Slut PhD

Trigger warning: brief discussion about Consensual Non-Consent (CNC) and Dubious Consent (DubCon) Feminine dominants are a much misunderstood, misidentified, and misrepresented bunch. In this episode, Julie has a laughing (very late night) conversation with her co-top partner SugarandPoison about their "villain-coded" kinks as fem tops/sadists/doms. They discuss some of the challenges of finding a...

Many people are understandably confused about the relationship between sex and BDSM because... the relationship is very confusing. In this episode, Julie draws from the research she's conducted on the BDSM subculture as well as her extensive personal experience to try to answer the question "is BDSM about sex?" The short answer is, "ish, but you should never trust anyone who gives you a simple ans...

Throughout developed countries, young men have been running to extremist conservative politics with disastrous consequences for democracy. Rather than responding with sympathy or concern, liberal discourse has largely focused on disgust, rejection, and revulsion. In this episode, Julie and her husband Jonny (whose chief stated expertise is "I'm a guy") unpack some of the social disadvantages that...

Neither mainstream culture nor BDSM subculture is particularly supportive of masculine submission--especially for hetero(ish) cis-men. In this interview, Julie's submissive Artifiction describes his personal experiences trying to reconcile social norms of cis straightish masculinity with the fundamental desire to have someone else be in charge. He and Julie unpack some of the considerable social a...

Two competing ideas exist: (1) that all polyamorous people don't get jealous and (2) that all polyamorous people get jealous but are just really good at processing their anxieties and talking about their feelings with their partners. In reality, both things are true--many poly people get jealous, and many poly people just don't. In this episode, Julie discusses the complexities and implications of...

Trigger warnings: childhood trauma in general terms, mental illness (especially Borderline Personality Disorder), and relationship dissolution/divorce Relationship attachment theory has become increasingly popular in Queer communities, but in this episode, Julie explains that the science doesn't really support the enthusiasm. However, one category is perhaps a bit more valid from a scientific pers...

Drawing heavily on the research she conducted from 2012-17 in the BDSM (Bondage & Discipline, Dominance and submission, Sadism & Masochism) subculture, in this episode Julie analyzes the way that gender is broadly connected to BDSM roles. Generally speaking, masculinity is tied to dominance, femininity is tied to submission, and queerness is tied to switching. This episode also discusses s...