Ladies, We Need To Talk

What does the manosphere and the rise of online misogyny mean for our relationships with boys and men?The Netflix drama Adolescence shows the violent consequences of being steeped in hateful messages about women. It follows 13-year-old Jamie, an incel, angry at the world because he's been sexually rejected by a girl. The show has started conversations about the real-world consequences of online misogyny.Some boys are drawn to the manosphere by the promise of bigger muscles, getting laid and tips on getting rich, but the darker corners of these online spaces encourage violence against women and call for a return to traditional gender roles. When Andrew Tate, the hugely influential manfluencer's catch cry is "choke the bitch out", how worried should we be?In this episode, Yumi Stynes sits down with Kate Scott from the University of Sydney to talk about the allure of the manosphere and what draws boys and men away from these communities once they've been sucked in.This episode contains references to misogyny, ex

Charlotte's sugar daddy took her to the fanciest restaurant in Melbourne. Soraya's gave her a trust fund. Meet the attractive young women dating rich older men as Yumi Stynes peeks into the lives of sugar babies. Find out how the online sugar dating world (the sugar bowl) facilitates the kind of romance you pay for, and what can go wrong when sex mixes with money, wealth and power. Yes, there's a holiday in Thailand that goes terribly awry (think White Lotus, with less guns). Plus, researcher Srushti Upadhyay from The University at Buffalo explains how the economy of intimacy works, and what it means for all of us when we put a price on relational labour.This episode contains references to sex, sugar baby, sugar daddy, sugar dating, beauty, wealth, White Lotus, Chloe and Greg, Chelsea and Rick, Seeking Arrangement, sex work, cost of living crisis, business, transactions.

Great sex isn't inevitable. If you're a straight woman, chances are you've enjoyed far fewer orgasms than your sexual partner(s). And yes, we know, it's not just about the big O, but isn't it time the ladies got on equal frotting footing and closed the pleasure gap? Enter: Alyx Gorman.In her book All Women Want, Alyx investigates what makes for the best sex, how to get there, and how to communicate what you want. She interviews women of different ages and life stages, dives in the science behind good sex and even takes herself to a "musky and primal" sex party.Alyx sits down with Yumi Stynes to reveal the secrets of what women want: the patterns and home truths about why we aren't satisfied in the bedroom, and how to reach the shiny pinnacle on the other side.Warning: your productivity may decline significantly after listening as you find yourself bedridden in a hedonistic pleasure dreamland, filled with 100 euphoric orgasms.This episode contains references to sex, orgasm, orgasm gap, All Women Want, sex part

If you think perimenopause is reserved for mid-life, think again.When other 20 and 30-somethings are out partying or decorating the nursery, how do you cope with night sweats, hot flashes, brain fog and a tired libido?What's it like to have the body of a young woman, filled with the hormones of someone decades older?Yumi Stynes meets women going through perimenopause far earlier than they expected to learn how they manage their symptoms and cope with the prospect of infertility.She also sits down with women's health expert and GP, Dr Natasha Vavrek who explains the science behind premature menopause and POI (Primary Ovarian Insufficiency).This episode contains references to perimenopause, primary ovarian insufficiency, poi, premature menopause, sex, libido, hot flashes, bleeding, relationships, cancer, chemotherapy, youth, ageing, fertility.

This episode contains references to perimenopause, sex, painful sex, relationships, marriage, libido, vaginal dryness, irritation, genito-urinary syndrome of menopause and menopausal hormone therapy, or MHT.

This episode contains references to perimenopause, depression, anxiety, rage, anger, irritation, mood swings, hot flashes, sleep disturbance, menopausal hormone therapy, women, parenting, mothering and relationships.

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Aching joints. Sore boobs. Welcome to your body in perimenopause!In episode one of this four-part series, Yumi Stynes speaks to women in the thick of perimenopause and battling physical symptoms. She also sits down with Dr Susan Davis, endocrinologist and world-leading expert on sex hormones aging to learn the best treatments for bothersome symptoms and how look after yourself in this stage of life. No sweat!Essential listening if you're going through perimenopause right now, or for those wanting to know what's over the hormonal horizon.This episode of Ladies We Need to Talk includes discussion about perimenopause, menopause transition, periods, menstruation, hormones, hormonal changes, life stages, menstrual cycles, irregular periods,  bleeding, physical symptoms, managing symptoms, hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbance, weight gain, headaches, dry skin, hair loss, skin changes, estrogen, oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, hysterectomy, uterus, ovaries, vagina. 

Perimenopause: it's a huge physical, mental and sexual upheaval in a woman's life and yet, there's so much confusion as to how to make it through.Perimenopause is the months and years leading up to the last period, where a woman's hormones get feisty on their way down to retirement. This hormone fluctuation can lead to a range of symptoms, from hot flashes and night sweats to painful sex, mood swings and RAGE!In this four-part series, Yumi Stynes speaks to women in the thick of perimenopause as well as world-leading experts in the field to find out how to best manage during this phase without going postal.

