Podcast appearances and mentions of Alicia M Walker

Why are BDSM practitioners so happy? It turns out, BDSM isn't just about whips and chains.With engaging stories and a warm, conversational tone, Bound by BDSM: Unexpected Lessons for Building a Happier Life (Bloomsbury Acacdemic, 2025) by Dr. Alicia M. Walker and Dr. Arielle Kuperberg reveals how BDSM practitioners use clear boundaries, enthusiastic consent, open dialogue, and a strong community to create fulfilling relationships and build richer, more intentional lives. Drawing on research from the largest scientific study of BDSM ever conducted, Alicia Walker and Arielle Kuperberg demonstrate that the BDSM community's approach to trust and vulnerability offers a valuable model for building intimacy and fostering authentic connections. BDSM also allows practitioners to exercise their creativity and break the mold - whether it comes to trying out new practices in the bedroom or bending ideas about gender.Whether you're vanilla, kinky, or just here for the life advice, this book -packed with humor and insight-is a refreshingly open-minded guide to building stronger relationships, deeper intimacy, and a more intentional approach to connection. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Why are BDSM practitioners so happy? It turns out, BDSM isn't just about whips and chains.With engaging stories and a warm, conversational tone, Bound by BDSM: Unexpected Lessons for Building a Happier Life (Bloomsbury Acacdemic, 2025) by Dr. Alicia M. Walker and Dr. Arielle Kuperberg reveals how BDSM practitioners use clear boundaries, enthusiastic consent, open dialogue, and a strong community to create fulfilling relationships and build richer, more intentional lives. Drawing on research from the largest scientific study of BDSM ever conducted, Alicia Walker and Arielle Kuperberg demonstrate that the BDSM community's approach to trust and vulnerability offers a valuable model for building intimacy and fostering authentic connections. BDSM also allows practitioners to exercise their creativity and break the mold - whether it comes to trying out new practices in the bedroom or bending ideas about gender.Whether you're vanilla, kinky, or just here for the life advice, this book -packed with humor and insight-is a refreshingly open-minded guide to building stronger relationships, deeper intimacy, and a more intentional approach to connection. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of space, behavior, and identity. He is currently conducting research about: escape rooms, the use of urban design in downtown historical neighborhoods of rural communities, and what it means for college students to belong in college and university. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his personal website, Google Scholar, Bluesky (@professorjohnst.bsky.social), Twitter (@ProfessorJohnst), or by email (johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

We're joined by Alicia M. Walker and Arielle Kuperberg, authors of Bound by BDSM: Unexpected Lessons for Building a Happier Life. Their groundbreaking book dives into the ways BDSM can teach us about trust, communication, vulnerability, and joy — lessons that extend far beyond the dungeon.We talk with Alicia and Arielle about what inspired their research, the surprising truths they uncovered, and why mainstream conversations about kink so often miss the bigger picture. You'll hear how BDSM practices can foster deeper intimacy, improve relationships, and even reshape how we approach everyday life.If you've ever wondered what kink can teach us about being human, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Get the book on Amazon at https://a.co/d/fUktGBGConnect with Alicia at https://www.alicia-walker.com/Connect with Arielle at https://sites.google.com/site/arielletk/homeVisit us at pinkkinkpodcast.comAffiliates - SireDonLeather.com (use code PINKKINK to save 10% on your order) Obedienceapp.com/pinkkink for a 20% discountVisit https://linktr.ee/pinkkinkpodcast for links to our Patreon, Pink Kink Boutique, Pink Kink Institute, social media accounts and more!

