Smut Talks by Bothered Stories

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/