Podcasts about Cindy Gallop

This week's episode is with podcaster, coach, and author, Lucy Meggeson, on how to thrive as a single woman without kids.  You'll hear Keltie and Lucy discuss... Lucy's journey to embracing her identity as a single, childfree woman.  Societal perceptions of being single and childless, and why these are so often wrong. The need for intentional living and finding fulfillment beyond traditional roles. The joys of being single and childfree and the importance of celebrating this life path.  The importance of mindset in personal growth and the journey to embracing a single and childfree life.  As mentioned in the show: Lucy's website: www.lucymeggeson.com Find Lucy on Instagram at @thrivesolowithlucymeggeson Listen to Thrive Solo with Lucy Meggeson on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Purchase Lucy's new book, Thrive Solo / Shiny Happy Singles, here: lucymeggeson.com/book About Lucy: Lucy Meggeson worked in production at BBC Radio 2 for several years before becoming the host and producer of her own podcast, Thrive Solo (formerly Spinsterhood Reimagined) — a podcast that celebrates all things single, childfree, and personal growth. She's a regular on Jo Good's BBC Radio London show and has been a guest on various other radio and podcasts, including Jeremy Vine's BBC Radio 2 show, Peter McGraw's 'Solo: The Single Person's Guide to a Remarkable Life', and Shani Silver's 'A Single Serving Podcast'. Lucy has had many, many amazing guests on her podcast including Cindy Gallop, Jody Day, Bella DePaulo, Shani Silver, Heidi Clements, Matt Cooke, Nicola Slawson, Jo Good, Peter McGraw, Jill Stark, Polly Vernon, Kate Lister and Ruby Warrington. Lucy also runs her own membership for single women, Thrive Solo. Usually based in her flat in south-west London, she is currently living in Dorset, with her beloved cat, Johnny Depp. __ Join our an upcoming Kids or Childfree workshop: kidsorchildfree.com/workshop Check out our free resources here, or at kidsorchildfree.com/free-resources And don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review The Kids or Childfree Podcast if you love what you're hearing! You can leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or a rating on Spotify. Find us online at www.kidsorchildfree.com. Instagram: www.instagram.com/kidsorchildfree  

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the Embracing "Only" podcast, we spotlight a powerful moment from episode 70 with guest Cindy Gallop. What happens when your values no longer align with your workplace? Cindy shares insight on walking away, speaking up, and building a career rooted in authenticity and impact.Cindy is a bold entrepreneur, brand innovator, and advocate for social change with over 30 years in advertising. Known for her disruptive style, she calls herself the Michael Bay of business.This short clip features one of the most impactful learning moments from a past episode. You can listen to the full episode (filled with more wisdom) here: Episode 70: Disrupting the Status Quo.Key Discussion Points:01:00 The Value of Being Your Own Filter: When you are your own filter and put what you are out there, you will attract your tribe and you'll keep away the people who are not for you.03:37 Aligning with Your Values (As an Individual and a Business): When businesses come together with their consumers and employees based on shared values, they can make things happen that will benefit consumers, employees, society, and the company.06:55 Knowing the Right Time to Leave a Job: Working at a company that is not in alignment with your values will cause you stress. This means it's time to get out.09:52 Overcoming Fear by Taking Action: The micro-action that will have the single biggest positive effect on your life is saying what you think. This is how you bring your value to the table and become your own filter.In Summary: Cindy emphasizes the power of authenticity, value alignment, and fearless self-expression in both life and work. She encourages individuals to be their own filter and live their values unapologetically.Resources from this episode:Follow Cindy on LinkedIn or visit her website. You can support Cindy Gallpo's mission by making a tax-deductible donation to Inspire Access x MLNP—an initiative championing equity and access in business. Whether you're a major investor or simply passionate about real change, we highly encourage you to contribute.

Dear wonderful readers,Today, we have the ultimate treat for you all! This week, two shameless sex writers on Substack sat down to share our personal experiences of what it's really like to publish the details of our intimate lives on the internet.Share the steam with a spicy-minded friend

In this powerful episode of Three Shades Deeper, we sit down with the incomparable Cindy Gallop—advertising icon, entrepreneur, and founder of the groundbreaking platform MakeLoveNotPorn (https://makelovenotporn.tv). Known for speaking boldly about sex, Cindy shares how she “accidentally” got into porn—not the industry, but the mission to revolutionize how we think about it. Dating younger men led Cindy to discover a troubling gap between porn fantasy and real-world sex. Frustrated by the lack of practical, healthy sex education, she took action by launching MakeLoveNotPorn—a site that showcases real people having real sex, for the purpose of education, not titillation. We dive into:     •    Cindy's origin story and what inspired her to create a sex-positive business     •    The disconnect between mainstream porn and intimate reality     •    The role of MakeLoveNotPorn in normalizing open conversations around sex     •    How we can all be part of changing the narrative This episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about sextech, intimacy, and reshaping the way we talk about sex in the digital age. Click Here For A Special Offer!!! LINKS: Three Shades Of Grey | Website Make Love Not Porn | Website Cindy's Viral Ted Talk | YouTube Make Love Not Porn Academy SOCIALS: Anthony's Instagram Pinky's Instagram Ava's Instagram Cindy's Twitter (X.com)  

 Looks very controversial but it works…A female computer scientist analyzed online dating at OkCupid from 10 Millions of daters.She analyzed all of the successful dating conversations between 2013 and 2018: 1.) 61% of conversations take place between an older man and a younger woman, and in almost half of them, the age gap is at least five years older. 2.) The older-woman-younger-man combo is significantly rarer (appearing in less than one-third of all conversations), and in only 12% of these is the woman at least five years older.3.) Men start 80% of conversations on OkCupid, and they tend to message younger women. The older men get the women, so younger the women are 4.) Women, on the other hand, message and respond most often to men about their own age. Once they reach 35, women actually respond more often to younger guys. But because men are usually the conversation starters, the older-man-younger-woman paradigm prevails.5.)But when women message men, they're actually more likely to get a response from younger men than they are from older ones. A 40-year-old woman will have better luck messaging a 25-year-old man (60% reply rate)   than a 55-year-old one (36% reply rate), according to the data. And a 30-year-old man is more likely to respond to a message from a 50-year-old woman than to a message from any other age group. When women make the first move, the age gap dating norm is reversed.For instance: Trevor, a 28-year-old mathematician,  “Well to be honest,” said Trevor, “I usually go for older women. They have more interesting jobs and hobbies, and their profiles are just better… no stupid selfie-only profiles.”For instance me. I had a tough life and very strenuous study with awful health problems. Until 25 years I was a virgin… And the dating with women didn't work out.So I have made the group Sexual Awareness in the Bhagwan/Osho scene… And then I was together with a 50 years old teacher who had already 4 kids in the same age as me… So what, she wanted sex like crazy, and I was capable ..,, And the relationship was very relaxed or the most relaxed relationship I ever had with a woman… There are a lot of those 50-year-old women who really clean up with the 20-year-old dudes. To be fair, very few 50-year-old women (fewer than 1%) actually message men this young, but when they do, they kill it.  In an interview, Cindy Gallop, the 57-year-old founder of MakeLoveNotPorn.com who openly champions the benefits of women dating younger men. My Video: Older women should date younger men! https://youtu.be/QJg89MdItxkMy Audio: https://divinesuccess.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/Podcast.B/Older-women-should-date-younger-men.mp3

Cindy Gallop likes to blow shit up. She's one of the most sassy, outspoken and well known experts in the advertising industry. A tireless supporter and fighter for women being promoted and paid as much as men in advertising, a brand and business innovator, consultant and speaker and more recently, founder & CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn - the world's first and only user-generated, human-curated social sex video sharing platform, socialising and normalising sex to make it easier for everyone to talk about, openly and honestly. In this very special episode, Jac asks Cindy why she's so passionate about a number of things, what really pisses her off, how she maintains the energy to continually fight for equality and diversity when it comes to equal pay, getting women promoted and funded.  Cindy shares why she's so confident and what we all need to do to grow our confidence, the sooner the better. Cindy Gallop very much epitomises keeping it real and we reckon she's a real keeper!Make Love Not Porn investment link: https://wefunder.com/makelovenotpornCindy's Linked In profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_appCindy's Advice on Women & Pay: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSrcWxypY/ ------Find out more about our Finders Keepers event in Fijihttps://tinyurl.com/JacandRalFinderskeeperss---------------------------------------------------------New Episode Every Monday Follow the showhttps://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPgFollow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/Follow Ralhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

Introduction

Curious about sextech's growing impact on wellness? In this episode of Wellness as a Way of Life, Megan Swan interviews Cindy Gallop, the trailblazing 'godmother of sextech,' who reveals how this emerging industry is transforming our approach to sexual health and wellness.Key Points Discussed:Defining SexTech: Cindy Gallop explains the origin and evolution of the term sextech and its potential as a trillion-dollar category.MakeLoveNotPorn: Understanding the platform's role in promoting healthy sexual values and real-world sex education.The Social Impact: How MakeLoveNotPorn is helping end rape culture and transform sexual attitudes through real-world demonstrations. Strategies for fostering better sexual values and behavior to create a healthier social narrative around healthy, consensual sex.Sex Education in the Digital Age: Discussing the importance of early and open conversations about sex and providing resources like the MakeLoveNotPorn Academy.Why We Need Women Shaping the Future of SexTech: How female leadership drives safety, healthy sexual values, innovation and inclusivity in the industry.TLDR: Cindy Gallop shares how her platform MakeLoveNotPorn is revolutionizing sexual wellness by promoting healthy values, providing real-world education, and expanding the boundaries of sextech.Don't miss this candid conversation about the future of sexual wellness and technology!Thank you for listening!When you are listening please take a screenshot and share it on social media and tag me @meganswanwellness! We would really appreciate it.Connect with Megan Swan http://www.instagram.com/meganswanwellnesshttp://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-swan-wellnesswww.meganswanwellness.comConnect with Cindy Gallop or Investhttps://makelovenotporn.tv/Micro-invest https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/Watch her TED talkhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop/Keywords sextech, female founders, sexual values, MakeLoveNotPorn, sex education, ending rape culture, real-world sex demonstration, parental guidance, social media barriers, fundraising challenges, wellness journey, redefining culture, healthy relationships, open conversations, communication, innovation, empowerment, wellness podcast, Cindy Gallop, Megan Swan.#SexTech #WellnessPodcast #SexualWellness #CindyGallop #MakeLoveNotPorn

This week's guest is the very definition of thriving solo. Cindy Gallop is a trailblazer for single, child-free living. She's torn up the rule book, rejected outdated societal expectations, and actively celebrates her solo life. She's also someone who is open about the fun she's having as an older woman dating younger men casually for sex – a trend she says is the relationship model of the future. In this episode, she talks to Jill about why she loves being unmarried and child-free and the liberation she finds in her own company. An entrepreneur and a social disruptor, Cindy describes herself as the ‘Michael Bay of business' because she likes to blow things up. As the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, Cindy's visionary reimagining of the porn industry has challenged misogynistic and unrealistic depictions of sex. It's a movement that promotes healthy, consensual and authentic sexual behaviour that empowers women and prioritises connection and open communication. Cindy also talks about her unique perspective on ageing and loving her body, and how she's living life unapologetically on her own terms. You can follow Cindy on Instagram @cindygallop or follow @makelovenotporn, and check out her website here. To stay in touch with Well Enough Alone, you can follow us on Instagram @wellenoughalonepod or @jillstark__ WellEnough Alone is a Spare Room production. Our producers are Kieran Simpson andTrent Bartlett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get early access to new episodes by subscribing on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we investigate the $3 billion career coaching industry that's exploded to 70,000 coaches worldwide. From 23-year-olds giving life advice to vague promises about "audacious visions," we examine what happens when professionals like Jamie spend $6,000 on advice like "eat a healthy breakfast" only to lose their job anyway. With advertising veteran Cindy Gallop, we explore whether the problem is really you needing "fixing" or just your work environment, and why sometimes the best career guidance doesn't come from the person charging by the hour. Hosts: Matt Sunbulli https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/ https://www.firstdraft.vc Aaron Calafato Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Leah Ova Follow Leah on TikTok Editorial: Matt Sunbulli Brooks Borden Conor Bezane Aaron Calafato Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt Research: Zaid Safe Matt Sunbulli Aaron Calafato

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.    This week I'm bringing back an episode with the wonderful Cindy Gallop. Cindy has over 30 years of experience in brand-building, marketing, and advertising. Cindy took a risk when she entered advertising, and she hasn't stopped taking them since. In 1998 she moved from the UK to New York and began building one of the fastest-growing agencies in Europe's US branch, the New York office of Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH). Four years later, BBH US was named Ad Week's Eastern Agency of the Year, and in 2003 Cindy was named Advertising Woman of the Year.  In 2005 she resigned as Chairman of BBH to pursue other projects. She continues to work in advertising and marketing, but is also tending to other fascinating projects of her own as well. At TED 2009, she launched MakeLoveNotPorn, she is the founder and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld, a co-action software that enables brands to implement the business model of the future: Shared Values + Shared Action = Shared Profit (financial and social).    THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… marketers and anyone on a mission to bring more diversity to their organization and brand, and those interested in learning more about the final marketing frontier!   TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE… Cindy Gallop takes us on a journey through the history of advertising and how we can be more mindful of inclusion and being more diverse moving forward. She also tackles the uncomfortable but necessary topics we simply aren't addressing and the importance of the final marketing (in her mind) frontier: sex. Cindy is fearless and thoughtful on the topic and presents compelling evidence on the importance of being more willing to take risks when it comes to advertising and sex.   WHAT I LOVE MOST… Cindy opens up a dialogue that will make us uncomfortable and get us thinking about all of the opportunities yet to be explored in marketing, as well as thinking critically from a health and wellness perspective.   Running time: 34:43   Subscribe on iTunes   Find Tiffani Online: LinkedIn Facebook X   Find Cindy Online: LinkedIn Facebook   Cindy's Websites: Cindy's Website Make Love Not Porn   Cindy's TED Talk  

Send us a textMy guest on the podcast this week is the remarkable Cindy Gallop.Cindy is an entrepreneur, advertising consultant, keynote speaker, and coach. Renowned for her outspoken advocacy, and for living in a truly authentic way, Cindy is the founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, the world's first human-curated, user-generated social sex video sharing platform, socialising sex to promote consent, good sexual values and behaviour. She has revolutionised how we think about sex and relationships by challenging many of the outdated societal norms.She lives in New York City and is single and childfree.Topics that we cover are:Cindy's gradual realisation that she had no desire to get married or have kids;her thoughts on those people who might be happier alone were they not living their lives dictated by societal norms;the time Cindy stripped down to her underwear for an interview at the age of 62, and the positive reactions she received;the ways in which the societal narrative negatively impacts girls and young women growing up;how not wanting to be in love is incredibly time efficient and removes a layer of bullshit from your life;why so many people are stuck in miserable relationships;living authentically, and how Cindy has managed to let go of the fear of what other people think;Cindy's take on the secret to happiness;some of the great benefits of being single;her take on ageing, and how she coined the hashtag ‘say your age';how Cindy encourages women to challenge ageism;her thoughts on the narrative around single women ‘dying alone';what success means to Cindy;how she ended up dating younger men, and her experiences of doing so for many years;how she has discovered that many, many younger men want to date older women — not just sleep with them;MakeLoveNotPorn, Cindy's unique social sex-tech platform designed to promote good sexual values and behaviour;the sex education product, makelovenotporn.academy, that Cindy is also working on for use in schools and homes;how she has struggled for years to get funding to support her business;how each and every video is watched by a member of Cindy's team before it's accepted;how MakeLoveNotPorn is proving to be a revelation for men in particular, where they can be open, emotional and vulnerable around sex.Help fund MakeLoveNotPorn: https://wefunder.com/makelovenotpornFollow Cindy on Instagram: @cindygallopSubscribe to MakeLoveNotPorn: https://makelovenotpor Support the showCheck out my YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSuCiCzcPlAvxzQyHDrLoag Book a FREE 30 minute coaching 'taster' session HERE: https://calendly.com/lucymeggeson/30minute Fancy getting your hands on my FREE PDF 'The Top 10 Most Irritating Questions That Single People Get Asked On The Regular...& How To (Devilishly) Respond'? Head over to: www.lucymeggeson.com Interested in my 1-1 Coaching? Work with me HERE: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/workwithme Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share Follow me on Instagram: @spinsterhoodreimagined Follow me on Twitter: @LucyMeggeson Follow me on LinkedIn: Lucy Meggeson Email me: lucy@lucymeggeson.com And thank you so much for listening!!!

