Ladies, We Need To Talk

Our sex and disability episode really resonated with you. Hear what our listeners had to say about sex and disability. We love your feedback ladies@abc.net.au. With thanks to Zoe, Lauren, Rose and Rebecca.

Around one in five Australian women live with a disability. And guess what? They're having sex. Hot, creative sex. But steamy conversations about what it's like to love and lust with a disability are often considered too "out there" to talk about. Join Robyn Lambird, Madeleine Stewart, Akii Ngo and Yumi Stynes for a raunchy chat about Sex and the D-word — from insane orgasms to stumping, 'moot pain' to Paralympic thirst.

Warning: Explicit Content. Is anal the last taboo? One in five women in Australia has had anal sex. It's everywhere in porn and many of us, especially young women, are feeling the pressure to do it. It's uncomfortable discussing anal sex, but ladies, we need to talk about it.

Imagine you've been having ho-hum, pedestrian sex your entire life and BAM! A new trick, a new partner, a revelation about yourself or a total life change and suddenly you've crossed into a new sexual dimension. Colours are brighter, the birds are singing and the sex is mind-blowing, Meet the women who have levelled-up and find out how they got to the promised-land. The land of Best. Sex. Ever.

In a world obsessed with sex, what if you never (or rarely) want it? Yumi Stynes meets women from across the asexuality spectrum to find out how they navigate dating and relationships in a sexed-up world. Featured in the episode: Angela Chen, author of Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex Resources: https://www.australianasexuals.com/

Imagine going down on a woman for the very first time in your 50s. Yumi Stynes meets later-in-life lesbians who, after years of hetero partnerships and raising kids, are coming out. Were they always attracted to women or can our sexuality shift? Featured in this episode: Dr Lisa Diamond Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies, University of Utah. Call: 1300 641 222 | Email: ladies@abc.net.au

What's it like to watch your partner have sex with another person? What about a group of people? Welcome to the world of swingers, where couples "play" with each other and with the boundaries of sexual expression. Join Yumi Stynes at a sex club as she pulls back the orgy room curtain and meets women who swing to find out why they love 'The Lifestyle' and how it's transformed their relationships. With special thanks to Juliet Richters, Honorary Professor of the Sexual Health Program at the Kirby Institute. Thanks also to Jess Cattelly from Our Secret Spot.

Welcome to season six sex of Ladies, We Need to Talk. This time around we're turning the steam up to 11, dropping our towels and baring all. Join Yumi Stynes as she learns the ins-and-outs of swinging; meets later-in-life lesbians; finds out what it's like to be asexual and talks to women who've gone from having ho-hum sex to mind-blowing romps. It's hot and hilarious and we're here for it. Call us on 1300 641 222 or email ladies@abc.net.au. Follow in your fave podcast app so you never miss an episode.

Sex is more available and permissible than ever before, but despite this, are we actually getting any pleasure?  Lots of women still don’t feel entitled to sexual fulfillment and aren’t in touch with what feels good, let alone how to ask for it.

We know you love the podcast and now there’s Ladies We Need to Talk the book! 

For some women, reaching climax, cumming, the Big O... is as easy as a walk around the block. For others, it’s an arduous, long, steep hike up a mountain, never quite reaching...the “peak”.

You're more likely to meet your partner on an app than any other way. But between the constant swiping, messaging, rejections, ghosting and d&*k pics, it can be rough. Yumi Stynes talks to a bunch of awesome single women about their approach to dating apps and how to stay sane, safe and maintain your self-esteem while swiping.

Forget juice cleanses, meditation and yoni eggs, is a sex detox the best way to reset our thinking around sex and relationships to find out what really presses our buttons? Yumi Stynes talks to women who have flipped the script on sex, who've hit the pause button and are feeling better for it. Featured in this episode: Catherine Gray — Author of The Unexpected Joy of Being Single.

Ladies, it's time for a refresher course on foreplay! Yumi Stynes talks to psychotherapist Esther Perel and a bunch of brilliant female experts about their best foreplay tips. We're here to talk about it. Ring us on 1300 641 222 or email ladies@abc.net.au.

"Have a baby," they said. "It'll be great," they said. But what they didn't say, was that getting that kid out could leave you traumatised. Physically and mentally. One in three Australian women describe their birth as traumatic. Yumi Stynes hears how different women are still coming to terms with their birth experiences, sometimes years later, and finds out what can be done to prevent traumatic births.

On every form you ever fill out, there’s always a tick box about your romantic status — de facto, married, single. Why are we only judged on romantic relationships rather than some of the most important bonds in our life — our friendships? Yumi Stynes writes a love letter to our friends and casually invites herself into the wonderful friendship of Jamila Rizvi and Clare Bowditch.

You can't help who you fall in love with. But what happens if your family disapproves? Every relationship has its challenges, but for lovers from a completely different cultural and ethnic background, Yumi Stynes finds out that race, religion and tradition can add multiple layers of complication. Featured in this episode: Dr Reenee Singh, Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist specialising in Intercultural couples.

What happens if you're young and that #1 person, the special love that you searched for and pinned down, the one you expected to love till you were old — dies early? It's painfully lonely to be a young person grieving, but that loneliness can be compounded by the judgement of others on how to grieve. Yumi Stynes talks to Ellidy Pullin, and other young widows, about life after death. Support services: Grief.org.au Lifeline.org.au Beyondblue.org.au

What happens if you want a baby but you're running out of time? Maybe you haven't found the right partner, or you've found the right one, but they don't want kids? You just can't seem to get pregnant or you're simply too busy having an awesome life and heaps of fun to have a baby. And then suddenly, your 'fertile window' starts to close. Yumi Stynes finds out what it's like to have one last shot at pregnancy. Featured in this episode: Dr Karin Hammarberg (VARTA), Senior research fellow, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. Fertility resources: yourIVFsuccess.com.au; VARTA; yourfertility.org.au

Have you noticed that most women have long hair, and most men have short hair? And how grey-haired men are silver foxes and women old and witchy? What's with these unspoken hair rules? And why the hell are we conforming? Yumi Stynes gets to the root of why women's hair is such a big deal and teases out why we're so tangled up in knots about our locks. Featured in this episode: Author Tara Moss; Kellie Scott @Hairlossboss; Shantel Wetherall, Host of Hey Aunty podcast.