As a sex educator, I completely messed up! And it's a doozy. Anyway you look at it, it is a serious and regrettable cluster fuck.
Probably the worst thing about the situation is that it completely damaged the relationship I had with this person, who happens to be pretty awesome if I say so myself. The sex educator community is also quite small so I'm worried that this fuck up has made others view me differently. I guess only time will tell with this.
Without getting into the whole enchilada, suffice it to say that I did everything that I abhor in others! I carelessly used photographic content with out explicit consent (and probably would never have gotten) and have phrased some of my terminology so that it really sounds like I am trying to mold myself after this other person.
Even though this was not intentional on a conscience level, the damage has clearly been done. People in this business tend to take cues and find inspiration from our colleagues. This being said, I totally admit that I fucked up because some of my wording was very similar, actually too similar, to someone else who is in the field.
The only way I know how to attempt to fix this cluster fuck is to try to make things as right as they can be. For me, it takes the form of publicly outing myself as having been a dick. It also includes me going back and changing verbage to make sure my words better reflect me and my personality and not someone else.
I'm sincerely sorry and apologize for my actions.