Who says turning 65 means giving up amazing sex and settling for solitude? Just because you don't have a husband or kids doesn't mean life has to be dull—if anything, it means you're free to live exactly how you want.In this episode, I sit down with Cindy Gallop, a trailblazing entrepreneur, advertising consultant, and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, to challenge outdated beliefs about aging, sex, and relationships. Cindy's fearless approach to life proves that getting older isn't about slowing down—it's about embracing what you truly want.We dive into why she chooses to date younger men, why marriage and kids were never part of her plan, and how we can all redefine intimacy, confidence, and pleasure as we age. Plus, Cindy shares how MakeLoveNotPorn is changing the conversation around real-world sex and helping people feel seen, accepted, and empowered. She also dives deep into how MakeLoveNotPorn differs from OnlyFans, the unique challenges they face—especially the uphill battle of advertising bans on social media.It's time to step into a world where sex is shame-free, open, and truly fulfilling. Let's dive in!Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction to Cindy Gallop(01:09) No husband, no kids: Ultimate self-care routine (02:27) Dating younger men—casually, unapologetically, and on her own terms(02:32) The problem with society's lack of role models for aging women(03:07) Body image, menopause, and post-menopausal pride(03:52) Why she proudly shouts her age (65!) and the power of #SayYourAge(04:19) MakeLoveNotPorn: The platform changing how we talk about real-world sex(05:27) The lube: Why there's no such thing as “too much”(06:36) Cindy on finding the confidence to date younger men(07:14) The glaring double standard: Older men vs. older women in dating(08:47) Cindy's revelation: Being every young guy's fantasy(09:25) The rise of niche dating sites—and how to find the right one for you(13:29) What MakeLoveNotPorn celebrates(14:39) How MakeLoveNotPorn stands apart from ethical porn(16:56) The Social Sex Revolution: Why we need to talk about real sex(19:40) OnlyFans vs. MakeLoveNotPorn: The key differences(21:15) Challenges in Promoting MakeLoveNotPorn: Censorship, stigma, and funding struggles(23:30) What makes someone sexy? (24:40) Join and subscribe to MakeLoveNotPorn and Wefunder campaign (25:52) Cindy's definition of sexKaren Bigman, a Sexual Health Alliance Certified Sex Educator, Life, and Menopause Coach, tackles the often-taboo subject of sexuality with a straightforward and candid approach. We explore the intricacies of sex during perimenopause, post-menopause, and andropause, offering insights and support for all those experiencing these transformative phases.This podcast is not intended to give medical advice. Karen Bigman is not a medical professional. For any medical questions or issues, please visit your licensed medical provider.Looking for some fresh perspective on sex in midlife? You can find me here:Email: karen@taboototruth.comWebsite: https://www.taboototruth.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taboototruthYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@taboototruthpodcastAbout the Guest:Cindy Gallop is a trailblazing entrepreneur, advertising

In this engaging conversation, Cindy Gallop shares her journey from a successful marketing career to founding Make Love Not Porn, a platform aimed at normalizing and destigmatizing sex through real-world demonstrations. She discusses the challenges faced in the adult content industry, the importance of communication in sexual relationships, and how her platform has positively impacted countless lives. Gallop emphasizes the need for societal change regarding sexual attitudes and encourages open discussions about sex to foster healthier relationships. In this conversation, Cindy Gallop and Dr. Kelly Casperson discuss the importance of communication in relationships, particularly in the context of sexual health and empowerment. They explore how women can take charge of their sexual experiences, the significance of self-care in midlife, and the vision for Make Love Not Porn as a platform for positive sexual education. They also address the urgent need to combat rape culture and the importance of funding female-led initiatives to create safer online spaces. Takeaways Without good sex ed, porn becomes the sex ed default Cindy Gallop's background in marketing aids her current mission. Make Love Not Porn was born from personal experiences with younger partners. The platform aims to provide real-world sex education. Gallop highlights the challenges of operating in the adult content space. Communication is key to great sexual experiences. The platform has changed many lives and saved relationships. Gallop encourages people to talk about sex openly. She believes in empowering individuals to create change. The importance of complimenting partners to enhance intimacy. Change in sexual attitudes requires collective micro-actions. Communication through demonstration is key in relationships. Women should embrace their sexuality and use tools like vibrators without fear. Lube enhances sexual experiences and should be normalized. Midlife can be a time of empowerment and self-discovery. It's essential to prioritize personal happiness and desires. Women are often conditioned to prioritize others' happiness over their own. Make Love Not Porn aims to change perceptions of consensual sex. Sex education should be accessible and age-appropriate for all. Funding female founders can lead to safer online environments. Creating safe spaces for open conversations about sex is crucial. https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop/ Make Love Not Porn We Funder Sedona in October - only five slots left: https://www.ascendretreats.com/menopause-and-sexual-health-2025 Order my book "You Are Not Broken: Stop "Should-ing" All Over You Sex Life" Listen to my Tedx Talk: Why we need adult sex ed Take my Adult Sex Ed Master Class: My Website Interested in my sexual health and hormone clinic? Starts 2025. Thanks to our sponsor Midi Women's Health. Designed by midlife experts, delivered by experienced clinicians, covered by insurance. Midi is the first virtual care clinic made exclusively for women 40+. Evidence-based treatments. Personalized midlife care. https://www.joinmidi.com Thanks to our sponsor Sprout Pharmaceuticals. To find out if Addyi is right for you, go to addyi.com/notbroken and use code NOTBROKEN for a $10 telemedicine appointment. See Full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide, including Boxed Warning for severe low blood pressure and fainting in certain settings at addyi.com/pi To learn more about Via vaginal moisturizer from Solv Wellness, visit via4her.com for 30% off your first purchase of any product, automatically applied at checkout. For an additional $5 off, use coupon code DRKELLY5. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cindy Gallop, founder of Make Love Not Porn, joins Dr. Rena Malik to explore the distinction between mainstream pornography and real-world sex, emphasizing the importance of communication, body positivity, and normalizing sexual discourse. They discuss how Make Love Not Porn serves as a user-generated, human-curated platform providing educational insights into sex, helping individuals of diverse backgrounds to reclaim their sexuality and improve their intimate relationships. Additionally, Gallop sheds light on the challenges of raising awareness and funding for sex education, while advocating for inclusive, safe spaces that celebrate authentic, loving, and diverse sexual experiences. Become a Member to Receive Exclusive Content: renamalik.supercast.com Schedule an appointment with me: https://www.renamalikmd.com/appointments ▶️Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:17 What Makes Someone Good in Bed? 18:33 Benefits of Pornography 29:42 Opening up About Watching Adult Content Together 34:02 Vaginismus 41:07 Improving Sexual Education 47:14 Life Hack You Wish You Knew Earlier Stay connected with Cindy Gallop on social media for daily insights and updates. Don't miss out—follow her now and check out these links! MakeLoveNotPorn – https://makelovenotporn.tv/ MakeLoveNotPorn Academy – https://www.makelovenotporn.academy/ Support Cindy Gallop Mission, Invest in MakeLoveNotPorn on WeFunder (minimum $100) - https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn Ask anything on Dear Cindy Substack - https://dearcindy.substack.com/ Follow Cindy Gallop on Social Media Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop/ MakeLoveNotPorn IG - https://www.instagram.com/makelovenotporn X - https://x.com/cindygallop MakeLoveNotPorn X - https://x.com/makelovenotporn LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@cindygallop Let's Connect!: WEBSITE: http://www.renamalikmd.com YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@RenaMalikMD INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/RenaMalikMD TWITTER: http://twitter.com/RenaMalikMD FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RenaMalikMD/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renadmalik PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/renamalikmd/ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/RenaMalikMD ------------------------------------------------------ DISCLAIMER: This podcast is purely educational and does not constitute medical advice. The content of this podcast is my personal opinion, and not that of my employer(s). Use of this information is at your own risk. Rena Malik, M.D. will not assume any liability for any direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this podcast including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to turn a groundbreaking idea into a reality, especially when it challenges societal norms and confronts widely held taboos? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, host Marcia Dawood explores this question with her guest, Cindy Gallop, a trailblazer reshaping conversations around sex, pornography, and sexual wellness. Cindy's journey into entrepreneurship is anything but conventional, providing a fascinating look at how one can use business to drive social change.Cindy Gallop is not only a veteran of the advertising world but also a pioneering advocate for open and honest discussions about sex. Her unique background, which combines decades in brand building and personal experiences, led her to found MakeLoveNotPorn, a platform aimed at socializing and normalizing real-world sex. Cindy's venture started as a response to the adverse effects of pornography being the default form of sex education and has since evolved into a crusade for better sexual understanding and education.Listeners are in for an enlightening discussion that dives deep into Cindy's mission to transform societal perceptions through her two interconnected ventures: MakeLoveNotPorn.com and the upcoming Make Love Not Porn Academy. The episode addresses critical issues such as the impact of porn on youth, the cultural stigma around sex, and the struggles of funding a venture in the sex tech industry. It's a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship that's grounded in social impact, the challenges of being an underrepresented founder, and the importance of using innovative platforms to drive change in global issues. To get the latest from Cindy Gallop, you can follow her below!https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop/https://cindygallop.com/ Sign up for Marcia's newsletter to receive tips and the latest on Angel Investing!Website: www.marciadawood.comLearn more about the documentary Show Her the Money: www.showherthemoneymovie.comAnd don't forget to follow us wherever you are!Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1586445642.appleSpotify: https://pod.link/1586445642.spotifyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/angel-next-door-podcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marciadawood

I'm Not Dead talks to Cindy Gallop and these are her credits:   Career Objectives: To blow shit up (I mean she is the Michael Bay of business).  Professional Experience: Entrepreneur and fierce advocate for change, 38 years of experience in brand building, launched the social sex tech platform MakeLoveNotPorn (immediate google if you don't know). Expertise: Pro sex, pro porn and pro knowing the difference. Awards: 2003 Advertising Woman of the Year, Cannes Lions jury president addressing gender inequality and bias (thank you, Cindy). Education: Being told she could sell ice to an eskimo and has taken risks ever since. Super Skills: Her version of self care is not having a husband or kids.     I'm Not Dead is hosted by Sarah Clary and Christina Glickman  Executive Producers: Julia Cassidy, Sarah Clary and Christina Glickman Audio editing and mixing: Daniel William Gonzalez Music: Zach Lounsbury   Follow I'm Not Dead @imnotdead.x  Subscribe for more imnotdeadx.com

This week, I had the immense pleasure of talking with the exceptional Cindy Gallop the self-proclaimed Michael Bay of business. Cindy's name is synonymous with trailblazing initiatives in advertising, TED talks, and championing women entrepreneurs through Make Love Not Porn.    In our deep dive, we traverse Cindy's childhood memories in Asia, where frugality was the norm due to her family's circumstances, and how these early experiences shaped her views on money and investment and were critical to her journey toward financial independence.    Cindy shares the magic of how everything in her life was unplanned, yet it's led her to be the powerhouse she is today. We explore her unexpected foray into advertising, thanks to a chance encounter, and how mastering the art of negotiation has never led her astray.    She candidly discusses the challenges she faced as an older female entrepreneur in a male-dominated tech world, detailing her relentless (and continuous) fight to secure funding for Make Love Not Porn amidst widespread discrimination.    As we explore Cindy's trajectory, you'll hear valuable insights into her tenacity, resilience, and the critical importance of creating and maintaining safe online spaces for women and minorities. Tune in for an inspiring look at how Cindy's groundbreaking work and ceaseless advocacy for financial empowerment continue to leave a lasting impact on society. Key Topics: Cindy's early money lessons in frugality and property investment Breaking into the advertising industry in 1985 Cindy's first property purchase for $41k at 27 Advice for anyone looking to purchase their first property Discovering entrepreneurship as a path to greater wealth creation Becoming a ferocious negotiator during her corporate ad career “Do interesting things, and interesting things will happen” Leaving corporate and branching out on her own Noticing the massive gap of women in tech and startups The creation of Make Love Not Porn Using business prowess to change people's sexual attitudes and behavior for the better What's at stake when women don't get funding for their businesses Women need to make money to fund other women Connect with Cindy online: Help fund Make Love Not Porn: https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn Website: https://makelovenotporn.tv/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop/ Instagram: @cindygallop Find more from Syama Bunten:   Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod Website: https://syamabunten.com/ Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com  Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/ Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