Have you ever wished you could sit down with a cheater (whether your partner or somebody else) and ask them what the heck was going on in their minds when they cheated? Why they did it, what they thought, or what it said about them or you? Now you can. In this mind-blowing interview you will learn why men cheat, especially when they love their partners. Using a sample collected from the online dating service Ashley Madison, Alicia M. Walker interviewed men about their experiences and perceptions regarding their participation in infidelity. What she found was as fascinating as it was unexpected! Contrary to gendered social scripts, the men in this study described their motivations for outside partnerships that were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety, but rather as an outlet to soothe their bruised egos, receive attention and validation and to fight their feelings of emasculation. Top take-a-ways: Deconstructing why men who want to stay married and keep their primary partnership, seek out affairs. How even the best primary partnerships sow seeds of self-doubt and feelings of emasculation in men. Relationship management, and why men perceive partners who aren't helping them understand and process their emotions as rejection. The secret needs of men, and why they are “bottomless pits of need” who need their egos pumped up more often than anyone might imagine! Alicia M. Walker, PhD is an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University. Like many sociologists, her educational background is varied. Before receiving her PhD in sociology at the University of Kentucky, Walker earned a MEd in educational leadership from Texas State University, and a BA in English from the University of Tampa. She appreciates an interdisciplinary focus and collaboration. Walker is a microsociologist, whose work focuses on intimate sexual relationships, sexual identity and behavior, and gender. Specifically, her work looks at the social construction of the sexual self, the ways we make sense of ourselves as sexual beings, the ways we navigate our sexual worlds, and our lived experiences as sexual beings. Walker has particular interest in closeted sexual behaviors and online initiation of sexual relationships. She is credited with creating a sociology of infidelity. Walker's second book focuses on men's experiences with infidelity called Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, and Infidelity published by Palgrave-Macmillan. This book examines men's experiences with participation in outside partnerships. Chasing Masculinity has been discussed in The Sun, Vice, The Globe and Mail, and Medium, among others. Her debut monograph, The Secret Life of the Cheating Wife: Power, Pragmatism, and Pleasure in Women's Infidelity, is available in hardcover now. The Secret Life of the Cheating Wife is about women's navigation of outside partnerships alongside primary partnerships, and gives voices to women's lived experiences.  The book has been discussed in articles published in The New York Times and CNN, among others. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family (adult children, husband, and mother) with whom she is close, and her beloved rescue dog, Harvey, whom she and her daughter found abandoned at a gas station as a puppy. (Adopt, don't shop!) She also enjoys traveling, great movies, playing cards, and collecting statues of the goddesses of love, marriage, and fertility of various cultures (as they relate to her work). Learn more at: https://www.alicia-walker.com/ Lora Cheadle is an infidelity survivor and Betrayal Recovery Coach who uses the concepts in burlesque to help women reclaim their identity and self-worth after betrayal so they can untangle from the past, overcome obsessive thoughts, and learn to trust themselves again so they can move forward with confidence, embrace their sexy, and create a life they love! Download your Sparkle After Betrayal Recovery Guide at www.BetrayalRecoveryGuide.com and start reclaiming yourself and your life today!   Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this podcast! Take charge of your mental health and get 10% off your first month of therapy at https://BetterHelp.com/FLAUNT  

Men, Validation & Infidelity with Alicia M. Walker, Phd Have you ever wished you could sit down with a cheater (whether your partner or somebody else) and ask them what the heck was going on in their minds when they cheated? Why they did it, what they thought, or what it said about them or you? Now you can. Using a sample collected from the online dating service Ashley Madison, Alicia M. Walker interviewed men about their experiences and perceptions regarding their participation in infidelity. What she found was as fascinating as it was unexpected! Contrary to gendered social scripts, the men in this study described their motivations for outside partnerships that were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety, but rather as an outlet to soothe their bruised egos, receive attention and validation and to fight their feelings of emasculation. Top take-a-ways: Deconstructing why men who want to stay married and keep their primary partnership, seek out affairs. How even the best primary partnerships sow seeds of self-doubt and feelings of emasculation in men. Relationship management, and why men perceive partners who aren't helping them understand and process their emotions as rejection. The secret needs of men, and why they are “bottomless pits of need” who need their egos pumped up more often than anyone might imagine! Alicia M. Walker, PhD is an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University. Like many sociologists, her educational background is varied. Before receiving her PhD in sociology at the University of Kentucky, Walker earned a MEd in educational leadership from Texas State University, and a BA in English from the University of Tampa. She appreciates an interdisciplinary focus and collaboration.   