Penile circumcision. It’s a big deal! People have very strong feelings about it. On this episode, I will explore the controversies around penile circumcision: does it affect penile sensitivity? Does it offer any health benefits? Is it ethical? And why do we see penile genital surgery as different than other kinds of genital surgery.

Endometriosis is a debilitating chronic pain disease that affects millions of people in North America, but many people have never even heard of it. People suffering from endometriosis are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and ignored by many in the medical community. This episode follows the story of three women who have endometriosis: from initial symptoms, the epic journey to diagnosis, and the limited treatments available. Andrée-Anne, Léonore, and Maggie share their pain, the medical gaslighting, and the frustration of having a disease with no cure.
Endometriosis! What do we know? Do We Know Things? Let's find out!

Until Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist Katie Kelly asked me if I was going to do an episode about lubrication, I had no idea how much I didn't know! I thought lube was pretty basic. Turns out, there's a lot to know, especially about water-based lubes. I also think not enough people are aware of the importance of lube. It helps things feel better whether you are talking solo sex, hand sex, vaginal sex, or anal sex. There is a lube for every occasion. It helps for reducing pain and increasing pain. pleasure.

Have you seen the many media articles or talk shows that say being on hormonal contraceptives can make you choose the “wrong” partner? Have you ever wondered if this was true? I realized it was high time that I investigate this research to see how the pill affects who we choose. On this episode, I delve into the research on genetic compatibility, hormonal changes on the pill, whether or not any of this matters when choosing a partner, and how smelly t-shirts factor in.

What do we actually know about serotonin and infatuation? On the last episode, I explored the neuroscience of infatuation and explored possible myths, which turned out to be mostly true. But I was left with additional questions about serotonin. It turns out, we don’t know as much as I thought about serotonin and love. The links between serotonin and love seem to be a story we have told so many times, we forgot it’s mostly just a story.

Infatuation. Limerence. New relationship energy. All are words for the intense, sometimes overwhelming feelings people experience in new relationships. This feeling can feel like a drug. There is euphoria when you are with the person and withrawal symptoms when you are not. Others have said the infatuation shares symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Is love a drug? Is it like OCD? In this episode, we examine the research to see what we know about love.

This episode of Do We Know Things? examines the things we are often taught about the biology of sex differences. It is definitely a science-nerd episode, but it focuses on biases in research that affect half the population! In particular, I wanted to address the oft repeated lore that ‘female is the default sex.’ I am joined by brilliant biologist and gender studies professor, Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, one of my research heros!