Today we’d like to introduce you to Lala.
Hi Lala, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
In 2020, the pandemic hit and changed our lives as we knew them.
Globally, we found ourselves spending more time than ever before in our homes and alone with our thoughts.
Like many people, I found myself depressed and suffering from anxiety more severe than usual. But I couldn’t figure out what was heightening the roaring panic in my mind. I fell into a steady new normal of working from home every day and spending the nights with my loving family. However, my feelings of being lost and a mindless drone became more apparent in our new reality.
In many people’s opinions, I had it all. I had a great corporate job and dream family, yet I felt aimless and had an overwhelming desire to chase wanderlust. And that panic in my mind became deafening as I became more weighed down with the dissatisfaction of my life because it was a façade. I was great at my corporate job, but I wasn’t adding value to the world. I was in a loving relationship, but my past circumstances left me unable to show up for my partner as my best self because I was internally broken and emotionally bankrupt. Yet, every day I placed a smile on my face, and I showed up as the person living their “dream life” should.
But, underneath, I was suffering in silence like many women because there were things niggling at me that happen in society but are swept under the wrong. We all know the statistics that 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Yet, when you’re one of those 1 out of 6 women, you’re told to heal privately and not provided many avenues to find community amongst those with the same plight.
Or that 190 million women globally suffer from endometriosis, a women’s health issue that still remains a mystery, but we’re misdiagnosed, or our symptoms are downplayed; so we smile through the excruciating pain while being medically gaslit.
I was both of those terrible statistics that afflict many women, and the 2020 pandemic was the catalyst that made me snap. I couldn’t fake a smile and wear the happy mask any longer. So, I got onto Google and started searching for blogs and groups to find that community. Did they exist? Sure. But there wasn’t anyone out there moderating a community that answered the “Now What” questions. The “Now that I did everything that’s supposed to heal me,” how do I navigate through life while on my sexual & reproductive healing journey? Many women suffer in many ways related to sexual and reproductive issues, but not many resources tell us how to thrive and not just survive until the next day.
So, I knew I couldn’t be the only woman suffering in silence, feeling like sex and women’s reproduction issues were ruining my life—or being the only woman that needed more perspective on sexual and reproductive information by women’s wellness experts for women. I wanted no one ever to feel that horrible pain of feeling like they were on the last leg of a race but with no finish line to healing, happiness, and fulfillment in sight. A blip on everyone’s radar trying to survive through the pain of the unspeakable issues women face in society. I wanted to relay to women that these awful burdens we carry don’t have to be in silence, and it is possible to thrive after feeling like your body failed you or that you couldn’t protect it.
I decided that I wanted to bridge that gap and create a sex-positive and educational environment for women. We don’t acknowledge these three major social issues as much as we should: rising STI rates, unintended pregnancies, and sexual violence. What these three societal issues have in common is that they affect women at a high rate. But society makes women feel shame, ridicule, and ostracization if female sexuality or reproduction is mentioned. Do you remember the sex and reproductive health education you received at school or even in your home if any? If you shook your head no, then you’re not alone. I became fed up and wanted to do something purposeful because I was sick of seeing all these terrible statistics around women.
I quit my nine-to-five because I wanted to be an agent of change and create that community I only could find in erotic romance. From my early teens to my 20-somethings, erotic romance was the only community I had found that treated women’s sexuality and reproduction like it was a normal occurrence and nothing shameful in our society. One day, after a therapy session, I had an aha moment! I decided to bring women an educational and fun community to learn about sexual health and women’s wellness. Also, a place to enjoy the escapism, sex positivity, and relatability of erotic romance, which also has sexual and mental health benefits, that I’d find out on my crusade to create this atypical space.
In July 2021, Lala’s Bedtime Tales, a sexual wellness and liberation brand, was born. Lala’s Bedtime Tales aims to create a safe and judgment-free space for everyone, but with a female-friendly focus, to learn about sexual health, consent, and enjoyment because sex should never be mentally or physically painful. Sex should be a fun, beautiful, and intimate act. In September 2021, during sexual health awareness month, I launched a sexual wellness blog and an erotic storytelling podcast. In a year, I amassed over a thousand followers on social media, a growing Facebook community, and a podcast with well over sixty thousand listens. The most satisfying part of Lala’s Bedtime Tales is the women that tell me I’ve inspired them to heal from their sexual trauma, advocate for their health, and that they’ve gained the confidence to seek out the love, respect, and intimacy they finally feel that they deserve in a romantic relationship.
