What happens when you stop playing by the world’s rules and start living unapologetically on your own terms? For my next guest on On Becoming, it’s not about “breaking the rules”—it’s about smashing the outdated systems that were never built for us in the first place. Whether she’s rethinking how we view sex, reshaping power dynamics, or fighting to overhaul outdated payment systems, Cindy is rewriting the world through a female lens. In this episode, Cindy opens up about her radical journey from the male-dominated world of advertising to becoming a pioneering voice in sextech, and why she believes the world will be a better place when it’s 50-50 equally led, managed, and designed by women.

About Cindy Gallop:

Cindy Gallop is a British-Chinese entrepreneur, advertising veteran, and fearless leader in the fight for sex positivity and gender equality. After founding the U.S. office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in 1998, she went on to win Advertising Woman of the Year in 2003. Her career took a major pivot after a TED Talk in 2009 that went viral, launching her groundbreaking platform MakeLoveNotPorn, which promotes real, consensual sex as a counter-narrative to mainstream porn. But MakeLoveNotPorn is just the start. Cindy’s ecosystem has grown to include MakeLoveNotPorn Academy for sex education, a FinTech solution to ensure fair payment systems for sextech businesses, and an ad tech platform for ethical advertising. She’s even working on an AI tool to visualize and model real consent—something the world desperately needs!

In this episode, we’ll explore:

•The birth of MakeLoveNotPorn and how dating younger men casually opened Cindy’s eyes to the real impact of porn as sex education.

•Why she’s pushing for a 50-50 world where women lead, manage, and design systems of power.

•The roadblocks Cindy faces trying to fund MakeLoveNotPorn and how she’s tackling systemic barriers with radical solutions.

•Why Cindy believes that open, honest conversations about sex can change everything from relationships to power dynamics in the workplace.

• Why Cindy’s recipe for self-care will make every married mom weep with envy. :)

This conversation is not just about sex or power—it’s about flipping the system, breaking down barriers, and living unapologetically in a world designed through a female lens.

Links and mentions:

•Cindy’s Instagram

•MakeLoveNotPorn

•WeFundHer

Connect with me:

•Book a discovery call

•Subscribe to my Substack

•Leave a message on Speakpipe

•Follow me on Instagram

Credits: Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner; Editing Matthew Jordan; Music © Fabrice Fortin; Photo: Virginie Faucher

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