If you’ve carried a baby, you may have had to deal with the fall out (literally) of pelvic prolapse. But having your organs pop out of your vagina isn’t limited to mammas, getting older is also a big factor.
Rosie Waterland’s mum was, to put it mildly, chaos personified. Charming and caring one minute, abusive and cruel the next. This year, she died. A moment Rosie was strangely prepared for. But her mum’s death left her to contend with the conflicting emotions of grief and relief. Yumi Stynes sat down with Rosie for a heart to heart about growing up with an abusive parent, grieving and coming out of the other side of childhood trauma. Featured in this episode: Rosie Waterland, author and podcaster ...
Would you like to flip the script and peg your partner? Yumi spreads the word on pegging your boo, how to introduce anal play into your sex life and the ins and outs of doing it (or not) so everyone feels good. If you’ve got a problem that’s doing your head in, never fear because your hottest, coolest agony aunt is primed and ready to help you out! Send us an audio note to [email protected]
Weight gain, bristly hairs, no period. Welcome to Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility worldwide and it can cause debilitating physical and psychological symptoms. 1 in 8 women have PCOS, so that’s at least a couple of friends in your group chat. So why do we still know so little about it? Yumi Stynes catches up with ladies who’ve been battling PCOS for years and finds out how they get on top of it. Featured in this episode: Professor Helena Teede, female ...
Do you have to pry your partner off the couch with a fork-lift? Are they living in skanky trackies 24/7? Yumi spills the tea on what to do if your other half has gone full slob. Got a life problem you just can’t solve? Help is at hand! We’re handing the mic over to you, our lush listeners and taking the burden of problem solving off your shoulders... because Ladies, We Need To Talk... Back! Send us your questions as a voice note to [email protected] - we can’t wait to hear from you!...
We live in a sex obsessed world, where hook-up culture is king and getting laid out like a spatchcocked chicken is a status symbol. But what if you’re a fully-fledged adult, paying your own bills and you’re still a “virgin”? Some women might hold off having sex for the first time because they want to meet the “right” person, others because they haven’t had the opportunity or are waiting until marriage. Whatever the reason, it can feel lonely and isolating when there so much noise around sex. Yum...
Uh oh, what’s that you smell... a funky odour down below? The thought of having a stinky crotch is nightmare fuel for some women, but do we even need to worry about our musky bouquet? The delicate aroma of our lady-garden can be affected by things like our menstrual cycle and our lifestyle but how do we tell when the stank goes from normal to full on malodorous pudenda territory and what can be done about it? It’s time to take off those undies and confront the smelly minge in the room with your ...
What happens when you want a divorce but the cost of leaving your marriage would cripple you financially? Would you ever stay in an unhappy marriage for the security money offers? It’s no secret, life is bloody expensive right now. From soaring rents to the cost of a bunch of broccoli, times are tough! So, sticking it out in a relationship you’re no longer happy in can seem appealing. Yumi Stynes talks to women who’ve had to make that extremely difficult choice. Featured in this episode: Victori...
What if we put a stop to marriage...for good? Like, just stop with flouncy white dresses, walking down the aisle and having a dude give us away. In her new book, I Don’t, Clementine Ford is calling for just that. She reckons that a ring on a finger is a bridal march to losing your identity. From the moment we come screaming into the world, we’re pushed the line that to find “the one” to get married and settle down is the be all and end all. You might discover a cure for cancer, scale Mt Everest ...
Do you wizz when you sneeze? Or avoid star jumps at the gym? One in four of us (!) have pelvic floor problems which can lead to incontinence and prolapse (eek). But don’t stress! Yumi Stynes has kegel’d her way back to the Ladies archives and dug up some reassurance that you can definitely turn things around. Just be prepared to clench.
You think you’ve met “the one” and they seem totally perfect for you, but is it all too good to be true? Could you be dating a narcissist? What starts out as a dreamy relationship filled with fancy presents and compliments galore, suddenly turns sour and you’re left wondering if you’re slowly losing your mind. Narcissists make up only 1% of the population but the impact they have on the women who date them can be truly devastating. Yumi Stynes meets women who have fallen in love with a narcissis...
Having sex can be exposing, nerve wracking. When we strip down, we reveal ourselves – and not just our bits. No wonder we sometimes reach for courage in a bottle. For some women, a few shots can make them feel comfortable enough to go home with that hottie from across the bar, for others the relationship between alcohol and sex can be more toxic. Yumi Stynes chats to women who are putting the lid back on the bottle and embarking on sex...stone cold sober. Featured in this episode: Tawny Lara, au...
Yumi has been on an adventure down to the depths of the ABC archives to uncover an absolute banger of an episode. On every form you ever fill out, there’s always a tick box about your romantic status — de facto, married, single. Why are we only judged on romantic relationships rather than some of the most important bonds in our life — our friendships? In this love letter to our friends, Yumi Stynes invites herself into the joyful friendship between Jamila Rizvi and Clare Bowditch and celebrates ...
Is the soundtrack to your life a ticking baby-making clock? What if you’re desperate to be a mother but the other half of the baby-making equation just hasn’t become available? Yumi Stynes meets women who have given the middle finger to the idea of the nuclear family and become solo mums by choice. From swiping for sperm; turkey-basting and solo sleep deprivation – find out what it’s really like to choose to parent on your own. Featured in this episode: Alexandra Collier – Author of Inconceivabl...