What's it like to carry and give birth to a child for someone else? What compels a woman to take on something so profound? There's more to surrogacy than cooking a bun in an 'oven', it's complex as hell.In this episode Yumi Stynes meets women who have been surrogates and hears about the joy and the heartache the experience can bring.

Babies. Some women know they want them, others know they absolutely don't, and then there are the women who find themselves trying to make the call one way or another before biology beats them to it.But how do you weigh up something so monumental? And can you ever be sure that you've made the "right" decision when it comes to starting a family?Yumi Stynes sits down with journalist and writer, Gina Rushton and comedian, Penny Greenhalgh to discuss this mother of all decisions.

Our best friends are our ride-or-die, snort-laughing, crisis solving buttresses. But what happens when a friendship ends?In a romantic break-up, there's a cultural handbook instructing us all to sanctioned crying, bitching and ice-cream eating. Playlists, movies and a canon of literature are ready to validate the catastrophic pain of heartbreak. But with romantic break-ups, there aren't the same support systems in place to help us put back together the pieces.Yumi Stynes speaks to women who've been through the heartache of a friendship break-up to find out how they moved on, and what marks their former besties left behind.

Swipe, date, sex, repeat. So went the life of Hope Woodard, constantly on the apps and looking for validation in the form of male attention. This perpetual cycle started from a young age and by the time she was in her mid-twenties, Hope was done. Done with terrible first dates. Done with being ghosted. Done with men. So, she set herself a challenge, to give up dating and sex for a year. Hope was going boysober.Hope chats with Yumi Stynes about the pleasure of finally getting to know herself, what she learnt from a year off the dating train, and why she hates the term 'celibate'.

When Dr Rena Malik posted a video on her YouTube channel called 'Where's the G-Spot?', twelve million people tuned in to hear the answer. The urologist and sex educator has carved out a space as a reliable and trustworthy source of sex education.But Dr Rena hasn't always been so open. She grew up in an Indian family that didn't talk about sex, no sir. Then she went to medical school, where she learnt about the female body and its magical powers. She says the more you know about your anatomy and the origins of pleasure, the easier it is to have a great time in bed.So, get your notebooks, it's time to go back to school.

Menstruating. An ordinary bodily function. Like breathing or sweating or digesting, it's as natural as the hairs on our heads, period (pun intended). And even though there has been some progress in our openness in talking about periods, we're still largely a bit…grossed out.Yumi Stynes investigates the lingering shame around women's bleeding and speaks to women who are shifting the tide on how we think about periods. (R)

Saggy boobs, leathery skin, becoming invisible... is getting older as grim as it sounds? Ageing presents a unique challenge to us ladies, and while there's no stopping gravity, there are things to be excited about — from giving less f#*@% to not being afraid to ask for what you want in the bedroom.Yumi Stynes gets the low-down on what the hell happens to our bodies, brains and spirits as we age and how best to take care of ourselves. (R)

Mind-blowing. Intoxicating. Earth-shattering. Meet the women having the best sex of their lives after years on end of ho-hum humping.Yumi Stynes speaks to ladies who have levelled up their sex lives, learns how they made it to the promised land, and whether there's room for us all to join them. (R)

What if being single wasn’t a problem to be solved but a state of bliss? For some women, living without an “other half” is the key to being complete.  But even though more women than ever are single by choice, we live in a society that values couple-dom. Marriage and motherhood are still held up as the ultimate end goals. Single women are viewed with pity or worse, scorn. Living alone? Cue the lady jokes.  Yumi Stynes talks to women who are happy to be free from romantic relationships and whose lives are full to the brim. (R) 

Cheers! For a lot of us alcohol is a reward after a hard day, a way to unwind, a key part of our celebrations, but our love of a drink comes at a cost.  Some women are regularly drinking at dangerous rates while others find it difficult to go without.  Beyond the hangover fuzz, booze can take a toll on our health and relationships. So why are we so keen on a drink despite knowing the risks? And how can we learn to put the cap back on the bottle when we’ve had enough?  Yumi Stynes talks to someone confronting their problematic drinking habit and contemplates her own sobriety along the way. (R)  Resources:National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline1800 250 015 Alcoholics Anonymous: https://aa.org.au/1300 222 222 Hello Sunday Morning https://hellosundaymorning.org/Lifeline13 11 14 

Penny Moodie’s childhood was marked by catastrophic thoughts: that her parents would die in an accident, that she had contracted HIV, that she was pregnant, even though she’d never had sex.      These all-consuming anxieties wouldn't leave Penny, they occupied a huge part of her life, and she developed compulsions around them which she believed would keep her and the people she loved safe. 

Ahh Christmas, the festival of eating, drinking and cranky mums. Because in order to have the beautifully set table, thoughtful presents and delicious glazed ham, someone's got to prepare and plan it all. And that someone, is usually a woman, who, by 5pm, has had enough.Is there a Christmas elf who can help out? Or maybe it's time for blokes to step up and take on their fair share of the mental load.Yumi Stynes and Monty Dimond share their tips on how to redistribute the labour on and before the 'most wonderful time of the year'.