Permission for Pleasure
A podcast to educate and equip women with the information and confidence they need to express, experience and enjoy their sexuality. Cindy Scharkey RN, BSN, brings her 35+ years of experience as a healthcare professional to open the doors to healthy conversations about sex. This is a community where you can listen and learn to give yourself permission for pleasure. Visit www.cindyscharkey.com for educational blogs and newsletter.
Episodes
We talk a lot about the repercussions of purity culture for women, but what about men? This topic is often silenced, creating what sexuality educator Erica Smith calls a “fertile ground for shame.” She joins me to break the taboo, sharing the after effects men frequently encounter.
Erica Smith is an award winning sexuality educator and consultant with 25 years of experience. She developed the Purity Culture Dropout™️ Program to hel...
Is orgasm a learnable skill? My guest Dr. Erica Marchand outlines the necessary components women need to orgasm in this top 10 episode from Season One. We discuss faking O’s, ranking O’s, and the mind-body shift of allowing rather than making orgasm happen.
Erica Marchand, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist offering individual, couples and sex therapy in Los Angeles.
Learn more about these topics
Answering your ...
One of the most shared episodes on the podcast, this conversation about pleasure and embodiment offers a framework for understanding a healthier way to be in your body. Hillary McBride, PhD provides tools to help us untangle the cultural scripts we have taken in, along with gentle guidance for how we can reframe sensuality and learn to listen to our bodies.
Hillary McBride, PhD., is a therapist, researcher, speaker and author
From logistics on positioning, to setting the stage before you step in - in this episode I talk you through the basics on how to add shower sex to your intimacy repertoire. Showering together has never been more fun, safe and intimate.
Mentioned in this episode:
Pleasure Practice
Uberlube use code CINDY
Shower sex for beginners on the blog
ORDER my Book Permission for Pleasure: Tending Your Sexual Garden
JOI...
Catriona Boffard, a Clinical Sexologist, Psychotherapist, Sexuality Researcher, Podcaster and Author joins me to share her personal experience, and clinical expertise in a discussion about women and ADHD - how it can affect your brain, sex, and life. You’ll hear all about orgasms, medications, sexual cues and solutions to common communication challenges.
Catriona Boffard is an expert in the field of sexual behavior, well-being, and ...
Continuing our conversation for the over 50 crowd with helpful tips including transition time, positions, pillows, vibrators and more. Listen in as we get creative with shifts in desire, and tools to accommodate our changing bodies. Learn ways to make sex more interesting.
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Desire styles
Embracing your desire
How curiosity fuels desire
Vaginal estrogen, vaginal moisturizers, and lube for sex
...
Menopause doesn’t mean your sex life is over. In fact, you may find yourself having the best sex of your life! Join me for a chat specifically for the over 50 crowd. Let’s talk about desire, arousal, and changing things up as we change. Your pleasure matters!
Visit our episode sponsor Uberlube, use CINDY for 15% off
Mentioned in this episode:
Guide to lube
Perimenopause: Hormones and Symptoms
Permimenopause: Tre...
Community guest Kaleigh Osadick joins me to share ideas to remove shame around self-expression. We chat about challenging the norms, and reframing what defines sexy. Learn to role play with her scene creation tips, and gain the confidence to be the main character in your sex life!
Kaleigh Osadick is an educator, coach and producer with over a decade of experience teaching acting, voice, and embodiment. With a background in the...
Self-touching or masturbation is one healthy way to be sexual, but certainly not the only way. From investigating your sexual ethics to creating your own sensual playlist, movement, and more - these ideas will help you explore being a sexual person outside of masturbation.
Mentioned in this episode:
10 Ideas - no masturbation required
My letter to young women
Questions to ask yourself with Cyndi Darnell
Se...
