Bad Stories

In 2007, I created a podcast series and set out to interview second wave feminists. I googled "feminist" and "NYC" and Betty Dodson's name popped up on the screen. She was living 20 minutes from my apartment. I showed up 3 days early and the rest is history.

We did a video every Friday for over 10 years - they're all still up on Youtube. I simply got Betty on camera answering questions users had submitted. I still get thank you emails from women who grew up watching our videos - honest information about their sexuality changed their lives. https://www.youtube.com/@CarlinRossBettyDodson

I talked Betty into filming a workshop in HD for the ages. We put out a casting call....women we never met showed up...we shot with an all female crew...it was extraordinary. Whenever we screen this film, I take something new from it and no one wants it to end.

When she wasn't looking, I would snoop through Betty's closets and find treasure. I pieced together her feminist history and documented her contributions by finding original prints of Liberating Masturbation and her unpublished memoir.

I was Betty's date for her 66th high school reunion in Wichita, Kansas. We reminisced about hand-job Bob and I learned why Betty would never let herself fall in love.

When Betty was contacted by Makers - a feminist PBS doc series - about being interviewed she was elated. True to form, her interview was scrapped, they used a 10 second clip to get a laugh in the trailer, and snubbed us at the opening. Weeks later Ilana emailed and Betty became a character on Broad City's Witches episode.