Gallery: We Talked About Sex, Baby, at a One-Off Event Around Pleasure and Intimacy at Hope St Radio

Our understanding of health and wellbeing is more holistic and encompassing than ever. Nutrition and fitness are still important for your wellness, yes – but now we’re taking factors like connection, enjoyment, recovery, mindfulness and creativity into consideration, too.

One thing we can’t skip talking about is sex. Once discussed in whispers – if at all – Broadsheet and ahm decided to lift the lid on the topic and bring it to light.

The result was Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: a one-night-only event centred around sexual wellness and wellbeing. On Tuesday June 23, we took over Hope St Radio for open, thoughtful and judgement-free conversations that brought pleasure and intimacy to the fore.

Guests were welcomed with Cosmopolitans, while beers and skin-contact wines were available from the open bar throughout the evening. We encouraged everyone to chat and mingle, with conversation starters like “Have phones ruined flirting?” and “If you could add a sixth love language, what would it be?”

A grazing table was laden with aphrodisiac-inspired snacks such as Merimbula oysters, crudité skewers, Hope St’s famous focaccia and whipped cultured butter, cheese (comté, ricotta salata and Parmigiano-Reggiano), crackers and dips like beetroot and chickpea, cavolo nero with pistachio, and pumpkin with smoked almonds.

Sexologist Meg Callander hosted the evening, starting us off with games that tested the audience’s knowledge of smut, sexting and period sex, before a panel discussion featuring fellow sexologist and Big Pussy Energy author Vanessa Muradian; Soeren Poulsen, founder of considered adult store High Tide; and ahm’s head of health advisory, Aarti Olsson, who was also the MC of the night. They explored topics like the role of pleasure in daily life, the barriers to sexual wellness people commonly face, the first steps to taking pleasure into your own hands, and what they’d all like to see in this specific wellbeing space in the future.

After a short break (which included a matcha-infused take on everyone’s favourite tiramisu), our panel answered questions from the audience: the role of humour in the bedroom, the biggest misconceptions couples face, apps such as Feeld and ethical non-monogamy.

And though we didn’t want the evening to end, eventually our guests had to go home – but not without a curated gift bag that included goodies like a copy of Muradian’s book, a bottle of lube from Drip, a sex toy from La-Bas, a Maison Balzac scented candle, chocolates from Loco Love and more.

Because sexual wellness shouldn’t just be the focus of one evening. As the folks at ahm know, feeling well looks different for everyone, and exploring the world of sexual wellness can help you take better care of yourself in all aspects of your life. After all, pleasure and intimacy are intricately tied to self-love and self-care.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with ahm. ahm supports your version of wellness, whatever that might be. ahm – people things.