193: Embracing Desire: Celebrating Sexuality and Aging
Our Better Half
As an older adult, if your doctor is not comfortable asking about your sexual health but you’ve got questions, this episode is just what you need. Our guest this time is Dr. Jennifer Vencill, an assistant professor, board certified clinical health psychologist, and AASECT certified sex therapist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She is passionate about answering patient questions and teaching her colleagues. She is dually appointed in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, as well as the Division of General Internal Medicine, where she spends the bulk of her time providing...
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192: De-Andrea Blaylock-Solar: A Black Sex Therapist's Perspective on Sex, Religion, and Aging
Our Better Half
Join us for our first ever live recording at the Annual AASECT Conference in a fascinating discussion with our esteemed guest, De-Andrea Blaylock-Solar. She’s the first Black AASECT Certified Sex Therapist in St. Louis. We’re talking about sex, religion, , prostate cancer, embodied sexuality, widowhood, and a thing she calls Christian plus. Resources we talked about on this episode include the Instagram account and from D. Danyelle Thomas, by Candice Marie Benbow, by Lyvonne Briggs, the productions, and the (WOCSHN). You can reach De-Andrea directly at . If you want to catch up on...
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191: Season 10 Teaser
Our Better Half
Hey Listeners! You may have guessed we are on our summer break. While we’re all trying to rest and recuperate and regenerate, we’re reverberating with great news! What a season we had last year! So many great guests. So many things we learned. So many laughs. And a few tears, mostly of joy, because we won a coveted award. We won the AASECT award for best podcast of the year. What an honor and what a hoot to not only receive the award from our peers and our own organization, but we got to record an episode in front of a live audience (our first) at the AASECT conference in June. I won’t...
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190: Sexual Fantasies
Our Better Half
Join us for a fast-moving and fun conversation with Sabitha, Rosara, and Jane as we talk about sexual fantasies as we age. What are sexual fantasies? How are they useful? What’s the difference between masturbatory and relational fantasies? Sabitha offered some great resources for our listeners: any of (though they are a bit heteronormative), Jack Morin’s book, , and Justin Lehmiller’s book, . If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our website and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half and want to support our show,...
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189: Mothers and Daughters
Our Better Half
In honor of Mother’s Day, Jane, Rosara, and Sabitha are talking about mothering, the havoc it wreaks with our lives, the discoveries, and impacts on our sexuality. They also wonder aloud about daughtering, especially as their parents age. Join us for a look into the lives of our co-hosts. And let us know your thoughts. If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our and please subscribe! We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half and want to support our show, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on and ! As always, thanks for listening!...
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188: Remembering to Play: Making Space for Kinky Elders
Our Better Half
Our guest this time is Mx. Sizzle, a trailblazing Persian and Kurdish hard femme who serves as a sexual health, BDSM, and kink educator. They hold a bachelor’s degree from New College of Florida and a master's degree in public health from the University of Florida, with a focus on queer and transgender health. As the founder of "," they create safe spaces for sexuality exploration and empowerment that prioritize equity and justice. Mx. Sizzle’s nationally acclaimed workshops and unwavering dedication to amplifying marginalized voices have a profound and positive impact on society. Their...
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187: Polyamorous Elders
Our Better Half
Our guest this time is Kathy Labriola, a nurse, counselor, and hypnotherapist in Berkeley, California. She has provided affordable mental health services to alternative communities for the past 30 years. Kathy is the author of four books on consensual non-monogamy including her latest, . She is extra crunchy, rides a bike, lives in a housing cooperative, grows organic vegetables, raises chickens, and has been a card-carrying bisexual and polyamorist for 50 years. If you want to learn more about Kathy Labriola and her writing, check out her website at ! If you want to catch up on other shows,...
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186: Helping Older Gay Men Find Love and Sex
Our Better Half
Our guest this time is the wonderful Dr. Israel Martinez, a certified sex therapist and coach with a group practice that specializes in therapy with the LGBTQ+, ethically non-monogamous, and kink/BDSM communities. He is the author of the book Helping Gay Men Find Love: Tips for Guys on Dating and Beginning a Healthy Relationship, has been published in the book Social Workers: Finding Real Solutions to Real Problems, and created and curates . He also supervises and trains other therapists to more ethically and effectively treat clients within gender, sexual, and relationship diversity. Dr....
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185: Ancestral Knowledge, Gender, and Sexual Scripts
Our Better Half
Tushabe Wa Tushabe, an Assistant Professor at Widener University in The Center for Human Sexuality Studies, graduated from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, in Indiana, earned a Master's in women's studies from Texas Women's University, and received a Ph.D. in Decolonial African Epistemologie from Binghamton University. Tushabe's research interests focus on decolonial and indigenous knowledges and practices, and sexualities through languages. When not in the classroom, writing, or mentoring students, Tushabe can be found enjoying the outdoors, especially waterfalls, mountains, and hiking. When...
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184: Make(Older)LoveNotPorn
Our Better Half
Cindy Gallop is a woman taking the world by storm, disrupting venture capital and erotic imagery available online. Cindy is an advertising consultant, the founder and former chair of the US branch of the advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and, most important for our conversation today, she is the founder of If We Ran The World and MakeLoveNotPorn. Cindy's TED Talk is one of the most talked about presentations from the 2009 TED conference, and she was recently quoted in the . Go check out Cindy’s amazing work at , and ! If you want to catch up on other shows, just visit our and please...
info_outlineHey listeners! While our co-hosts are away on vacation this summer (doing who knows what!), we are thrilled to present you with an archived episode. One of our favorite interviews from this season is back. So sit back and enjoy!
Our guest this time is Dr. Mark Levand, a sexuality educator and researcher who has spent many deep and reflective years in the church. He’s passionate about training future sexuality educators through his deep interests in sexuality, religion, and diversity. Take a listen. It’s a terrific episode and we had a great time talking all things religion and sex with him.
Dr. Levand has a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality Studies from Widener University and a Master’s in theology and religious studies from John Carroll University. Among other publications, he has recently published on matters of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the National Catholic Reporter and about Catholic Theology and Sexuality Education in the Journal of Theology & Sexuality. Mark has received awards for his collaborative work in sexual diversity, cross-cultural sexuality studies, and organizational change around human sexuality in Catholic higher education. He is the author of the forthcoming book Inclusion and Sexuality in Catholic Higher Education: Possibilities for Institutional Change to be released by Routledge in mid-2023. Mark was the editor for a special issue of the Journal of Sexuality and Relationship Therapy on sexuality, religion, and spirituality and serves as a reviewer for several journals in the fields of sexuality and health. He has held leadership roles to address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at large institutions. Mark holds memberships in sexuality organizations, as well as the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the Society of Christian Ethics.
If you’d like to learn more about Mark, go to his website where you can find a link to his forthcoming book, Inclusion and Sexuality in Catholic Higher Education: Possibilities for Institutional Change, and links to his articles and book chapters.
If you like our show or have any questions contact us here at our website, and you can subscribe to our podcast any way you'd like. We love our listeners and welcome your feedback, so if you love Our Better Half, please give us a 5-star rating and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. It really helps support our show!
As always, thanks for listening!