Do We Know Things?

You likely have heard of the Grafenberg spot, or G-spot, as it is more commonly known. The G-spot has had some pretty good PR since it was named in the 1980s, and it has really become a household name. But what if I told you, there is actually no such thing! A combination of misunderstanding the bodies of people with vulvas and the continued influence of Freudian ideas about orgasms has led to a b...

One bit of sex advice I have seen floating around the internet, particularly on Instagram, is that it takes cisgender women 20 minutes to get fully aroused. This is presented as a contrast to cisgender men, who are, I guess, faster than that? I never see any man-stats presented, but it is implied that men need to slow down to ensure their female partner gets to her fully aroused state. In this epi...

If you have heard of oxytocin before, you have probably heard about it as “the love hormone” or “the cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin has other nicknames too. It’s called the morality molecule, the hug hormone, and although it is less catchy, I like to point out, it’s also the racism hormone. Those are just a few of the things oxytocin has been implicated in. But how can one hormone do all of those thing...

Most people with a period think that menstrual cycles sync up with people we spend a lot of time with, whether it is friends, coworkers or roommates. This phenomenon is called menstrual synchrony. But is it a real thing or is it just a coincidence? What do you think? Tune in to this episode to find out what the research says. Menstrual cycles! What do we know? Do we know things? Let's find out! Li...

Do you know the laws about sex work? Do you know the difference between the "Nordic" model, decriminalization, and legalization of sex work? What about the difference between sex work and sex trafficking? When talking to my partner Jeremy, it dawned on me that not everyone follows sex work laws as closely as I do, so we thought we should make an episode about Canadian sex work laws through the age...

These days, talk of consent and consent education is increasingly common. I would argue that it is the most important part of school-based sex education, even though it is still not explicitly included as part of some provinces’ curricula. Of course, it’s one thing to tell people that they need to get consent about sexual activity, but having conversations about sex is hard! Kids and adults often...

Sex toys, while once highly taboo, have been increasing in popularity and visibility over the last two decades. While most people don’t necessarily talk openly about their sex toys, advertising, websites, and brick and mortar stores selling high quality sex toys are much more visible than they used to be. But did you know that the sex toy industry is completely unregulated? My guest on today’s pod...

This week we're going to revisit my most controversial episode, where I investigated if it's necessary to pee after sex! We'll be back in two weeks with our regularly scheduled programming! Hosted by Dr. Lisa Dawn Hamilton, psychology professor and sex educator. Find the script for this episode on our website:  https://www.doweknowthings.com/episodes Music and editing Jeremy Dahl  https:...

For this episode, I am flipping things a bit and playing an episode of the Succeed Under Stress podcast where I was interviewed by my friend, clinical psychologist, and podcast host Dr. Jonathan Horowitz. We talked about stress and sex with a focus on how COVID affects our sex lives. Tune in to hear me unscripted and offering sex tips during times of COVID. Hosted by Dr. Jonathan Horowitz Guest Dr...

Humans brains like to put things into neat mental boxes, but the world is not neat and doesn't fit easily into categories. Most people don't know that biological sex can be something other than male or female, but there are millions of people who are intersex. It's shocking that there is not more awareness about intersex, and in this episode, I aim to increase that awareness. I also point out that...

This episode is a re-release of the first ever episode of Do We Know Things? Media depictions of heterosexual sex are all about penile-vaginal-intercourse (PVI), which always seems to lead to mind-blowing orgasms for women. Sex educators say only about 25% of women have orgasms from PVI, though. Where does that number come from? Is it accurate?  Orgasms! What do we know? Do we know things? Le...

What comes to mind when you think of emasculation? If you are like most people, you probably think about it metaphorically. My guest on this episode, Dr. Richard Wassersug studies emasculation in the literal sense. He studies people who remove their testicles by choice (a.k.a. voluntary eunuchs) and those who are chemically castrated through testosterone suppressing drugs. Listen in on this fascin...

Have you heard the story of how and why vibrators were invented? If so, it’s probably wrong. What about risks of desensitization from vibrators? That’s a myth too. There are so many myths surrounding vibrators! This episode will challenge those myth with evidence, and I will also throw in some sex toy store recommendations. Vibrators! What do we know? Do we know things? Let’s find out! Hosted by D...

