Most of us didn’t grow up with healthy, honest conversations about sex. Instead we got silence, shame, and weird youth group analogies about chewed gum and crumpled hearts.
So how do we, as adults and parents, break that cycle?
In Part 1 of this four-part series, I sit down with author and parenting expert Cindy Wang Brandt to talk about how purity culture shaped our understanding of sex (or completely distorted it), and what it actually looks like to raise kids with a framework of honesty, autonomy, and consent.
We get into:
- Why “The Talk” isn’t a one-time thing—and why starting early matters
- How to talk to your kids about sex without passing on your own baggage
- What most sex ed leaves out (like pleasure and body autonomy)
- And how we can create a new legacy, even if we’re still figuring it out ourselves
- Whether you’re a parent, unlearning your own shame, or just trying to do better, this one’s for you.
Cindy's Resources
Website (you can find all of her books, blog, and conferences here)
Come As You Are (Book) mentioned in the episode
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