IntroductionHello Wonderful Readers*,A very contentious topic came up in a conversation with my female friends this week. I discussed with them how I'm single and looking for a partner in bed and in life. But how old is too old? And how young is too young?When I decided to write about this topic, a cultural icon immediately came to mind: founder and innovator Cindy Gallop. She's currently 64, and she has shared her sexual preferences and experiences with dating apps publicly:“I date younger men for sex. I want lots of stamina and very short recovery periods. I don't get those with men my own age...I was completely honest about everything, including my age…I got an avalanche of responses, which was very good for the ego. 75% of those responses were from younger men.”Her perspective got me thinking. How common are big age differences in heterosexual relationships? Is Cindy Gallop a lone wolf (or a lone “cougar”) in today's world? And are relationships with big age gaps less likely to work out?I dug into the science to answer these questions. While I've found some fascinating things, I will say that to get a complete picture, I could have looked at more data from studies on dating apps and whether these findings hold for LGBTQIA couples because these statistics focused solely on heterosexual couples. The reach of my work here is limited, and there's always room for improvement.So, let's dig in!The State of Age AffairsThere's a clear trend in heterosexual marriages in the United States: now, more than ever before, husbands and wives are likely to be the same age. According to Pew, the average age difference in the United States was 4.9 years in 1880, 2.4 years in 2000, and 2.2 years in 2022.In the data below published in 2008, you can see that for marriages in England and Wales (a proxy for “Western” cultures), there is a bell-shaped distribution of the average age differences between couples. Most married couples in recent history have had a husband who is slightly older than the wife. But this is a difference of less than 5 years, and it has been declining since 1963. Indeed, 51% of opposite-sex marriages today have spouses who are two years apart in age or less, which is up from 46% in 2000 (Pew).Are Relationships with Larger Age Gaps Less Successful?To answer this question, I looked at large-scale studies on divorce rates by age difference. Of course, divorce rates are not the perfect measurement of relationship success. A couple can fight every day and stay married, which is probably worse than a couple that divorces civilly and stays friends. As Divorce Therapist Oona Metz has shared, “What the new research shows is that conflict is bad for kids.” Ideally, I could have looked at relationship conflict and age differences between couples, but as far as I'm aware, no such data exists.It turns out that the age difference of a couple is NOT a major predictor of whether the relationship will end in divorce. The bottom line, according to this 2008 study from the National Office of Statistics, is that, at least for now,“propensity to divorce is not strongly associated with marital age difference at an aggregate level, although further research would be required to control for mortality and any other factors that may affect the risk of divorce.”Other studies have suggested that in order to interpret these findings fully, researchers would need to disaggregate the data based on whether one of the partners was married before and who initiated the divorce. It's well known that about two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women, so these divorce statistics may well be skewed toward women's preferences.Unfortunately, as I dug into this data, I found a lot of crappy news outlets that totally blew findings from certain studies out of proportion and came to conclusions that were misleading or just plain wrong. One poorly researched article on a website called MarketWatch concludes, “The bigger the age gap, the shorter the marriage.” This is not true. The second source they cited has since redacted an inaccurate chart where they tried to show the increased likelihood of the marriage ending based on the age difference. I smell b******t! Still, I had to get out my magnifying glass and relearn how to read coefficients from my Statistics classes at Wharton just to determine that this was indeed a shitstorm of statistical insignificance.As far as we know today, an age difference does not significantly impact the success of a relationship. However, there are a couple more interesting insights below the surface.Extra Interesting Tidbits: Things To ConsiderMale Preferences For Younger Females and Vice VersaA study conducted by Professor David Buss at UT Austin investigated sex differences in mate preferences in 37 cultures with 10,047 participants. Its findings might partially explain why men are slightly older on average in married couples than women. Their key result was:“Females were found to value cues to resource acquisition in potential mates more highly than males. Characteristics signaling reproductive capacity were valued more by males than by females.”Basically, females take more than just physical appearance into account when selecting a mate, as they might want a partner who signals resource acquisition for their potential offspring. Additionally, males might prioritize physical appearance and have a preference for younger females because of “a biological adaptation resulting from the greater potential fertility of younger women” (Office for National Statistics), especially if they want to produce offspring and have a family.However, this is a generalization and certainly not a rule. There is also a variety of other social trends happening. For example, women's increased access to education throughout the world has coincided with an increase in the age of marriage. Plus, while women might have preferred older men for their access to financial stability and resources, the gender pay gap is decreasing with more of us females entering and staying in the workforce, so this is becoming less socially relevant. Indeed, among unmarried adults, single women without children now have, on average, as much wealth as single men (Pew).Until Death Do Us Part: Widowhood & Living AloneThe only reason to be concerned about a large age gap with your partner is whoever is much older is obviously more likely to die sooner, leaving the other person widowed and most likely living alone.According to Pew, as the share of husbands who are older than their wives has fallen, widowhood for women ages 65 and older has fallen to 30% today, down from 45% in 2000. Given this spousal age gap and the fact that women tend to live longer than men globally, about 20% of women over 60 live in a solo household, compared to about 10% of men (Pew).Is Everyone Coming to Cougartown?There's been a lot of talk about “cougars” in the news, or “age-hypogamy,” where the female is older than the male in a heterosexual relationship. A study released in 2003 by the UK's Office for National Statistics concluded that the proportion of women in England and Wales marrying younger men rose from 15% to 26% between 1963 and 1998. Still, these forms of relationships are rare, even though they are slightly on the rise. By a different definition, “recent US census data has shown an increase in age-hypogamous relationships from 6.4% in 2000 to 7.7% in 2012.” (Wikipedia).Despite the sensational news, cougars appear to be happier than other females who are in relationships! There is some evidence that “woman-older partners were the most satisfied with and committed to their relationships, relative to woman-younger and similarly aged partners, consistent with socio-cultural predictions” (Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2008). And for all my older, single female readers, there's evidence that age doesn't matter to male partners as much as beauty. Yes, unfortunately, you're still being held to the standard of the male gaze, but being doesn't matter as much as being good-looking. Is that a plus? I'll leave that for you to decide.Second Marriages & MenDigging through the research, I did find that when a husband is marrying for the second time, his wife is often much younger:“Some 20% of men who are newly remarried have a wife who is at least 10 years their junior, and another 18% married a woman who is 6-9 years younger. By comparison, just 5% of newlywed men in their first marriage have a spouse who is 10 years younger, and 10% married a woman who is 6-9 years younger.” (Pew)The “Socially-Acceptable” Cop Out: “Half your age, plus seven.”I came across this concept during my research. While it will have no impact on whether or not your relationship with someone of a different age will work out, this will help you determine whether or not that age difference is “socially acceptable.” To determine the youngest person who you're allowed to date, simply use “half your age plus seven.”So if I'm 29, the youngest person I could foreseeably date without being seen as a complete weirdo is roughly 22 years old. However, studies have shown that this rule applies much more appropriately to the age range that men can date, as opposed to women, which I think checks out. Because unless he is really amazing, dating a 22-year-old guy for me right now would feel very weird indeed.  My Statistically Insignificant StoriesIn addition to the more useful statistics of having a partner who is alive and the potential of being happy as an older cougar, here are my not-so-scientific summaries of my experiences dating younger and older men.Dating Younger MenLargest Age Difference: 3 years younger than me.In the last two years, I have dated four guys who were three years younger than me. I enjoy dating younger men, and it didn't feel like too significant an age difference. Most of them had gotten a decent start in their careers. They were flexible in terms of their life direction, and they felt more malleable to date.Within this, I noticed some patterns. The younger men I slept with had great bodies and even better stamina, à la Cindy Gallop. They were also more likely to want to go out clubbing, drink heavily, and party party party until the wee hours of the morning (or as they say in Mexico, “la madrugada,” one of my favorite Spanish words). I'm not a total grandma, so sometimes I would go out with them, but I generally prefer not to go too hard or drink too much, lest I want to do anything the day after.Dating Older MenLargest Age Difference: 14 years older than me.In the last year or two, I've dated two men who were at least 12 years older than me (aged 42 and 44, I think). Neither of them stuck around for long. The first one was The Photographer, and while age was not a factor in terms of my attraction to him, he was a workaholic who had no intention of ever having a family. He explicitly told me he didn't want anything serious, and when people tell me who they are, I try to believe them.The other 44-year-old guy was recent. We met at a very fancy bar in Mexico City. He was short but very well-dressed, and his daddy vibes were hot enough to get me to have dinner with him. The problem with him was that he had two children with two different women. While money wasn't an issue for him (he worked in hotels and real estate), no matter how much money you have, there are only so many competing baby mamas and children scattered around the city that I want to contend with.Much unlike the younger men I dated, both of these men seemed more stuck in their ways, with more rigid schedules and lifestyles that I would have to box myself into. Both also either had dead or very old parents, and that was also a turnoff for me, as I'd like my children to be able to meet their grandparents if possible, and I don't want to start a relationship with one foot already in the grave.ConclusionDoes age difference matter in relationships? The answer seems to be no. The only potential downside of dating someone much older is the possibility of being widowed at a younger age and then living alone. But I already live alone anyway, so to me, this wouldn't make a difference.Whether you're attracted to people of all ages is a different question. As is somewhat reflected in the statistics, my range of dating men who are older than me is much wider than men who are younger than me. Yet I can imagine that if I'm single, aged 50+, I will want to jump on the cougar bandwagon and get a taste of that potentially more satisfying and committed relationship with a younger man. Whoopee!Ultimately, I believe that if you both like each other, then none of the other “socially acceptable” bullcrap really matters, and you shouldn't care what other people think. Don't try to follow a baseless rule like the “half your age plus seven” method because it won't make a difference to the success of your relationship anyway. Also, try not to judge other people. Love is love, and as long as no one is committing statutory rape, there's literally nothing wrong with dating someone with a wild age difference, as far as I'm concerned. And given the other social trends that women are becoming more financially independent, getting better educated, and acquiring more resources of our own, it seems perfectly fit and well that we might want to date men who are younger than us for the same reasons of attractiveness and youth that older men have traditionally sought out in us for ages.Final ThoughtSo, my wonderful readers, what do you think? Would you date someone 15 years younger than you or 15 years older than you? Can you be brave and admit you wanted to date someone who was outside the bounds of a “socially acceptable” age difference?Paid subscribers can battle it out in the comments.Love to you all, and enjoy the rest of your weekend,Tash

In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome Cindy Gallop, visionary founder of Make Love Not Porn, a platform designed to normalise and celebrate real-world intimacy. Cindy shares her journey from advertising executive to groundbreaking entrepreneur, delving into her mission to reshape conversations around sex and relationships. Cindy discusses the challenges she faces running a business in an industry still weighed down by taboos and the importance of building a legacy of positive impact. To watch the full video, see exclusive content and support the podcast join our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/comecurious Follow us on Instagram @comecurious and DM us your questions and f*ck off stories! Follow Florence @florencebark Follow Reed @reedamberx Produced and edited by @sillygooseteam Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this compelling episode of Seggs Talk Radio, Thea engages in a profound conversation with Cindy Gallop, the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn.com. The discussion delves into the platform's origins, driven by the need for an inclusive and educational approach to real-world sexual experiences versus mainstream porn. Cindy shares her vision for MakeLoveNotPorn Academy, addressing challenges in sex education, and tackling the monopolistic dominance of the porn industry.  The episode emphasizes the importance of communication, consent, and equitable treatment in adult entertainment, alongside innovative projects like a fintech product for secure payments and an AI consent algorithm. Highlighting user testimonials, societal norms, and personal anecdotes, Cindy encourages investment in their equity crowdfunding campaign, aiming to transform the landscape of sexual education and advocacy. EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS

⚠️ Sensitive Content Advisory:This episode of Let's Talk contains discussions about sex, relationships, and societal taboos, which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode of Let's Talk, produced by WiseMindly Inc., Coach Che Marville welcomes Cindy Gallop, founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn. Cindy dives into the surprising origin of MakeLoveNotPorn and her mission to challenge societal taboos around sex, relationships, and personal freedom. Through candid storytelling, Cindy reflects on her life, work, and the importance of redefining intimacy, all while building a business designed to promote both well-being and financial sustainability. The Accidental Creation of MakeLoveNotPorn: Cindy shares how dating younger men opened her eyes to the problematic role of porn as a default form of sex education. In response, she launched MakeLoveNotPorn at the 2009 TED conference to normalize conversations around sex, relationships, and consent through a documentary-style platform. Socializing and Destigmatizing Sex: Cindy explains how her platform provides a glimpse into real-world sex, distinct from performative pornography. With 100% human curation, MakeLoveNotPorn promotes healthy, authentic, and diverse expressions of intimacy, helping to foster consent, emotional vulnerability, and respect. Men's Unexpected Emotional Reactions: Cindy reveals that many male users express gratitude and even emotional release, sharing that watching the videos on MakeLoveNotPorn often brings them to tears. The platform offers a rare space for men to see and express vulnerability in ways they don't encounter elsewhere, challenging toxic masculinity and promoting emotional well-being. Redefining Relationships Beyond Traditional Norms: Cindy discusses her personal approach to relationships, embracing non-traditional dynamics. She highlights the importance of designing relationships that work for the individual, whether that means polyamory, casual connections, or solo exploration. The Challenges of Running a Mission-Driven Business: Cindy details the barriers she faces as a female entrepreneur in the adult space, including difficulties accessing payment processors and advertising platforms. Despite these obstacles, Cindy remains committed to her mission, emphasizing that safety and consent are core to her platform's human-curated model. Crowdfunding and Expanding Sex Education: Cindy introduces MakeLoveNotPorn's crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, led by actress Jameela Jamil. The funding will support the creation of MakeLoveNotPorn Academy, an educational platform that curates sex education content for children and families, filling a vital gap in modern education. You can learn more about Cindy Gallop at https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop/ or https://www.instagram.com/makelovenotporn/ Cindy's TED Talk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV8n_E_6Tpc

⚠️ Sensitive Content Advisory:This episode of Let's Talk contains discussions about sex, relationships, and societal taboos, which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.In this episode of Let's Talk, produced by WiseMindly Inc., Coach Che Marville welcomes Cindy Gallop, founder of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn. Cindy dives into the surprising origin of MakeLoveNotPorn and her mission to challenge societal taboos around sex, relationships, and personal freedom. Through candid storytelling, Cindy reflects on her life, work, and the importance of redefining intimacy, all while building a business designed to promote both well-being and financial sustainability.The Accidental Creation of MakeLoveNotPorn:Cindy shares how dating younger men opened her eyes to the problematic role of porn as a default form of sex education. In response, she launched MakeLoveNotPorn at the 2009 TED conference to normalize conversations around sex, relationships, and consent through a documentary-style platform.Socializing and Destigmatizing Sex:Cindy explains how her platform provides a glimpse into real-world sex, distinct from performative pornography. With 100% human curation, MakeLoveNotPorn promotes healthy, authentic, and diverse expressions of intimacy, helping to foster consent, emotional vulnerability, and respect.Men's Unexpected Emotional Reactions:Cindy reveals that many male users express gratitude and even emotional release, sharing that watching the videos on MakeLoveNotPorn often brings them to tears. The platform offers a rare space for men to see and express vulnerability in ways they don't encounter elsewhere, challenging toxic masculinity and promoting emotional well-being.Redefining Relationships Beyond Traditional Norms:Cindy discusses her personal approach to relationships, embracing non-traditional dynamics. She highlights the importance of designing relationships that work for the individual, whether that means polyamory, casual connections, or solo exploration.The Challenges of Running a Mission-Driven Business:Cindy details the barriers she faces as a female entrepreneur in the adult space, including difficulties accessing payment processors and advertising platforms. Despite these obstacles, Cindy remains committed to her mission, emphasizing that safety and consent are core to her platform's human-curated model.Crowdfunding and Expanding Sex Education:Cindy introduces MakeLoveNotPorn's crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, led by actress Jameela Jamil. The funding will support the creation of MakeLoveNotPorn Academy, an educational platform that curates sex education content for children and families, filling a vital gap in modern education.You can learn more about Cindy Gallop at https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop/ or https://www.instagram.com/makelovenotporn/Cindy's TED Talk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV8n_E_6Tpc

