Horniness (AKA being sexually aroused) is a special state of body and mind. It’s a state during which we are much more likely to make risky decisions, not just about our sexual health, but about other things too. What else can make us forgo condoms, or lead us to believe our partners are not as risky as they may be? Our guest this week, Dr. Shayna Sparling, has been getting people sexually aroused in the lab (for research only!) and then tracking how this affects their thinking and decision-making. It’s a fascinating episode with some good take-home messages about sexual health. (Also, a glimpse into Dr. Zhana’s personal life and how she navigates using or not using condoms with new partners.) About our Guest Dr. Shayna Sparling is a postdoctoral research fellow based at Ryerson University in Toronto and the National Team Manager for the Engage Study – a multi-site national study on the sexual health of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. She has a PhD in Applied Social Psychology, with a focus in Community Psychology and in Health Psychology. Her research focuses on sexual health decision making and condom negotiation and the factors that can affect these two processes, including sexual arousal, relationship motivation, interpersonal power, and partner familiarity. To read Dr. Sparling’s papers yourself, go here, here, here, and here.  Before Next Time… Remember to like The Science of Sex Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Dr. Zhana and Episode #56 guest, Kenneth Play, recently put together the world’s largest and most comprehensive survey on squirting – head on to squirtingsurvey.com and take it! Anyone regardless of gender or squirting experience can take it!! Are you in Boston? Come see Dr. Zhana talk about building safe and healthy open relationships at the Good Vibrations store in Brookline on Wed, 3/27. More info and tickets here. Remember to submit comments, questions, and everything in between on our Get in Touch Page! Do you love The Science of Sex Podcast and all the work Dr. Zhana does? Support her by becoming a monthly Patreon Supporter! 

The Science of Sex

#59 – Under the Influence of Horniness

Horniness (AKA being sexually aroused) is a special state of body and mind during which we are much more likely to make risky decisions of all kinds. What else can make us forgo condoms, or lead us to believe our partners are not as risky as they may be? Join Dr. Zhana and Joe as they talk with Dr. Shayna Sparling from Ryerson University in Toronto about her fascinating research on the factors that make people make risky sexual health decisions.

Sex work is one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood aspects of human sexuality. There are many different types of sex work, including phone sex, camming, stripping, "happy ending" massages, professional domination, and porn, to name a few. But the greatest stigma is probably reserved for the "full service" type of sex work (i.e., penetration and all), like that done by the workers at the Nevada brothels. (There are many other ways of doing "full service" type of sex work, from street walkers to illegal brothels to independent or agency-run escorts, but the Nevada brothels are the only fully legal and transparent avenue for this work). So what does it look like to live and work in these brothels? Who are the people doing these jobs, why are they there, what kinds of services do they provide, how much do they like the job, how often do they have orgasms with their clients...? Our guest on episode #58, Christina Parreira, answers these questions (and more) from both personal and professional experience - she actually worked at a couple of these brothels so she could collect data for her doctoral thesis research on sex work! Don't miss this fascinating interview! About our Guest Christina Parreira is a PhD candidate in the department of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She obtained her Masters degree in clinical psychology in 2010 from University of Hartford. Parreira is currently conducting an ethnography of Nevada legal brothels; her areas of interest are emotional labor and stigma in sex work. Parreira also works at Trac-B needle exchange & harm reduction center in Las Vegas, doing STI testing, counseling, and outreach. In addition to studying the topic of sex work, Parreira is a 10 year veteran in the sex industry, currently doing phone & webcam work as well as BDSM in Las Vegas. You can read about more of Christina's work here. Before Next Time… Remember to like The Science of Sex Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Dr. Zhana and Episode #56 guest, Kenneth Play, recently put together the world's largest and most comprehensive survey on squirting - head on to squirtingsurvey.com and take it! Anyone regardless of gender or squirting experience can take it!! If you live in Boston, Dr. Zhana is coming to you on Wed, March 27, to do a workshop at the Good Vibrations store in Brookline on the topic of navigating sexual health and difficult emotions in nonmonogamous relationships. More info and tickets here. Remember to submit comments, questions, and everything in between on our Get in Touch Page! Do you love The Science of Sex Podcast and all the work Dr. Zhana does? Support her by becoming a monthly Patreon Supporter!

#58 – Sex Work in America

Why do straight women make out with other women in public? Do straight men and gay folks do it too? Why is making out for an audience a thing? And do people accomplish what they were after with it? In Ep. #57, we tackle this phenomenon of "performative making out."

