Description:
In this illuminating episode of Open Deeply, hosts Sunny Megatron and Kate Loree dive into the groundbreaking work of Dr. Betty Martin, creator of The Wheel of Consent—a framework that has transformed how people understand giving, receiving, and the subtle power dynamics within touch, communication, and pleasure.
Together, we explore how the Wheel challenges our cultural assumptions about consent, revealing that true consent isn’t just about saying “yes” or “no”—it’s about learning who it’s for, what we actually want, and how to stay connected to our body’s truth in every interaction.
Dr. Martin shares the personal and professional experiences that inspired her to create this model and offers practical tools for anyone wishing to live more in alignment with consent—whether in intimate encounters, friendships, workplaces, or everyday exchanges.
The conversation also delves into:
• How to unlearn social conditioning that teaches us to please or freeze
• Using the Wheel as a trauma-informed path toward nervous system regulation and safety in receiving
• Exploring desire and arousal beyond shame while maintaining clear ethical boundaries
• How consent work intersects with equity, privilege, and dismantling domination patterns
So please join us as we once again dare to Open Deeply.
Betty Martin’s Bio:
Dr. Betty Martin has had her hands on people professionally for over 40 years. After retiring from being a Chiropractor, she became a certified Surrogate Partner and Somatic Sex Educator. Her explorations in somatic-based therapy and practices informed her creation of the now famous, Wheel of Consent. Betty developed the training “Like a Pro: The Wheel of Consent for Professionals”, to support practitioners to create empowered agreements in their client sessions.
Originally developed to teach consent skills to sex workers and touch providers, the training is now attended by somatic therapists, sexuality educators, medical and health care workers, activists, and the spectrum of touch-based professional providers. It starts with touch and expands into all forms of human relating.
How to find Betty Martin:
Website: https://www.wheelofconsent.org/about
Link to Wheel of Consent: https://www.wheelofconsent.org/wheel
Instagram: http://instagram.com/drbettymartin
Facebook: http://facebook.com/bettymartin
About the Hosts:
Kate Loree, LMFT, is a sex-positive licensed marriage and family therapist with a specialty in non-monogamous, kink, LGBTQ, and sex worker communities and the author of Open Deeply: A Guide to Building Conscious, Compassionate Open Relationships.
In addition to her master’s in marriage and family therapy, she also has an MBA and is a registered art therapist (ATR). She is an EDSE certified sex educator and an EMDR certified therapist with additional training in the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) for the treatment of trauma. She has been practicing psychotherapy since 2003.
She cohosts her own sex-positive podcast, Open Deeply, with Sunny Megatron, has been featured in Buzzfeed videos, and has been a guest on Playboy Radio and many podcasts, including Sex with Dr. Jess, American Sex, Sluts and Scholars, and Multiamory. She has written for Authority Magazine and Good Vibrations, been featured in Vice and Ms. Magazine, and is a frequent public speaker.
Website: https://kateloree.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/opendeeplywithkateloree
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@opendeeplywithkateloree
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KateLoreeLMFT/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/kateloreelmft
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSTFAqGYKW3sIUa0tKivbqQ
Sunny Megatron is an award-winning sexuality educator and media personality. She’s the host and executive producer of the Showtime original television series, SEX with Sunny Megatron, plus co-hosts American Sex Podcast and Open Deeply Podcast.
Voted XBIZ 2021 Sexpert of the Year, Kinkly’s Sex Blogging Superhero of 2017, and named one of the 6 most savvy sexologists in North America, Sunny has been featured in Cosmo, Playboy, Buzzfeed, CNN, and more. She is also a contributing editor of XBIZ Premiere Magazine and a regular columnist for Sexual Health Magazine.
In her sell-out sex and kink workshops, Sunny’s unique brand of “edutainment” seamlessly combines her humorous lecturing style, interactive exercises, and the latest sexuality research. Sunny’s passion is helping people become their authentic, sexual selves by learning to overcome shame and shed inhibitions. As a lifestyle BDSM enthusiast, much of her work centers around normalizing alternative sexual practices and ending sexual stigma.
Website: http://sunnymegatron.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/sunnymegatron
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sunnymegatron
Instagram: https://instagram.com/sunnymegatron
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sunnymegatron
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sunnymegatron
American Sex Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HroMhWJnyZbMSsOBKwBnk
TV Show, Sex with Sunny Megatron: https://www.sho.com/sex-with-sunny-megatron/season/1
Open Deeply podcast is not a replacement for therapy or therapy. Please know this episode has themes of sexual and emotional abuse and neglect. If you catch yourself becoming emotionally overwhelmed by this episode’s content, please get support. Call a friend, therapist, or an emotional support hotline, such as, 800-273-talk (8255).