If you’re having trouble getting hot for your long-term partner? You’re not alone. Domestic bliss, smelling our partner’s farts, demanding kids – it feels like it’s all part of a worldwide conspiracy to shrivel our sex drive. So come hang with Yumi Stynes and sex nerd Emily Nagoski to get some practical advice on how to brush off the cobwebs, bring back our lady-boners and actually want to have sex with our life mate again. Featured in this episode: Emily Nagoski PhD – Sex researcher and author ...
Yumi Stynes has pinched the keys to the ABC podcast dungeon and has pulled out her absolute fave episodes for you. Are you team Dolphin or team Pubus Maximus? Pubic hair — it's one of the most scrutinised patches of hair on our bodies. Research says 80 per cent of women groom their Map of Tassie regularly. But why do we feel the need to pluck, shave, scrape, or zap our pubes at all? Yumi Stynes find out the meaning behind our pubey grooming choices. Featured in this episode: Mona Chalabi - Data ...
Getting naked in front of someone you’re about to get down and dirty with is a really vulnerable thing to do for even the most confident among us. But what about when you’ve spent your whole life being told your body isn’t desirable or sexy? And those messages are hitting you from everywhere. From television, movies, strangers on the street and even from the very people who are supposed to be into you. That’s the reality for a lot of women living in fat bodies out there, so how do you say a big ...
Do you scream foul obscenities at bad drivers? Chuck your phone violently on the bed when seething? Heard “that time of the month?” when you’re furious? Babes, you’re not alone. Women are foaming at the mouth with fury and we’re screaming at the top of our lungs. From the mental load to workplace bullying; sexism and just the patriarchy in general plus - HORMONES - there’s a hell of a lot to be ticked off about. Grab your safety gear and come smash some stuff with Yumi Stynes as she releases her...
So you hugged a workmate having a rough time – is that intimacy? Locked eyes and shared a giggle with a stranger in a spin class – does that count as intimacy? You just had some hook up sex – was it intimate? Here at Ladies HQ, we want to know: What even is intimacy? And when we think we're craving sex is what we are actually wanting, intimacy? (Lucky) Yumi Stynes gets up close and personal with Esther Perel (IRL!) about the importance of intimacy how we can all enjoy a bit more connection with ...
You're horny. You're hooking up. It's hot and heavy. Then, a hand makes its way to your throat… wait WTF? Yup. Choking during sex has hit the mainstream. Choking was once the kinda thing you'd only come across in the world of BDSM, but now thanks to our easy access to porn it's literally everywhere and young women are in its grip. A recent study discovered almost 60 per cent of female college students have been choked during sex, with a quarter having been choked by the time they're 17. Yumi Sty...
Are you guilty of compulsively stalking your ex on socials whilst ugly crying and eating ice cream out of the carton? Join the club baby. The soul-shattering, unbridled agony of a devastating break-up, is something we tend to avoid really letting ourselves feel. The most we might get from our mates is "get back on the apps babe, there are plenty more fish in the sea". Even though it’s a universal experience, heartbreak sits in the domain of teenage girls writing in their diaries rather than bein...
Had your heart pulverised? Been choked during sex? Is your partner a narcissist? Ladies is back and we’re going there.
Even though we all crack a turd whistle once in a while, it doesn't mean we're not ashamed of the noises and smells that erupt from our bums, especially if it happens in public. And according to research, women hold that shame more deeply and are judged more harshly for their eruptions than men. Yumi Stynes sniffs out how we can disperse the cloud of shame around women and farting. Featured in this episode: Professor Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University ...
Search #cleaneating on social media, and you'll come across over 50 million posts. Vegan, paleo, raw, protein shakes, juice cleanses, gluten-free, dairy-free, chia seeds… all of these things, social media and diet culture will tell us, are the types of foods we should be putting into our bodies. These diets offer the promise of perfect health and the perfect body…But for some they tip over into unhealthy obsession. Yumi Stynes discovers what happens when food choices stop being about "yuk" and "...
Lots of women are super self-conscious about the sticky stuff in our undies. The way it looks and the way it smells. So much so that up to a third of us wear a panty liner each day. But how much do you actually know about discharge? What should it smell like? What should it look like? And should we just stop dissing our discharge?
The prospect of dying is an abstract thing, something we try hard not to think about at all costs. But what if the one dying…is you? Join Yumi Stynes as she meets women who are facing their own death head-on and learns how to hard those hard conversations about the end of your life. Featured in this episode: Dr Kerrie Noonan, Clinical Psychologist and founder of the Death Literacy Institute.
Cradle snatcher, sugar-daddy, toy-boy, cougar… all of those terms are loaded with baggage and undermine the relationships they describe. Beyond the stereotypes, what's it like to be in a relationship with a big age gap? Yumi Stynes meets women who are defying the research and dating way out of their age range… and loving it, even if their friends and family aren't so enamoured. Featured in this episode: Dr Grace Lordan, Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science...
Burnout: It's a word so frequently used that it's almost become a catchphrase. And let's face it, who isn't feeling exhausted? But when does that fatigue and overwhelm tip into burnout?
Rooting around is as inescapable as laundry and taxes. While humans all around the world make promises to be with each other through sickness and health, to be loyal to the exclusion of all others, it doesn't always work out that way. Join Yumi Stynes as she discovers what it's like to have your partner do the dirty and how to decide whether to stay or go after being screwed over. Featured in this episode: Christina Spaccavento, Sex and relationships counsellor.
Fresh from a season on sex, Yumi Stynes is leaping out of the sack, changing the sheets and delving deep into the stuff that keeps us up at night. We're making a big stink about our fear of farting; learning how to nip burnout in the bud and unearthing the dirty truth about "clean eating".
