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Hi, I’m Joanne.
I’m the author of The Feminist Handbook and an AASECT-certified sex therapist with a group practice in Maryland. I write the popular feminist blog, The Third Wave, for Psychology Today. Before I became a sex and relationship therapist I worked as a trauma therapist focused on supporting adult survivors of rape, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and childhood abuse. I have nearly 30 years of clinical helping clients transform their relationships and lead happier and healthier lives. After 25 years of college-level teaching as an award-winning professor in psychology and women's studies, I recently retired from Montgomery College.
Drawing on my professional expertise and identity as a baby scoop era adoptee, I explore, through writing, the connection between internal struggles and external oppression, how to build resilience, deconstruct shame, and, crucially, the importance of telling our stories.
Sharing our stories and putting them in context has allowed me to process, reframe, and destigmatize the narratives that have shaped my life. I am currently writing a researched memoir that investigates the question: In a system driven by profit and ideology, who is advocating for the child? My book, "The Feminist Handbook," illustrates how patriarchal social structures link to our individual struggles and encourages readers to shift their focus from self-improvement to societal change.
At first glance, my interests in sex and relationship therapy, feminism, and critical adoption studies may appear entirely unrelated. However, I connect these subjects by examining issues such as consent, sexual agency, freedom from coercion, and the ability to make meaningful choices.
“It’s not you, it’s the patriarchy.”
“Patriarchy has long outlived itself, and Bagshaw provides step-by-step learning for how to resist, engage in body liberation, and work for sexual and reproductive justice.”
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