It's reinforced so much by our media culture, it's almost become a cliche: Men are horny ALL the time. This simplified version of men’s sexuality is also often repeated by researchers and other experts. I am excited to challenge some myths about heterosexual men’s sexual desire with my guest Dr. Sarah Hunter Murray who is a therapist, author, and desire mythbuster. We'll go beyond the st...

This episode of Do We Know Things? examines the things we are often taught about the biology of sex differences. It is definitely a science-nerd episode, but it focuses on biases in research that affect half the population! In particular, I wanted to address the oft repeated lore that ‘female is the default sex.’ I am joined by brilliant biologist and gender studies professor, Dr. Anne Fausto-Ster...

Did you know Do We Know Things? is officially one year old!? To celebrate, I’m going to revisit a few topics from the last year, including the Top 5 sex myths I have busted over the past year! I also have more info about merkins, pubic hair, and art as an update from the last epsiode. And I’ll be speaking with Tasia Alexopoulos from the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada about developments in abo...

After a recent convo with a friend about pubic hair. I realized I didn't know where the current trend of pubic hair removal started, even though I thought I did! This led me to think of all the other pubic hair things I had heard over the years. Does pubic hair serve a protective factor? Does removing your pubic hair increase risk for STIs or other problems? What about crabs (a.k.a pubic lice)? Pu...

Think of your last sexual encounter, either by yourself or someone else. What do remember? What was the best part? Was it the orgasm? What if you didn’t have an orgasm? Would that be a disappointment? Can you have good sex without orgasms? Can you have bad sex with orgasms? We often equate orgasms with sexual satisfaction, but isn’t there more to sex than orgasms? On this episode, I will go into r...

Do you have a penis? Do you feel unmotivated? Do you jerk off too much? Do you have erectile dysfunction? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the No Fap movement would be happy to provide you with some answers. If you haven’t heard of it before, r/NoFap is a subreddit ( https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/ ) community dedicated to men (mostly) talking about quitting masturbation.   On t...

What is virginity? Judging by the media, it's a pretty big deal! Hundreds of songs are written about it. Every TV teen drama has that very special episode where the two leads decide to do it (or not). Whole movies are based on the premise of horny guys trying to "get some" for the first time. But what if I told you virginity isn't real? That's right! Despite everything you've watched, listened to,...

Porn. For many people in the past century, porn was something you had to go looking for. But that all changed in the past couple of decades... With the invention of high speed internet and streaming technology, porn is very easily accessed by anyone with an internet connection. Porn is a hot topic that brings up a lot of emotions. The increase in availability of porn has also been associated with...

On this episode of Do We Know Things?, I discuss the greatest thing of all.. the clitoris! Although it is slowly changing, there is so much the average person does not know about the clitoris. Although one "fact" that gets repeated again and again is that there are 8,000 nerve endings in the clitoris. It has been completely meme-ified. But, is that true? It wasn’t until a student asked me about cl...

Hi! There is no episode this week. We are taking a brief summer break. I have included a few sex ed related recommendations in this brief episode to help the wait for the next episode of Do We Know Things? Sex Ed East website https://www.sexedeast.ca/ Subscribe to the Sex Ed East biweekly newsletter http://eepurl.com/g8Ry7z Explore More Summit https://www.exploremoresummit.com/ Women of Sex Tech C...

So much of sex advice and information is targeted to straight, cisgender women, except, of course, for penis enlargement and boner pills. That is just spammed in a constant stream at anyone who might have a penis. online, most of the sex educators with big youtube channels and Instagram followings are mostly women with mostly women following them. Today I am joined by resident man, Matt Tunna...

Shame is one of my favourite things to talk about. Seriously! It is the worst thing to experience, but because of its power over so much of our lives, I find it endlessly fascinating. Shame is my explanation for basically everything. And the more I learn about it, the more I think I am right! Well maybe not shame, specifically, but the things we do to cover up shame. We drown it in alcohol, smothe...