educator helping to promote sex positive beliefs on our BDSM, Polyamory & Non-Monogamy, Sexual Diversity, & Sex Workers panels. Dr. Victoria is proof the work we’re doing makes a difference in people’s lives.
To learn more about Dr. Victoria Reuveni, sexological body work and orgasmic yoga, visit her website at http://sexologistvixenne.com
Please follow her on twitter @DrVixenne