Savage Lovecast

Savage Lovecast Episode 1014

57 min
Apr 14, 2026about 2 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Dan Savage addresses recent sex scandals involving political figures, provides relationship and sexual advice to callers on topics ranging from cologne discovery to polyamorous dynamics, and discusses how trauma affects sexual development in adulthood. The episode covers navigating conflicting desires in relationships, maintaining friendships with exes, and managing post-pregnancy libido changes.

Insights
  • Sexual attraction to others is a normal biological response that should be managed through social awareness rather than suppression or shame
  • Transparency and pre-negotiation are essential in non-monogamous relationships to prevent conflicts when partners give contradictory orders
  • Trauma survivors may need specialized therapeutic approaches like MDMA or ketamine therapy to access authentic sexuality buried under abuse history
  • The distinction between platonic and friends-with-benefits relationships matters significantly in monogamous partnerships; ongoing sexual contact is not platonic
  • Post-pregnancy libido loss is temporary and common; extending grace and avoiding self-fulfilling prophecies about lost desire is crucial for recovery
Trends
Increased acceptance of polyamorous and non-monogamous relationship structures among younger demographicsGrowing recognition of trauma-informed sexual therapy and psychedelic-assisted treatment for PTSD and sexual dysfunctionShift toward explicit communication and negotiation of sexual boundaries in relationships rather than assumed monogamy defaultsNormalization of discussing sexual preferences and kinks in mainstream relationship adviceRecognition that political hypocrisy around LGBTQ+ issues intersects with hidden sexual practices among conservative figures
Topics
Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in PoliticsPolyamorous Relationship DynamicsFriends-with-Benefits vs. Platonic RelationshipsPost-Pregnancy Sexual DysfunctionTrauma-Informed Sexual DevelopmentBDSM and Dominance/Submission DynamicsConsensual Non-Monogamy NegotiationPolitical Hypocrisy and LGBTQ+ IssuesPsychedelic-Assisted Therapy for TraumaSexual Attraction and Social NormsAsexuality and AromanticismCologne and AttractionCumulative Effects of Childhood AbuseMonogamy Expectations in Modern DatingOrgasm Quality and Sexual Performance
Companies
New York Times
Verified sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell
CNN
Verified sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell
Daily Mail
Broke news about Brian Noem's humiliation fetish and sex worker payments
People
Dan Savage
Host providing sex and relationship advice throughout the episode
Christine Noem
Subject of sex scandal involving husband's humiliation fetish and infidelity with Corey Lewandowski
Brian Noem
Paid sex workers for humiliation services while wife was in political office
Corey Lewandowski
Had affair with Christine Noem while she was DHS head
Eric Swalwell
Accused of sexual harassment, unsolicited explicit images, and sexual assault; withdrew from California governor race
Doc Chocolate
Returning guest discussing BBC content and STI testing protocols for professional performers in Las Vegas
Nancy Hurtunian
Producer of the Savage Lovecast
Quotes
"It's perfectly normal to see someone hot and for a little voice in your head to go, fuck, she's hot. I can't go to the gym without thinking, fuck, he's hot 10 or 11 times in the hour and a half I spent at the gym."
Dan SavageMid-episode
"You can serve two masters, you do in a way serve two masters, you have two dominant partners in your life, two hot-dom women that you like to serve who both know the other exists"
Dan SavagePolyamory segment
"Don't tell yourself my libido is gone and it's not coming back. Tell yourself my libido hasn't come back, but it will come back."
Dan SavagePost-pregnancy libido segment
"Platonic isn't a spectrum. It's binary. A relationship is or is not platonic. If you're fucking someone, even just a little, even every once in a while, that is not a platonic relationship."
Dan SavageFriends-with-benefits discussion
"You are taking care of yourself. You did take care of yourself as an adult in a way that you had every right to expect the adults in your life to take care of you when you were a child."