Hello Wonderful Readers,I'm struggling to write to you right now. I was on a bender until 3 am this morning, and last night was filled with so many juicy details that it will take me at least a couple of weeks to tell you all about it.Of course, a new guy has entered my life, and I'm nervous to write about him because he reads my work and is supportive of me. As you know, in the recent months of writing Misseducated, I've been burned by my own work much more than I hoped, and it has hurt. Yet, somehow, I have to believe that my work matters enough to keep going. And that leads me to the first part of this story I've got for you here. It's the part of last night that sticks out to me the most.Last night, I woke up from a power nap at about 8:30 pm. I had plans to meet up with Arturo (yes, the new man) at a Jazz Club later in the evening. He's kind of a night owl, so I was thrilled when I woke up bursting with energy. I was ready to take on whatever the night had in store.All you need to know about Arturo is that he's 35, divorced, and from Los Bosques, an upper-class suburb of Mexico City. He also lives in Polanco and works at Google Mexico City office in Las Lomas. We met on Raya and have had a couple of dates together which have gone quite well. So well that, last night, he invited me to meet him at the Jazz Club, Casa Franca, in Roma Norte after he finished a late dinner with his coworkers.Yesterday, we had been texting in Spanish:Arturo, 5:57 pm: See you at Casa Franca? I'll let you know when to get there.Tash, 6:01 pm: Sounds good. See you there and enjoy your dinner!As 9 pm rolled around, I was flailing around my apartment, desperate to make myself look as hot as humanly possible. I know I'm not supposed to get myself glammed up for a night out solely for the pursuit of a man (thank you, Cindy Gallop), but just like any bad feminist, I was embracing the fact that rules exist to be broken. Luckily, I had lined up drinks with a female friend to keep myself distracted from Arturo until the moment we were to meet.I messaged him on the way to the cocktail bar to meet my female friend,Tash, 9:48 pm: Hey, Arturo! What time should I meet you at Casa Franca?And then I emotionally sat on my hands. And I waited.My female friend and I ran into some other friends at the cocktail bar. Then we went out for pizza. Then we went to yet another bar. While I was sitting there, I admit I was being a terrible friend. I was only half-paying-attention to what they were all saying. It's early October. It's cuffing season. I am wrestling with myself inside because I know that I need to lock a man down (only metaphorically, of course) before the winter sets in. However shall I make it through these upcoming cold months alone? However shall I procreate and create a plethora of healthy, rosy-cheeked children? My body is barking at me. In this economy? Not even my logical business-school-educated brain can argue with my urge to get knocked the f**k up. This is biology at its best; at its strongest.I checked my phone at 11:26 pm. Not a word from Arturo. Not a peep. It had been a whole hour and a half. As I sipped on my passion-fruit-laced kombucha with a salt rim, I wondered: Was Arturo going to message me back? He had seemed nice until now. Maybe he got too drunk at dinner? Maybe he'd picked up another hotter girl at Casa Franca already? Maybe he didn't want me to come after all?You know, I've been single for a while. And that's because, well, I don't know. There's got to be something wrong with me. I shouldn't have sent him that very forward message asking him when he'd be at Casa Franca. I'm too needy and desperate, and men can smell it.I started to get upset. I turned to my friends for consolation.“Treat him like a candidate for a job interview,” one of my friends advised me. “If you were interviewing a candidate for a job, and they showed up super later or didn't show up at all, would you stand for that? No! You'd never hire them.”We laughed it off, and something else very exciting happened that I will tell you about next week. But as time went on, I got more and more anxious. Clearly, Arturo didn't want to see me. Why couldn't he have just told the truth in the first place instead of pretending? I couldn't bring myself to check my phone again, just to be trodden down further that Arturo hadn't messaged me. I would bring all of this up with my therapist in our next session. If this guy wasn't going to meet my needs, well, then I was ready to give up on us getting to know each other. To numb the pain of it all, I got another round of drinks with my friends.It was 12:09 am before I checked my phone again.Arturo, 11:46 pm: We've been here a while. Are you coming to Casa Franca?My hands shook as I read the message. I accidentally dropped my phone smack on the table. The ice in our cocktail glasses wobbled. Arturo had messaged me. And I had been so busy wallowing in my story of him not being interested, or of him finding someone better than me, or not caring about me, that I hadn't done the damn simple task of checking in with him on my phone.As soon as I saw his message, I rejoiced with my friends. Arturo wasn't a complete a*****e after all. And maybe, well, I had been being a bit dramatic. I would leave my deep-seated worries about my self-worth for another time because he had requested my presence.I hurried my friends through the end of their conversation. We quickly got the bill. They walked me over to Casa Franca, and after a couple of trips through the various rooms (which I will also tell you about another time because I ran into one of my exes from On Dating Mexican Men), I finally found Arturo and his coworkers.It was sometime past 12:30 am when we finally hugged each other hello. Then Arturo turned to me, and he said,“I'm so glad you came. I was beginning to think it was too late. I was worried you had already gone to sleep and weren't going to make it. It's so good to see you. I'm so glad you came.”His words took me aback. They struck a chord. I puzzled to myself in that moment, again distracted as we caught up with each other about how our day had been.After all the anxiety and the trips through the realms of self-worth that I had dipped into in my own mind, here was this perfectly nice, if not also imperfect, guy standing in front of me. Somewhere along the way, between the hundreds of hours of Instagram reels I had consumed and the narratives about the opposite sex that I had bombarded myself with, I forgot that on the other end of the phone was also another living human person. And that if I wanted to get to know this person, I would have to meet them where they were. Maybe that meant compromising. Maybe that meant being patient. But without a doubt, it meant that I needed to ground myself in my reality and not fall into old, unhealthy stories of how I was treated in the past. It meant not having silly, made-up expectations of a man or any human and how they should show up for me in any given situation.And yet, in my experience of entrenched loneliness and questioning my own worthiness of connection, I had accidentally left him hanging. And I had even transferred that instability and potential for disconnection onto him. My limited story of myself had almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Wading through the trash of my information diet and obsessing over my own emotions and ability to connect with others had left me isolated. To the point where I could hardly afford a tiny inch in the corner of my brain to consider the experience of another person, much less a person seeking a deeper connection with me. We had almost passed each other like ships in the night.It reminds me of a fascinating TED Talk I watched a couple of years ago with psychologist Dr. Guy Winch. In the story, Winch shares that he always calls his twin brother on their birthday. That is, until one year, when his birthday rolled around, his twin brother didn't call. During his talk, Winch says,“That night was one of the saddest and longest nights of my life.”That night, he makes up all kinds of stories about how he doesn't matter to his brother anymore and how they've grown apart irreparably. The next day, Winch wakes up and realizes that he had accidentally kicked the phone off the hook the night before. When he realizes this, he puts it back on the ringer, and his brother calls him immediately. His brother had been calling and calling him the whole time, panicking for over a day.“It was the longest and saddest night of his life as well.”Disconnection. That's what our questioning of our self-worth and loneliness can bring us to. Meeting Arturo at the Jazz Club made it clear to me just how much our own perceptions of lovability and our narratives of ourselves create or deny connection in our lives. In ignoring my phone and trapping myself in my narrative of loneliness of not receiving a message from him, I accidentally recreated that experience for Arturo and left him hanging on the other end of his phone, on the verge of disconnection and loneliness also.You know, the tech bros in San Francisco promised us that new apps and AI would make our lives easier. But the longer I have a smartphone, the more I'm convinced that by making things easier, these apps can also make our lives more complex. Now, instead of having a face-to-face conversation, there are two phones, data plans, and wifi signals between us. While, in some ways, that makes it easier for us to communicate, it has also made it easier for us to get lost in our own biased narratives about our lives and how unlovable we might think we are at times. These narratives and perceptions are what shape our reality.I apologized to Arturo. We danced at Casa Franca and had quite a dramatic night for other reasons, which I will tell you about in a couple of weeks. I learned that technology has made communication easier in our lives. But it has made miscommunication easier in our lives also.Much love to you out there, wherever you are in the ether.Stay tuned as I'll be back with a spicier story of who I met at the cocktail bar with my friends next week!Love,Tash

In this episode, we're joined by Cindy Gallop, a trailblazer in the advertising world and a powerhouse entrepreneur with a mission. Cindy founded the U.S. branch of Bartle, Bogle, and Hegarty in 1998, where she served as board chair for many years. Beyond her successful career, Cindy is a sought-after speaker, coach, and mentor, with a strong focus on social impact. We'll dive into her bold personal style, including her iconic New York City residence, famously known as "The Black Apartment." Tune in for an inspiring conversation filled with insight, innovation, and daring design choices. Filmed at Brown Harris Stevens' Studio 1873, Part of the Mastery of Real Estate (MORE) Network. Subscribe: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-life-nyc-with-roderick-angle/id1727438279 Watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7_x00Dbn3ORngtNAnic4FcRQGTRmG7R2 Connect with Roderick Angle: https://www.bhsusa.com/real-estate-agent/roderick-angle Connect with Cindy Gallop: https://cindygallop.com/ https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop Brown Harris Stevens is one of the largest privately owned real estate brokerages in the country, with more than 40 offices across four states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida. https://bhsusa.com/ #thebiglifenyc #roderickangle #archtiecture #NYChistory

BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight has spoken to mothers who are struggling to cope with sons whose complex needs can lead to aggressive outbursts – often leaving themselves and other family members injured. The NHS used to supply respite care that would give those families a break of one or two nights per month. But that care has been evaporating in Northern Ireland due to a number of factors – including the loss of facilities and an increasing number of children who have gone into full-time care. Spotlight presenter Tara Mills and Julie Tipping, one of the mums featured in the documentary join Kylie Pentelow.Women working in the adult entertainment industry are being put at risk by banks not allowing them to open accounts or denying them financial services. That's what industry representatives are saying, and why the Financial Conduct Authority recently issued new guidelines for banks around allowing sex workers to access their services. To find out more we hear from Clio Wood, a women's health advocate and co-founder of CensHERship, Jessica Van Meir, co-founder of MintStars and Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn.The language used by healthcare professionals to describe pregnancy loss exacerbates the grief and trauma experienced by some individuals. Words such as incompetent cervix, products of conception, and empty sac to name but a few. That's according to a study published this month by University College London. We hear from Dr Beth Malory, Lecturer in English Linguistics at UCL who led the study.Romalyn Ante is a Filipino-British poet who also works as a nurse in the NHS. She has just released her second poetry collection, Agimat, which looks at how we keep safe that which we hold most dear. Romalyn talks about what the new collection means to her and why she wanted to combine Filipino mythology and tradition with her own experiences of fighting against Covid.Presenter: Kylie Pentelow Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Har p0rno på nettet ødelagt vores sexuelle relationer? Skal vi genopdrages? Og er kuren at kigge med i naboens soveværelse? MakeLoveNotPorn er et website, hvor helt almindelige mennesker deler video med deres helt almindelige s3xliv. Stifteren af websitet ser det som sexualundervisning og et kursus i s3x med samtykke for mænd, der skal skrue ned for deres giftige maskulinitet. Sitet drives af en håndfuld kuratorer, der personligt har set alle 3000 videoer igennem samt driver et community for de såkaldte MakeLoveNotPorn-stars. Mød stifteren og kuratoren samt den danske s3xolog, der finder websitet charmerende men tvivler på, at det kan lære folk bedre sexvaner. Medvirkende: Cindy Gallop, CEO og stifter, makelovenotporn.tv Ariel Martinez, chief curator, makelovenotporn.tv Daisy Løvendahl, s3xolog og parterapeutLinks:makelovenotporn https://makelovenotporn.tv/Daisy Løvendahl https://daisylovendahl.dk/ 

Cindy Gallop, the radical, groundbreaking CEO and Founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, joins Chrissie to talk open, honest sex education, the power of living life on your own terms, and in true Cindy fashion, she reminds us all to 'fuck that shit for a game of soldiers!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we delve into disrupting the status quo with Cindy Gallop, a trailblazing entrepreneur, brand innovator, and advocate for social change. Discover why identifying your core values and beliefs is key to living a much simpler and happier life. We're also exploring Cindy's most ambitious project yet, a sex education academy.    Cindy has been described as a woman who will change the way you think about sex and money. She's the alchemist turning advertising lead into gold and the voice shouting ‘show me the money' to a VC world that seems to have misplaced its checkbook when it comes to female founders.    Key Discussion Points: 02:44 Walking in Your Authenticity: Being your authentic self is how you are going to attract the network or village you will need along this journey.  05:22 Identifying Your Values: By identifying your values and beliefs, your life will be so much easier. This applies to both individuals and businesses. 11:37 Overcoming Fear by Taking Action: Micro-actions are a way to change behavior from the bottom up. 15:00 Getting Out of Toxic Situations: If you are in situations filled with micro-aggressions, do not stick it out. It is time to pivot. 21:17 Becoming a Role Model: You have a responsibility to become the role model you never had in order to create meaningful change. 30:02 Reinventing Industry Through the Female Lens: If you start your own business, you can design a culture that you want and that others want to work in. 35:37 Make Love Not Porn: Discover Cindy's groundbreaking social sextech platform and her most ambitious project yet, an academy of sex education.   In Summary: Cindy Gallop challenges us to be our authentic selves so that our village can find us. She urges us to leave toxic situations, pivot, and start our own businesses to create cultures that other people would love to work in.   Resources from this episode: Invest in Make Love Not Porn Follow Cindy on Linkedin or check out her website.   Connect with your hosts: Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website. Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website. Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website. _________ Produced by Ideablossoms  

Cindy Gallop is a force! The founder and CEO of "If We Ran The World" and "Make Love Not Porn," this former advertising maven turned business innovator, consultant, coach, and keynote speaker "blows shit up," as she delicately calls it, disrupting the status quo when and where it's needed.Hailing from the UK, she graduated from Somerville College, Oxford, and for over 30 years led marketing and ad teams for the US branch of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which she founded in 1998, leading to her recognition as Advertising Woman of the Year in 2003."This is someone wise and generous as much as she is gracious and feisty," says friend Scott Goodson, Founder of StrawberryFrog. So, join us for a deep conversation with Cindy as we understand her lifelong pursuit of changing the world, one daring project at a time.

My guest this time is Cindy Gallop - consultant, coach, keynote speaker, and founder of MakeLoveNotPorn. I've been a fan of Cindy's since I first watched the interview on the Style Like U channel that saw her become an older female role model not just to me, but to thousands of women of all ages (and apparently a few men too!). I was also lucky enough to finally meet her in person at the Upfront conference earlier this year where she gave the brilliant closing keynote - I had my own ‘Upfront' moment asking her to come on the podcast and she graciously agreed.  We talk about the genesis of her sex-tech business MakeLoveNotPorn.tv: a place for ‘socialising, normalising and destigmatising real-world sex' and Cindy reminds us that when we don't talk about sex ‘porn becomes sex education by default'... I was fascinated to learn more about MLNP - from the rigorous checking and vetting processes that all content and comments pass through to create safe spaces for all concerned, how empowering and healing many of the ‘stars' find the process of sharing their videos, to hearing about how hard it is for sex-tech businesses to attract funding (prompting their current round of equity crowdfunding: see https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/ if you want to find out more).  For those of us who do have kids, particularly younger children, the ready availability of pornographic content online is a huge concern - Cindy's next goal is to fund https://www.makelovenotporn.academy/ to create a platform for age-appropriate sex-education for individuals of all ages that will also serve as a way for sex educators to make a living from providing their content (currently most struggle against platforms that censor even educational content). (This: https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/27/more-than-300m-children-victims-of-online-sexual-abuse-every-year is the article I refer to in the course of this episode - shocking statistics and a stark reminder that we can't afford to be complacent in talking to our children about sex, no matter how tricky we may find those conversations. Cindy shares with us her two tips for how to navigate those conversations - advice that I know I'll definitely find hugely useful.  Last of all we cover ageism in the advertising industry and Cindy's determination to change societal attitudes towards ageing - creating a culture where ‘living older' is aspirational and ads are created by and for older audiences and as a result. Music to my ears!   You can find Cindy at https://www.instagram.com/cindygallop and MLNP at https://makelovenotporn.tv/  If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee' at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online!  If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly' then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com  You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause   Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share  We're delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/  

Is there such a thing as too much masturbation? How can I talk to my partner about reigniting our intimacy? My husband’s sex drive is gone and he doesn’t want to talk about it! Cindy Gallop, founder of Make Love Not Porn, gives advice. We talk about the panic people feel when it comes to masturbation, how intimacy is about more than having sex, and how sex changes as you get older. Plus, Cindy shares her go-to sexual fantasy.   Need sex or relationship advice? Drop Myisha an email or voice memo at sexlife@kcrw.org. We might answer your question in a future episode.   Follow Myisha: @myishabattle  Follow Cindy Gallop: @cindygallop Follow Make Love Not Porn: @makelovenotporn   For a transcript of this episode visit our website: kcrw.com/sexlife   

Peter McGraw continues his series on aging, retiring, and dying single. In this episode, he talks to Cindy Gallop about aging sexy. What do you think? Join the Solo community to discuss: https://petermcgraw.org/solo/Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.petermcgraw.org/solo/

About This EpisodeCindy Gallop, an expert in brand building, marketing, and advertising, joins us to redefine boldness. From advocating for her self-worth to challenging societal expectations, Cindy's journey is a testament to the power of living your values. She recounts how an early act of boldness set the foundation for future negotiations, marking the start of a career defined by self-belief and self-advocacy. She explores the courage it takes to embrace uncertainty and act despite fear. Cindy also describes how to find more happiness in your life by rejecting societal norms and living authentically. She shares insights on recognizing your self-worth and unraveling the misconception that prioritizing personal happiness is selfish. The episode also addresses the unique pressures women face, encouraging women to start their own ventures by leveraging their unique strengths and insights. Cindy's commitment to making a positive impact through her various organizations inspires with examples of genuine advocacy, offering practical advice for women looking to take control of their lives and their careers. Join us for an episode packed with bold stories and impactful lessons from an extraordinary individual making her own mark on the world. About Cindy GallopCindy Gallop is a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford, whose background is over 30 years in brand-building, marketing and advertising- she started up the US office of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in New York in 1998 and in 2003 was named Advertising Woman of the Year. She is the founder and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld, co-action software launched in beta at TED 2010 and subsequently written up and taught as a Harvard Business School case study, which enables brands to implement the business model of the future- Shared Values + Shared Action = Shared Profit (financial and social). She is also the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, a social platform designed to promote good sexual behavior and good sexual values, which she launched at TED 2009, and for which she has just raised $2 million to build out MLNP.tv. She acts as board advisor to a number of tech ventures and works as a personal brand/life/executive coach and a consultant on brand and business innovation for companies around the world, describing her consultancy approach as “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business.” Additional ResourcesWebsite: www.cindygallop.comAsk Cindy Anything at her Substack: https://dearcindy.substack.com/p/yes-you-really-can-ask-me-anythingInvest in her equity crowdfunding campaign: https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/Instagram: @cindygallopLinkedIn: @CindyGallop

