126 episodes
Thighs Wide Shut: Author Hayley Fleming on Understanding Vaginismus and Why Your Body Isn’t Broken
02/10/2026 | 32 mins.A bit about ‘Thighs Wide Shut’:
“When Emma hits her quarter-life crisis and moves back to the city where she went to college, she finds herself neighbours with the boy whose heart she broke five years earlier in this heartfelt and witty second-chance debut romcom for fans of Hannah Bonham-Young and Sex Education.
Emma thought her late twenties couldn’t get more complicated after she quit her teaching job and moved across the country to figure out what comes next. Her new life in Boston is filled with more than enough to worry about: a basement apartment full of disorganized boxes, a resistance to finding love, a medical condition, vaginismus, that holds her back from putting herself out there, and on top of it all she hears a familiar voice from the apartment above . . . Harrison.”
In this episode of the podcast, we were thrilled to be able to chat with author Hayley Fleming about her recent book, ‘Thighs Wide Shut’. It’s fun, it’s full of humour and follows a main character who has a medical condition that is often not spoken about – vaginismus.
We chatted with Hayley about:
The real-life inspiration behind Thighs Wide Shut and bringing vaginismus into contemporary rom-coms
Why sex education often fails us when it comes to helping us understand our bodies
Tips on how to advocate for yourself at a gynaecologist appointment (or in any medical setting for that matter!)
Find Hayley at her website: https://hayleyfleming.com/
Check out her books here: https://hayleyfleming.com/books
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:32: - What is vaginismus?
02:18 – Hayley's experience with vaginismus.
05:41 – Advocating for yourself in medical settings.
07:12 – The physical and mental aspect of vaginismus.
10:34 – Why this book matters.
13:32 – How to support someone with vaginismus.
15:11 – Why we need to rethink our definition of sex.
18:13 – How can sex ed impact vaginismus?
21:55 – How writing this character was healing for Hayley.
24:22 – Why you should read this book whether you have vaginismus, or not.
26:15 – What alternate word can we have for vaginismus?
28:01 – What Hayley wishes more people would know about vaginismus.
30:44 – Where can you find a copy of the book (and what you should know before you read it!).
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Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available at https://www.sexinspace.com/books to download or buy.
Follow us here:
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For more info, check out our website at:
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.- In this episode, Toshi had the opportunity to chat with Michelle Fischler all about early ejaculation. Michelle recently published the book ‘Coming Soon: The Unshaming Guide to Early Ejaculation and Lasting Longer’, a practical, shame-aware guide that understands early ejaculation as a nervous system pattern, not a personal failure.
Together, Toshi and Michelle discussed:
The difference between early ejaculation and premature ejaculation
The biological drive behind early ejaculation
Why addressing shame before technique is so important
How masturbation practices impact early ejaculation
Tips for managing early ejaculation
How to talk about early ejaculation with a partner
And more.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:22 – Who is Michelle and what does she do?
01:26 – Why you should listen to this podcast
02:26 – What’s the reason Michelle wanted to write a book about early ejaculation?
07:18 – The way you feel about early ejaculation matters: here’s why
09:17 – Early ejaculation vs premature ejaculation: what’s the difference?
10:32 – The biological drive behind early ejaculation
12:03 – Why unlearning shame around early ejaculation has to happen before bringing in techniques
15:30 – Shame vs guilt: how are they different?
18:25 – Tips for turning down the volume on shame
21:45 – Advice if you’re avoiding sex because of early ejaculation
27:55 – How masturbation impacts early ejaculation
31:20 – How breathing exercises can help early ejaculation (and how to do them)
37:09 – What can cause early ejaculation?
39:05 – How to talk about early ejaculation with a partner
42:00 – Why you should be cuddling with your partner for six minutes after sex
44:42 – What does Michelle think of numbing creams?
47:09 – What you and a partner should know about early ejaculation
50:40 – Why the goal is not perfect control (and what the goal actually should be)
51:44 – Why has it taken so long for a book like this to be written?
55:48 – What people think of the book (and why you should grab a copy!)
Check out Michelle here: https://www.michellefischler.ca/
Grab a copy of her book here: https://getsome.ca/coming-soon-book
Read more about Michelle’s podcast here: https://getsome.ca/
Michelle Fischler, MSW, RSW, RP, is a Toronto-based Registered Psychotherapist, Registered Social Worker, ASTO-certified sex therapist and supervisor, author, speaker, and founder of GETSOME INC.
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Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available at https://www.sexinspace.com/books to download or buy.