Walker is a microsociologist, whose work focuses on intimate sexual relationships, sexual identity and behavior, and gender. Specifically, her work looks at the social construction of the sexual self, the ways we make sense of ourselves as sexual beings, the ways we navigate our sexual worlds, and our lived experiences as sexual beings. Walker has particular interest in closeted sexual behaviors and online initiation of sexual relationships. She is credited with creating a sociology of infidelity. Walker's second book focuses on men's experiences with infidelity called Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, and Infidelity published by Palgrave-Macmillan. This book examines men's experiences with participation in outside partnerships. Chasing Masculinity has been discussed in The Sun, Vice, The Globe and Mail, and Medium, among others. Her debut monograph, The Secret Life of the Cheating Wife: Power, Pragmatism, and Pleasure in Women's Infidelity, is available in hardcover now. The Secret Life of the Cheating Wife is about women's navigation of outside partnerships alongside primary partnerships, and gives voices to women's lived experiences.  The book has been discussed in articles published in The New York Times and CNN, among others. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family (adult children, husband, and mother) with whom she is close, and her beloved rescue dog, Harvey, whom she and her daughter found abandoned at a gas station as a puppy. (Adopt, don't shop!) She also enjoys traveling, great movies, playing cards, and collecting statues of the goddesses of love, marriage, and fertility of various cultures (as they relate to her work). Learn more at: https://www.alicia-walker.com/ BONUS! Grab a copy of your Betrayal Recovery Tool Kit, with a chapter of Lora's book, FLAUNT! Drop Your Cover and Reveal Your Smart, Sexy, and Spiritual Self on re-writing the screenplay of your life, a beautiful, downloadable journal, and a guided meditation. All for $19.99. Snap it up here! https://loracheadle.com/product/infidelity/ Lora Cheadle is an infidelity survivor who uses the concepts in burlesque to help women reclaim their identity and self-worth after betrayal so they can move forward with confidence, embrace their sexy, and create a life they love! Download your Sparkle After Betrayal Recovery Guide at www.BetrayalRecoveryGuide.com and start reclaiming yourself and your life today! Learn more at www.loracheadle.com and follow me across all social!  Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this podcast! Take charge of your mental health and get 10% off your first month of therapy at https://BetterHelp.com/FLAUNT  FLAUNT! is brought to you by Revel the new kind of social platform built exclusively for women over 40. Members make connections at virtual and in-real-life events, start conversations from super serious to silly, and learn from experts on topics from financial wellness for women, managing menopause, and dozens more. Explore our community of like minded, smart, fabulous, and fun women at hellorevel.com/flaunt.

Alicia M. Walker’s new book Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, Infidelity (Palgrave MacMillan) provides an insider glimpse of the experiences and perceptions that men have regarding their participation in infidelity. Walker offers a personal view of the inner workings of her participants’ most intimate relationships, as well as the way the men in her study negotiate marriages that fall short of their expectations. She collected her sample from an online dating service called Ashley Madison and her findings from this study contradicted the normalized gendered social scripts. The motivations for the men in this study to seek outside partnerships were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety. Rather, the men in her study described their relationships as an outlet to receive emotional support that they did not receive from their primary partnership. Their romantic partners provided them with attention and validation that was not provided by their primary partnership. Many of the men shared that their primary partners made them feel emasculated. Their outside partners provided support and praise, and aid in the processing of complex emotions. This in-depth analysis provides a unique insight into the experiences that men have with sexuality and masculinity, and will interesting to those who seek to understand male infidelity from a sociological perspective that has not been widely explored before. One of the reviewers for this book declared that Dr. Walker has created a new “Sociology of Infidelity”. Alicia M. Walker, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. His most recent research, "The Queen and Her Royal Court: A Content Analysis of Doing Gender at a Tulip Queen Pageant", was published in Gender Issues Journal. He researches culture, social identity, and collective representation as it is presented in everyday social interactions. You can learn more about him on his website, Google Scholar, follow him on Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or email him at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alicia M. Walker’s new book Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, Infidelity (Palgrave MacMillan) provides an insider glimpse of the experiences and perceptions that men have regarding their participation in infidelity. Walker offers a personal view of the inner workings of her participants’ most intimate relationships, as well as the way the men in her study negotiate marriages that fall short of their expectations. She collected her sample from an online dating service called Ashley Madison and her findings from this study contradicted the normalized gendered social scripts. The motivations for the men in this study to seek outside partnerships were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety. Rather, the men in her study described their relationships as an outlet to receive emotional support that they