Dan SavageTrauma and sexuality segment
Full Transcript
You're listening to the Savage Love Cast, Dan Savage's sex and relationship show for grownups. If you're under 18, get out of here, young'un! If you're stuck in a relationship quandary, Or if you're looking for sexual harmony, Well, there's nothing you can't ask On the Savage Love Cast! I asked the sex scandal gods at the top of the show last week not to break news on Tuesday afternoons, after my show for the week is already out, and they delivered. But I'm not celebrating. It's the curse of the answered prayer around here today. Back it up, you may recall that they, the sex scandal gods, broke the news about former DHS head, Christine Noem's husband, Brian Noem's bimbification fetish on a Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago, hours after my show for the week had gone out. And by the time I got to have my say a week later, there wasn't much left to be said. I mean, I could say more right now because more has come out. Well, I thought Brian Noem might be Pud, poly underdress, or a cock, or both, before the scandal broke. I mean, there had to be a reason he stayed while his wife so publicly strayed with Trump political fixer and world-class asshole, Corey Lewandowski. And I thought Brian might be staying for the humiliation, not despite it. But we all know now that Brian definitely has a humiliation kink. He paid sex workers tens of thousands of dollars to humiliate him. But I don't think Christine Noem has a humiliation kink. So I can't imagine she's going to stay now that we've all read transcripts of the conversations Brian was having with sex workers. While Christie was on television trash-talking American citizens who'd been murdered by her goons at DHS, men who still have jobs and guns, men whose names we still don't know, while she was doing that, Brian was trash-talking his wife to his prodom. I'll cop to a bias here. I'll admit a bias here. This is my kind of sex gamble. It exposes GOP hypocrisy, and there are no victim victims. No one who didn't deserve it. Christie Noem is and has always been an odious piece of shit who has attacked trans and queer and other gender nonconforming people throughout her political career, and again, her husband turns out to be some flavor of queer himself. He was married to her and benefited materially from his wife's political rise and never once came to his own defense or the defense of other queer people. So yeah, fuck her and fuck him. In the immortal words of the six married murderesses of Cook County Jail, They had it come, they had it come, They had it come, they had it come, They had it come along. Do you feel bad for the Noem kids? A little, but they're adults, so they're not getting bullied in middle school because their mom is an actual monster and their dad is an aspiring bimbo. We all find out things about our parents in adulthood that we'd rather not know. It's just that the Noem kids had to find out about it in the Daily Mail. All right, that's enough about the Noems. Back to the sex scandal gods. They heard my prayers last week and broke the news of a sex scandal before my show went out this week, obligating me to talk about it, but they cursed me with the kind of sex scandal I hate. I don't love a sex scandal that destroys a Democrat copping to my partisan bias here, but more importantly, I don't love a sex scandal with actual victim victims. To be clear, if a Democrat is doing something illegal or unethical, sexually victimizing people, committing crimes, I want that man, and it's almost always a man, destroyed. Politically speaking, I want that scandal to break. So I'm shedding no tears for Eric Swalwell, Democratic member of Congress from California, and until this weekend, the front runner in the race to succeed Gavin Newsom as governor of California. Swalwell was accused over the weekend by multiple women, all with corroborating evidence, all verified by major media outlets like the New York Times and CNN. He was accused of sexual misconduct and abuse, ranging from sexual harassment to sending unsolicited dick pics to rape. He's out of the governor's race, and by the time you hear this, he may be out of Congress. Because for a Democrat, sexually harassing staffers, sending unsolicited dick pics to women who haven't asked to see your dick and sexually assaulting multiple women, you get drummed out of politics. You lose your job. Do that shit as a Republican? You get to be Secretary of Defense and President of the United States. I'm generally against the idea that Democrats are sent to Washington to set a good example for Republicans. We have to bring a switchblade to the knife fight. If they're going to gerrymander, to take one example, then we have to gerrymander harder and better until they agree to stop, until they agree to establish nonpartisan commissions in all 50 states that draw voting districts for state and national elections. When they go low on something like redistricting, gerrymandering, we have to go lower and harder. If norms aren't norms on both sides, then norms are for suckers. But on this, on sexual harassment, sexual assault, I'm good with Dems holding ourselves and our elected officials to higher standards, to having normal norms. Eric Swalwell doesn't get a pass because Pete Higgsat, Secretary of Defense, or Donald Trump, is the fucking president. We've seen how low they can go when it comes to treating women like shit. And on this, yeah, we expect better and we will go high. And when necessary, we will demand resignations. All right, coming up on this week's show, a lesbian loves the smell of a random straight man at her kid's preschool. Can't she ask this random straight guy what he's wearing, what that mysterious scent is without things getting weird? And what's an obedient sub to do when her two Dom's, a sub who is a servant of two masters, when her two Dom's give her conflicting orders, what is she supposed to do? And on the magnum, everyone's favorite pastor turned porn star Doc Chocolate returns to the show to talk with me about BBC. Should I call her, slap BBC out of the mouths of her friends? And then Doc Chocolate sticks around to school us all about STI testing protocols for professional porn performers in Las Vegas. Doc Chocolate is a fucking delight and you'll get to hear him, hear my conversation with him, hear all of his great advice. If you subscribe to the magnum version of the show right now at Savage.Love. Also, be sure to listen to After Action Report, my much shorter podcast, my little amuse-bouche of a podcast, where I interview people who've tried something new. You don't have to be a magnum sub to hear After Action Report. After Action Report is for everybody. And this week's After Action Report, oh my God, it is one wild fucking ride that you are not going to want to mess. All right, on to the first