Sex Before Marriage - 9/25/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Today's show is a bit of a hot topic, and I want to take a second to acknowledge it as such. Not everyone will agree with my personal opinions about sex before marriage, and that's absolutely fantastic. If we all had the same views, we would live in a boring world. That said, I try my very hardest to understand other viewpoints, whether I disagree with them or not. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but I expect respectful discussion, which is something I think our society lacks.

Both this and the topic of same-sex marriage tend to bring up very, very strong emotions. That's natural, but I hope that what you take away from this episode, above all of the other opinions you hear, is that we talk about sex before marriage in a very civilized way. We might have differing opinions, but that doesn't mean we need to be petty. This is why I thought that Jill Filipovic's article was fantastic: it was relatively neutral, and very much empathetic to both sides of the topic. 

I implore you, if you want to talk about this or any subject that you want to discuss with another person, try to follow these rules:

• Be respectful
• Put yourself in their shoes before you speak
• Speak to others as you would like to be spoken to
• Be objective when you can
• No yelling

I hope that you enjoy today's show, and I would love to discuss the topic at greater length if you want to post your thoughts, or e-mail me. 

Useful links:

1. Waiting till the wedding night -- getting married the right way
2. The moral case for sex before marriage
3. Reciprocal Effects of Religiosity, Cohabitation, and Marriage
4. Taming desire: Celibacy, sexuality and the Church

Music you heard:

1. "Peggy's Minute Rag" by Elena Kats-Chernin
2. "Body and Soul" by Billie Holiday
3. "A Lover Like You" by The Avett Brothers

Thanks!

Older LGBT Adults - 8/15/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Today's show I interviewed Kathleen LaTosch, the special projects consultant for Affirmations, about a very interesting topic, and probably not one that's on your radar: LGBT older adults. The elderly community itself is something that younger generations sometimes don't think much about (until they are part of it), but everyone needs to do their part to make their issues known.

Older LGBT adults have a lot of problems not only with housing, but with typical aging services, such as retirement homes, assisted living, hospice, etc. These are major issues for heterosexual adults, but for LGBT individuals, it can create a whole host of problems. Maybe they're severely closeted, and don't trust others to come into their home for fear of being outed. Maybe they are living with a partner, but cannot live in the same retirement community because of discrimination (which is allowed in Michigan by the way).

Please realize that this could be an older person that you know. Maybe someone at your church or temple. Maybe it's your next door neighbor. An important point that I want to make is that simply talking about the issues can solve the problem, and can make people more aware. If you know an older person, have them take this survey. I also have it linked below. This can help change the discrimination we face in Michigan, and discrimination specifically faced by older LGBT individuals.

Useful Links:

1. LGBT Older Adult Coalition
2. LGBT Needs Survey
3. Affirmations of Ferndale, MI
4. Relevant article from the New York Times

Music you heard:

1. "Easy Living" by Billie Holiday
2. "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" by Louis Armstrong
3. "To the Gateway" from Super Mario Galaxy OST

Tune in next week! And don't be shy about leaving a comment or shooting us an e-mail! We love e-mails!

BDSM/Kink Culture - 8/8/12

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

PJ McGann - Sexuality/Gender/Stereotypes - 7/11/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

I LOVE SEX AND TELL

Hi sexy people!

We have another interview for you this week, and I'm really excited for you to listen to it! We brought PJ McGann, a professor at the University of Michigan, into the station to talk about a multitude of topics, but primarily the break-down of sexuality, gender, and stereotypes that perpetuate heteronormativity. We also delve into bisexuality, and why being bisexual can be difficult with the stereotypes of both hetero- and homo-sexuals, as well as how both of those communities operate.

To be perfectly honest, I could talk all day about this topic, and it's unfortunate that we only have 30-minutes to give you the scoop. I really hope that we can have another show like this, and I would love your feedback on specifically what you would like to hear! Also, if you just want to chat about this topic (as broad as it is), I would love to hear from you! E-mail me!


Useful links: 

• American Institute of Bisexuality
• LGBT Stereotypes via Wikipedia
• ALGBTICAL - Gay Stereotypes
• Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology
• OutHistory
• International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Coalition

Music you heard:

• "Autant de lundis que le linge sur la corde à linge" by André Duchesne
• "Squirrel Commotion" by Podington Bear
• "Dreaming Women" from R.O.D. the TV OST 2

Tune in next week for a LIVE roundtable discussion with Sonya and I! 

Happy Sexth of July - 7/4/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Due to a lack of interviews, the holiday season, and my dear co-host being out of town, I decided to do a live show for the first time, and talk a bit about the history of sex in Amurrica! Although it was a bit of an irregular show, I hope you really enjoyed it, and I hope that you check out some of the other resources listed below. I had a lot of fun reading these articles, and I tried to share what I thought was best, but each link has waaaaay more stuff than I could talk about on-air in 30 minutes.

A lot of what I wanted to talk about on the show was that every day, every month, every year, America is changing, sometimes for worse, but a lot of the time for the better. We've made huge strides not only in civil rights regarding gay marriage, but with sex and sexuality in general. It's finally becoming more OK to talk about sex, and hopefully someday we'll be as healthy and open about sexuality as our fellow humans in European countries.

