Smut Talks by Bothered Stories

Ever thought you might be having patriarchal sex but unsure how to change it—or what that even means? Samia Mounts, voice actress, dating coach, and host of the Happy Slut podcast, walks us through what patriarchal sex is, why so many of us have it, and how to break free. She also gives us tips on how to make our voices sexy AF, and shares how igniting our erotic energy gives us the creative energy we need to tackle the world.We discuss:Samia’s definition of patriarchal sex and why slowing down and saying no are key to discovering what we truly needThe connection between erotic and creative energy, and how orgasms give us motivation for other arenas of lifeHow neurodivergence can be a tool for questioning cultural norms, and how community is central to changeHow learning to relax and “lean back” in our speech is the key to being an erotic voice actorSamia’s unique identity as an internationally born and raised, biracial, queer human lends her a fresh perspective on topics near and dear to us at Bothered Stories. She is open, unapologetic, and funny, and you’ll leave this conversation ready to claim your own erotic potential and help others do the same.Show NotesBothered StoriesSign up to read our smart, smutty fiction at ⁠https://www.botheredstories.com/⁠ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Hear our CEO Allison Whaley on Samia Mount’s Happy Slut podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-moms-get-horny-too-with-allison-whaley/id1832942242?i=1000798499786Samia Mounts Website: https://www.samiamounts.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samia.mountsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@happyslutcastHappy Slut podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-slut/id1832942242Happy Slut podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5T8OaYaj4JLUnVw1EC6ebw

Friends to Lovers, Grumpy Sunshine, Himbo, Black Cat. . . what are all these reading tropes and why do we love them? First Dates and Soulmates podcast hosts and verified romance reading experts Meg Casebolt and Nikki McNight join us to break down the world of tropes. Whether you’re a smut newbie or a seasoned romance reader, this episode will help you understand why you’re drawn to certain stories and what it all means.They share:How tropes create language and community for readersThe romance tropes you need to know, from the most common to the most nicheWhat makes tropes interesting and compelling—and when do they not work well? What psychological and emotional aspects of our own selves do these tropes help us understandThe evolution of "trope" in meaning and usage, from 1980's Harlequin romance novels to todayPlus, we each share our favorite tropes and why we love them, including how alien sex helps Nikki get out of her own body and why Meg loves a himbo. And if you’re wondering if cozy monster romance with bull semen is a thing, why, yes, yes it is.Show NotesBothered StoriesSign up to read our smart, smutty fiction at ⁠https://www.botheredstories.com/⁠ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.First Dates and Soulmates Website: https://firstdatesandsoulmates.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstdatesandsoulmates/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstDatesSoulmates

Reed Amber is a trailblazing force in sex worker advocacy, sex education, and ethical porn. She’s co-creator of the multi-award winning podcast Come Curious, and she brings that same shame-free, no-holds-barred dialogue to Smut Talks. We dive into:Reed’s journey from porn obsession to performer to producer, and how the industry has changed since she startedWhat ethical porn means, how it’s practiced, and how to look for it as a porn consumerHow to normalize and reduce shame around kinks and fetishes—and what’s the difference between a kink and a fetish, anyway?Sex worker advocacy and why it’s so importantReed is a breath of fresh, unfiltered air around topics typically treated like dirty secrets. If you want to be an educated, informed, sex-positive society member but don’t know much about ethical porn or sex work, this conversation is your starting place. Plus, we learn all about tickle fetishes.Show NotesBothered StoriesSign up to read our smart, smutty fiction at ⁠https://www.botheredstories.com/⁠ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Reed Amber Website: https://www.reedmylips.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reedamberx/TikTok :https://www.tiktok.com/@reedamberxCome Curious Podcast: https://www.reedmylips.com/comecurious-podcastTicklethusiasm: https://www.reedmylips.com/ticklethusiasm

Sexologist Chloé Ellert joins us to talk about the nervous system, arousal, recovering from sexual trauma and how smut can play a role. Creator of the Smut-Scent Method and founder of Her By Chloe, she helps women re-connect to themselves and feel safe exploring their sexuality. In this episode, she explains:How cortisol and desire interact in the nervous system, and why understanding this is so important to how we experience pleasureWays survivors of sexual assault can reconnect to their sexuality How smut creates a safe space to feel arousal, and what smut can reveal about our desiresWhat romance books Chloe loves, and what she’d like to see changed in the industryChloé teaches us why smut can make us feel safe enough to be aroused again after trauma, what stress has to do with desire, and what paying attention to the spicy stories we love reveals about ourselves. Plus, hear why Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was Chloé’s original entrance into dark romance, and why Chloé thinks we need more male characters with green flags.Show Notes Bothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction at ⁠https://www.botheredstories.com/⁠ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Chloé EllertWebsite: https://www.herbychloe.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsherbychloe/

Danielle from Openly Committed joins us to explore non-monogamy, including her own 16-year journey in an open relationship and what alternative relationship structures can offer. She unpacks the history behind monogamy, and explains how laws governing women as the property of men stand at its roots. Plus, Danielle and Allison explore why the “chosen one” is so prevalent both as a cultural obsession and a smut trope. Topics include:Non-monogamy 101: the terms, how it’s practiced and what it all meansDanielle’s open relationship journey and how it’s evolved over her 16 year marriageThe history of monogamy and women as property, and how recent legal changes are giving women options for the first time in thousands of yearsDebunking common misconceptions about monogamy and non-monogamy Finally, we talk smut! Danielle shares what she likes to read, plus the Bothered Story she wants commissioned—a fling with someone half your age, spending $300 at a sex shop, and a color coded spreadsheet. Show Notes Bothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction at ⁠https://www.botheredstories.com/⁠ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Danielle from Openly Committed Website: https://openlycommitted.com/index.htmlInstagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/openlycommitted/?hl=enTikTok :https://www.tiktok.com/@openlycommitted?lang=en

