Ladies, We Need To Talk

You’ll have heard of the glass ceiling — the invisible barrier that stops women getting ahead at work. For women of colour, that ceiling is actually concrete. And while you can (sometimes) shatter a glass ceiling, the concrete ceiling is a much tougher barrier to smash. At a live recording of Ladies, We Need To Talk, Yumi Stynes speaks with a panel of brilliant women about what it’s like looking up at the concrete ceiling. Our guests were Professor Sujatha Fernandes, Shy Magsalin and Shyamla Eswaran. This episode is a part of the ABC’s Australia Talks project, which aims to find out what Australians are really thinking and feeling, and uses those findings to help us all learn something about each other.

Boobies, tits, cans, your rack. Ladies, we want to celebrate your boobs. Despite what the beauty mags tell you, boobs come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, some small, some are great at breastfeeding, others are not. Some women love their boobs, others get new ones. This episode talks about, and celebrates, all the boobs.

There’s a whole lot of mythology around the so-called sacred mother-daughter bond, but it isn’t always reality. Mumming is hard work. It’s a tonne of unpaid emotional and physical labour, and mums don’t always get it right. We speak to women who’ve navigated very fraught relationships with their mums.

One in five Australian women over the age of 15 have experienced sexual violence. 1.4 million Australians have lived through childhood sexual abuse. So if that’s you, how do you find the courage to be intimate again? For this episode we speak to women who’ve struggled to have sex after sexual assault, and others who now have a healthy sex life. Life Line: 13 11 14 1800 Respect: 1800 737 732

Around four million Australians have had an STI at some point in their life, but who ever talks about it? STI’s are shrouded in loads of shame, secrecy and regret. And it’s not just young people getting them — women in their 30s and 40s get them too. In fact, the number of older people getting them is actually growing. We smash the stigma and learn that women living with an STI aren’t alone.

Women are still expected to be primary caregivers — but what happens when they choose to walk away from this role? In season one we heard from women who "broke the motherhood contract". They were no longer living with their kids and felt society judged them harshly for it. We check back in to see how those women are going now.

At a certain point in life, making friends gets trickier and feels super awkward. Many of us want and need new friends though — so how do you do it? At a live recording of Ladies, We Need To Talk, Yumi Stynes and a panel of amazing women chat about why having good friends is so important and give advice for making new ones.

Do you feel embarrassed if you have to poo in public? You're not alone. Whether it's poo, farts, discharge or sweat — women are constantly self-conscious about our odour because it's considered 'unladylike' to smell. But if everyone on the planet needs to poo to survive, why do we have such poo shame? And if poo is on top of the list of things we feel awkward talking about, how do we know when something's going wrong with our bowels? So, Ladies, let's talk about poo.

How do you tell a mate your friendship isn't working? Or a partner you can't stand the way they kiss? Hard conversations are tough to have but sometimes necessary. Psychotherapist Esther Perel is the world's best known couples counsellor and she gives Yumi a lesson on how to navigate difficult conversations.

We're totally spoilt for choice when it comes to birth control. There are 12 different types of contraception to choose from and about 30 different brands of the pill. Having all these options is awesome, but how do you know you've chosen the right one for you?

In season one, we looked at why so many Australian women drink at risky levels. Yumi Stynes revealed her battle with drinking and quit alcohol. We also met Jo, who drank at really risky levels. This episode, we check back in, to see how they're going, plus show you how to cut down your drinking if you'd like to sub the wine for kombucha.

Grow up, find a partner, have kids — we’ve been doing it for thousands of years. But more and more women are choosing to ignore that path. And the latest research says they’re actually happier for it. So why do we judge women without kids?

Have you ever felt like a massive failure when you've looked in the mirror or felt depressed about the size of your thighs? You're not alone — research says almost 80 per cent of Australian women are unhappy with their weight. And nearly one million Australians have an eating disorder, most of them, women. What can we do to feel better about our bodies?

Lots of women are really self-conscious about the way their vaginas smell. We quickly hide our undies the second we take them off and up to a third of us wear a panty liner every day. But how much do you actually know about discharge? What should it smell like? What should it look like? And should we just stop dissing our discharge?

If you’re in your 30s and have had an abortion or are going to, you’re not going through it alone. It’s a myth that only the young and reckless have abortions. The stats show that older women, and those who already have kids, are having more abortions in Australia than teenagers. So if they’re the facts, why is abortion shrouded in shame, judgement and silence for older women?

We’ve all got a bad sex story. The partner who’s selfish in the sack. The horribly uninspiring one-night stand. The lover with 'performance anxiety'. Most of us have been there. There’s this idea though that we grow out of it — that we all get better at 'doing it' as we get older. But what if that doesn’t happen? What if bad sex is your life?

We're back! Join Yumi Stynes as she once again tears open the sealed section on life to talk all about your forbidden lady business. This is the podcast where we can confess all our secret ladies' stuff and learn something along the way. So, whether it's your discharge, what you use for birth control, or how you can make a new friend ... we're here for you! Ring us on 1300 641 222 or email ladies@abc.net.au. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode.

You trusted us with some of your deepest, darkest and most intimate secrets and you let us share them with the podcast universe. For our final episode of 2018, we check in with the women we’ve met and hear from YOU about what you’ve learnt.    

Everyone gets a little bit anxious at times, but is what you’re feeling normal? Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in Australia. Up to one in three women will experience anxiety, for men it’s one in five. So why are women going through this? And if you are, what can you do about it? Crisis lines Lifeline on 13 11 14 Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 Headspace on 1800 650 890 QLife on 1800 184 527 Chat services Elefriends  Sane eHeadspace   Beyondblue

Sore boobs, loss of libido, hot flushes, irregular periods. Sound familiar? While you may think you’ll only experience these symptoms when you’re of a 'certain age' and hitting menopause, it turns out, they can creep in way earlier. Welcome to perimenopause!  And if you think that’s years down the track, think again.