Bodies Are Telling

Bodies are Telling is a two part exploration of the often complex relationship between the body and the self, told by Jimanekia Eborn through an intimate, personal reflection of her own journey to self-discovery. What are the psychological effects of growing up in a body that is constantly objectified? How do outside influences and expectations impact the way we perceive ourselves? What does it me...

Bodies are Telling is a two part exploration of the often complex relationship between the body and the self, told by Jimanekia Eborn through an intimate, personal reflection of her own journey to self-discovery. What are the psychological effects of growing up in a body that is constantly objectified? How do outside influences and expectations impact the way we perceive ourselves? What does it me...

Bodies are Telling is a two-part exploration of the often complex relationship between the body and the self, told by Jimanekia Eborn through an intimate, personal reflection of her own journey to self-discovery. What are the psychological effects of growing up in a body that is constantly objectified? How do outside influences and expectations impact the way we perceive ourselves? What does it me...

Pleasure impacts so many areas of our lives, yet there’s so much shame about the things that bring us pleasure. In this episode, Ruby unpacks the act of experiencing pleasure, but also the many things, societal and internal, that get in the way, as well as thinking about how our relationship to pleasure can evolve and change throughout our lives. They talk to Emily Nagoski about what pleasure actu...

TW: This episode contains multiple discussions between survivors. There will be discussion of sexual violence, child abuse and domestic abuse. In this episode, Ruby speaks to two other survivors, Lilly and Andreena, as well as Amy Roch from Galop, a charity supporting LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence. They’ll be unpacking the realities of processing abuse, as well as how we mov...

TW: This episode contains discussion of transphobia In this episode, Ruby is exploring how their own gender feels to them, speaking to her sibling and partner as well as other gender non-confirming and non-binary people about their experiences. She also hears from Meg-John Barker about what gender even is, the ways that we all go on a journey with gender throughout our lives, and the impacts these...

TW: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault For most of us, our relationship to porn is very secretive - just us and the dim light of our phone screen. Which is interesting given the fact that every single one of us has a relationship to porn - whether we watch it or not. In this episode, Ruby unpacks the realities of making and consuming porn. She speaks to porn performers about why pe...

Non-monogamy isn’t new, and is also just one of the many ways of doing relationships. There’s a cultural curiosity here, but there’s still a whole host of misconceptions and assumptions that people make of the reality of being non-monogamous - in this episode Ruby tackles these head on. From chatting to her nesting partner about their relationship, to hearing from others within the community about...

Our introductions to sex are so formative. And a lot of us are stumbling around the world trying to make up for lost time and learn the things we should’ve been taught when we were 12. As a sex educator, Ruby has seen this first hand in her years teaching sex ed in classrooms all across the country, training professionals on how to be more informed and inclusive when it comes to talking about sex,...

Evidence of kink can be found throughout history. It isn’t new - but portrayals of it can lead to a cultural misunderstanding. With the help of experts and those in the kink community, Ruby explores the different ways kink can look and be practised, as well as the ways that shame and judgement is dealt with and combatted through community. CREDITS: Host: Ruby Rare Producer, Editor and Sound Design...

Nudity impacts so many areas of our lives - sexual and nonsexual - so it seems only right that we start here. From the moment that we have an understanding of our bodies we’re told about all the things that are wrong with them, and that it’s our responsibility to fix them. Which is exhausting. What would it be like if we were able to start from a place of accepting our bodies as they are right now...

We're re-releasing In Touch with Ruby Rare. In this documentary series, sex educator Ruby Rare draws on her own personal and professional experience to offer an intimate and playful education around the different ways we connect to our bodies and to each other. Ruby speaks to experts, porn creators and even her parents to explore and understand the very unique ways that we each approach sex and se...

Debates about what should or shouldn’t be taught in RSE can so often be driven by misinformation, fear-mongering, and political agendas — but at what cost? Who does this benefit, and crucially, who does it harm? Evidence-based research has proven that high-quality sex education can not only protect young people from countless harms, but give them the tools to navigate the real and online world wit...

