It's Gabrielle Morrissey's job to know what turns you on. The Australian "sexpert" is frank, funny and impossible to embarrass. But, as she tells Kate Browne, sexology is not just fun and games.

02/05/2004"The G spot does exist - it's a fascinating little area," announces Gabrielle Morrissey in a loud American accent. "But for women who can't find theirs, I just say, 'So what? You don't need it - it's like an appendix.'"

In her tailored black pants, crisp white shirt and silver jewellery, Gabrielle Morrissey could be any other young corporate at the Sydney waterside cafe - until she opens her mouth. You can almost hear the whiplash of patrons nearby but for Morrissey, talking publicly about such subjects is standard procedure.

Dr Gabrielle Morrissey, PhD in sexology, is Australia's very own "sexpert". At 32, the tall, voluptuous brunette is a walking, talking authority on getting down and dirty. A self-described workaholic, Morrissey has been a sexuality educator and relationship counsellor since the early 90s. She hosts her own radio show in Perth four

nights a week, writes columns for London health and fitness magazine Zest, US Cosmopolitan and The West Australian, and has appeared on Big Brother. She has a private sex-therapy practice, specialising in women's sexuality and, as the author of Sex

In The Time Of Generation X and Urge, she travels the world delivering sexuality workshops and speeches on subjects such as "Forensic Sexology" and "Indulge Your Sexual Urge".

If that isn't more sex than one person can handle, Morrissey also runs the sexology program at Curtin University in WA. "We have students from every discipline: business, geography, fine arts and psychology," says Morrissey. "Sexology is a fun elective and, let's face it, who wouldn't want to study sex at uni?"

But it seems we still have a lot to learn. Last year, more than 19,000 people were surveyed for the Australian Study of Health and Relationships and 20 per cent of women said they had physical pain during intercourse. "Those figures are so high and they're highest in youngest women, too," says Dr Juliet Richters, a senior research fellow at the National Centre in HIV Social Research at the University of NSW and co-author of the study. "Now, there aren't that many women who have infections so that means they're having sex when they're not aroused or he's doing something that hurts her and she's wincing and putting up with it.

"If, in their role as counsellors or educators, sexologists can do something to make that better and stop it happening - if they teach husbands or partners how to not hurt someone during sex - that's really valuable," she says. "I think anything that increases talking about it is important."

Richters says that while she takes an empirical "bird's eye view" of what people do, the term sexologist usually refers to "people who do sex counselling or study sex for the purposes of sex counselling or therapy. Some people would call me a sexologist because I research sex but the kind of approach I take is more a population or social approach ... to understand sexual culture."

Morrissey, on the other hand, sees herself as part of a new breed of sexologists who've taken the groundbreaking sexuality research by 1960s and 70s pioneers such as Shere Hite and developed a more holistic view of sexuality. "The sexual revolution brought about an awareness of pleasure. Today sexologists - well, me at least - incorporate an emphasis on sensory pleasure as being as important as orgasm."

Morrissey attributes her unusual career choice to an eclectic upbringing. With a US foreign diplomat father and an Australian journalist mother - her mother is novelist Di Morrissey - her school years took her from her birthplace Hawaii to Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Singapore, Guyana, Indonesia, Pakistan and India.

"Both my brother and I have chosen careers completely outside of what's considered normal. [Younger brother Nick studies and teaches Buddhism and Indian studies in the US.] I got a sense really young that the world is diverse and exciting and developed

a lot of empathy for people."

After graduating from high school in India, she volunteered at family planning, then went to university in California with the aim of becoming an English literature professor. Morrissey says she didn't have much sexual experience. "I was shy and very romantic about sex - a real good girl." It was only when her roommate dragged her to a course in human sexuality that Morrissey discovered her true calling. "I stayed and she dropped the class," she says with a laugh.

She decided to swap the "freeway hell" of Los Angeles for Australia after her graduation and now spends her days venturing deep into the sexual psyche of Australians. To research her second book, Urge, published in 2002, she spoke to people from Kings Cross to Kalgoorlie about sexual techniques and relationships, conducting

her interviews in clubs and bars and even on picnics to get the whole spectrum of Australian sexuality.

"That was two years of adventure," she recalls. "I'd go on the radio and say, 'I'm going to be in these pubs and cafes today carrying this hot-pink file so if you do want to tell me anything about sex, come on up.' I must have been insane!"

What Morrissey did discover in her conversations with hundreds of Australians was that from church groups to S&M clubs, there were common themes. "No matter whether they were single, young, urban and into casual sex or couples who had been together for 30 years, the universal theme was that good sex is all about connecting."

So how does Morrissey define good sex? "I think we often focus on what's the best technique. I have a lot of issues about the way we are meant to view sex as a sport where orgasm is the ultimate goal and anything short of that is sexual failure. I don't think we focus enough on the pleasure of the entire journey. Even [the term] foreplay insinuates it's something that we do before the main event. I think it's a narrow definition of sex and can lead to sexual problems."

There is no doubt Morrissey loves her job but dealing with something that most of us do for fun can feel like work for her. "When I go out socially, girls will eventually start to talk about boys, relationships and sex and they tap into me for advice and I have to stop them and say, 'Fun for you, work for me! Can we talk about the weather?'"

But surely being the public face of all things sexual must mean Morrissey has eager men lining up around the block? The single Morrissey rolls her eyes heavenwards. "Meeting men is always a challenge. A friend of mine developed a theory when she watched men interact with me. There's type A, who is the guy who looks at me

and thinks, 'She is going to be fantastic! She is going to know everything; let's go, baby!' - which I find obnoxious. Then we have type B, which there are definitely more of. They tend to back away from the conversation when they find out what I do for a living."

Another downside is the misconceptions some people have about Morrissey's profession. "Sometimes I need to be careful about what I say," she explains. "If I say I'm a sexologist to my mother's friends, you see them looking confused, then they'll ask me, 'But you have a PhD and now you work in a brothel?'"

Morrissey's own mother wholeheartedly approves. Di Morrissey, whose sugary romance novels have made her one of Australia's best-known and highest-selling authors, is a huge fan of her sexpert daughter's work. "She is frank and funny but there is nothing titillating or materialistic about her discussions," says Di. "I wish I'd had someone around like her when I was a young woman to answer questions. I have to admit I learnt quite a lot from Urge."

Adds Gabrielle, "We joke that she writes the books where couples meet, fall in love and it's all romance all the way to the bedroom door. Then I pick up from the bedroom door onwards."

But as frank as Australia's sex queen is, she still likes to hold a few cards close to her chest. "I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve that I've learnt," Morrissey concedes with a laugh. "But some things have to remain a secret."