Throughout life, we all face changes in our body that impact how we experience pleasure with sex. Laura Glazebrook PT, DPT, specializes in neurological injuries and all manner of pelvic health concerns. She joins me to talk about adaptations, tools, toys, and positional aids - for all bodies. Whether you’re post surgery, post injury, or navigating change, this conversation is full of practical tips, products, and resources for all ...
Oral sex is a highly reliable path to pleasure and orgasm for women. This episode is the second most downloaded of all episodes on the show. So, I am bringing it back for new listener's and their partner's. I talk about creating anticipation, building arousal toward crescendo and specific tongue techniques to stimulate the clitoris and vulva. Also hear tips on positioning, when to add variety, and when to stick with consi...
Want to slow down and experience more pleasure in your life? Euphemia Russell, a somatic coach and author of Slow Pleasure shares practical ways to focus on sensations, as well as practices to shift your state towards enlivening. Learn to create pleasure habits and increase your capacity for pleasure in and out of the bedroom.
Euphemia Russell is a somatic coach and bestselling author ofSlow Pleasure. They are trained in somatic coa...
Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons, a leading expert in sex research, shares her list of ingredients for good sex from her book Good Sex: Stories, Science and Strategies for Sexual Liberation. She walks us through strategies to study our sexual satisfaction as well as tools to increase it. Does frequency make the list? Nope? Tune in to learn what does.
Dr. Candice Nicole Hargons is an award-winning associate professor at Emory University’s ...
I’m bringing back conversations with members of our community where they share their stories and we explore what they have learned about their bodies, sex and pleasure. My new friend and poet, Sarah Jeannine Gawthrop, joins me to talk about her journey of pleasure reclamation through the sacred forest and poetry.
Sarah Gawthrop is a queer, neurodiverse poet and editor on the West Coast of Canada. Her writing explores theme...
Answering your community questions: “Do I have to swallow?” “Can I get pregnant from pre-cum?” and “Are wet dreams normal?” I’ll also explain the difference between semen and sperm, why a cum cloth is a good idea and the pregnancy rate with the pull-out method.
Mentioned in this episode:
Can I get pregnant from pre-cum?
Can men be multi-orgasmic?
Do women ejaculate? What is squirting?
Cum cloth: Play Towel by Coconu...
Susan Bratton calls herself the “Orgasmanaut.” She’s here to share what she has learned, along with some juicy and practical ways for you to experience more orgasms. As her mentor taught her; with sex - there is always something more! Listen to hear the ingredient list and recipe to follow for more!
Visit our episode sponsor UBERLUBE and use discount code CINDY
Susan Bratton, "Intimacy Expert to Millions" is a ch...
If you want to enhance the intimacy and eroticsm in your relationship - this conversation is for you! Nicolas Velotta, lead relationship researcher for Arya - a couples sexual wellness company, talks about erotic styles and four specific erotic personas. This episode will help you to open a conversation about your turn-on's, desires and preferences with a partner.
When I saw Michal Morrison's Sexual Wellness and Pleasure list on Threads, I thought, "Who is this woman and how did she come up with this amazing list?!" Learn about toys, tools, good reads and more to empower you on your wellness and pleasure journey.
Visit our episode sponsor UBERLUBE use code CINDY for 15% off
Michal Morrison is an Austin-based entrepreneur and the founder of her eponymous brand, Michal Morrison—a ...
Just in time for love month, I'm sharing some gift ideas for lovers, friends and something for yourself. I introduce you to Arya, a sexual wellness subscription for couples, focused on reigniting your passion and bolstering communication. You'll also hear ways to explore your sexuality and how to be a permission giver to your friends. This Valentine's Day, let's prioritize pleasure.
Mentioned in this e...
Do you struggle with anxiety or perfectionism? Therapist Caitlin Harrison joins me for a down to earth conversation about how anxiety shows up in our inner thoughts and the bedroom. You’ll hear discussion about purity culture, sexual shame, and how anxiety can disrupt the arousal process.
Learn more about Caitlin Harrison, LMFT
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When the problematic people are the ones we love
Evolvin...
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