On the 27th October 2023, the team behind We Were Always Here held a live event at the Bishopsgate Institute in London. We had collected hundreds of hours of interviews from over 50 people during the making of the podcast and decided to donate all of the audio and transcipts to the Queer Archives at the Bishopsgate Institute so that these stories would no longer be left out of the telling of the U...

As we move into the 2000's, the demographic of HIV is changing as are the policies surrounding treatment. At an International medical trail, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is found to be highly effective for treating people with HIV, reducing the risk of infection from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed. It was a breakthrough and it was assumed by many that PrEP would be rolled out by the...

During the 1990's the prevelance of HIV increased across the mainstream media in part due to celebrities taking to the world stage to disclose their diagnosis. First it was Magic Johnson, a week later singer Freddy Mercury would announce he had aids. He died the next day. Then there would be tennis star Arthur Ashe who had contracted the virus during a blood transfusion in 1982. Up to 5000 peope w...

Positively Women was created by HIV positive women for HIV positive women. Two of the founders discuss the groups inception, the services they offered, and Princess Diana's chic suit. But some women still fell through the cracks.  We Were Always Here is produced and sound designed by Hana Walker-Brown This is a Broccoli Production. If you have been affected by the themes in this episode a list of...

Since the start of epidemic, women in many regions have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Today, women make up more than half of all people living with HIV and AIDS-related illnesses. In 1986 the ratio of male to female of HIV cases in the UK was 33 to one. By 1989, it was estimated that women accounted for a third of HIV cases worldwide, with several thousand diagnosed in the UK. In the fi...

Between the first case of HIV in 1981 and 1987, AIDS was unstoppable. The glimmer of hope came in 1987 when the drug, AZT, an antiretroviral medication was fastracked under enormous public pressure. What followed was a controversial trial. At the same time more and more cases of HIV were being reported, from both the African Continent and in Women.  We Were Always Here is produced and sound design...

In 1987, 71,751 cases of AIDS had been reported to the world health organisation. They estimated that 5-10 million people were living with HIV worldwide. The epidemic didn’t just affect individuals, it impacted households, and communities. Against the backdrop of a conversative government with Section 28 just around the corner, there was a tradition of volunteering and community involvement and a...

Fear is a tool that is often used in interventions around healthcare. Public information films featuring images of car crashes and injured children have been used to encourage us not to drink alcohol and drive and in more recent years - images of human organs on cigarette packets to encourage us not to smoke. The HIV epidemic was no different and perhaps the most hard hitting of all. Following his...

Following the discovery of LAV and HTVL-III , the identical viruses believed to cause AIDS, a blood test is developed in 1985 to screen for the disease. Marc Thompson, then a teenager, is pursuaded by friends to take it. The dialogue around AIDS is increasing, though there is still so much unknown. Rock Hudson, a prolific Hollywood actor has died at this point, but there is still nothing that real...

During the 1980's, Marc Thompson found his feet and his people as a young Black gay man in Brixton, South East London, enjoying everything that life and his community had to offer; family, parties and a safe space to express himself. At the same time, reports of a strange cancer that had been affecting young white gay men begun to emerge from America. It was like a mist, slowly creeping into the c...

We've all seen the headlines. In the 1990s, criminal cases and Irish government enquiries established countless acts of abuse at the hands of the Catholic Church. With public outrage leading to rapid social change, how much power does the Catholic Church still hold over modern day Ireland? In this one off-documentary, Rory Boyle examines the shift in public opinion that led to landslide victories...

In 2020 the Office for National Statistics reported 2.6 million adults in Great Britain felt lonely "often, or always".... Loneliness spans across humanity, from young to the elder generation, and as the pandemic rages on, more people are experiencing loneliness now more than ever. With modern technology, whole generations on social media, and the appointment of the UK's first Minister for Lonelin...