question. This episode is brought to you by VB Health, doctor formulated supplements that work. To learn more about load boost, drive boost and soaking wet, and to get 10% off, visit VB.Health and use the code SAVAGE. Hi, Dan and everybody. Lesbian from the Midwest with a, well, just a weird question. So, I have a wife and two small children, love them all very much. My small child goes to preschool, so I drop him off. And a couple of times now, as I'm leaving, I pass by one of the dads and I don't know what it is that he is wearing, what scent he is wearing, but it smells so good. Like it's a very fuckable scent. I don't know how else to describe it. And I'm not interested in him. Like he's a perfectly good looking man or whatever, but I'm not interested in him, but whatever he is wearing, I keep thinking like, man, your wife must be happy with that. How on earth do I find whatever it is and give it to my wife? Because I would really like to do that, but there is absolutely no earthly way for me to approach this guy and say, hey, what are you wearing? It smells so good. That feels incredibly painfully awkward. I don't know this person even remotely. We nodded each other as we passed one another. I got nothing without it sounding like that. It necessarily sounds like a huge come on, right? Like you can't just go up to somebody and say, what are you wearing? It smells so good without saying, you know, Captain Subtex saying, I want to get in your pants. I don't want to creep them out and I don't want to send that message. So how do I find this out? You could ask him, what is that scent you're wearing? But of course he's going to interpret that as you're attracted to him or the scent is working. I think your move here is to find the wife. He's got a wife, I assume, that he's married, that he had that kid with somebody, the kid that he's dropping off at school, when you pass him in the hallway. There's going to be some school event. There's going to be some PTA meeting. There's going to be some basketball game. There's going to be some bake sale where his wife is in attendance. And I think you could just peel her off for a second and say, hey, this is weird. I just want to know, your husband wears some cologne, smells so good. I'm asking you, because I would never ask him, because that would be weird. I wouldn't want him to take that the wrong way. I have no interest in fucking a dude. I don't want to bug your husband, but I do want to know what that cologne is. It smells so good. And of course she's going to run and tell her husband that you asked, but it'll be because she may not even know what cologne he's wearing necessarily. It'll be a funny story that the wife will relay to the husband. And the next time you pass him in the hallway, he's probably likely to give you a little raised eyebrow, but he's not going to try to give you the business. And you will know from the wife, via the wife, the appropriate conduit, what cologne her husband is wearing. Find the wife, ask the wife. Hi, Dan. I'm a mid-30s gay man in Australia. I recently went back to Melbourne for my best friend's wedding and reconnected with my ex Tom before the wedding. We dated three years when I lived there, and I have to admit I never fully got over him. We caught up, hooked up, and had one of the most intense reunions that made it very easy to imagine trying again. We talked openly about why our relationship failed before, what might be different now, and even floated hypotheticals about a future together, like talking about a trip and possibly for him moving to Sydney. Then I learned from close friends at the wedding that Tom had also gone on a date and hooked up that same day after Tom and I met with another wedding guest who had flown in from overseas. Tom knew this person was connected to the same wedding and had discussed me with him, but never mentioned any of that to me while we were together and talking about a possible future. Tom and I were both single, so technically he did not cheat. But I feel blindsided because this was not just casual sex. For me, I was emotionally invested, and now I cannot tell whether I'm reacting to a real red flag or just getting hurt because I let myself hope. My friends think I should cut him out of my life. I'm tempted to, but part of me wonders whether I'm expecting too much from someone who was at least technically single and free to do whatever he wanted. I know he did not cheat. Am I overreacting to normal guy behaviour, or did my ex reveal himself to be too slippery to trust as a serious prospect? There is a weird compliment buried under all of this drama Tom told the other guy about you because he didn't care what the other guy thought. It couldn't screw his thing up with the other guy if the other guy knew about you because that guy was just a one-off just in town for the wedding. He's never going to see him again, and so it doesn't matter what he thinks. But he didn't tell you about the other guy because he doesn't see you as a one-off because he cares what you think. Telling you about the other guy screwed things up with you for Tom. And so Tom, who's single and allowed to fuck more than one guest at the wedding as a single guy, yeah, yeah, he didn't tell you for the exact reason that your call and your question and the opinions of all of your friends prove that bears it out why he didn't tell you about it. Because it could have screwed things up if you knew, and you found out now you know, and it is kind of proving that Tom was right to try to hide this thing that he did, which was not a thing he was not allowed to do from you for fear of it screwing up your relationship if you two were going to attempt to revive it. So I think you liked Tom, you had great sex with Tom, Tom had sex with somebody else. Obviously, I don't think maybe Tom has cut out from an agamist relationship, if what you're hoping for is a monogamous relationship with Tom, that might be an unrealistic expectation, but I don't think you should, if you really feel strongly for Tom for this reason, cut him loose. Because again, again, look at it this way, told the other guy about you because he didn't care about the other guy thought, didn't tell you about the other guy because he cared what you thought. And you know, now you know, you can't pretend you don't know, your next phone call after calling me should be calling Tom and asking Tom about this other guy and what it meant and whether everything that you said to each other, everything he said to you when you hooked up again, after how many years apart, whether any of that was true, or if he was just saying what he needed to say to get into your pants. Maybe that's what he was doing, maybe he just wanted to get into your pants and said what he needed to say about the possibility of dating again. But I think there's a really good chance that