For the 37th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra take you back to Helsinki for a previously unreleased episode about being out & proud in Finland.
We explore how American & Finnish romance differ, Cristal's experience dating in NYC (aka the original Carrie Bradshaw), the linguistic connotations of dating vs. coffee in Helsinki, the lack of Finnish gay icons, being a queer role model, the importance of living an honest and liberated life, Hannu's experience coming out late in life (after 25 years of marriage & 3 kids), reactions from family, parents & children, being half of the 1st gay couple to get married in Finland, leaving the closet doesn’t mean automatic happiness, being honest about who you are yields rewards even if it seems risky, how to foster diversity in travel, why everybody should be celebrated not tolerated, why not "making a fuss" about being gay is dangerous & the feeling we want all straight men to have — plus, updates from Hannu & Caroline!
Thanks to the following people for lending us their voices & teaching us about their culture. Follow them on Instagram to learn more about them & their work:
Let’s be friends on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun. Connect with hosts Courtney Kocak @courtneykocak & Sofiya @thesofiya on Instagram & Twitter.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 36th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra take you back to Helsinki for a previously unreleased episode about the legalization of gay marriage in Finland & how that's impacted the lives of queer residents.
We cover the overwhelming response to the initial petition, the recent history of how the law passed, a classically Finnish wedding proposal, coming out later in life, what it was like to be the 1st same-sex couple to get married in Finland, the legislation's impact on LGBT+ acceptance & more!
Thanks to the following people for lending us their voices & teaching us about their culture. Follow them on Instagram to learn more about them & their work:
Let’s be friends on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun. Connect with hosts Courtney Kocak @courtneykocak & Sofiya @thesofiya on Instagram & Twitter.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 35th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra share our favorite sex toys & pleasure products for this holiday season to either get yourself off, give the gift of pleasure, OR BOTH!
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode was brought to you by our sponsors, but we tested the products & the endorsements we gave were our honest opinions.
Let’s be friends on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun. Connect with hosts Courtney Kocak @courtneykocak & Sofiya @thesofiya on Instagram & Twitter.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 34th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome comedy writer Georgia Shenk for a special COVID-19 breakup story.
Georgia shares her experience consciously uncoupling with her ex-boyfriend while living together during the 'rona lockdown... plus, reconnecting with someone from her past. This touching & hilarious pandemic tale has it all!
For more Georgia Shenk:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 33rd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra speak to an Ashley Madison member going by the alias of "Nikki" & do a deep dive into why women cheat.
We also chat with Ashley Madison's Chief Strategy Officer Paul Keable, as well as their Communications Director Isabella Mise, who coauthored "The Good Wife Study" on female infidelity. You're gonna want to check your presumptions at the door for this one!
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 32nd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome standup comedian & artist Greg Edwards for an interesting look at his redline art series.
We dig into the inspiration for his series & the conversations that have come from it, the reality of racist lending practices, if you eat pussy you're on the right side of history, interracial dating & how you can scar little kids with grownup prejudice, why listening is the key to being a better ally & more.
For more Greg Edwards:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 31st episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome writer/podcaster/activist/sex worker extraordinaire Selena the Stripper for a primer on how racism operates at your local strip club.
We explore the nuances of discrimination within sex work (i.e. how racism works at strip clubs vs. racism in escorting), the complexities of labor organizing within the sex industry, being a sex worker & also a sex client, the coded search terms women seeking happy ending massages need to know (pelvic work, yoni massage, tantric work, etc.), a hot tip for screening your happy ending masseuse, erotic massage as a way to heal sexual trauma, how powerful it is for femmes to command their own sexual pleasure, Selena's experience with interracial dating, how to be a better ally & more.
For more Selena the Stripper:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 30th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome podcaster Miles Gray for a funny & empowering conversation about how you can participate in the anti-racist movement of liberation in small ways that actually have a big impact.
We dig into the power of language & word choice, if you see or hear something racist, say something, leveraging your privilege for good, the definition of white privilege: choosing comfort over conflict at the expense of others, the problematic Michael Scott mentality, The Office as a metaphor for how white supremacy works, the harrowing story of J Dilla making his Donuts album, sampling as a Black art form & what makes sample-based music so dope, what Miles has learned from dating white women, the importance of empathy in dismantling systemic racism & more.
For more Miles Gray:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 29th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome actor, comedian & podcaster Jacquis Neal for a briefing on the way racism works at your favorite improv theater, probably.
We explore the systemic racism built into even well-intentioned institutions like UCB, the extra hurdles you have to clear as a Black improviser, the reality that a good artist doesn't necessarily make for a good business person (or coach), the brilliance of the TV show Martin, roasting as an important part of Black culture, the complicated perceptions of interracial relationships, why someone needs to make a "Google is free" t-shirt & more.
For more Jacquis Neal:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 28th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome comedian & writer Ashley Ray for some lowkey Seven Mountains/Life Goals University CHURCH about why you shouldn't give your money to Shaun King — plus, what to do instead!
We also discuss scammers more broadly, OG pegging (pre-Broad City), leading her school's GSA, Big Lesbian Organizer Energy, her mom coming out in her 60s, founding the FB group Hoe Summer, the genius of Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, Beyoncé's Lemonade as a love letter to Black women & so much more.
For more Ashley Ray:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 27th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome poet & professor Bridgette Bianca for a celebration of Black art & endurance.
We dig into her process as a poet, the power of repetition, the going beyond the inspiration of Langston Hughes, the importance of having intraracial conversations (as well as interracial conversations), the sad hilarity of Confederate statues, the pathetic bullshit of "allyship fatigue," what Black people mean when they say "I've been angry" & more.
For more Bridgette Bianca:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 26th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra welcome audio producer & Your Fave Is Problematic co-host Kristen Bennett to talk about racism, media & relationships.
We get into SO MUCH in this episode: the problematic nostalgia of John Hughes movies, Dave Chappelle’s new standup special 8:46, Tina Fey’s weird racial streak, the inevitability of the white people in your life eventually proving themselves problematic, revisiting Drake, can Black Americans appropriate African culture?, cop shows & police depictions on TV, racism is the reason we don’t have universal healthcare, Southern racism vs. California racism & more.
For more Kristen Bennett:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 25th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra bring you the happy ending & finale episode to our Tokyo, Japan series.
We explore what it was like to buy sex for the first time as women, what it takes to make it as a male happy ending masseuse among over 2,000 applicants, our experience at an S&M bar (shout-out Black Heart in Ginza!) & how paying for sex opened our minds on so many levels – open relationships, our perception of sex work clientele, sexual healing & its potential to deepen your connection with yourself & your partner.
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! —> ratethispodcast.com/private
For the 24th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome reporter Hiroko Imai & video producer Marina Yajima Taylor for the 3rd episode from our Tokyo, Japan series.
Hiroko (@hirokotv) is a 32-year-old freelance producer & reporter for Asian Boss who grew up in Japan & lives in the Tokyo area. Marina (@marina__taylor) is a twentysomething video producer & recent transplant from Seattle to Tokyo. Marina’s mom is Japanese, so she was raised having a strong familiarity with the culture.
We chop it up about gender equality in Japan, the endearing term of "loser dog" for unmarried women over 30, the 5 levels of Japanese sex & intimacy work, inadvertently discovering that friends are sex workers, “I’m sorry for hurting you” divorce pay-outs, deeply entrenched discrimination against people perceived to foreign in such a homogenous society, the M-curve, how understanding of the kanji for girl power changes as girls get older & so much more.
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo
For the 23rd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome cultural translator Chris Wells for the 2nd episode from our Tokyo, Japan series.
Chris (@chriswellstokyo) has lived in Japan for over 25 years. He's a founding member of the Tokyo Comedy Store, he co-owns Japan's first improv studio dedicated to long-form improv & method acting along with his husband Jun & he's the voice of the JR train (!!!).
We dig into the evolution of gay acceptance in Japan, what it's like to be gay in Japan as a foreigner vs. as Japanese person, "gay marriage light" (aka relationship registration with no legal rights), the kind of 50s-style workplace sexism that results in "famous working mothers" & how their shame-based culture works differently than our guilt-based one.
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo
For the 22nd episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome Keio University subcultures researcher Joe McReynolds & sex worker/model/columnist Yuki for the 1st episode from our Tokyo, Japan series.
We explore the different levels of sex and intimacy work in Japan (most of it legal), how common cheating is in Japan, the Mad Men culture at old-school Japanese companies, the jaw-dropping amount of money made by Roland the most popular male host in Japan, why young Japanese women aren’t getting married, the economic triangle of sex work in Japan that keeps most of the money in-house, how cheap liquor licenses have allowed intimate businesses in micro-spaces to flourish, swingers clubs (aka happening bars), soaplands, the international image of Japan as the home of weird sex & weird technology, how common it is to seek a father figure in a sexual partner… even if you had a good dad & more.
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
We want to connect with you on social media! Follow the show on Instagram @privatepartsunknown & Twitter @privatepartsun.
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo
For the 21st episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome Nova Scotia-based married couple & co-hosts of the Turn Me On podcast – Jeremie Saunders & Bryde MacLean – for a really interesting episode about their journey opening up their relationship & becoming polyamorous.
We also dig into how living with a life-shortening illness has impacted their trajectory, how they forged the relationship dynamic they truly wanted without having a model, relationship contracts, how their new partners fit into their daily lives, having different money values, separating finances, how their parents feel about the lifestyle, poly jealousies not being what you’d think & more.
For more Jeremie Saunders & Bryde MacLean:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo
For the 20th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome one-name wonder Smoove, co-owner of a very special queer bar called The Back Door, for the 2nd installment in a 2-part series from Bloomington, Indiana.
We get into the origin story of The Back Door, its impact on the local LGBTIA community, how they fostered an impressive drag & burlesque scene, former governor Pence, the rollback of gay rights, the incredible “Periods for Pence” campaign, online dating in a small city like Bloomington & so much more.
For more from Smoove:
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For the 19th episode of Private Parts Unknown, your hosts Courtney Kocak & Sofiya Alexandra, welcome our favorite keeper of sexual artifacts, Kinsey Institute curator Rebecca Fasman, for the 1st installment in a 2-part series from Bloomington, Indiana.
We go deep into the archives to talk about George Platt Lynes & his little-known collection of male nudes, the Comstock law, community standards for erotic material, struggling with the a male gaze as a feminist curator, the state of the union for contemporary queer artists, WWII slut-shaming drops, the legacy of Alfred Kinsey, idealistic differences in the mediums of painting vs. photography & homemade sex toys.
For more Rebecca Fasman:
Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. This episode is brought to you by:
If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating & sexy review! xo