This episode of Breaking Brave is brought to you by:SOULSNACKS! Soul snacks are single ingredient, eco conscious dog and cat treats! Sourced directly from farms in Ontario and wrapped in fully compostable packaging. Treating your pets never felt so good. Head to https://soulsnacks.ca/ and use coupon code BREAKINGBRAVE for 15% off your purchase!!! ​&CRANK COFFEE the newest member of the Neal Brothers family. Crank Coffee is a new Canadian whole bean coffee brand that is certified organic and fair trade. Founded by the Neal Brothers Peter and Chris. This brand was influenced by cycling, coffee lovers, and experts! Check it out at the Neal brothers online shop here: https://shop.nealbrothersfoods.com/collections/crank%C2%AE-coffee-co and USE COUPON CODE BRAVE for 20% OFF Your first Crank Coffee purchase! --As always, thanks so much for tuning into Breaking Brave! If you like the show, please subscribe, review, and/or send us your suggestions or questions via the platforms below! For more from Marilyn Barefoot or to get in touch with her directly, please connect via:Marilyn's website: https://marilynbarefoot.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marilynbarefootbigideas/ Twitter: @MarilynBarefoot Instagram: @marilynbarefoot ABOUT Marilyn Barefoot, the Host of Breaking Brave:Breaking Brave is Hosted by Marilyn Barefoot, one of the foremost business coaches & creative ideators in North America - Marilyn gets hired by several of the world's biggest brands, companies, and organizations (the NHL, McDonald's, Deloitte, Coca-Cola, MTV, Viacom, The CFL, Forbes Magazine; to name just a few) to help them get unstuck and generate big, creative ideas.It helps us so much to have your feedback which goes a really long way in helping us shape the future of Breaking Brave and host the guests you're most interested in hearing from! So if you have the time, please subscribe, review, and connect with Marilyn on social media or through her website! And as always, thanks so much for tuning in!

What's it like to be in charge of deploying some of the nation's most important messages? Just ask Ad Council's Chief Campaign Development Officer Michelle Hillman. She gives us insight into launching public service campaigns that tackle complex issues such as gun violence, the opioid crisis, and buzzed driving. Spoiler alert, it ain't easy, but after working on it for 24 years with a stacked Creative Review Committee she makes it look like it is.    In this episode, Michelle reveals how Ad Council uses emotional advertising to change behavior, how CMOs can build a world-class creative review committee, and tips for how to be a top-tier mentor.    Here's a quick recap of the convo:   Why Michelle believes working at Ad Council is one of the best jobs in advertising   The importance of immersive research when creating effective emotional advertising   What grabs the attention of judges at the Effie Awards   How Ad Council's legendary creative review committee evaluates ideas   How CMOs can build a creative review board to vet their ideas – including how to entice industry legends like Cindy Gallop, Susan Credle, and Margaret Johnson to sign on   How Ad Council uses influencers and the importance of a trusted messenger strategy    How Michelle creates separation between the tough issues she's tackling at work and her home life   What it's like to work with the government on public service campaigns    How to make it on Ad Council's trusted roster of agency partners   The most challenging public issues to build awareness for and why   What it takes to be a world-class mentor   Plus, some rapid-fire questions that reveal whether Michelle prefers puppies or kittens   Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn and find out more about Ad Council here.   Catch our latest work with Ad Council and the NHTSA for “Buzzed Driving Prevention.”   If you'd prefer to read the biggest takeaways from our conversation, catch the write-up here.  

ENGLISHShe is the founder of the MakeLoveNotPorn platform, which promotes the "Social Sex Revolution" by real people, after having been the founder and president of BBH USA and named Advertising Woman of the Year by Advertising Woman of New York. She also launched IfWeRanTheWorld, a web platform that gathered human good intentions and turned them into collective action.That evening we began discussing how she managed to create the MakeLoveNotPorn platform with a business model that associates real people who post sexual content that is the opposite of the porn industry, because it celebrates real people making love.We then talked about how she started BBH in New York and the barriers she faced at that time and how she likes to blow everything up.We discussed the IfWe Ran the World platform and how good intentions can be turned into a movement.Lastly, she concluded that although the communications industry promotes itself as diverse and open to women, for her, nothing has changed in the last ten years.ESPAÑOLFundadora de la plataforma MakeLoveNotPorn que promueve el “Social Sex Revolution” hecha por gente real, después de haber sido fundadora y presidenta de BBH Estados Unidos y nombrada Publicista del Año por Advertising Woman of New York. Además lanzó IfWeRanTheWorld, una plataforma web que reunió las buenas intenciones humanas para convertirlas en acción colectiva.Esa noche comenzamos sobre cómo ha logrado crear la plataforma MakeLoveNotPorn con un modelo de negocio que asocia a la gente real que postea contenidos sexuales que son lo opuesto a la industria del porn, porque celebra la gente de verdad haciendo el amor.Luego platicamos de cómo comenzó BBH en Nueva York y de las barreras a la que se enfrentó en esa época y de cómo le gusta estallar todo.Hablamos de la plataforma IfWe Ran the World y cómo las buenas intenciones se pueden convertir en un movimiento.Por último terminó concluyendo que aunque la industria de las comunicaciones se autopromuevan como diversas y abiertas para la mujer, para ella no ha cambiado nada en estos últimos diez años.Visítanos en https://www.elmartinez.net/ y suscríbete en Spotify, Apple Podcasts o donde lo estés oyendo ahora. Síguenos en FB o IG @elmartinezpodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you hyped about UPFRONT and Centre this Saturday? WE ARE!In this episode, I reflect on insightful moments from past conversations with three of our remarkable guests who will be our keynote speakers LIVE in Birmingham this Saturday 27th of April: Cindy Gallop, Genelle Aldred, and Dr. Meenal Viz.Cindy Gallop, a renowned figure in the advertising industry and CEO of Make Love Not Porn, shares her direct, no-nonsense approach that pushes us to elevate ourselves.Genelle Aldred, a former news presenter turned communication expert and author, delves into the complexities of confidence, particularly in navigating difficult conversations and self-advocacy.Dr. Meenal Viz gained prominence through her activism during COVID-19, challenging governmental policies regarding healthcare workers' safety. She shares her journey, emphasising the importance of confidence in activism and challenging the status quo.Each of these incredibly inspiring women brings a unique and powerful perspective that will only be amplified in person.Join us for this little taster now and on an even deeper level at UPFRONT and Centre, it will be the highlight of your year.Links:Follow Cindy, Genelle and Dr Meenal on Instagram - @cindygallop @genellealdred @drmeenalvizGet your ticket for UPFRONT and Centre here - https://www.upfrontandcentre.comListen to our full episode with Cindy, Moment 50: Women challenge the status quo because we never are it https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tIUkDfhRFr9whgvTxVbNM?si=UfQ06fBhQGCL4ivIIvaOZwListen to our full episode with Genelle, Moment 56: The art of confident communication - https://open.spotify.com/episode/1R587jTVfuN23VYzLb1XQk?si=YJMWE-ZES3KNaNev4a9hcQListen to our full episode with Dr. Meenal, Moment 30: How to successfully challenge the status quo https://open.spotify.com/episode/3a74QKMsQOWvzXqsRGuuk9?si=mayJWOEpSLO8-XLku24-bw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been awhile since we talked about pornography and issues surrounding it. Jessica is also worried about anime. Are these two related? Should parents be worried about animated porn images as well as live action videos and images? What is hentai anyway? What is the impact of trying to "lock down" a teenager's access to porn vs. the impact of open communication? We take on these and other issues surrounding harmful, sexually related imagery. Dr. Ken makes reference to Cindy Gallop's book "Make Love Not Porn." It appears this is no longer available. Got questions or feedback? We want to hear from you! podcast@feedingthemouth.com Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Mouth-That-Bites-You/dp/1514762374/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1667269257&sr=8-1 Music provided by the great John David Kent! - https://www.johndavidkent.com/

Cindy Gallop who is the face of ‘the Social Sex Revolution,' joins Creativity Squared again to discuss sex, A.I. & the human condition.  Cindy is the Founder & CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, the world's first and only user-generated, human-curated social sex video-sharing platform. Its mission is to end rape culture by socializing and normalizing sex and promoting good sexual values and behavior.  With over 30 years in the advertising industry, Cindy is an outspoken advocate of diversity and inclusion in advertising, tech, and business. She consults with brands on radical, breakthrough, innovative, and transformative ways to change the game in their industries. In our first conversation in Ep. 35, Cindy shared her solution to end deepfakes which disproportionately target women. Her answer: Fund female founders. As she shared, we haven't fully realized the potential of the internet and technology through the female lens, one in which we will all be safer, happier, and making more money, including men! In today's episode, you'll learn how you can easily fund our guest female founder in a couple of clicks. Support Cindy scaling her core business and building out the MakeLoveNotPorn Academy for the best sex education, based on age appropriateness, on the web: https://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/. This is Cindy's first-ever equity crowdfunding campaign, led by actress Jameela Jamil and hosted on the Wefunder platform. Cindy also explains the importance of MakeLoveNotPorn's revenue-sharing model and user ownership of content and data. Additionally, we discuss why Cindy pioneered the SexTech category, her thoughts on A.I., intimacy & the loneliness epidemic, where SexTech is today, and where it can go beyond just the hardware. Cindy also shares how SexTech can be used in gaming and messaging to improve our human-to-human sexual interactions and relationships. Despite an increasingly tech-driven world, Cindy stresses the value of human connection and touch.  Cindy accurately predicted sex in self-driving cars. What are her other SexTech predictions? Listen in to find out! EP NOTES: https://creativitysquared.com/podcast/ep43-cindy-gallop-sex-a-i-the-human-condition/ JOIN Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: https://creativitysquared.com/newsletter  Become a premium member: https://creativitysquared.com/supporters  SUBSCRIBE Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform: https://creativitysquared.com Subscribe for more videos: https://youtube.com/@creativity_squared/?sub_confirmation=1 CONNECT https://instagram.com/creativitysquaredpodcast https://facebook.com/CreativitySquaredPodcast https://giphy.com/channel/CreativitySquared https://tumblr.com/blog/creativitysquared https://tiktok.com/@creativitysquaredpodcast #CreativitySquared CONNECT with Helen Todd, the human behind C^2 https://instagram.com/helenstravels https://twitter.com/helenstravels https://linkedin.com/in/helentodd https://pinterest.com/helentodd Creativity Squared explores how creatives are collaborating with artificial intelligence in your inbox, on YouTube, and on your preferred podcast platform.  Because it's important to support artists, 10% of all revenue C^2 generates will go to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 100 arts organizations. Creativity Squared is brought to you by Sociality Squared, a social media agency who understands the magic of bringing people together around what they value and love: http://socialitysquared.com.  #FemaleFounders #WomenInTechnology #SexTech #WomenEmpowerment #WomenInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #ArtificialIntelligence #SocialSexRevolution #ArtificialIntelligenceAI #WomenInTech #DigitalCreativity #DeepFakes #ArtificialIntelligenceTechnology #MachineLearning #FutureTechnology #FutureTech #GenderEquality #TheFutureIsNow #GenderGap #TechPodcast #AIPodcast #AINews #TechWomen #DeepLearning #GenerativeModels #NeuralNetworks #NaturalLanguageProcessing #ConversationalAgents #EquitableTechnology #AITechnology

Jamie is joined by Cindy Gallop. She calls herself the "Michael Bay of business" because she likes to blow shit up. Cindy never wanted children and loves being unmarried. Her Ted Talk on dating younger men went viral and she's become an icon on TikTok for Gen Z, who say "I have seen my future and it's bright!" Cindy is the founder and CEO of the revolutionary sex education platform MakeLoveNotPorn but before that she took a leap of faith and left a high-flying career in Advertising at the age of 45. This conversation is candid, a little racy, and filled with mind-blowing wisdom that just might change your life and... as Cindy says, make you an "absolute god darn f'ing shit ton of money". Follow our guest @cindygallop Follow Jamie @jamielynneallover Video on www.patreon.com/jamieallover Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for a revolution in the sheets and the streets, as we sit down with Cindy Gallop, the genius at the forefront of the Social Sex Revolution. Cindy, the visionary behind MakeLoveNotPorn, shares the serendipitous inception of her platform and how it's challenging and reshaping societal norms around sex. But that's just the first layer. Delving deeper, Cindy unravels the complex web of gender bias in AI, advocating for a seismic shift towards inclusivity and safety in tech through the lens of female innovation. Imagine a world where AI not only serves us but enhances our creativity and nurtures ethical, consensual relationships in the digital age—Cindy believes it's not just possible; it's imperative. From the gritty challenges of entrepreneurship to the soaring potential of AI in the arts and sex tech, this conversation is a masterclass in disruption, diversity, and daring to dream.Key TakeawaysMake Love Not Porn has had a significant impact on changing the conversation around sex and challenging societal norms.The platform has played a role in shifting views on sex work and promoting healthy, consensual sexual relationships.Cindy Gallop emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, particularly in AI development.The future of AI depends on funding female founders and incorporating the female lens to create safe and beneficial AI experiences. Gender bias in AI can lead to ineffective and biased outcomes. Safety is a significant concern in AI development. Ensuring AI is designed and implemented safely is essential to prevent potential harm and create a positive impact.Ethical and consensual practices are essential in the world of sex and porn. AI can be used to create positive and empowering experiences, but it should be approached with caution and respect for consent.Investing in companies that align with one's values and beliefs can be a powerful way to support their growth and make a positive impact.Relevant Links:MakeLoveNotPornTheArts.AIMakeLoveNotPorn WeFunderSocials:SubstackInstagramXLinkedin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In honor of Women's History Month, we wanted to bring back one of our *favorite* episodes from Season 1, with the inimitable Cindy Gallop, who lives her life *exactly* as she wants and is *very good* at inspiring the rest of us to do the same. Cindy would like you to have *more* of everything you want - more money, more power, more freedom, more innovation, more connection, more joy - and yes, more sex.And who are we to argue?Cindy is also in the process of an equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder in support of her company, Make Love Not Porn, a social sex platform with the mission of promoting safe & informed sex for consenting adults. (The campaign's lead investor is actress & activist Jameela Jamil.) In this episode of "Your New Life Blend," Cindy talks about her work encouraging connection, communication, and authenticity (at MNLP and with her coaching clients, and speaking and newsletter audiences!) and why she wants you to build whatever you are dreaming of with your unique voice, skills and vision. We are *always* inspired by Cindy and we know you will be, too. We hope you enjoy this encore episode of your new life blend!SHOW NOTES MNLP Crowdfunding Campaignhttps://wefunder.com/makelovenotporn/WebsiteMakeLoveNotPorn.tvNewsletter Dear CindyTED TalkMake Love, Not PornSocial Media @CindyGallop on TwitterCindy Gallop on Linkedin@CindyGallop on Instagram