Sex plays an integral role in our overall health, relationship satisfaction, and enjoyment of life. So, society needs to stop treating it like a taboo and dirty subject and treat it like a normal event that will touch many of our lives. The more we move towards a sex-positive culture that includes comprehensive sexual and reproductive education and the normalization that humans are innately sexual beings we will reap the benefits of a healthier and safer society with low rates of unintended pregnancy, STI transmission, and acts of sexual violence.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to bringing awareness to sexual wellness and growing Lala’s Bedtime Tales has been anything but smooth sailing. Thus far, the biggest struggle has been how people recoil when they hear the “S” word, “sex.” Society has done an exceptional job of making sex the most shameful and taboo subject unless, of course, it’s to sell products. Otherwise, taken out of the context of a marketing ploy, when people hear the forbidden “S” word, they automatically shut down. Therefore, I’ve had many issues with not only selling the brand but the understanding that comprehensive, medically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health is needed for a healthier and safer society. Also, there is so much censorship around sex that it’s been an uphill battle to get this needed information out to the masses without being banned, flagged, or censored on social media platforms. I sell sexual wellness products as one of the many tool offerings to help better people’s understanding of the integral role sexual health plays in our life. But I had a hard time finding a card processor outside of PayPal to allow me to process payments because sexual wellness products are looped in with firearms and online gambling. I was prepared for the pushback, the ick responses, and the shock factor that people would have in the 2020s when there’s a sex shop on every corner, sex on tv, and scantily clad women in swimsuits utilized to sell beer and burgers. Being a niche brand in a “taboo” sector of the health and wellness industry has definitely been a bumpy road. I not only have to help people understand the benefits of Lala’s Bedtime Tales, but I have to help them overcome the shame and embarrassment of the topic and educate them on forming a healthier outlook on sex and sexuality that we’ve been socialized to believe it’s a private or rude matter that shouldn’t be discussed or bust any myths around the topic.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a sexual health educator, contemporary romance author, and sex coach with self-paced courses online. I specialize in empowering women to feel more confident in their sexuality through erotic fiction, intimacy tips, and sex education. I am most proud of how my brand works as a transformative tool to help women feel confident to advocate for their reproductive and sexual health and what they seek in their romantic and intimate lives. What sets me apart from most sexual wellness brands is that I’m closing the gap between erotic fiction and sexual wellness to bring them a non-traditional educational yet entertaining way to learn about sexual & reproductive health and feel empowered in their sexuality.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
As someone who spent their entire career working for Fortune 500 and well-known companies, I’ve learned about business volatility. Whether you’re a well-established company with over a hundred years of legacy to a tech startup birthed in your parents’ garage, any type of business comes with its fair share of risks, trials, and tribulations. Yet, the riskiest thing I’ve ever done was bet on myself and become an entrepreneur. While it’s great not to have to deal with a corporation’s arbitrary red tape, there’s much risk in owning your own business. From a corporate associate and entrepreneurship perspective, I’ve learned that taking risks isn’t a good or a bad thing because they’re unpredictable. But nine times out of ten, when it comes to business, you’d be better off taking the risk than playing it safe. The Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos didn’t know their technological advancements would shake up the world, and many people laughed in their faces about the ideas. So, take that leap of faith, stay consistent, and take a gamble that the unpredictable risk will pay off and become so amazing that your name is discussed in MBA programs and Harvard is doing case studies on your business. Walt Disney, Phil Knight, and Sam Walton all took a high-stake risk that was scary, unpredictable, and had highs and lows, but they are now some of the biggest multi-billion-dollar corporations globally.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lalasbedtimetales.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lalasbedtimetales/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LalasBedtimeTales
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LalasTales
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHM9VgLu0Xd5imR2jON-qnA
- Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5YmouZTiUYHdrPwsw3Ro9V
Image Credits
Whitney B Jordan Photography
