Podcast Summary: Bawdy Storytelling – Episode 26 “Family Values”

Host: Dixie De La Tour
Date: May 10, 2017
Featured Storytellers: Blythe Baldwin, Sarah Faith Alterman

Episode Overview

This episode of Bawdy Storytelling, “Family Values,” dives into the sometimes uncomfortable, always honest reality that our families—yes, even our moms and dads—are sexual beings. Hosted by sexual folklorist Dixie De La Tour, the episode highlights fiercely candid tales from storytellers Blythe Baldwin and Sarah Faith Alterman, exploring family connections through the prism of sexual openness, medical intimacy, and unexpected legacies. In true Bawdy form, it is equal parts hilarious, tender, awkward, and thought-provoking, making taboo topics feel honest and relatable.

Key Discussion Points & Storyteller Insights

1. Introduction: The “Mother’s Day” Conversation

• Dixie challenges listeners to face the reality of their parents’ sexuality, subverting traditional “family values” with unapologetic candor.
• [01:02] “We’re going to talk about your mom and dad having sex this week. Are you still listening?” —Dixie de La Tour

2. Story 1: Blythe Baldwin – “My Mother, My Gynecologist”

Background: Growing Up in a Medical Family

• Blythe’s parents are both OB-GYNs in Palo Alto—a town she describes as a mashup of “pseudo wannabe liberal hippies and conservative ultra-rich” ([03:05]).
• Coming out as queer at 15 added layers to Blythe’s experience in her family and hometown’s interconnected social scene.

The Ultimate Family Practice

• Blythe’s mother offers to be her gynecologist for privacy and expert care:
  “Isn’t that kind of fucking weird, Mom?” [04:02]
  “No...you are our daughter, our last daughter, our baby. And I can’t think of anybody that would be more invested in your health and your wellbeing than us.” —Blythe’s mother

• The infamous exam experience:

  • White lab coat, scarf, total professionalism – but with uniquely family touches.
  • “Tour of your bits”:
    • Mom uses a hand mirror: “This is your clitoris, labia minora, majora... that’s your urethral opening, vaginal opening, and your anus. Any questions?” ([06:35])
    • “Even though I’m relatively certain I’ve known exactly where my clitoris was since I was about 6 years old...”
    • Mom insists on Blythe viewing her own cervix during exams: “Tilt the mirror down. Like in mom voice.” ([09:34])

Navigating Health & Embarrassment

• Diagnosis & treatment: Blythe shares her experience with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and the complexities of being both patient and daughter.
• Family medical teamwork:
  • During an ultrasound, her mom calls in Blythe’s dad for a “secondary confirmation.”
  • Memorable moment:
    • Dad: “Whoa, Boogie. Do you see all that?..That is a bunch of crap. You gotta take a shit, Boogie.” ([14:33])
    • The story mixes humor, medical professionalism, and the uniquely weird intimacy of a family-run OB-GYN clinic.

Notable Quotes

• “My mom is the fucking ninja of pap smears. She is like there and gone before I’ve figured out that she’s even reached for the pipette.” ([10:30])
• “If anything should go awry and I bonk my head someday and forget, I’ll rely on my mother to reorient me with my vagina.” ([06:52])

3. Story 2: Sarah Faith Alterman – “My Dad, the Pornographic Author”

Discovery of Family Secrets

• Sarah receives her first “dick pic” at age 12—via mail.

  • Sent anonymously but traceable to a classmate by context ([19:23]).

• Her second dick pic arrives at age 35, from her father—but with a twist.

  • “Do not panic. That is not this kind of story. Don’t worry, everybody’s fine.” ([20:41])

The "Duck Room" & Unintentional Sex Ed

• As a pre-teen, Sarah discovers hidden books atop the living room bookshelf:

  • Games You Can Play with Your Pussy by “Ira Alterman”—her father ([23:29]).
  • A series featuring an erotic heroine, Bridget—ranging from comic cat puns to graphic BDSM scenes.
  • Puzzlement and sexual curiosity intermingle:
    • “This is confusing...but it’s kind of good. I start to feel warm and tingly in places I haven’t really thought about before...” ([24:24])

• The shock of realizing her father wrote erotic humor:

  • “My father wrote dozens of volumes of jokey pornography in the 1970s. Hoo, boy. And let me tell you, they are how I learned about sex.” ([24:50])

Inheritance of a Unique Legacy

• Books follow Sarah into adulthood:

  • She receives royalties and is left with the copyrights after her father's death.

• Alzheimer’s Disease and boundaries broken:

  • Her father’s disease strips away his inhibitions, leading to years of overtly sexual correspondence and confessions.
  • “I spent a year fielding explicit sexual material from my dad...I would get emails with links to positions in the Kama Sutra, jpegs of pussies on pussies on pussy.” ([28:24])

• Profound (and comic) reflection:

  • On her father’s deathbed, he makes Sarah the custodian of his sexual legacy.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If you have ever made any association between sex and one of your parents, you will understand how fucking weird that is.” ([25:11])
• “And so I am, like, carrying my dad’s sexual torch.” ([30:42])
• “I have the copyrights. I get royalty checks. I also have a bunch of his manuscripts still in my house, and I keep them on the top shelf of my own bookcase.” ([30:46])

Memorable Musical Moments

• The episode is “bookended” with playful, risqué parody songs referencing Oedipal themes and sexual comedy (00:04, 15:07, 31:26, 35:37) that reinforce the irreverent and taboo-busting nature of Bawdy Storytelling.

Host Commentary & Tone

Dixie de La Tour keeps the tone celebratory, warm, and inviting—even as the stories broach the most squirm-worthy of family secrets:

• “We all have sex, even your parents. And why not talk about it? Why pretend it doesn’t happen? It’s one of the best things out there, y’all. So let’s celebrate it in all its forms.” ([32:51])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:04 – Risqué musical intro on mother-loving
• 01:02 – Dixie introduces “Family Values” theme
• 02:25 – 15:07 – Blythe Baldwin’s story: growing up as the patient of her gynecologist mother
• 19:02 – 31:26 – Sarah Faith Alterman’s story: discovering her father’s erotic authorship and dealing with his Alzheimer’s
• 31:26 – Outro musical reprise (“I Got It From My Daddy”)
• 35:37 – Closing parody song, “Be My Mother Lover” for Mother’s Day

Overall Episode Tone & Takeaways

“Family Values” is an episode rooted in the peculiar beauty and humor of candor—how our most intimate family ties inevitably intersect with the vulnerabilities and weirdness of sexuality. By laughing in the face of taboo and being unafraid to get real about uncomfortable family revelations, Dixie and her storytellers make space for healing, connection, and perhaps the ultimate family value: honest storytelling.

Recommended if you:

• Enjoy frank, funny storytelling about sex and relationships
• Appreciate stories that reflect the messy reality of families
• Want to break taboos in a supportive, sex-positive context

Notable Quote to Close:
“Let’s celebrate [sex] in all its forms. Live storytelling is a way that it has not been celebrated before. And I’m so proud that Bawdy is the original sex and storytelling series.”
—Dixie de La Tour ([32:59])