“We end rape culture by showing you how wonderful great consensual, communicative sex is in the real world.” Cindy Gallop never intended MakeLoveNotPorn to be a groundbreaking social sex tech platform. But when her original website went viral after Cindy's TED talk in 2009, she knew she was being called to create something far bigger and more meaningful. Today, MakeLoveNotPorn is the world's first and only user-generated and 100% human-curated social sex video sharing platform, whose mission is to promote good sexual behavior and good sexual values by showing real people having safe, healthy, consensual sex. The platform is blazing the trail for female-built and mission-driven businesses, and the need to create more safe and inclusive online and real-world experiences for us all.In this episode, Erin and Cindy engage in a thought-provoking conversation around the intersection of sex, business, and the important role of women in shaping the future of the Internet. Join us in charting a course towards a more inclusive and empathetic future, as we discuss:Unpacking the detrimental effects of mainstream pornography on sexual education and behaviorRethinking business as a way to do good and make money simultaneouslyThe transformative power of real-world, consensual sex in fostering healthier sexual attitudes and behaviors.The critical need for female-led initiatives in tech and AI development to create a safer, better, happier internet for all of us (including men!)Read Cindy's op-ed in Fast Company, “Three Reasons Why the Future of AI Relies on Women” HEREHarnessing the power of human curation to foster safe, inclusive (and profitable) online spacesThe pivotal role of AI in redefining consent and combating toxic masculinity in the media and legal landscapes.Strategies for aligning personal values with professional pursuits to effect positive change and drive innovationOUR GUEST: Cindy Gallop, a graduate of Somerville College, Oxford, boasts a diverse background spanning over 30 years in brand-building, marketing, and advertising. Named Advertising Woman of the Year in 2003, she founded IfWeRanTheWorld, a co-action software promoting shared values and shared action for shared profit. Additionally, as the founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn, she spearheads a social sextech platform advocating for healthy sexual behavior and values. Recognized as one of Business Insider's 15 Most Important Marketing Strategy Thinkers Today, Cindy is a sought-after speaker globally, renowned for her insightful talks on the future of advertising and marketing. She champions diversity and inclusion in various industries and serves as a Jury President at Cannes Lions and a leader in initiatives combating ageism and promoting gender equality.Want more Cindy? Find her online at https://cindygallop.com/ and learn more about MakeLoveNotPorn at https://makelovenotporn.tv/ Follow Cindy and MakeLoveNotPorn on social media @cindygallop and @makelovenotpornWatch her TED talk “Make Love Not Porn”: https://www.ted.com/talks/cindy_gallop_make_love_not_porn Want more Hotter Than Ever? Find us and episode transcripts online at www.hotterthaneverpod.com and sign up for our mailing list! Follow us on:Instagram: @hotterthaneverpod TikTok: @hotterthaneverpod Youtube: @hotterthaneverpod Facebook:

Cindy Gallop, the CEO and Founder of MakeLoveNotPorn, has never played by the rules. Born and raised abroad, Cindy climbed the ranks of the advertising industry, despite often being one of the only women in the room. But after leaving her corporate advertising role, she stumbled upon her new calling while doing research for a client pitch on online dating: providing sex education through a reimagined porn website. On this episode of She Pivots, Cindy talks with Emily about why she fell in love with New York City, sexism in the advertising industry, what she has learned from dating younger men, and why conversations around (and right before!) sex are so crucial. Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share with your friends if you liked this episode!She Pivots was created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight women, their stories, and how their pivot became their success. To learn more about Cindy, follow us on Instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast or visit shepivotsthepodcast.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're revisiting this incredible episode with MakeLoveNotP*rn's Cindy Gallop, as Jameela shares an exciting announcement. Jameela & Cindy discuss loving the single life, how she discovered a gap in the porn market, why “social sex” is the answer to the porn industry's problems, the importance of sex education at every age, love as a kink, the patriarchal-fueled obstacles she faces building her company, and more. Find more here: www.iweighxmlnp.com and follow Cindy @cindygallop on IG & twitter. If you have a question for Jameela, email it to iweighpodcast@gmail.com, and we may ask it in a future episode!You can find transcripts from the show on the Earwolf websiteI Weigh has amazing merch – check it out at podswag.comSend what you 'weigh' to iweighpodcast@gmail.comJameela is on Instagram @jameelajamil and TikTok @jameelajamilAnd make sure to check out I Weigh's Instagram, Youtube and TikTok for more!