Follow us here:
https://www.instagram.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.tiktok.com/@sexinspacedotcom
https://www.facebook.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.youtube.com/@sexinspace
For more info, check out our website at:
https://www.sexinspace.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. - Lillian Frances is a pop star, rock climber, and author of the cheeky guide "Finger Banging for Climber Boys". In this episode, Toshi spoke with Lillian all about how to talk about what you want in bed, advice for pre-hookup check-ins and sexy ways to set boundaries, as well as why you should know more about female anatomy if you want to have better sex.
Find more of Lillian (and her book) here.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:47 – What is finger banging for climber boys?
01:51 – Why this book is a trojan horse (in the best way)
03:22 – How asking questions makes you so much better in bed
07:23 – Why it’s important to talk about sex in your everyday life
12:12 – Asking for consent is sexy: here’s why
19:41 – Advice for a pre-hookup check-in
21:25 – The difference between opt in vs opt out consent (and why one leads to better sex)
27:18 – Try this if you want a fun, sexy way to set boundaries
30:33 – What you should know about the female anatomy to have better sex
33:39 – Why you should read Lillian’s book
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Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available here to download or buy.
Follow us here:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube
For more info, find us on our website!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. - On this episode of the podcast, Toshi spoke with Sarah and Cam all about asexuality.
Sarah (whose artist name is Vōx), is a musician and writer on Substack, and Cam is a creative producer, a curator and creator of time and space. We came across Sarah and Cam after reading an article in the Guardian written about their relationship and how they’ve embraced Sarah’s asexuality.
Toshi had the opportunity to talk with them both about:
What asexuality and compulsory heterosexuality is
How Sarah came to understand she’s asexual
What it was like for both Sarah and Cam to embrace Sarah’s asexuality
Common misconceptions about what it means to be asexual
How neurodivergence is connected to this conversation
Thoughts on decoupling romance from sex
And more.
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Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available at https://www.sexinspace.com/books to download or buy.
Follow us here:
https://www.instagram.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.tiktok.com/@sexinspacedotcom
https://www.facebook.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.youtube.com/@sexinspace
For more info, check out our website at:
https://www.sexinspace.com/
You can check out Sarah’s Substack here:
https://itsmevox.substack.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. - On this episode of the podcast, Toshi spoke with Kate Daly, one of England’s leading experts on divorce, separation relationships and family law reform. Kate is the co-founder of amicable, the leading online divorce services company, and the co-founder and host of ‘The Divorce Podcast’. Together they had a conversation about why we need to change the narrative around divorce, advice for anyone navigating a separation or divorce, why communication is key – and how to be better at it – and a practical guide to divorce without the drama.
Find amicable here.
Check out Kate’s book here.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
01:00 – Kate Daly’s experience with divorce
05:06 – We need to change the narrative: divorce is not a failure
08:38 – Why it’s important to acknowledge the emotional journey behind divorce
13:24 – Advice for navigating a separation or divorce
19:11 – What can divorce teach us about ourselves, and relationships?
22:37 – Two different questions: is it over, and should I leave?
25:39 – Why maintaining your identity is key to relationship success
28:30 – Why communication is key when it comes to navigating a divorce amicably (and how to be better at it)
34:33 – A practical guide to divorce without the drama
42:40 – One thing you should know about starting over
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Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available at https://www.sexinspace.com/books to download or buy.
Follow us here:
https://www.instagram.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.tiktok.com/@sexinspacedotcom
https://www.facebook.com/sexinspacedotcom
https://www.youtube.com/@sexinspace
For more info, check out our website at:
https://www.sexinspace.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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About Sex in Space
Sex in Space is a podcast where we have open-minded conversations, delving into sex across all its infinite dimensions. Stories and voices from all genders, ages, relationships, life stages, ethnicities, walks of life, professions and ways of being in the universe.If sex is a subject that interests you, if you feel… (like most of us do) your education might have more than a few gaps in it, if you’re not sure you’re fully equipped to talk to the next generation, or you just feel like exploring some new points of view, awesome, you’ve reached somewhere that might interest you. Join us as we meet some earthly guests who may well introduce you to some alien concepts. If you want to hear about how porn shapes our desires, when sex needs therapy, or what it’s like to be a sex worker, you’re in the right place.Sometimes challenging, sometimes confronting, always enlightening. Buckle up.Available everywhere extraordinary podcasts are found.Reach out to us at: hello@sexinspace.comFollow us on instagram at: @sexinspacedotcomStalk us on Facebook at: @sexinspacedotcomFor more info, check out our website at: www.sexinspace.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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