he does want to date you again. If you want to increase your semen volume, try it out. VB Health also just released Energy Boost, a pre-workout supplement built around well-studied, effective ingredients for blood flow, energy, and focus. VB Health, check them out, they have so much to offer. Head to loadboost.com and use my exclusive code SAVAGE to get 10% off, or click the link in the episode description. It's time to elevate your performance and with Load Boost, you might just become someone's new favorite performer and new favorite flavor. That's loadboost.com and use my exclusive code SAVAGE. Hey Dan, Nancy, and the Tech Savvy At Risk Youth. Here's a problem that I feel very lucky to have. I'm wondering if you have any advice for navigating overlapping DS dynamics in different relationships at the same time. So I have a girlfriend, we don't live in the same place, but she's my very serious ongoing partner and we're very switchy with each other. And I have a new partner that I am subbing for and in that relationship we like to do a lot of advanced sort of instructions or me not being allowed to come for several days and it's so fun and hot. But so far I've just sort of, because my girlfriend and I don't live in the same place, I've managed to schedule that in zones where I'm not going to be around my girlfriend and I'm sure the answer is partially talk to all my partners and see what they're comfortable with. But just because it's like, well if somebody's telling me I'm not allowed to come but I'm spending time with my long-term partner, I guess I just want best practices and advice on how to navigate that in a way that sounds good for everyone. I want to thank you for helping me have this problem because seven years ago I was in a marriage where I knew I was queer and kinky and poly and those things were not as much a part of my relationship as I wanted them to be and listening to the Lovecast every day, just mainlining it during pandemic is one of the things that gave me the courage to leave that relationship. And now I have two hot women vying to control me. One more, could anyone want? Matthew 624, no one can serve two masters. Bible quotes, Bible quotes on the Savage Lovecast, whoever thought the day would come, listen, you can serve two masters, you do in a way serve two masters, you have two dominant partners in your life, two hot-dom women that you like to serve who both know the other exists, who both know that you may be put in a position once in a while where you have contravening orders, where one has ordered you not to come until you see them again maybe and the other that you happen to be with at that moment is ordering you to come or putting you in a position tied down with a vibrator strap to your clip where you can't avoid coming. So what then? Obviously this is a game, this is play, you have negotiated DS Dynamics with both of these partners and you should just gamify the position you sometimes find yourself in where one may force you to disobey the other, who should get punished when you are forced to disobey one of your masters? Well obviously for the game you should, so you should have a conversation with both where you talk about this position you sometimes find yourself in and you agree to some punishment. If girlfriend A has told you you're not allowed to come for a week and girlfriend B makes you come three times that week before you see girlfriend A again, you must confess all and throw yourself at the feet of girlfriend A and beg for her mercy which will not be forthcoming because there's some pre-agreed to punishment that you will have to endure for disobeying and that should be fun for girlfriend A? You want, she may want, she probably would enjoy having a slightly bratty slave that she needs to control and correct every once in a while and yeah, what will that be? What would that punishment be? Some kind of spanking, a caning, something, it should be I think something that isn't necessarily purely a pleasure, a punishment that you can endure and you'll be proud of yourself for getting through but it is actually a punishment because in this kind of cops and robbers for grown-ups with your pants off, you want there to be stakes and you want those stakes to feel real and they're as real as you are invested in them. So this isn't a conflict that you need to resolve between your partners and you, this is part of the game, this is part of the fun and you should enjoy it. This episode is brought to you by Foria, makers of Awakened Arousal Oil, Intimacy Melts and Sex Oil. Imagine the best orgasm or sex you've ever had. Now imagine that that orgasm could be even better and it could be with products that are designed to naturally enhance sexual pleasure and make your orgasms bigger and better. 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This magic combination creates the ultimate sexual experience and will take your connection with your partner to the next level. Experience your juiciest and deepest sensual experiences with Foria. Foria is offering a special deal for my listeners. Get 20% off your first order by visiting foriawellness.com slash savage or by using the code SAVAGE at checkout. That's f-o-r-i-a-wellness.com slash savage for 20% off your first order. I recommend trying Awakened or their Pleasure Set with all three of their best sellers. Let them know the Love Cast at you, foriawellness.com slash savage for 20% off your first order. Hi Dan. Often when I meet someone new, one of the thoughts that goes through my mind is, ooh, she's hot. And I'm wondering, is that something a lot of people experience? In your case, it might be, ooh, he's hot. Or is that something we're all just not talking about? Or is that something that we're all doing and not everyone? I don't know. Is that a question? It's perfectly normal to see someone hot and for a little voice in your head to go, fuck, she's hot. I can't go to the gym without thinking, fuck, he's hot. 10 or 11 times in the hour and a half I spent at the gym. It's perfectly, it means you're alive. It means you're doing what mammals do, what we evolved to do, which is to scan the savanna for potential. Mates. It's only an issue. It's only a problem if you can't think, oh, she's hot without your eyes bugging out of your head and your tongue rolling out of your mouth in such a way as it makes her feel uncomfortable. You need to be able to think, oh my God, she's a fucking heart without it playing on your face in environments where it's not supposed to play on your face. Like at the gym, I see guys who are hot at the gym all the time and I keep it blank. I look blank. I've actually heard from people that I thought were really hot. Sometimes years later, oh my God, there's this waiter at this restaurant I was a regular at. I would go all the time and I thought he was so hot. And years later, I