# Suzannah Weiss

Suzannah Weiss (born September 6, 1990) is an American writer and sexologist. She is the author of Subjectified: Becoming a Sexual Subject (Polity, 2024), which details her journey toward sexual empowerment and a framework for moving beyond the objectification of women, and Eve's Blessing: Uncovering the Lost Pleasure Behind Female Pain (Polity, 2025), which challenges the normalization of women's pain and paves a path toward more pleasurable lives for women. She has written for publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and New York and edited for Teen Vogue, Complex, and Vice.
Weiss is also a sex therapist, a sexual assault counselor, a birth doula, and a sex educator certified by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She is the resident sexologist at Biird, a pleasure brand from the Netherlands.
Weiss has taught a variety of sexuality courses and spoken at conferences including South by Southwest, the AASECT Conference, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation's Sexual Freedom Summit. She has been quoted as an expert in publications such as Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, CNN, Glamour, and Teen Vogue and played a central role in social media discussions of how women are treated by doctors. Her writing has been published in several anthologies and has been discussed on The Today Show and The View. She has appeared on Bold TV, C-SPAN, The Fallen State, and many radio shows and podcasts.

## Philosphy

Weiss questions the idea that women's power is primarily located in their appearance and that sex functions as a gift granted to men for male pleasure. Instead, she advocates for an approach that ensures mutual satisfaction among all involved parties.
She maintains that repeated exposure to the male gaze—including in media marketed to women—can result in the internalization of objectification. Weiss defines objectification as "the tendency to view one's body as an object for others to look at and evaluate", suggesting that this process often becomes intertwined with girlhood and womanhood.
Weiss promotes sexual empowerment and has encouraged individuals to communicate their desires and boundaries and respect one another's autonomy.

## Personal exploration of sex work

In Subjectified, Weiss details her decision to engage in online sex work. She describes an initial hesitation, fueled by concerns about contributing to objectification or making a statement against it. Upon beginning, she experienced what she refers to as "an epiphany", discovering that her earnings and the nature of the interactions challenged her preconceived notions of work and pleasure. Though she notes her situation was far more controlled and safe than most sex workers' realities, she emphasizes the autonomy she maintained, including the option to stop any interaction at will.

## Education

Weiss is a feminist. She holds a Master of Arts in clinical psychology from Antioch University, a Master of Professional Studies in sexual health from the University of Minnesota, a Bachelor of Science in cognitive neuroscience from Brown University, and a Bachelor of Arts in gender and sexuality studies and modern culture and media from Brown University.