Cliterally the Best Podcast Out There!

Evie is a champion for sex positivity and has been inspiring her followers to try new things with her impassioned posts and honest reviews she informs the masses about everything from sustainable period products and ethical porn, but she also educates us about our bodies - an education most of us missed out on during our lacklustre sex-ed classes in schools. I remember the barely there education that I received from my Catholic School which consisted of watching a short video about sex, then being ushered into another room where they talked to us about periods and our changing bodies - safe to say, I didn’t learn anything that I hadn’t already learnt from watching John Hughes movies and SATC. 

Evie also hosts her own podcast which explores everything from relationships, sex and mental health, I had a chance to interview her about her podcast Cliterally the Best, as well as pick her brains about various topics related to sex and menstruation. 

MR: Your podcast Cliterally the Best is a weekly unfiltered discussion about sex, mental health and self love, what have been some of your favourite highlights?

E: Ooh, super hard to choose, they’ve all been so interesting! Definitely the Stripping episode and the Open Relationship one.

MR: I loved your discussion with Will Palmer about his experience dating with Dwarfism - we need to have more discussions like this because there are so many groups of people that are often left out when discussing sex and relationships - what was your biggest takeaway from his interview? 

E: That people really do miss out on some great relationships for super superficial reasons, it's sad. 

MR: On your podcast you recently discussed the differences between sex-ed in the UK and US, I was surpised at how similar they were. What steps can we take to improve sex-ed in the UK? 

E: Where do I start?! I think a big thing that would make a big difference would be teaching that sex is as much about pleasure than it is about reproduction. Also, consent needs to be a main topic, we also need to stop teaching STIs in a shameful way, and on top of that, we need proper period education. How to deal with periods, what’s abnormal - rather than just the clinical biology. Rosie and I talk about it here and I have a great episode on this here.

MR: Do you feel like religion and misogyny play a part in the quality of information we are given about sex at school?

E: 1000%. Religious schools and private schools are exempt from the legally required sex-d and it's proven that those who are taught abstinence have a higher pregnancy & STI rate. Humans are going to have sex and often more if you tell them they can’t - they need to know how to do it safely and consensually. In terms of mysogyny, sex-ed is super penetration/ejaculation focused due to the main agenda of not getting pregnant. This means that sex-d is never focused on vulva pleasure and pushes that masturbation stigma, and not to mention it completely leaves out LGBT+ sex. 

Also boys are often separated when a tiny amount of menstrual education happens - boys should learn about this too, it would lead to much less stigma and much more empathy. The structure just solidifies the sexisms from a young age - more needs to be done to tackle the gender imbalance within sex education lessons.

MR: Sex education will be updated for the first time in 20 years - what are you hoping they include in the curriculum? 

E: This happened in September last year and I was hoping for much more, but they have improved it in some ways. For example, there is a much bigger focus on healthy relationships, secondary school pupils will now be learning about FGM which is a big problem worldwide and a better focus on LGBT+ sex.

Unfortunately, it's the bare minimum they cover within these topics and it's really down to the individual teacher. 99% of the time they are not trained in this and they often do not want to teach this as it can be a difficult lesson. They are given some printouts and unless they have a passion for this the bare minimum tends to be taught. I recently took a teacher course in RSE and that’s for the teachers who really care about this and even that lacked many topics. For something that is such a big part of our lives we have very little lessons on these - I was hoping for more lessons.

MR: Female pleasure and sex positivy is something we champion here at The C Word Magazine - what advice do you have for women who are currently exploring their sexuality for the first time?

E: Get to know your own body, make that priority number one. It will allow you to find out what you like so you can tell others what makes you feel good. 

MR: Your instagram channel is so informative, I love your sex toy reviews - What vibrators and/or sex toys would you recommend our readers buy? 

E: I have a great page on this here, but there’s the bullet, the dildo, the rabbit, the clit sucker...the list is endless. Also, check out my instagram feed for the latest brands.

MR: What are some of the misconceptions about sex that you wish would change?

E: That vulva owners can orgasm through penetration (71% cannot).

MR: Sexual mindfulness has grown in popularity in the last couple of years, is this something you have explored yourself and if so what exercises and or aps would you recommend? 

E: Its not something I’ve personally tried, but I love normal mindfulness for anxiety and many of the methods can translate during sex, like if you’re too in your mind to orgasm. I read the Headspace books - they also have an app.

MR: Pornhub has come under fire for their content recently because of the many non-consensual sexual videos of children and of women which they are yet to fully take down so there's a real need for more ethical porn - what are some of your go to sites?  

E: I love ethical porn, it's so much hotter and you can get off guilt-free, my faves are Bellesa, Dipsea, Erika Lust, and OnlyFans to name a few, the rest can be found here.

MR: Growing up, we are taught to hide our period and on your channel you’re so honest about the whole experience which in turn gives us the confidence to speak up and not be ashamed about our own journeys - how has period culture changed in the last decade and do you ever see menstruation becoming a valid part of the curriculum?  

E: It's slowly getting better thanks to social media. I think the biggest change recently was the period tax being removed on some period products, but this should have never been a thing. I hope it does become a bigger part and some great people are doing some great work, but knowing our government and their priorities, we're a long way off unfortunately- that’s why we need to hammer them with activism and make ourselves a nuisance.

MR: There has been such a rise in sustainable period products (which I love) - what would you recommend for people who menstruate who are trying to take steps to switch over to more sustainable products? 

E: Period cups are the best as they can last up to 10 years when cared for properly. If you’re not a fan of period cups, for pads and tampons I would definitely recommend using Here We Flo products. Another alternative that I would recommend is period pants - however, like cups, they still have the tax.

MR: Name three things you can’t do without?

E: Lasagne, Festivals (although not currently) and doggos!