met him again and he was like, I had such a crush on you, but I thought you hated me because you just stared at me blankly. It was like, oh my God, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable at work, so I didn't let it play on my face. And that's the cultural compact. That's the cultural norm that we all need to meet. Yeah, we move through the world. We see hot people. We might want to fuck all the time. And there are places where you can let that play on your face. You can let it play on your face at clubs and in bars and online on chatter bait. You can let it play on your face at sex parties. You can let it play on your face at drunken afters or house parties where people are flirting or making out or dancing. Then you can let it play on your face. But at work, school, home, the gym, on the bus, meetings, business interviews, I'm trying to think of other examples. You don't let it play on your face, but it is perfectly normal. Everyone is walking around all day long. Everyone who's post puberty from 13 to 100 is moving through the world going, fuck, look at that. Not just you. This episode is brought to you by Field, the dating app you keep hearing my callers talk about on this show. If you're wondering why, it's because Field serves the curious, the open-minded, and people who know that the concept of normal is overrated. Swipe culture, not a thing on Field. You can browse profiles without having to say yes or no right away and take your time making intentional decisions about who you engage with. Put your interests and desires right on your profile. Desires like being a brat, exploring DS or BDSM, and even friendship. Field supports honesty in its very architecture. Your bio can be as long as you like. But if you have something you only want to say to people you're vibing with, that you've connected with, you can write a hidden bio which you choose when to share with potential future lovers and friends. And active consent is embedded into the very design of Field. For example, DM'd photos with nudity are automatically blurred to give the recipient the opportunity to decide for themselves if they want to see them. And Field has a new feature called Reflections. It's designed to reveal you to yourself what you desire, the relationship style that works best for you, your boundaries. By answering these deeper questions about yourself, you can reflect before you connect. What are my actual boundaries? What do I deeply desire? What type of relationship do I really want? If you have the language, say what you want. If you can use your words, you will be so much closer to getting what you want. You know, it sounds a lot like the advice I give people on this show. Know thyself, little introspection, use your words. Try Reflections right now by visiting field.co. Reflections or by downloading Field on the App Store or Google Play. Field, it's where it's at and it's where my people are at. And if you're one of my people, you're going to want to get on Field. Hi, Dan. I have a question about how does one develop one's own sexuality in adulthood? Meaning, in my case, I did not develop it and as probably most people usually do it when you are in your early teens or sooner. The reason for that is that I was raised in this very traditional Eastern European Catholic environment by my grandma who used to religion as a stick for punishment of anyone who came close to her. I never had a good relationship with my parents. If anything, I did most of the time, I didn't see them until I was like seven or eight years old. And when I saw them, they were just enhancing the abuse. There was physical, mental, emotional, a lot of emotional abuse and also sexual abuse, which was not talking rape, but anything else. So, groping, talking inappropriately to me as a child and my younger sister when we were children and teens by pretty much any men in the village or any men in the extended family while my family was present and watching and listening to what was being said and done to us. My first relationship and only two relationships in my twenties kind of followed the same scenario. But 10 years ago, I moved across the globe and just being away from my family and the culture helped me a lot. And 10 years ago, I started therapy. It was a lot to dig through, but now I'm in a position when I started discussing sexuality with my therapist. And I'll just want to mention that sexuality, I refer to the one that probably I wouldn't know everyone feels as a sexual being in their own body, which is something I don't have and something that I'm calling about, look, how does one develop this when there is like no obvious plug-in where this would develop from. And if there is anything that you can think of and share with me on top of what I already do with my therapist, I would be really appreciating your feedback. Sometimes I feel like a call is above my pay grade, but I'm going to take a run at an answer for you and see if I can't help. Considering what you suffered growing up, physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, groping, inappropriate comments directed at you and your sister by men in the village and the presence of family members who didn't defend you, who didn't shut that shit down, who didn't protect you, it's understandable that you might have stuffed your sexuality down so deep you're having a really hard time even a decade later. Accessing it or feeling, identifying what in you erotically is authentically yours and not impacted by or a product of the abuse that you suffered. And as you see in your position as a child, you being very suspicious of sexuality and desire and doing all that you could to extinguish it in yourself, to protect yourself, to separate yourself from the people who were abusing you. On the other hand, aromantic and asexual people exist and so do coincidences and it's possible that you are authentically and truly asexual and you also suffered all of this physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse. And an effort to try to dig your authentic sexuality out from under your history may prove frustrating and futile in the end because there may be nothing there under all of that if you are indeed asexual or aromantic or both, which is a possibility. Do think as a sexual person and 99% of people are allosexual, 99% of people are sexual, not asexual. Odds are better that you are sexual and that you have an authentic sexuality buried under all of this abuse and you've only just started to discuss sexuality with your therapist. You're only really at the beginning of this attempt to dig your sexuality, whatever it might be out from under your history. And I think it's worth the effort. I've done some reading about MDMA therapy, catamine therapy, maybe some with a therapist, not go get some catamine, go get some MDA at a nightclub, but with a