A few weeks ago, I had a fantastic conversation with Dr. Amy Divaraniya, CEO of Oova, a hormonal health testing company. We talked all about how very few women have regular 28-day cycles (only 13%, and maybe even closer to 5% according to Oova's latest data!) and what that means for those who are trying to conceive or who are hitting perimenopause.⁠⁠I love a good #femtech story where a woman brings a product to market to solve her own health issue. Congratulations to Dr. Amy for raising a whopping $ 10.3 million for their Series A. That's big money in femtech! ⁠Here's to taking our health into our hands, and I hope you enjoy the story! Listeners of Misseducated get 10% off Oova. Go to https://oova.life/misseducated and apply the promo code MISSOOVA10 when you checkout.Episode Transcript I apologize in advance for typos or misattribution of words. We'll gladly make any corrective updates that you identify. [Intro] [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] They say that if you have PCOS or irregular cycles, our data may not be reliable for you. And I was like, well, that's great because we know that 87 percent of women don't have a 28-day cycle. So, who are you trying to solve this problem for?[Tash Doherty] Hello everyone. And welcome back to Misseducated with me, your host, Tash Doherty. And today my guest is Dr. Amy Diverania, the founder and CEO of Oova. A personalized at-home test to help females understand their unique hormone profile. There's been a lot of talk of hormonal health in Femtech over the last couple of years, and Oova is leading the way in measuring LH, estrogen, and progesterone, three key hormones in the menstrual cycle.In 2023, Dr. Amy and her team raised a whopping $ 10.3 million Series A, which is big money in Femtech, so we're super excited to dive into all things hormonal health. So, Dr. Amy, welcome to Miseducated. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk to you today. You got your PhD from the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai in Genetics and Genomic Sciences.So what inspired you to get your PhD, and what did you discover in your thesis and your research?  [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Before I did my Ph.D., I was actually working in the industry as a data scientist, and I've been really fortunate in my career to be surrounded by folks who are smarter than me and amazing mentors. I've never really disliked a boss; they've always pushed me.To be better and move forward. My director actually took me out to lunch one day and was like, Amy, he was so mad. Right. It's really weird to see your manager mad. And it's not directed towards you, but he's like, I want to give you a promotion, but I can't because you either need a PhD or ten years of experience.And at that point, I only had five years. So he was like, leave here. Go get your Ph.D., and then wherever you go, I'm coming, and I was like, all right, fine. Like, I'll invest in myself. Like, don't invest the time here invested in you and go and get your Ph.D., so I did, and I was really particular about where I wanted to go.Who I wanted to work with. I was kind of a groupie of my 2 Ph.D. advisors, who were at the time also leaders in the genomic space, very visionary, and I was always that person in the audience listening to the same talk over and over again, just inspired beyond belief. I wanted them to be my mentors, and they both accepted me.I got into the school. They agreed on my Ph.D. dissertation topic. We kind of hit the ground running from there. And believe it or not, my director that had advised me to do this actually came in as an investor in the company, too. So he did follow me, which is really exciting. But my Ph.D. work had nothing to do with what we're doing today.It was really looking at genetic networks and figuring out why women or not women, why people were developing certain diseases in the inflammatory. Like, why were you getting lupus over cardiovascular disease when they're so related? What's that trigger that says you're going to get this disease versus another?And we were able to actually model out various genetic networks by looking at different tissues and health records to validate everything, which is really cool. I had beautiful pictures throughout my dissertation. [Tash Doherty] Wow. So, you planned to go back to your industry job when you finished your PhD? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Well, yes and no, I wanted to go back to work. I wasn't really in this, like, I need to start my own company mentality at all, but I didn't really want to go back to big pharma because I felt like. Those companies are so big, and you have all these great ideas; you often get lost, and it takes so long for innovation to come to real life. At that point, it's not even innovative anymore.My plan was either to go into a biotech or startup and my PhD advisors were really well connected there. So they were like, what kind of company do you want to go into? And at that point, I was going through infertility myself. And I was experiencing the gaps in women's health and not understanding what my body was doing.And so what I unintentionally did was pitch Oova. I basically said, do you know any company that is monitoring hormones, helping women navigate various phases of life, and doing it in a nonblood form? And they both looked at me and were like, no, you need to build that. And I was like, okay, sure.They're like, I have an investor coming tomorrow, get a pitch deck together, and I'll put you in front of them. I was like, all right, fine. I happily walked back to my desk, Google, like a good student. What is a pitch deck? And I put together an 87-page deck to put in front of this investor. [Tash Doherty] 87-pages. That's quite extensive.I mean, I had just written a dissertation that was hundreds of pages long. So, 87 pages felt like nothing. He was very kind and tore that deck apart with so much grace and was like, you only need these seven slides, Amy. And I was like, Oh, okay. And that's really where it started. Wow. Well, I love the idea of having so many mentors that you can learn from, and he will just give you the honest truth.Like nobody needs that many pages. This is Silicon Valley. Like people do not have time to sit through hours and hours of research. So that's really amazing.[Tash Doherty] And so when you talk about your own experience with infertility, because you were trying to conceive like with your partner and was it like a question of like, Do you know anything about, you know, your unexplained infertility? Was it when you were cycling, or did you have PCOS or some other kind of like other condition that was affecting whether or not you could conceive? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah. So, I've always had irregular cycles since my first period. It's always been a regular, and I've kind of tried everything like I was misdiagnosed with PCOS for multiple years.I was put on the hormone birth control, all of that to find out finally with like a sane OB that, okay, having an irregular period is just normal for you. So I kind of accepted that, and I let it go, but when it was time to start trying to conceive, I was doing everything right. I was using my fertility tracking apps.I was peeing on sticks. I was tracking every symptom like I was a data scientist by training. So like, give me data, and I will find that golden nugget. But there was no pattern to be found in this data. All I was learning was that I'm irregular, and it's so frustrating because my train ride to work every day was literally dissecting all my data.That's what I would do. Like, no one can sit on the seat. I have my stuff spread out. Like, this is my time to really dig in, and I couldn't find anything. The most frustrating part was when you were looking at the fine print of all these products. They say that if you have P. C. O. S. or irregular cycles, our data may not be reliable for you.And I was like, well, that's great because we know that 87 percent of women don't have a 28-day cycle. So, who are you trying to solve this problem for? And that's really where the light bulb started coming up. I don't know if I'm ovulating or not. I can't not be ovulating in the 18 months it took me to conceive.I have to be ovulating much more frequently than I am. And I just didn't have those answers. The breaking point for me was more so sitting on my bathroom floor. After getting another pregnancy test, it was four in the morning. I was bawling and crying, and I had my dad's magnifying glass in my hand, trying to find a double line on a pregnancy test, and I couldn't find it.And I was like, my Ph.D. work is so innovative, and I'm doing such crazy things, yet I'm sitting here with a 60-year-old magnifying glass, trying to figure out if I'm pregnant or not. It just didn't feel like real life. And there was such a broken piece of the puzzle that I wanted to fix. These are the kinds of stories that I love to feature on this podcast because it's amazing how we now have so many women in STEM, so many women, OBs, you know, women doing PhDs.There are nice, fancy things that we're all studying and researching. And yet, there's our lived experience of going to the doctor and trying to understand their own bodies. And we're so behind still on that. [Tash Doherty] I always get really excited and inspired when I'm like, okay, here's a person who is like STEM, literate, educated, and like enfranchised basically.Like when you have a Ph.D., or you're assigned as like, you can do all these things and study these things. So that's really great that, you know, unfortunately, you have to take one for the team and put your own body on the line for the greater good. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] You bring up a really good point. Yes, there are a lot of women in STEM and making moves here, but it wasn't until I started this company that I actually felt like the only woman in a room.And I don't know if I was just oblivious to it, or I don't know what it was. Still, I didn't feel like I was actually treated like a woman until I started this company in an environment like a group setting; I felt like I was always treated like a person. And now I'm feeling like, oh my God, like I, everyone is looking at me like I am the only woman in a room because I am defending a woman's health issue for a woman's health company being run by women.[Tash Doherty] Yeah, it's crazy. I've had, um, Anna Lee as well from Lioness on the podcast, and she talks about like pitching sex toys to all male investor panels in Silicon Valley, and I'm like, oh wow, really respect for that girl. Yeah, to be a fly in the wall, right? Wow, and so did you end up discovering, you know, through your data and all your research, like, were you ovulating, or also it randomly, like, through your cycle?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] So, no, I was ovulating every cycle, but the issue for me was that my luteinizing hormone search was just on the lower end. So when you look at these over-the-counter tests that are available, they're all threshold-based. So my LH just wasn't reaching their threshold. So, I was getting false negatives every month.So, literally, I was missing my window because the test wasn't reading it. [Tash Doherty] That's crazy. Yeah. I've also interviewed Dr. Amy from Proov, and I would love to get into a little bit of Proov as well because it's kind of a similar market. Still, parts of Oova's applications, but yeah, she was just talking again about how, like, even with COVID vaccines, it's like, they were only testing it on female bodies that were, like, not cycling.This is, again, of course, you're going to have outside effects on people who are cycling, which is the vast majority of people. Still, it's just like a really, a really difficult thing where I think, obviously, because so much of this medical history is like very patriarchal and like driven by men, it's like the added level of cycles is just too complicated, or women were assumed to be like too unintelligent, or we didn't have enough education to be able to figure out our cycles on our own.So it's kind of just this, You know, clusterfuck medical issues. And I think that's why it's really starting to unravel now. And we have a chance of getting really great gains in this generation of women and beyond, which is awesome. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah, no, you bring up a great point. There are definitely those two aspects that you highlighted that women just aren't accepted to be able to handle this data and understand what's going on. But then you go to the other end of the spectrum, right? When your cycle stops. In science, there are very few things that you can say affect 100 percent of a population. Menopause is one. If a woman is to live to a certain age, 100 percent of those women will go through menopause. Yet we know nothing about it.It is a mystery. I don't understand that. Like, why do we not understand this transition that is inevitable and are able to guide women through that? I understand everyone's different and everyone's going to have different symptoms, but the fact that no one has, there's no holy grail. Like, if I experienced this, it could be X, Y, or Z. There's none of that. And after generations of women going through this. We still don't have any sort of answers there. I think it's completely a disservice to women. Totally. I think perimenopause is a huge area that we need a lot more advancements in.[Tash Doherty] And I think that's a great segue actually to some of the product questions that I was going to ask you about, and maybe we could give an example of a perimenopause user with Oova so far. So I think it's like digital urine tests; if I'm right, it's like the same test over and over again. So yeah, tell us a bit about the product and like how a woman who's experiencing perimenopause might want to use it.[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Sure. So I'll explain the product a little bit so people understand what it looks like. I can show it to you, but, um, I can describe it for your listeners. It's a urine-based test, so every kit comes with 30 strips. There are 15 strips to measure luteinizing hormone and progesterone and 15 that measure estrogen.Each one of our cartridges has a QR code on it, so we know exactly what tests are measuring. You don't need to worry about, like, am I using LH or estrogen? Am I misrepresenting it? We work, we take care of all of it. But you basically provide a urine sample, and then you scan it with your phone. Very similar to how you would do a mobile deposit, right?You're not entering data in. We get the data directly from the test strip, and then we interpret it all for you and let you know exactly what your hormone levels are every day that you use a test. Now, for perimenopause, we expect you to use it for 15 consecutive days. So we can really understand what your hormone profile looks like.Oova's forte is not on a single time point measurement. We really value looking at the trend of your hormone over time. Because we're not robots. We don't stay stagnant. We have fluctuation. And you need to understand what that fluctuation is for every woman to really guide her. So what we're looking for on the perimenopause side is 1; how are the symptoms that you're experiencing relating to the hormone levels that you're having?Is there a hormonal imbalance there? Can we help navigate you by giving you lifestyle recommendations to alleviate those symptoms or not? And really, are you in perimenopause or not? We have so many women who are using our perimenopause kit right now, thinking they are. But when you look at the data, they're still cycling.It's just Irregular. And yeah, you could say that's a sign for perimenopause, but does that mean I've been in perimenopause for 20 years? No, it's just my norm. Right? So we're really trying to help navigate women through this transition because the biggest issue is that it's so unknown. And we just don't know what's going on.[Tash Doherty] Yeah. So they're basically maybe experiencing some symptoms, but then they're still cycling, but basically the, I don't know, the hormones are winding down or they're irregular. And so, yeah, that's just helping them to measure that. And so is that also something that you really focus on is not having a threshold for these different types of hormones, just saying like, this is your level.That doesn't mean you're over and above or below whatever; this is personalized to you as a kind of hormone package, in a way. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] That's exactly it. So, we don't have a threshold on our test at all. You're getting an actual level of all your hormones every day. We really focus on understanding every woman's unique hormone baseline.So I get this question all the time. I understand these are my levels, but what's normal? And my answer is always, well, whatever is normal for you, like that 20-day cycle, which is not normal. We're not striving for that anymore. We're not 19, 18, 20, trying to get pregnant anymore. If that was great from the previous generation for us, now we're in our late 20s and early 30s, trying to get pregnant, and we're not following a 28-day cycle.For the most part. So, how do we really embrace your uniqueness and understand what's happening in your body? So our answer is always like, it may be normal for you. Let's look at your historical data. And then we help women educate themselves on what their body is actually saying. Yeah, and I think that's just so powerful, like, because there's so much, as you've talked about in your experience, like even my experience getting birth control, whatever, and like having painful periods, there's so much shame that is built into like, what is the normal female body doing?[Tash Doherty] And I just love that, you know, with personalized products like yours, you can just understand and be kind of proud and be like, yeah, I'm irregular and like, this is what happens to me. And like, this is how I deal with it. Or, you know, and then have more personalized, you know, recommendations around like health or nutrition or whatever it is.Cause you guys have quite a holistic look at the fertility windows and things there. Um, yeah, so that's pretty, pretty crazy. Less shame, less guilt for being a female. Yeah, absolutely. And what I love as well about the product is that, like, you can just tell from the, from how it's made that, like, you don't even have to input any data.You just scan the QR code. Like, that's kind of cool. I don't know if you can go into the details, but I like how that actually works. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah, sure. I'll be honest with you. We had the QR code way before COVID. So when we were thinking about the product learning curve, I was like, people are going to not know how to use the QR code. Well, thank you. COVID everything. Everyone knows what these things are now, and it's not a learning curve anymore, but we basically print a QR code on every cartridge. And we know it's embedded with a lot of data. It's not just there for. Positioning. It actually has data in it that we use internally to help interpret your results.The test strip that's inside of that cartridge, it's designed to quantitatively measure your hormones. So, the intensities of the lines actually vary based on how much hormone is present in your sample. But I don't want a woman interpreting that by eye. So when she scans her test strip, not only do we understand what hormones she's testing, plus all of the backend information that we need.But we're able to use our AI and image processing to really fine tune and get to two levels, two decimal places of accuracy in our hormone levels on a daily basis. So there's a lot of going on in that test strip. It's not just meant for you to visually interpret it. Wow. Yeah, that's kind of exactly what we need, though, is that there's the variations of levels, obviously the different types of hormones, but yeah, just having that level of accuracy is super important.[Tash Doherty] And I mean, I'm also. I've studied a lot of statistics around birth control and stuff. And it's just like, if you're using something over a long period of time, it's like, we just want to remove human error and also make the user experience easier. That's super awesome. And maybe you can then tell us a little bit about the other daily action plan or like tips and recommendations that you include in the app experience. So, for nutritional, emotional, and physical health. Like what does that look like when you're in Oova? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah. When you're going through any of these transitions, whether it's trying to get pregnant or going through debating if you're in perimenopause or not, you're already stressed out, right? Like there's some level of stress that is pushing you to buy this product to get some answers. So we're not trying to layer on more work for you or add more to your checklist of things to do every day. But what we are trying to do is, as we're seeing your hormone patterns and understanding what's going on with your body, there are some lifestyle changes that you can implement to reduce some of the discomfort that you're experiencing. So we will try to give it to you in bite-sized pieces. For example, let's look at PCOS, which is a very common and one of the most common diagnoses that we have in our platform. If you notice that you are showing signs of PCOS because your hormones look a little unbalanced.We're going to start implementing physical activity that is very lightweight. So giving you tips like, let's go for a 10-minute walk after a meal today, right? Or let's stand after eating our meal today for 5 minutes before we become sedentary because you want your insulin to be working; you need it to be like digesting your food properly.So we start giving you these little habits. That will actually have a long-term impact rather than, say, you need to exercise after every meal. That's not going to happen. So we're really just trying to embrace healthy living and long-term healthy living. Right. [Tash Doherty] And do you see any other use cases for Oova, apart from trying to conceive and perimenopause in the future? We can go more into the future unless it can translate in the conversation to more like the business model stuff as well. So, yeah, what are you thinking for more use cases? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] So women aren't just like baby-making machines, right? Like our bodies are designed to have babies. Yes, but we go through so many transitions from our first period to the last, and it's all driven by hormones. So yes, Oova started with fertility. Yes, we moved into perimenopause, but we're really trying to scale across all the different sectors of a woman's life.Using the hormones that we have plus additional ones that we're thinking of adding as well. My goal as a company is to ensure that we're providing women and people in general just all the information they need so they can navigate every transition with information and not Google articles. Right. I want to be able to empower a woman to advocate for her own health and have that two-way conversation with her doctor, which kind of moves into our business model, but that's kind of the long-term plan of Oova, helping women navigate through every phase of life. [Tash Doherty] Totally. And we want more data, and we need more data in order to do that. So yeah, part of your business model, in addition to the kits and stuff that you have, is a membership. So, I didn't look too much into this, but I would love to know what the membership consists of. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah. So it's kind of funny. What we ended up doing was we just had our one-time order and a subscription model for the longest time. And we always offered these free consults with our team. If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out. It was always a console with either our support team or me, but it was a face-to-face Zoom call. Um, and the questions that we got were pretty similar. Can you just talk me through my data?Like, I understand everything that's happened, but I just need someone to verbalize it for me. So I was like, this is we're onto something because people are using this. Let's embed that into the product because it is so useful and it's such a distinguishing aspect of what we can offer. Since we have actual data, not just a bunch of yeses and nays or smiley faces like we have actual numbers to talk about.So, with our membership model, what we did was we embedded these consultations that are available to all of our members monthly. We also have events that are. Secure for our members to be able to talk to clinicians in our network about their own data. It's a really safe forum. So, of course, we're always HIPAA compliant, but oftentimes, you don't want to go to your regular doctor to ask certain questions.So, we offer these events where a patient can log in with one of our providers, and the provider can view their data once a patient gives them access and answer any specific questions they want. We also have office hours with these clinicians. So, if they want to talk to them one-on-one, don't feel comfortable in a group setting.That's always available too. It's so clear that women are hungry for this information, and they're just not able to get it elsewhere. So if we're able to provide that trusted circle for them, it's an honor to be able to do that. [Tash Doherty] Totally. And super cool. And so through your experience, like building the product, like scaling, um, exploring all these different use cases, uh, what are some interesting features or insights that surprised you as you were going through the process?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya]  Are you talking about building or just like after the product kind of got out there?[Tash Doherty] Um, let's do building and then one example of, like, an insight from users as well. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Okay, so building, I think, it was an assumption for me. So, like, my husband always makes fun of me when I'm like, I think we want to add this feature in here like, how do you know people want this?I'm like, well, I want it. And I'm assuming 10 other women want it. So I'm going to go with it. And so far, it's been right. So, one thing that I had a hunch about was. People are going to want to compare their data to normal, whatever is normal. So, we added this feature in our report where you can overlay a typical 28-day cycle on top of your own.But then all the messaging that's associated with that is that it's okay. You're different from this, but this is why, and it's okay, right? So, really trying to embrace the fact that you're not normal. You're normal for you. And I was floored by how many women appreciated that because they felt like they were spiraling and not knowing what was wrong.Yeah, and there's so many, like, undiagnosed people, even yourself, being misdiagnosed, and it's just like, without any understanding. I mean, the baselines are helpful. Um, but I think it's also the fact that we're not treating women, especially in the ways that you provide people with recommendations and stuff for their health.[Tash Doherty] It's like, you're not treating them as, you know, different or like, You're just saying this is, you're actually personalizing the experience more. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya]  Yeah, but it is a fine balance. [Tash Doherty] And then what was something that surprised you about either the data or something else that was interesting?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Well, I'll share two things. So one is we're so heavy on the data side and being sure that we're clear on research and backing all of our claims with doing the studies that we need to, um, there was a study that came out a couple of years ago saying that only 13 percent of women have a 28-day cycle. And I was like, let's, let's test that out.How many women on our platform actually have a 28-day cycle? We found it was 5%. [Tash Doherty] Oh my gosh. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] And yet, everything is designed for a 28-day cycle. [Tash Doherty] Yeah. Well, it's also probably because, like, my grandmother, she's, like, 86, but she took part in the first nurses' health study, which was, again, only tested on, like, white women who were nurses in the 50s and 60s.So, you know, whatever data set they were working with is probably, like, 100 years old, and was only testing, like, women in Indiana who were white Christian churchgoers or something under the age of 30, like. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Yeah. So it's, it was amazing as we published that last year, and that's gotten a lot of traction, but then the, so I'm like, glad that we're starting to like myth bust some of the assumptions that we have about women's health and we're doing it with data.But the 2nd thing that really surprised me, I know women want this information. I didn't know how badly. So when we launched our perimenopause product or our 3 hormone tests, I should say, in December of last year, we obviously had projections. We were prepared for whatever we wanted. We sold out of 15 weeks of inventory in 2 weeks.[Tash Doherty] Oh, my God. That's crazy. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya]  And I was just like, what do we do now? Like this is a great problem, but it's not like it just really opened up my eyes to how badly women want this. Yeah. And we're solving a true need here. Yeah. I'm excited. There are other players that are really starting to navigate this.[Tash Doherty] I've had a lot of other friends on here as well. Kristina from Kegg Tech is one of my best friends, um, in the fertility tracking space, and the same thing. It's like HSA approved suddenly, you know, all the stocks are gone, and you've got to order. But they have physical devices. So it's like, you have to have a six-month delay or something. And it's incredibly difficult. So, yeah, it's, uh, I'm, I'm glad it's like people, it's more accessible and yeah, better ramp up production because now that we, as Cindy Gallop also says, there's a lot of money that you can make from like believing women. So, as soon as you make a product that people are willing to use, it's incredible in that sense. And so, in June of 2023, you raised 10. 3 million to Series A. Congratulations. That is huge. So, what was your fundraising journey like? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] It was very interesting. Like I told you earlier, I've never felt like the only woman in a room. The first time, I felt that wasn't always fundraising, not specifically in this round, but just in general. I mean, the world is very different today than it was a year ago than it was a year before that. So it was a very unique experience of fundraising like the markets are crashing and whatnot. But what I had done.I'm a big believer because I'm a first-time founder. Let's caveat everything with that. So I don't have a network of investors to tap into, Hey, guys, I have this new effort. Believe in me, put money in. Like, I don't have that. So, um, what I've always been really adamant about is.Build a relationship with these people before you ask for money because. You never know. And what people are innately always willing to do is offer help and advice. If you're open to it. So I've always done that. So, when I closed my seed round, I actually started talking to Series A investors right away. The next day, I didn't even give myself a moment to celebrate that I closed my seed.[Tash Doherty] I feel like you at least have a moment to celebrate, like just an inch. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] It was just, it was more of a breath of fresh air. It's like, all right, now what's next? Right. Um, but in that year and a half between our seed or whatever the time limit amount was, I spent so much time speaking with Series A investors and building relationships. So when it came time for our A. We were preempted, and then people jumped on very quickly, so it still took us time to close. But I had already built that trust with a lot of investors where we were able to bring in some amazing funds, and I'm just really proud of what we were able to build. Such a like, truncated amount of time.[Tash Doherty] Yeah, that's huge. And also, it seems like you're quite well connected because you're, like, living in New York, right? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] The company's based in New York. I live in Connecticut, which is about 30 minutes north of New York City. But I think it's not so much about where you are physically. It's more so about being open to feedback, questions, and help. Because I've always been able to accept that. And I'm always hungry for it. And I feel like you can only grow when you surround yourself with folks that are smarter than you and more established and know things that you just haven't experienced before. Um, and I think that's really attractive to some of these people that just genuinely want to help founders. [Tash Doherty] Yeah, totally. That's actually something that I wrote down in my own journals recently. I'm doing all my own social media and platform building as an author as well. I had watched a talk about self publishing like over a year ago and then forgot about it. I didn't implement any action items from the talk. And then obviously the woman, I watched it again last week, and then she's like, yeah, you gotta go with like Ingram Spark. And I had gone with a different self-publishing platform, so I was like, oh man, if I had just actually taken these people's advice, you know, and again, it's a tricky balance because you wanna, you know, you have your own view of the product, right?Like you have the features that you wanna build that you think, uh, the user's gonna need. But then, when it comes to stuff that you have no idea about, or I'm seeing myself when I don't know something. That's exactly what I need: just take the best advice that I can and then keep going with my own vision and my own thing that I'm working on.Yeah, it's definitely an art, right? Like the advice is always out there. [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] And the thing that I've also learned is that people have so many ideas. It's all about the execution. So when you take a piece of advice, it is an idea. Now you have to go and execute on it, which is the hard part. So, if you do your diligence on all the ideas and advice that you're getting, you'll have a solid path forward.But if you're closed off to that great resource, you're only going to be moving forward with what you think is best. And that may not be necessarily the most important choice. [Tash Doherty] Right, exactly that. And also, I'm somebody who's struggled to ask for help for various reasons, you know, depending on your upbringing and how you've managed to survive as a woman in the world thus far. I mean, being a trailblazer and doing your own thing as much as possible. It's like sometimes you're trained not to ask for help. So that's a good skill we can all implement in 2024. Yes, let's finish with a couple of more personal questions as we're wrapping up today. Um, if you were going to do a PhD again today, what would you do it in?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] I would probably do something in education but tailor it a little bit. Um, if I could start another company, it would be focused on redefining what sexual wellness means when you're learning about sex and sex ed. Like I want to redefine that entire program across the world. We should not be teaching girls that their period is something to be ashamed of.They need to understand what the biology of this is and why you're having a period. It is not true that if you have sex, you're going to get pregnant. That is absolutely not the case. And I'm living proof of that. What we do need to understand is why you have a cycle, that there are certain days that you can get pregnant, and what that means.Yes. Like you, you can make the argument that when the kid's minds aren't developed yet, they won't understand those nuances. That is feeding into that entire scope of women not needing or being able to handle data about their bodies. It's just not true. I gave my nine-month-old a phone, an iPhone. He grabbed my phone.He knew how to swipe. Yeah. Like, they know way more and are much more capable of handling information and knowledge than we give everyone credit for. And I'd want to redo what the entire program looks like. [Tash Doherty] Yeah, and I think an aspect of that is that, like, you know, it's kind of like when you're in that awkward puberty phase where you're like, am I going to sit at the adult's table or the kid's table at Thanksgiving?Um, but the reality is that we treat young girls, you know, like children; they're already fertile and have been cycling since I was like 11 when I got my period. So, I probably should feel equipped, empowered, and enfranchised with the data that I can understand about my body.So yeah, it's a very, it's a very strange, again I think that's like a patriarchal thing where it's like the infantilization of women, um, because that's what, you know, in our society people have historically found attractive. So changing that sounds like a great thing to do. And what are some other areas of research or women's health questions that you think people who are interested in STEM should be answering or trying to answer?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] I would hope that anyone that's addressing any women's health issue is looking at objective data. I think a lot of the, like, conclusions that have been made or assumptions that have been made about women's health are based off of subjective things. Like, if you look at period tracking apps, it's all subjective data.We're one of the first actually to bring objectivity to those symptoms. I mean, I have years of data and all these apps, but if I look at it, there really aren't many patterns there that I can draw conclusions from. Now, when I look at my three years of data, that's powerful. Cause I'm seeing what the hormone trends were.I'm seeing the days that I was super stressed and that my cycle was completely off. And there are explanations that I can draw from looking at actual objective data. So, there are so many areas that are exciting right now. Like, I think menopause is having its moment finally, like, man, I guess women have started going through menopause, right?It's finally having its moment. There are companies that are looking at the microbiome, the vaginal microbiome. I think that's fantastic too. Like, let's understand what cervical mucus is and really get to the bottom of why you're having that and other issues there; Priyanka Jain (at Evvy) is wonderful. Like, I love the way that they're approaching the vaginal microbiome, they're really normalizing this as a body part, and it's not something to be ashamed of, like. There's a purpose to having a vagina, and we shouldn't be shy about that. Um, so I'm really excited about some of the innovation that's happening and the way the conversation is shifting.[Tash Doherty] Yes, exactly. And if you had any career advice for women interested in STEM and startups today, what would you tell them? [Dr. Amy Divaraniya] The number one thing that has helped me get to where I am today is always asking questions. And I think when you do a Ph.D., you're kind of trained to ask questions, but I was doing it before I even did a Ph.D. because the more questions that you ask, the more doors that are open.So if I'm talking to an investor about something, and I know this person isn't going to invest in us. We're not in there like round size or whatever, but they're going to know at least five other people that would be good fits for me. And that's how you build your network. And that's how you grow because you're going to have five more conversations that have so many more legs.And I've always been open to that across every aspect of my life. And it's never hurt me. It's only kind of paying it forward in a way by always having a network to tap into. [Tash Doherty] Well, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Great advice all around. And, uh, speaking of these kinds of questions, what do you wish that I had asked you, or what should I have asked you in this interview?[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] You asked really good questions. But I think the one thing would be, what is a big gap that I'm seeing in this space? Right now. Yeah. I think we asked what areas we could; it was exciting, but we didn't really see what the big oversight was. I think there are a lot of players in the fem tech or women's health side, but people enrolled, like going off to the same investors, we're all like trying to show growth and things like that.But I would hope that, especially when you're a female founder, that's like the companies that are really in the space, like all the female-founded ones, you know how you would want to get marketed to. And what information you would need to make, like, to be convinced to make this purchase. I would hope that companies just stay true to that and not do false advertising or bend the truth. Like, let's be honest and clear with our potential customers about what we're actually putting out there because I think we're just creating more noise and hurting our community so much by playing the marketing game. This should not be a marketing game. It should be providing value to a community that is desperately in need of it.[Tash Doherty]  Yeah, totally. I mean, that's if they can get their ads published at all, you know, with the Facebook and Instagram ads, you know, like the banana penis can go on the subway in New York. But, uh, and then, I think her name is Alex, but anyway, yeah, the Dame had this huge thing about that as well.Amazing and fascinating. Such a bummer because then you can't, even even if you raise a million dollars, it's like, well, if you can't advertise like you don't get any of that growth,[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] But we're still held to the same metrics that men are, right? [Tash Doherty]  So anyway, Dr. Amy, this has been an incredible conversation. I am so grateful that you could come and chat with us today, and yeah, best of luck with Oova and all of the great things in store for 2024.[Dr. Amy Divaraniya] Thank you so much. It's wonderful to speak with you. [Outro] [Tash Doherty] Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Miseducated. If you'd like a special discount on Oova, I'm super excited to be able to share this promo code with you. You can go to Oova dot life slash miseducated, which is It's O O V A dot L I F E slash M I S S E D U C A T E D. And the discount code is, all caps, MissOova10, which is M I S S O O V A 1 0. Lots of love, everyone. Stay safe out there, and I hope that you'll join us for another episode of Miseducated again soon.Bye! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit misseducated.substack.com/subscribe

