What 25 Rom-Coms Taught Me About Sex, Love, and Relationships: Rom-Com Vom Recap

Initiating sex can feel vulnerable, awkward, or even downright scary—especially if you were socialized to anticipate everyone else's needs before your own. This week, DB is joined by the one and only Whitni Miller (aka BDE Moves), queer couples intimacy coach, to break down what gets in the way, how to build confidence, and why getting turned down doesn’t have to be a bad thing. We’re talking perfectionism, eroticism, pleasure, and how to get out of your head and into your body. Let's get into it! GUEST DETAILSWhitni Miller is a queer couples intimacy coach helping people build deeper connection, playful pleasure, and authentic desire. Follow @bde.moves on Instagram for tips, real talk, and tools to transform your intimate life. ABOUT SEASON 12 Season 12 of Sex Ed with DB is ALL ABOUT PLEASURE! Solo pleasure. Partnered pleasure. Orgasms. Porn. Queer joy. Kinks, sex toys, fantasies—you name it. We’re here to help you feel more informed, more empowered, and a whole lot more turned on to help YOU have the best sex. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them) MUSIC Intro theme music: Hook Sounds Background music: Bright State by Ketsa Ad music: Soul Sync by Ketsa and Soul Trap by Ketsa

DB breaks down how to talk to your partner about bringing sex toys into the bedroom to get more pleasure. She shares stats on who’s using sex toys, why queer couples are ahead of the game, and easy ways to start the convo with your partner. Plus: top sex toy recs and a playful challenge to try at home. Studies mentioned in this episode: Do Sex Toys Make Me Satisfied? The Use of Sex Toys in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, and the UK The Results of the Magic Wand Wellness Study Are In! Toys for couples mentioned in this episode: Magic Wand Rechargeable: Great for external stimulation during all kinds of play. Works well in both solo and partner contexts. And, yes, our study backs up its pleasure-boosting stats! We-Vibe Chorus: A wearable toy designed for couples to use during penetrative sex. Remote-controlled, adjustable, and great for mutual stimulation. Strap-ons and Harnesses: Incredible for exploring power dynamics, switching roles, and opening up new kinds of connection—great for queer couples and for straight folks who want to learn from queer innovation. ABOUT SEASON 12 Season 12 of Sex Ed with DB is ALL ABOUT PLEASURE! Solo pleasure. Partnered pleasure. Orgasms. Porn. Queer joy. Kinks, sex toys, fantasies—you name it. We’re here to help you feel more informed, more empowered, and a whole lot more turned on to help YOU have the best sex. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them) MUSIC Intro theme music: Hook Sounds Background music: Bright State by Ketsa Ad music: Soul Sync by Ketsa and Soul Trap by Ketsa

Season 12 is all about PLEASURE and we're kicking things off with a juicy one! This week, DB is joined by Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons—licensed psychologist, sex researcher, and pleasure activist—to talk about what happened when 1,000 people masturbate for science! The Magic Wand Wellness Study is the first study of its kind to look at how daily masturbation impacts things like sleep, stress, focus, confidence, and body image, and the results were amazing. We talk about why solo pleasure is so often ignored in wellness culture, what DB learned from doing the study herself, and why taking time to get yourself off might actually make you feel better in your body, your brain, and your relationships. If you’ve been feeling disconnected from your pleasure — especially solo pleasure — this is your gentle nudge (or loud, vibrating one) to come back to it! GUEST DETAILS Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons is an award-winning associate professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where she studies sexual wellness and liberation. She has published over 80 academic articles and has been featured in popular media, including Cosmopolitan, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Essence, Ebony, and the Huffington Post. Her debut book, Good Sex: Stories, Science, and Strategies for Sexual Liberation was published February 2025 by Row House. ABOUT SEASON 12 Season 12 of Sex Ed with DB is ALL ABOUT PLEASURE! Solo pleasure. Partnered pleasure. Orgasms. Porn. Queer joy. Kinks, sex toys, fantasies—you name it. We’re here to help you feel more informed, more empowered, and a whole lot more turned on to help YOU have the best sex. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdbThreads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them) MUSIC Intro theme music: Hook Sounds Background music: Bright State by Ketsa Ad music: Soul Sync by Ketsa and Soul Trap by Ketsa

Within hours of the new administration’s return-to-office, disorder took over. A foreign aid freeze, a stop-work order, and the dismantling of key foreign aid institutions commenced almost immediately. Gayatri Patel, Senior Fellow with rePROs Fight Back, sits down to talk with us about glimmers of hope for protecting this foreign assistance funding and relevant agencies, as well as how we can prepare for the realistic, long-term impacts of these attacks.  rePROs Fight Back on X rePROs Fight Back on FacebookProgress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2022 Don’t the Lives of Women and Girls Matter? CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAMCreator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them)  