Why does burlesque matter? In this episode, burlesque performers and hosts Diva Darling and Mx. Eden dive deep into their craft, unpacking the ways burlesque subverts patriarchal norms about what is sexy and who gets to take up space. Diva explains how she loves to give the audience “confusion boners” and Eden leaves us with a whole new image of Winnie the Pooh.This conversation touches on: What a burlesque show is like and how it’s different from strippingThe overlap between burlesque and erotica and how burlesque must answer the important  question: why is this person taking off their clothes?Representation in burlesque across body type and race—and why that mattersHow burlesque challenges heteronormative and white supremacist concepts of sexinessAnd if all that’s not reason enough to care about burlesque? Well, it’s also just plain hot. Show Notes Bothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction at https://www.botheredstories.com/ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Read Diva Darling’s story on our site: https://www.botheredstories.com/post/role-playDiva DarlingWebsite: https://divanations.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divadarling/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivaDarlingBurlesque/Mx. EdenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/yesmxeden/Charm City Burlesque Variety Festival: https://www.instagram.com/charmcitybvfest/

Toni Nagy and Seraphina Supernova are touring the world with Grape Culture, a groundbreaking tragic comedy show that forces the audience to reckon with what they’ve coined our “culture of domination without consent,” aka the culture we all live in. And they make a lot of dick jokes, because comedy is a thruway to the heart.In this episode, we discuss:What "grape culture" actually means–and why Toni and Seraphina call it thatTheir show, Grape Culture, and the powerful audience reactions it's inspiredThe role comedy plays in portraying and processing collective trauma How somatic work helps us understand the impact grape culture has and move towards healingThis episode is about understanding how pervasive our culture of domination is. But it’s also about how we can re-imagine a world where consent and embodiment become the norm.Show NotesBothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction at https://www.botheredstories.com/ and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Grape Culture: https://www.grapeculturehealing.com/Gnarly Girls Podcast: https://www.grapeculturehealing.com/podcastToni Nagy: https://www.toninagy.com/Seraphina Supernova: https://www.bloodboneandhoney.com/Bees Knees Burlesque: https://beeskneesbabes.com/

As part of our Pride series, queer sex educator and journalist Gabrielle Kassel shares how sex education has evolved in the last decade, how it shapes our understanding of desire, and how to think about terms like sexuality and queer. She dives into the “Weird Girl” smut that she enjoys (spoiler: more body fluids, please) and how erotica can be a tool for language and self-discovery.In this episode, Gabby and Allison discuss: • What "queer" means to Gabby and why sexuality is more expansive than we think • How smut gives us language to communicate desire and fantasy • How algorithms, advertising, and AI are reshaping access to sex educationThis episode is about access to pleasure and the role technology and capitalism play in sex education. It’s also a celebration of smut (especially the weird kind!) and a deep dive into how reading romance and erotica can translate into more empowered sex in real life. Show Notes Bothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction (with plenty of queer stories!) at botheredstories.com and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.Gabrielle KasselWebsiteAnd find her work on Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Men's Health, and GQ. 

Why are readers obsessed with MM romance? Beloved authors Lucy Lennox and Clare London join us to explore the genre’s rising popularity and why gay romance resonates so deeply. We discuss:  What draws women to MM stories: the gender stereotypes women shed when both protagonists are male, the appeal of seeing men portrayed as emotionally engaged partners, and the double standard inherent in scrutinizing women’s reading choices   The evolution of MM romance over the last decade and the impact Heated Rivalry had on it becoming more mainstreamThe personal realities of building careers in a genre that wasn’t widely understood, and Lucy’s fears about her children being bullied for it Plus: Clare and Lucy’s response to the question MM writers hear most often: How can women write MM romance?This episode is about readership, representation, community, and how MM romance went from niche genre to cultural conversation.Show Notes:Bothered StoriesSign up to read our high heat, smutty fiction (with plenty of queer stories!) at botheredstories.com and use code SMUTTALKS for 25% off annual membership.LucyLucy's websiteLucy’s newsletter: subscribe to her newsletter for free stories and books! Lucy’s facebookLucy’s Lair (Facebook reader’s group)Pre-order her new stand alone book Baby Girl New to Lucy? Start with Borrowing BlueClareClare’s websiteClare’s newsletter: subscribe for giveaways!Clare’s facebook Writing as Stella Shaw (rent boy romance)

What actually goes into creating great erotica?In this behind-the-scenes episode, we sit down with the Chief Editor of Bothered Stories to unpack the full journey—from submission to final story. We get into how pieces are vetted, what separates a good story from a standout one, and the editorial decisions that shape what gets published.We also dive into the craft itself: what makes a sex scene hot (and what makes it fall flat), how to write with both heat and substance, and why the best erotica is about far more than what body parts move where.Beyond the writing, we talk about intention—specifically, the importance of elevating marginalized voices in this genre, and how Bothered Stories is actively working to expand who gets to be seen, heard, and desired in erotic storytelling.Whether you’re a writer, a reader, or you're just curious about it all, this episode pulls back the curtain on how erotica—and Bothered Stories—really works.