did not receive from their primary partnership. Their romantic partners provided them with attention and validation that was not provided by their primary partnership. Many of the men shared that their primary partners made them feel emasculated. Their outside partners provided support and praise, and aid in the processing of complex emotions. This in-depth analysis provides a unique insight into the experiences that men have with sexuality and masculinity, and will interesting to those who seek to understand male infidelity from a sociological perspective that has not been widely explored before. One of the reviewers for this book declared that Dr. Walker has created a new “Sociology of Infidelity”. Alicia M. Walker, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. His most recent research, "The Queen and Her Royal Court: A Content Analysis of Doing Gender at a Tulip Queen Pageant", was published in Gender Issues Journal. He researches culture, social identity, and collective representation as it is presented in everyday social interactions. You can learn more about him on his website, Google Scholar, follow him on Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or email him at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alicia M. Walker’s new book Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, Infidelity (Palgrave MacMillan) provides an insider glimpse of the experiences and perceptions that men have regarding their participation in infidelity. Walker offers a personal view of the inner workings of her participants’ most intimate relationships, as well as the way the men in her study negotiate marriages that fall short of their expectations. She collected her sample from an online dating service called Ashley Madison and her findings from this study contradicted the normalized gendered social scripts. The motivations for the men in this study to seek outside partnerships were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety. Rather, the men in her study described their relationships as an outlet to receive emotional support that they did not receive from their primary partnership. Their romantic partners provided them with attention and validation that was not provided by their primary partnership. Many of the men shared that their primary partners made them feel emasculated. Their outside partners provided support and praise, and aid in the processing of complex emotions. This in-depth analysis provides a unique insight into the experiences that men have with sexuality and masculinity, and will interesting to those who seek to understand male infidelity from a sociological perspective that has not been widely explored before. One of the reviewers for this book declared that Dr. Walker has created a new “Sociology of Infidelity”. Alicia M. Walker, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. His most recent research, "The Queen and Her Royal Court: A Content Analysis of Doing Gender at a Tulip Queen Pageant", was published in Gender Issues Journal. He researches culture, social identity, and collective representation as it is presented in everyday social interactions. You can learn more about him on his website, Google Scholar, follow him on Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or email him at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alicia M. Walker’s new book Chasing Masculinity: Men, Validation, Infidelity (Palgrave MacMillan) provides an insider glimpse of the experiences and perceptions that men have regarding their participation in infidelity. Walker offers a personal view of the inner workings of her participants’ most intimate relationships, as well as the way the men in her study negotiate marriages that fall short of their expectations. She collected her sample from an online dating service called Ashley Madison and her findings from this study contradicted the normalized gendered social scripts. The motivations for the men in this study to seek outside partnerships were not rooted in the desire for sexual pleasure or variety. Rather, the men in her study described their relationships as an outlet to receive emotional support that they did not receive from their primary partnership. Their romantic partners provided them with attention and validation that was not provided by their primary partnership. Many of the men shared that their primary partners made them feel emasculated. Their outside partners provided support and praise, and aid in the processing of complex emotions. This in-depth analysis provides a unique insight into the experiences that men have with sexuality and masculinity, and will interesting to those who seek to understand male infidelity from a sociological perspective that has not been widely explored before. One of the reviewers for this book declared that Dr. Walker has created a new “Sociology of Infidelity”. Alicia M. Walker, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University. Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. His most recent research, "The Queen and Her Royal Court: A Content Analysis of Doing Gender at a Tulip Queen Pageant", was published in Gender Issues Journal. He researches culture, social identity, and collective representation as it is presented in everyday social interactions. You can learn more about him on his website, Google Scholar, follow him on Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or email him at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You Do You is the podcast that wants you to enjoy your love life. Brought to you by Eligible Magazine, hosts Kaley and Sarah discuss the weird and wonderful world of dating and relationships. From first dates to foreplay, no topic is off-limits for these uproarious ladies. Subscribe to make Sarah and Kaley your dating spirit guides! Theme music is "Tag You're It," by The Whole Other Chat with us! Twitter: @sarahsahagian @kaleyames Instagram: kaleyames_ And our lovely guest! Website: https://www.alicia-walker.com/