#57 – Why People Make Out in Public

Every time Dr. Zhana teaches about almost any topic, someone asks a question about squirting, often referred to as female ejaculation. It seems like squirting is having a moment right now, with everyone and their mother wanting to know if all vagina-owners can squirt, what the ejaculate is made of, and how to make it happen. There is very limited science on this, which Dr. Zhana recently sifted through extensively while working on the online squirting course that her business partner, Kenneth Play, launched recently to teach people how to squirt. So in this episode, Dr. Zhana and Joe do something a little different. Instead of an academic researcher, we invite someone with an impressive amount of hands-on "research" when it comes to making vagina-owners squirt - Kenneth Play. Just how many vaginas has Kenneth had an opportunity to try and make them squirt? What's his success rate? What's the most reliable technique for making this happen? This and so much more in Episode 56 of the Science of Sex Podcast. Oh, and want to help us learn more about squirting? Dr. Zhana and Kenneth recently put together the world's largest and most comprehensive survey on squirting - head on to squirtingsurvey.com and take it! Anyone regardless of gender or squirting experience can take it!! About our Guest Kenneth Play is an international sex hacking expert, sex educator and coach, and former celebrity fitness trainer. From a deeply sexually insecure Asian immigrant to becoming the most viewed sex hacking expert on PornHub and being named the World’s Greatest Sex Hacker by GQ, Kenneth develops and teaches sex hacks to help people learn new ways to play and overcome challenges in the bedroom. With his accelerated learning approach and playful style, he helps people gain sexual confidence, experience more pleasure, and cultivate deeper intimacy in record time. His teaching has been described as a mashup of Bruce Lee’s “knowing is not enough, we must apply” mantra, Martha Stewart’s step-by-step show-you-how, and Tim Ferriss’ personal experimenting-to-mastery. Meanwhile, he co-founded the globally-recognized sex-positive intentional community, Hacienda Villa; he teamed up with Dr. Zhana Vrangalova to work on The Casual Sex Project; and his projects have been featured in Vice, Thrillist, Elite Daily, Refinery 29, Time Out, The New York Times, Playboy, and Cosmopolitan. He has devoted his life to empowering people to experience incredible sex, and his mission is to make unapologetically explicit sex education mainstream.) Connect with Kenneth via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and his website. You can order his Kenneth's Sex Hacker Bundle Course here. Before Next Time… Remember to like The Science of Sex Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Visit Adam & Eve and use promo code SCIENCE for 50% off just about any product. And if you order before 2/14, you get 10 FREE gifts (including FREE shipping)! Remember to submit comments, questions, and everything in between on our Get in Touch Page! Do you love The Science of Sex Podcast and all the work Dr. Zhana does? Support her by becoming a monthly Patreon Supporter!

#56 – Squirting School

Testosterone and oxytocin. Two hormones that have received a lot of media attention (and sales profits): testosterone as a supposed remedy to all that ails men; oxytocin as a supposed intimacy- and trust-inducing machine. But could testosterone have a dark side when it comes to our sex-related decision making? And can all the oxytocin hype stand up to scientific scrutiny? Dr. Zhana and Joe find out by talking to one of the preeminent researchers of the psychological effects of these two chemicals, Dr. Gideon Nave.

#55 – Getting the T(estosterone)

Do drunk people perceive themselves as capable of providing sexual consent at that moment? How good are they at evaluating their drinking buddies' levels of drunkenness and ability to consent? Join Dr. Zhana and Joe for this fascinating discussion with Dr. Michelle Drouin in their first episode of 2019.

#54 – Cocktails Vs. Consent

We all know having sex with our romantic partners is good for our relationship and sexual satisfaction. But WHY you're doing it can make a difference: Some reasons to have sex are better & healthier than other reasons. Optimizing your intimate life is partly about making sure you're doing "it" for the right reasons, and not doing it for the wrong reasons.  

#53 – Why You’re Doing It Matters

What is it about teachers that make them so hot? According to the popular college professor reviewing website, Rate My Professors, it’s more than just looks. But how does their rating system work?

#52 – Hot for Teacher

What is 'puppy play'? Who are 'bio-pups', and why are they so into this? Does this increasingly popular kink activity bear any links to zoophilia or furries? In Episode 51, Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Liam Wignall about his research on the fascinating world of 'pup play' and the participants in this kink / fetish / BDSM activity.

#51 – The World of Pup Play

Do you know the difference between sex and gender? Or what it means to be gender nonconformist? How about the definition of non binary? Surprisingly to some, many people do no know the answers to these questions. In Episode 50,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Seth Pardo about his research on gender non conforming folks who were assigned female at birth. This super educational episode covers a lot about the trans community.

#50 – 50 Shades of (Trans)Gender

The dangers and risks for gay men in coming out of the closet is widely acknowledged, but what about bi men? More bi men, compared to gay men, keep their sexuality strictly on the down low. Why is this the case? How are these men's experience different? In Episode 49,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Eric Schrimshaw about bisexual men, focused on those with long term female partners, and why they stay in the closet.

#49 – Bi Guys on the Down Low

Interest in sexually aggressive and humiliating acts (from biting & spanking, to spitting and verbal humiliation) might be far more common than we think. And, perhaps more controversially, there might be some evolutionary bases for some of our BDSM desires! In Episode 48,  Dr. Zhana and Joe talk to Dr. Menelaos Apostolou from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, about his theories and research on this that really push the boundaries.

#48 – Why Are People Into BDSM?

Some people are far more interested in and comfortable with casual sex, a trait called unrestricted sociosexuality. In Episode 47,  Dr. Zhana and Joe ask a question that's on a lot of people's minds: Are these "sluttier" folks (and we use this term lovingly and without judgment) less satisfied in and committed to their partners in long-term romantic relationships compared to their more "restricted" peers?

#47 – Do Sluttier People Make Worse Romantic Partners?

In Episode 46, Dr. Zhana and Joe speak with Dr. Gerulf Rieger about his research on identical twins with discordant sexual orientation. Research has shown us that sexual orientation is greatly determined by genetics. So how is it possible that only about 30% of all identical twins have the same sexual orientation as their co-twin?

#46 – Homosexuality: A Twin Thing

A podcast about the ins and outs of the latest research about everyone’s favorite topic hosted by Dr. Zhana and Joe Pardavila.Looking to have your sex questions answered? Send them over to scienceofsexpodcast@gmail.com!

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The Science of Sex

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