Welcome to episode 345 of Sexology Podcast! Today I am delighted to be speaking with Leigh Cowart. In this episode, we discuss the fascinating world of temperature play and its role in enhancing sensation and pleasure during erotic encounters. Temperature play involves using heat and cold as sensory and emotional intensifiers, ranging from ice cubes, hot wax, fire play, to getting in and out of a hot tub or experiencing cold rain. 

 

Leigh Cowart is a researcher and journalist with more than ten years of experience. They have been writing for Popular Science since 2021. They cover bodies, brains, and what science can teach us about our inner lives.  

  

Cowart’s work has appeared in The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Buzzfeed News, Hazlitt, Wired, and other outlets. Their book, Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose, has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and others. Before becoming a journalist, Cowart was immersed academia, doing research on subjects like sexual dimorphism in leaf-nosed bats and resource allocation in flowers. 

  

Currently, their principal area of interest involves the intersection of inner life and the practical existence of being a body. Cowart’s recent book is an exploration of all the ways humans engage in pain on purpose, why we do it, and what we get out of it. According to The Wall Street Journal, “[t]here’s possibly no one alive more qualified to write about pain than Leigh Cowart.” 

    

In this episode, you will hear: 

 

• How temperature play involves using heat and cold as a sensory intensifier 
• It can include using ice cubes, hot wax, fire play 
• Entry-level practices for temperature play  
• Why safety and trust with a partner are important for exploring temperature play 
• Looking at various products and materials can be used for temperature play 
• Why communication and consent are crucial in temperature play 
• How Ice play, in particular, can be intense and erotic 
• Why education is essential for safe and enjoyable temperature play 
• Looking at Leigh’s book "Hurt So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose" 

 

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