therapist, maybe psychedelics could unlock something for you. With a therapist there to guide you through that process? People with PTSD and considering your childhood, I think you're probably someone who may suffer from PTSD, even see PTSD complex, post-traumatic, stress disorder. And these therapies, psychedelic therapies have proven to be totally proven, studies have shown, points to them being highly effective and maybe they would benefit you as well. And maybe it would help you tap into your sexuality, your discovery what your true erotic inner life might be. In addition to therapy and thinking about catamine therapy or MDMA therapy, you should start reading erotica, watching pornography, seeing if anything clicks for you. But I think you're going to need to be patient and extend yourself a lot of grace and allow for the possibility that there's nothing there, that you could peel away all of these layers and find nothing. Not because you're damaged, but because you're one of the 1% who is asexual. And coincidentally enough, there was never anything there. There's just this history of physical, mental, emotional abuse that you suffered. I think you allow for that and you explore because you want to make sure if that's the case, that's the case. Because you don't want to be cheated out of if you are a sexual person, if you're allosexual, if you're among the 99%, you don't want the people who abused you in the ways in which you were abused to rob you of the joy and the connection and the intimacy of sex as an adult. And my heart's with you and I wish you the best and full credit for the big swing, for the big move you already made, getting the fuck away, moving to the other side of the world, removing yourself from this very traditional Eastern European Catholic environment and starting a new life in another place where you feel safe and safer than you did. You are taking care of yourself. You did take care of yourself as an adult in a way that you had every right to expect the adults in your life to take care of you when you were a child. You were failed by every adult in your life as a child. You have succeeded as an adult in taking care of yourself. And I think you should, whatever happens, whatever you find out about yourself at the end of this process, the end of this journey, you should be very proud of yourself for what you've already done and what you've already accomplished. Dan, I'm a year out from having my first baby and my libido used to be really, really high and now I just never want to have sex again. Just like I have no libido, nothing. I've been with my partner like six years. He's a really exciting sex life, got sex lives, like all of that. And yeah, it's just gone. It's absolutely gone. And I even tried to watch porn, but I'm just not interested. Yeah, so it's been a year and it's not coming back. So I'm a bit like really sad about it. And what do I do? Can that be changed? Can you take a pill like for women? Don't tell yourself it's not coming back. Tell yourself your libido hasn't kicked back in yet. It will. A year you had a baby a year ago, what you put your body through having a baby was incredibly intense and infancy, raising an infant, the intimacy of it, the constant touch of it, your body being constantly grabbed and poked and prodded and sucked on by an infant. That can, in a weird way, meet all of your needs for a kind of physical intimacy for skin to skin contact, but also exhaust you when it comes to intimacy, skin to skin contact and making yourself physically and tactically available to another human being. So just extend yourself a little more grace, give yourself a little more time, and beware the self-fulfilling prophecy. Don't tell yourself my libido is gone and it's not coming back or never coming back. Tell yourself my libido hasn't come back, but it will come back. There are so many stories out there of young parents who had a really long dry spell, sometimes a year, sometimes two years, sometimes until the kid was a little bit more independent, less physically needy. And then mom and dad started fucking again, or then mom started getting really super fucking horny again, and you can be. I predict you will be. If you're a listener of this show, you will be one of those moms. But for you, obviously, it's going to take a little more time. So give yourself more time. Give yourself grace as to whether there's a viagra for women. There isn't. And people make this mistake all the time of kind of misunderstanding or miscategorizing viagra and what it is that it does. Men don't take viagra to get horny. Men who are horny take viagra to get hard. Viagra does not induce, doesn't like kickstart someone's libido. The libido is there. The heart is willing, but the flesh is weak. And viagra strengthens the flesh, hardens the flesh. There is white wine. There are pot gummies. There is space and time. And you should give yourself all of those things, a little bit of white wine if you're a drinker, pot gummies if you like pot, and more time. You will get there. I promise you your libido will return when you least expect it. It is going to sneak up on you and it is going to tackle you. My advice for your partner when that moment comes, when you are horny again, you should let your partner listen to this part. When your partner is horny again, be grateful for the return of libido. Don't be resentful that it took so long. Don't look at your partner and think, I had to wait forever for this. Look at your partner and think, oh my God, here we go. Let's go. Let's do this thing. We are back in business. Hi, Dan. I've got a question regarding getting a boyfriend and also having close male friends. So for some context, two of my best friends are guys. One of my best friends for like five years, the other one for three years. And for both of these relationships, they started out romantic and like in a dating way. And I was definitely interested in dating both of them at the beginning, but for both of them, we settled into just being friends, mainly because they didn't want to date me, honestly. Since then, though, I still have somewhat of a physical relationship with one of them or like occasionally will fuck. And with other one, basically don't have a sexual relationship, but we definitely struggle with both of these guys. I just have a very, very close physical, mainly platonic relationship with them. And my question is, do you think it's ridiculous to want to keep and maintain my relationship with these guys, even if I do get a boyfriend? I get this is hypothetical, but I've been thinking about it because recently one of these guys had a girl that he was seeing endings with him, mainly or in large part due to her jealousy towards me and my relationship with him. And I feel like these relationships are very non-threatening because like if we were going to date, we would have dated already. And like instead, we are just like love each other and just have like really close friendships. And like for me, I see guys being friends with their exes and guys being close with female friends as green flags because like in terms of being friends with exes, it means like y'all had a good communication. You were caring and loving through it all. That's hot to me. That's what I like to see. I love to see good communication and problem solving skills and like shit like that. And then in terms of like close female friendships, like yeah, amazing. You're not just interested in women for like sex. You see women as like a whole being and want to get to know them as like a human and like connect with them as human. So like that's all green flags to me. But I can also see how someone might not want me to be like sharing a bed with someone who I previously fucked slash was in love with. But I also like can't imagine like if someone came in was like you have to change your relationship with this person who's incredibly important to you. And that would really rub me the wrong way because I'm like dude, this guy's been here for way longer than you have and I want to date you. I'm not dating these other guys. I don't want to date these other guys. I want to date you. Like it feels very non-threatening to me, but I also get how it could be threatening to someone. So anyways, I've just been thinking about this lately and wondering if you think it's ridiculous to be able to maintain this kind of friendship with guys where we're platonic and still get a cuddle and be intimate. But because I wouldn't fuck them or kiss them if I was dating someone else. I want to be mainly monogamous. But yeah, wondering if you think that's too much to ask. I think it's happy my cake and eating it too. But why the fuck would I not want to have my cake and eat it too? Continuing the theme of words meaning things and me being team words mean things. Platonic isn't a spectrum. It's binary. A relationship is or is not platonic. If you're fucking someone, even just a little, even every once in a while, that is not a platonic relationship. Friends with benefits. Hopefully people in your generation understand what an FWB relationship is about and that if you're dating somebody and they had a friends with benefits situation with somebody else and they're willing to end that because you want monogamy and they want monogamy. Hopefully you wouldn't be threatened by that. But I would be weirded out if somebody came to me and like, well, I've been fucking this person for years and years and years, but it's a platonic relationship. I don't think, what do you mean by that? How do you define platonic? You could define platonic differently than I would define platonic. It makes me question your judgment and sense. All that said, that's a little dark. I don't mean that. I'm not trying to bag on you. Look, you see friends with X's as a green flag. So do I. We are not alone. There are women out there who feel the same way you do about guys who are friends with their X's. Not all women who are okay with guys being friends with their X's are okay with guys occasionally fucking their X's because that can feel like unfinished business, sustained attraction that can make them wonder what your motives might be and continuing to fuck somebody that didn't want to date you. You could have ulterior motives that they can't, despite your assurances, know with any certainty, aren't actually in play. That you don't actually want to get back together. That you aren't hanging around hoping to pick up the pieces after their relationship ends. That you're not going to subtly sabotage it in ways that would then result in them getting their hearts stomped on. But there are women out there who wouldn't be threatened by their boyfriend being friends with an X. They continue to have an FWB thing with for a while until they came along. Your friend's most recent X was not one of those women. So they were wrong for each other. So it's good that relationship ended. And in a sense, your friend chose you or the universe chose you because you're still in his life. And that woman is out of his life. So take the win. Take the W. And you have options. There are guys who will not be threatened by you being friends with their X's. There are definitely guys out there who will regard a guy being friends with his X's as a green flag. Most of those guys are probably going to be gay guys, but some of them are straight. You can hold out for one. Hi, Dan. I'm calling to ask for perhaps some clarification on your stance that a person who is a partner of someone who has a penis can do whatever they want as the penis haver is ejaculating. I've heard you say many times that the job of that person or the job of a GGG person in that role is to get the penis haver to the point of orgasmic inevitability, and then they can do whatever they want with the cum. And yes, I know what you mean in terms of the sensation of the orgasm in that moment, but such a huge part of sexual connection is the experience and the memory of the experience and the visuals of the experience. And someone just sort of absentmindedly shooting it over their shoulder or kind of having a sour look on their face or whatever makes a huge difference. Do you really think that doesn't matter? Of course it matters. And I was being a little facetious, a little facetious, not entirely facetious. Some people really want to get their dick sucked. Some people enjoy sucking dick, but really don't like the taste of semen or having cum in their mouth or being expected to swallow cum. How do I as a sex advice professional make sure that these two people in this cum in the mouth discordant relationship are happy and can meet each other's needs by telling the person getting the blowjob that you should be grateful that you're getting a blowjob. A blowjob is a wonderful thing to get. And once your partner gets you to the point, not just of orgasmic inevitability, because if you bring somebody, a penis having person, a man to the point of orgasmic inevitability, and then you withdraw all stimulation, they may ejaculate, but they're not going to feel that orgasm in the same way that they will if you continue to provide them with stimulation. That's why bringing someone to the point of orgasmic inevitability and then withdrawing your hand if you're jerking them off or pulling out or pulling them out if you were letting them fuck you or no longer sucking their dick if you're giving them a blowjob. Those are called ruined orgasms. It's a kink for some people to have a ruined orgasm inflicted on them, almost a punishment. They're so horny, they're so head up and they have this orgasm where they ejaculate, but they don't experience that kind of waves of orgasmic, pleasurable feelings. They're an actual