If you have any questions, comments, etc. about the show, feel free to leave comments or e-mail us! We would love to have a conversation about whatever's on your mind!

Useful links:

• FAQ to The Kinsey Institute
• "The History & Future of Sex" by Marty Klein, PhD
• "Making War, Not Love: A French View On Sex In America" by Pascal Brunkner
• "Delta Venus" by Anaïs Nin
• Sexual Revolution via Wikipedia

Music used:

1. "C'était Une Histoire D'amour" by Edith Piaf
2. Satie: Gnossiennes #5 (Modéré)
3. "Memoir of a Future Past" by Ezekiel Honig

Tune in next week! 

Roundtable Discussion! - 6/13/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

For today's show we had an idea percolating in the wings about having an open discussion about whatever issues were on our minds. This idea was also perpetuated by our friend Kate, because she likes to hear herself talk on the radio. The idea of this show, and hopefully more roundtable discussions to come, is to feel comfortable talking about whatever topics are on our mind regarding sex/sexuality/gender. Sex positivity is the name of the game, folks. We're not experts about anything, but we all have different experiences that allow us a unique perspective on these topics, and it would be such a waste not to talk about it, and share our experiences, and learn from others.

Useful links:

1. Autostraddle: Girl-on-Girl culture, news, opinion, and entertainment site.
2. /r/sex - This is a subreddit all about sex, where anyone can ask questions, get an outside opinion, or just browse the various posts that other people make.
3. LaciGreen.tv - Sex positive vlogger who is just super awesome.

Music you heard:

1. "Talking To Myself About You" by Peggy Lee
2. "Can I Talk To You?" by Podington Bear
3. "You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me" by Arctic Monkeys
4. "Rainy Day" from Animal Crossing OST

If you have any questions or reactions to the show, feel free to leave them here! Till next time!

Burlesque! - 5/30/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Annie Thing

And now for something completely different, this week's show is about the wonderful, strange world of burlesque! For this show we brought in Annie Thing and Mabel Syrup from Tickled Fancy Burlesque Co. to talk a little about what they do, and why they do it.

We talked about a lot of topics covering burlesque: costumes, skits, classic vs. modern burlesque, characters, etc. The most important thing that I want everyone to take away from this though, is when we talk about how burlesque reveals how everyone is sexy. Whether you're funny sexy, geeky sexy, ballerina sexy, everyone feels sexy sometimes, and you need to own that feeling. You need to know that you are absolutely beautiful, and absolutely sensual in your own way. There is no cookie cutter sexy, and that's what burlesque is about for Tickled Fancy. They're about finding their own characters to relate to, and making it OK to be yourself.

Mabel Syrup

Sites to check out:

• Tickled Fancy Burlesque Co.
• Fierce Queer Burlesque Festival
• History of Burlesque Pt. 1
• Burlesque via Wikipedia

Music heard on this show:

• "Shines Through Trees" by Podington Bear
• "Ruby, My Dear" by Thelonious Monk
• "After Midnight" from Chicago

Hope you enjoy the show, and check out our archives for shows you've missed! Feel free to leave comments about anything you liked/wanted more of/hated! 

Coming Out - 5/16/12

(Right-Click/Ctrl-Click to 'Save File As')

Welcome to the very first episode of the Sex and Tell Show!

Sonya and I have been planning and plotting topics for shows for a few weeks now, but when it came to what our very first topic should be, both of us knew immediately: Coming Out. It's one of the hardest things a human being can do, and I personally think it's something that everyone, not just the LGBT community, has to deal with. Learning to be honest about who you are is hard. That said, our show today is going to be specifically about coming out as some form of queer.

If you're looking for the resources we mentioned on the show, you can go to our Resources page. We would also love to hear your coming out stories, questions, tips, advice, anything! We have this show for you to listen, and this blog for you to feel comfortable interacting with us, and talking about this stuff! Feel free to leave comments or e-mail us!

The music you heard on the show today was:

• "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
• "Jump In" by High Places
• "Bend" by Ben Sollee

See you next week!

You found the Sex and Tell Show!

To give you a little summary about what we're doing on the radio, I give you three words: sex, sexuality, and gender. This is a radio show every Wednesday from 6:30-7pm on 88.3 WCBN FM Ann Arbor. The purpose of the show is to educate, entertain, and inform our listeners of various topics within the realms of sex, sexuality, and gender in the most tasteful, academic way possible. That said, we're not experts in this field. We are only curious humans. As much as possible, we intend to bring knowledge people in for interviews on the subject of the day, and simply have a little chat.
Here is a sampling of topics you might/will hear on the air:

• Coming out
• Trans issues
• Genderqueer
• Sex toys
• Safe sex
• Body image
• College dating/sex
• Porn
• Etc.

 We'll have some updates soon, and will be posting the audio every week for you to catch up on, as well as a post about the topic! If you have any questions, topic suggestions, complaints, or would like to be interviewed for the show, feel free to contact heidimad@gmail.com.