Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Tara.
Hi Dr., we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I am a proud immigrant. I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, and moved to the U.S. about 13 years ago. My journey started when I was a young sexually curious teenager living in a very conservative country where sexual repression is the norm. I remember wanting to learn more about sex and talk about it with my family and friends, but it was so taboo and shameful that I just did it in hiding on my dial-up internet. Most of my early sex education was from porn (not the best place to learn) and teenage sexual mishaps, where I had my fair share of regrettable hookups. Safe to say, I internalized a lot of shame and guilt during my experimental phase because I felt like a “good girl” shouldn’t be sexually explorative.
Flash forward to today, I’m proud to have a thriving relationship coaching business in Los Angeles, a podcast that inspires listeners, and a social media community with over 1.2m million Tik Tok followers. I’m living life passionately every day with my fiancé, Brent Estabrook (who was also profiled on VoyageLA!).
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When I first moved to LA, I remember feeling that American culture in Los Angeles was so sexually open and inclusive. It was a good feeling right when I moved here. Then I started watching American TV shows like Sex and the City and thought to myself “hey, maybe I am the Asian Samantha Jones!” However, because I didn’t spend time looking inward and working on my own dating intentions, most of my 20s were spent dating and hooking up with people, but they were not fulfilling relationships.
Academically, I was flourishing. I studied relationships and communication in graduate school and earned my MA and then Ph.D. in 6 years. I scored my dream job right after as a tenure-track professor at California State University, Fullerton teaching sexual and relational communication. This is when my spiritual and sexual awakening journey started. I read multiple studies that showed sexual issues are the most common issues in long-term relationships and one of the most common factors of
divorce. As a person that went through a divorce myself, which allows me to better understand millions of people like me, I knew that I had to do something to change the way I feel about my own sexuality and learn how to maintain a healthy, passionate relationship. I’ve spent years researching and learning about healthy sexual relationship habits and sexual communication, published a textbook, and gave a TEDx talk called “Become Sexually Powerful”.
We’ve been impressed with Luvbites, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m a tenured professor of relational and sexual communication, sex and relationship coach at Luvbites.co, host of Luvbites by Dr. Tara podcast, TEDx speaker, textbook author, advisor for relationship apps, and viral TikTok sex professor. I am probably best known for my fun, engaging, and unapologetic Sex Ed TikTok account @Luvbites.co. I started it earlier this year and have over 1 million followers who are eager to learn how to live sexually fulfilled lives! It’s been an awesome journey helping people feel more comfortable with their sexuality and become more sexually intelligent. When I first came here, I didn’t speak fluent English or write well, so I’m most proud of the fact that I earned tenure at 33 years old at a large university in the U.S. (one of the youngest professors ever to earn tenure there). It was a challenging but rewarding path. And now I get to talk about sex every day for a living. What a life!
What were you like growing up?
I was a talkative, active, and curious kid. My parents had me do everything from English camps, meditation camps, piano lessons, tennis lessons, dance lessons, etc. I was always busy doing something but now I’m trying to live a balanced life. I have to say those meditation camps they sent me to when I was young really helped me with my anxiety. I was able to calm down and focus much better and now I meditate every day as a part of my self-care routine. It helps me stay in the moment and relax. It’s now a big part of what I teach people when it comes to maintaining their sexual wellness – sexual meditation. I was a teenage model/actor. I did commercials, music videos, magazines, and was on a travel television show. During that time, I met a lot of people. I noticed that I was always interested in hearing people’s stories, which makes a lot of sense now that I’m a coach and spend a lot of time listening to people and helping them come up with solutions to live the most pleasurable life.
Contact Info:
- Website: luvbites.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luvbites.co/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@luvbites.co?lang=en
Image Credits
Luvbites