non-ruined orgasm comes with. So I don't think you bring someone to the point where orgasmic inevitability and your job is done, you got to follow through. But once that person has come in your mouth, and when I joked about, you know, you could give someone a blowjob, pull out and let them come over your shoulder, the theory was your hand would still be working the dick, your wet and sloppy hand, which is always a part of a good blowjob, a wet and sloppy hand. So you hadn't totally abandoned their dick or their blowjob, but you could let them come over your shoulder if you don't like to have come in your mouth. But if it's really important to somebody that their partner not just give them the blowjob and let them come in their mouth, but look at them like their comma is the most delicious fucking shit they've ever had in their mouth and they're only too happy to swallow it, I guess you could ask your partner who doesn't like come or eating come or swallow and come to pretend. But I'd rather personally have my partner be real with me. And if swallowing my load is something you're doing for my pleasure or to submit to me is not something that they love. I want them to have a look on their face like they're actually kind of hating it but doing it for me. And if it's something they love and they have that look on their face, then great. But I want them to have, as I've had an authentic experience getting the blowjob, I want them to have the authentic experience and an honest experience of giving me that blowjob. So, yeah, your work's not done when you bring someone to the point for orgasmic inevitability unless you're trying to give them a ruined orgasm. But what the person who's giving the blowjob does or how they feel about it. They're allowed to feel their own feelings about giving you that blowjob and you got the blowjob. Take the win. Alright, time for listener feedback. First up, a few comments listeners left in the comment thread about last week's show. Says MS, for the caller whose inexperienced boyfriend is also small, have you tried clitoral and G-spot toys that can be worn during PIV? Like a weeb vibe chorus? You could teach them how to get you off whilst teesfucking you and it might slightly outflank the size issue. They're great even if you're above average. Says Jen, I feel like Dan's answer to the first question, the one where the woman saw her former friend in a porno, was totally wrong. As someone who was surreptitiously recorded having sex, if someone ever found those videos online, I sure as hell would want to know so that I could do whatever possible to get them taken down and make sure the person who posted them without my consent was charged. Jen and others made that point and I agree, I retract my advice and I urge the caller if you're listening and I hope you still are to take Jen's advice. Says half moons. Thank you Dan for saying that if you're going to open up, you have to discuss what you'll do if one of you doesn't like it. My partner and I had many such talks and I was assured every step of the way that if I wanted to shut it down again, I could. I had a very negative reaction to opening up and after a few months asked to close again. Because we'd been communicating about it this whole time, we were able to close our relationship up again pretty easily. This doesn't mean the whole process was seamless, but those conversations in advance, they helped. Alright, if you've got something to say about something I said on this week's show and you want to make sure you're heard and your comment is seen, go to Savage.Love and jump into the comment thread. We do play a few comment calls every week at the end of the episode, but we can't play them all, but all the comments in the comment thread, they get read, they get seen and they get read by me too and a few of them get read here on the show. Alright, Savage.Love listeners who left voicemails on our answering machine about last week's show, let's select a few of them, get to have the last word on this week's show. This is for the caller and is asking about sling etiquette at the bathhouse. The person he was calling about actually has a name and that person is called a sling lizard because they won't give up the sling when other people want to use it and they are hogging it. And yes, it's okay to ask them if you can use it if they have been in there full runtime. They may tell you no, but it is okay to ask. Hi Dan, long time listener here from Ireland. Not really a question, but a little comment about your first policies. Myself and my husband to be, we're heading off to the registry office to give our intention to marry so we can get married during the summer. And we did the whole fuck first thing and lo and behold, if we're not late now and racing down the motorway, hope it's to make the appointment. Well, we thank you for your advice and we did enjoy your advice. We're left with slight regret now, but hopefully we'll make it on time without killing ourselves on the motorway. We're gonna fuck first, get up earlier. Yes, so yeah, those are the stories that if we're going to fuck first, get up earlier. Keep doing your good work, Dan. Thanks a million. And we are going to leave it there. Got a sex problem, got a relationship question, got a comment for us. Go to savage.love.com, ask Dan to record and upload your comment or question directly onto our website. Or you can record a voice memo and email it to us at qat savage.love. Or you can call us at 206-302-2064 and leave us a message on our answering machine. And hey, if you tried something new and you want to share all the dirty details with me and my listeners, send an email to qat savage.love. Let us know about the new crazy thing you tried and you might be my next guest on After Action Report. The Hump Spring Tour, this is our 21st year of bringing you the best and most creative, short and smutty films around screens. This weekend in Boston where the shows are sold out, so you might want to head to Provincetown where tickets are still available and Ann Arbor, if you can jump on a plane. You can also watch the Hump 2026 show online now. It is streaming at humpfilmfest.com now. Also, you can watch the trailer for the show right now at humpfilmfest.com and order tickets to a screening to see Hump in a theater. The crowd of strangers as Hump was meant to be seen all again at humpfilmfest.com. Follow me at Blue Sky at Dan Savage. Follow me on Instagram at Dan Savage. Follow Doc Chocolate on Twitter at DocChocolateBBC. And be sure to check out his amazing and hot podcast, Bulls and Queens, where he's having a lot more fun with his guests than I am having with mine. The Savage Lovecast is produced every week by Nancy Hurtunian. And me and Nancy in the Tech Savvy at Rescue will all be back at you next week while installing the Savage Lovecast. Thank you for telling me.