How To Not Lose Yourself In A Relationship - By Tash Doherty“Look into his angeleyes, one look and you're hypnotized.” – ABBAIntroductionI've been doing the “dating” thing recently, and a subtle but terrifying thing keeps happening. When I'm seeing a guy I like, I start reorienting my life around him in tiny ways. I leave my late evenings open in case he wants to message me. I only make tentative plans with my friends because he might ask me out. Soon, I find myself sleeping over at his house in the middle of the week, leaving sleep-deprived and with a poor performance at work the next day. This seems harmless at first, but soon it snowballs. Within a couple of weeks, I've become a clingy, needy mess, a shell of my former independent self. And unsurprisingly, the relationship doesn't work out because of this.Strangely, when I have just myself to contend with, one could say that I'm a “responsible adult” (big words). I exercise regularly. I live in a cute, clean apartment where I feel safe. I put food on my table. But things have changed since I've decided I want to have children and am now looking for a more serious, long-term partner. Once I start dating someone, my entire life routine goes out the window.It's a painful and annoying trap to fall into again and again. So, in this piece, I explore what this is and share everything I've learned on how to avoid it. I hope that by reading this you can somehow sidestep this shitstorm altogether.Why does this happen?On one extreme, I sound lonely and desperate for this guy to fall in love with me. This is partly cultural. In our culture, we are obsessed with love, fairytales, and happily-ever-after. This leaves women totally screwed. Even though I'm a feminist, I was raised on a diet of Disney princess movies like Snow White and Cinderella. At some level, I've probably internalized the toxic narrative that I've been bombarded with since my childhood: men rescue women.On the other extreme, we have modern feminist ideals where women are throwing the idea of babies out with the bathwater. It's projected that 1 in 4 young women today wish to remain childless, and almost 40% of young single people are not interested in dating. This is great for them because, as Cindy Gallop says:  “The moment you decide you don't want to be in love, that just takes a whole layer of crap out of your life.”Life for single, childless people is simpler and easier, and they're probably happier for it. But some of us want to have kids someday. Some of us are dating to find the father of our future offspring. We can bang on the drum of being an independent career woman all day. That is, until our life goals suddenly suggest a man's presence might be helpful. So we let the guy sleep over at our house, even if we have a lot of important s**t to do the next day, because we want him to like us. Ultimately, it's like Cindy Gallop said,“[As women, we] are taught to undervalue ourselves from the moment we are born.”How can we get out of this? How can we learn to value ourselves, our routines, and our lives? Not just as some feminist theory, but in practice? Here is my non-exhaustive list of tips.Please comment or reach out to me if you have additional ideas.Tips* Remember that it's your hormones. This guy does not have a magic dick.Besides culture, biology is not helping us either. The physical desire I regularly feel to want to get pregnant is intense. Especially around the time of my period, I can feel myself trying to finagle ways to keep this man around for at least another week or two before I ovulate. I'm not even kidding.The solution here is to remember that any one guy, whoever he is, does not have a magic dick. If you can pause for a moment and hold onto your horses, you'll remember that you are still young and fertile enough, and you probably live in a major metropolitan city where you could go on dates every night if you wanted to. You can meet someone else. This is not your only chance ever to f**k. This man is probably not exceptional. Your hormones are fashioning this fake mirage to get you to attach to him.Here's what my grandmother had to say about this:“It's part of a woman's base of understanding that you have this romantic streak. Because that's what gets you pregnant, and it keeps the race going.”So, before you deprive yourself of a good night's sleep for an average dude, remember that this is Mother Nature trying to f**k with you. She's trying to get you to reproduce. You can take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back before you cancel your entire day tomorrow. This man is not in love with you. This is just a spark set alight by your hormones. Hormones that have been designed to hook you, just like they've hooked every single one of your ancestors over the last billion years.You must resist Mother Nature at all costs or perish.* Do A Reality CheckIt can be fun to fantasize about our partners and our future lives together. But as we're drawn out of our reality, eventually it will hurt a lot when we come back to Earth. As my grandmother said:“It's part of our nature to have this fantasy. You assume that the other party is going along with it, but they aren't.”For my entire relationship with Luís, I fantasized about him whisking me away to his family's second home in Valle de Bravo (the Mexican equivalent of the Hamptons). Instead, he smoked too much weed and couldn't plan more than lunch one day in advance. Another boyfriend I had spoke multiple languages and taught kids how to code. It took me months to realize he was not the future Amal Clooney on international peace-keeping missions. Instead, he was a software engineer with no idea what he wanted to do with his life.So, let's run a reality check on the person you are dating right now. Next time you have a moment away from your partner, ask yourself:* Am I excited about dating this person as they are right now?* What are they doing with their life right now? This is who they are.* Am I happy with how they treat me and are they meeting my needs right now? (very important question)This is hard. It means paying attention to the red flags. If this person has red flags, like a substance abuse issue of any kind, it means that no matter how you might feel about them, they're probably not a healthy person for you to be with. Whoever this person is right now, that is who you are dating, not some idealized version of them.* Stick To Your Routine“You have a life. You have other priorities, some of which come before him.” – Sherry ArgovWhen I'm dating a guy, being with him feels more fun and exciting than anything I do alone. But in her book, “Why Men Love B*****s”, Sherry Argov warns us not to get swept up in this. Her book is a relationship guide for women who are “too nice”, where “b*****s” is more about her humorous tone than about men liking women who are cruel or mean.Here is her advice for when you're starting a relationship:* “Don't stop eating, sleeping, or exercising.”* “If he wants to spend more time with you than you can comfortably do, invite him to join you in one of your activities.”* “Force yourself to keep the routine you had before you met him. Once you lose your rhythm, you lose your psychological equilibrium, and you become needy.”As much as possible, we must try to remember who we were before we met our partners.  So, take a look at your calendar when you were last single. Do you have music, dance, or craft lessons scheduled in there? Do you have a favorite exercise class or friend activity that you do every week? Do you like to spend quality time with your dog, or at museums? These are the things that you like. They make you happy.Even when we are in a relationship, we must keep doing these things.  * Have Some Self-Respect“The nice girl treats her interests as “little things” or secondary. The b***h doesn't treat her interests as minor or little things. They are her things.” – Sherry Argov“People value you at the value you are seen to put in yourself.” – Cindy GallopThis is a tough pill for me to swallow. In my single life, I do whatever I want and have my own life that I'm excited about. And yet, when I'm dating, I have found myself shimmying across the city late at night in an Uber because a guy invited me over late to his house after he finished band practice with his friends. The guy did make time to see me…sometimes. But I was way more likely than him to drop everything and see him when, in hindsight, it was inconvenient for me. This is all because I thought I had to be a sacrificial lamb in order to make our relationship work.When we value ourselves more highly, people will value us that way, too. We're only as valuable to our companies as the salary or financial worth that we've negotiated for ourselves. We're only as respectable as what we say no to. Writing this piece is making it even more clear to me that female pleasure and the orgasm gap in heterosexual relationships is not the only aspect of our lives where we are subordinating ourselves in service of male contentment. We must learn to value our interests, priorities, and what we like in many aspects of our lives. And we should value them just as much, if not more, than the guy we are dating and what he likes.Instead, being a doormat makes us unhappy and does not make men like us or respect us more. If anything, when we're better at standing up for ourselves and prioritizing our health and sanity, the guy will respect us more for it. As Argov says,“Suppose a woman says to a guy she can't go on a date with him that night because of her weekly pottery class. He scratches his head and thinks, “She'd rather go to a pottery class than be with me?” It not only attracts him; it blows his mind.”Realizing this, I feel frustrated because I've been throwing myself under the bus and cancelling all my plans in each relationship for all this time. My only solace is that if the problem starts and ends with me, it's pretty clear who needs to change.* Set Boundaries, Even If It Feels Foreign And You Don't Want To“Power is the control you have over yourself.” – Sherry ArgovWhen it comes to seeing a guy, I can get very impulsive. “Love” feels fantastic. Why would I let “real life” get in the way when I'm forming an intense connection with someone so quickly? F**k it, I think to myself. Who cares about work? Being a responsible adult is boring! I want excitement, adventure, and fun.But when I talk about this with my therapist, she has another theory: I'm letting the feelings in my body take over without thinking logically about what I need. In my head, I know the importance of a decent night's sleep. But when my heart is all wrapped up in the attention I'm getting from my partner in the moment, I immediately neglect every other need I have. Sounds fucked up? That's because it is.To avoid this happening to you, when you're having some alone time and thinking clearly,  list all the things that you need in any given day. Then, follow that list as a set of your boundaries, and try to enforce them (even if you do not want to!) when you are with your partner.For example, on any given day, I need:* Eight hours of uninterrupted sleep* Three meals of relatively healthy food with no white bread* A shower with warm water and a clean towel in the morning* Time to work, meet with friends and follow my weekly scheduleIf you're like me and you struggle to know what you need, ask your close friends about it. They probably have some of your answers. Are you really into cleanliness, so you need your special shampoo and soap? Are you vegan, so you need to go to a restaurant with appropriate options? I recently ended things with Luís because he'd never message me in the evenings when I wanted to check in at the end of the day. Did I need him to message me? Kind of. It would have helped me to feel that he was interested in me and willing to put effort into our relationship.* Stay At The Center Of Your Own OrbitIn my last relationship, I spent many weekday nights hanging by my phone in desperate purgatory, waiting for this guy to text me. Then, I'd complain about it to my therapist later about how abandoned I felt by him.This week, after a month of torture, I had a breakthrough about this when I was journaling. This is what I discovered:“Just because you meet a guy, you are still you. That's what you need to realize. It's not that these men are abandoning you. It is that you are abandoning yourself. So keep a hold on who you are. If you need sex, have sex. If you need physical touch, have physical touch. But do not change the orbit of your world to fit this other person. Your world is amazing. The world you are building for yourself is amazing. If the man is the Earth, well, then you are the Sun.”Now I'm seeing that the work I need to do in a relationship starts way before the point where I feel abandoned by this guy. I need to go back to those tiny, seemingly insignificant ways that I am giving up myself and my time at the beginning of the relationship and stick to my priorities in my everyday life. This is how I will stop the cycle of abandoning myself.Conclusion: Keep Learning From Your Mistakes“Don't look too deep into those angeleyes” – ABBAFor complex reasons that could take up many Ph.D. theses, as women, we may be subordinating ourselves in unhealthy ways when we get into relationships with men. So, if you can put even one of the tips I've mentioned here into practice, that's something you can be proud of.Finally, remember to be kind to yourself. You are learning. If you skip work calls because you had a late one with your lover last night, forgive yourself. Be compassionate towards yourself because it can be excruciating to learn these things while you're dating someone and then the relationship doesn't work out for whatever reason.Because we have so few examples in our culture about what a healthy heterosexual partnership looks like, and because our hormones are so freaking persuasive, this is going to be hard. We're bound to keep making mistakes. But there is one thing we can try to do. As one of my favorite business leaders, Christina Wodtke puts it:"Make new mistakes."  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit misseducated.substack.com/subscribe

She Pivots returns for its third season to dig deeper into the personal moments that shifted our guests' perspectives and opened up new, unexpected paths. Hear from our all-star roster of women, including trailblazer Misty Copeland, actress Vanessa Hudgens, fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff, and iconic CEO Cindy Gallop. Whether you're in the midst of your own pivot or considering a change in the new year, our guests will inspire you with their stories of perseverance and transformation.With a new episode every week, be sure to subscribe and follow us on Instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode of Hear Me Out… if you need a Chief Diversity Officer, you've already failed. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainings are reaching ubiquity in pretty much every American workplace. There's no doubt that discrimination, harassment and sequestering — on the basis of sex, sexuality, gender, race, age — all of that exists. The question becomes what to do about it. And there's an argument to be made that the trainings and buzzwords might be doing more to make workplaces worse than they do to make them better. Cindy Gallop, entrepreneur and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn, joins us. If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can now email the show: hearmeout@slate.com Podcast production by Maura Currie You can skip all the ads in Hear Me Out by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/hearmeoutplus for just $15 a month for your first three months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices