Today brings a vulnerable and honest conversation about the prevalence of penetrative sex in romance, and what happens if a writer decides to create a character with pelvic floor pain, for whom that kind of sex isn’t possible? Let’s find out!

Jane Buehler’s new book, The Fire Apprentice, is out this week, and we’re going to talk about the book, and the series. But we’re also talking about the asexual spectrum, body changes from menopause, reactive desire, and kegels!

Content Advisory: We are talking about pelvic floor, vaginismus, vulvodynia, asexuality and demisexuality, effective performance of kegels, sexual trauma, traumatic effects of bullying, and the paltry state of scientific research into conditions that affect people with vulvas and vaginas.

You can find Jane Buehler at her website!

We also mentioned:

• Our Reg League on books with vaginismus
• A Reddit r/RomanceBooks thread on similar recs 
• Britain by Narrowboat (YouTube)
• Cruising the Cut (YouTube)
• Great Canal Journeys (YouTube)
• Episodes with Jen Gunter:
• 367. The Vagina Bible, Shoes, and Other Essentials: A Conversation with Dr. Jen Gunter
• 459. Facts, Feminism, and Menopause with Dr. Jen Gunter
• JamiGold.com: Romance Beats vs the 12 Stages of Intimacy 
• Pelvic Floor Biofeedback

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.