Ready to have better sex? Start here. This season on Sex Ed with DB, we’re diving into what your high school health class definitely didn’t teach you: how to get more pleasure. Whether you’re trying to orgasm with a partner, explore your kinks, or just feel more confident in your body—this is the season for you. Hit play to hear what we’re covering: solo pleasure, partnered sex, sex toys, porn, fantasies, queer joy, and so much more. Got questions about sex you’ve been too nervous to ask? We’ve got real answers from top experts in the field. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop every Wednesday starting June 18. Share this trailer with a friend who deserves better sex ed, too. This is your invitation to start truly enjoying sex. Let’s get into it. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdbThreads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAMCreator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them)

One nerd’s quest to find out why we know next to nothing about period pain. Tired of suffering from "death cramps" with no diagnosis for 20 years, Kate Downey has to look for her own answers. What she finds will change how you think about your own body and the medical system. Because having a microphone gets you more answers than having a uterus. https://www.katehelendowney.com/cramped CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdbThreads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB SEX ED WITH DB SEASON 12 SPONSORS Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our BRAND NEW newsletter for hot goss, expert advice, and *the* most salacious stories. FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. ASK AN ANONYMOUS SEX ED QUESTION Fill out our anonymous form to ask your sex ed question. SEASON 12 TEAMCreator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) (she/her) Producer: Sadie Lidji (she/her) Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen (she/her) Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams (they/them)  

That’s a wrap on Rom-Com Vom! We made it through a whole season of dissecting the cringiest lessons the rom-coms that raised us tried to teach. In this final episode, DB reflects on what she’s learned through making the show—and what these movies still reveal about love, culture, and ourselves. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB ROM-COM VOM SEASON 11 SPONSORS: Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our newsletter for behind-the-scenes content and answers to your sexual health questions! FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. SEASON 11 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) Producer: Sadie Lidji Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams Logo Design: Evie Plumb (@cliterallythebest)

It’s the final Rom-Com Vom—and we’re going out with a true vom. DB is joined by the brilliant Kate from CRAMPED to dissect No Strings Attached, a film so bafflingly bad it makes you double-check that yes, it really did come out in 2011. They unpack the film’s deeply weird messages about women, work, and love, from its rare-but-still-weird period scene to its tired idea that ambitious women just need to be “fixed” by emotionally unavailable men. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB ROM-COM VOM SEASON 11 SPONSORS: Lion's Den, Uberlube, & Magic Wand. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our newsletter for behind-the-scenes content and answers to your sexual health questions! FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. SEASON 11 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) Producer: Sadie Lidji Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams Logo Design: Evie Plumb (@cliterallythebest)

In this week’s bonus ep: DB reviews Dying for Sex, a show about what happens when a terminal diagnosis blows your whole life open, and catalyzes a chaotic late-stage sexual awakening. She breaks down what the show gets right about trauma and autonomy, and how it captures the weird and tender reality of female friendship.  Mentioned in this episode:  13 Going on 13 with Paul Caiola: Rom-Com Vom Sign up now: https://radiobootcamp.org/classes/making-indie-podcasts-that-pay-mastering-the-art-of-sponsorships-2/ CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB ROM-COM VOM SEASON 11 SPONSORS: Lion's Den, Uberlube, Magic Wand, & Arya. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our newsletter for behind-the-scenes content and answers to your sexual health questions! FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. SEASON 11 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) Producer: Sadie Lidji Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams Logo Design: Evie Plumb (@cliterallythebest)

This week, we are thrilled (wink wink) to review 13 Going on 30! DB and Paul talk about the ethics of age-gap romance when time travel is involved, and why 2000s films were so obsessed with pitting women against each other. Plus: dollhouses, dream jobs, and whether Matty is actually too good for Jenna.  GUEST DETAILS Since 2019, Paul has been one-half of the creative team behind That Aged Well, a podcast devoted to movies, nostalgia, friendship, and inappropriate jokes. Paul spends a great deal of time singing along to musicals and reading X-Men comics. There are multiple videos of him performing Proud Mary (Tina Turner version) with the correct choreography, but he can’t do it anymore because he’ll throw his back out. CONNECT WITH US Instagram: @sexedwithdbpodcast TikTok: @sexedwithdbTwitter: @sexedwithdb Threads: @sexedwithdbpodcast YouTube: Sex Ed with DB ROM-COM VOM SEASON 11 SPONSORS: Lion's Den, Uberlube, Magic Wand, & Arya. Get discounts on all of DB’s favorite things here! GET IN TOUCH Email: [email protected] to our newsletter for behind-the-scenes content and answers to your sexual health questions! FOR SEXUAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Check out DB's workshop: "Building A Profitable Online Sexual Health Brand" ABOUT THE SHOW Sex Ed with DB is your go-to podcast for smart, science-backed sex education—delivering trusted insights from top experts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure. Empowering, inclusive, and grounded in real science, it’s the sex ed you’ve always wanted. SEASON 11 TEAM Creator, Host & Executive Producer: Danielle Bezalel (DB) Producer: Sadie Lidji Communications Lead: Cathren Cohen Growth Marketing Manager: Wil Williams Logo Design: Evie Plumb (@cliterallythebest)