The Sensual Sisterhood Podcast

Marta Kagan & Barbara Katsnelson
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Sexuality
  • Updated Weekly

Most women don't need fixing. They need aliveness. The Sensual Sisterhood is a podcast for women who have built successful lives but no longer feel fully alive inside them. Hosted by Marta Kagan and Barbara Katsnelson, this show explores the hidden conditioning, cultural messages, and self-abandonment patterns that leave so many women feeling numb, disconnected, exhausted, resentful, or wondering why life doesn't feel as good as they thought it would. We talk about desire. Pleasure. Sex. Relationships. Midlife. Aging. Feminine power. Body trust. Emotional aliveness. But this isn't really a podcast about any of those things. It's a podcast about coming back to yourself. Through honest conversations, personal stories, and powerful revelations, Marta and Barbara challenge everything women have been taught about what makes life meaningful, what makes a woman valuable, and what it actually takes to feel fully alive. Because the goal isn't to become someone new. The goal is to remember who you were before the world taught you to disconnect from yourself. If your life looks good on paper, but something still feels missing underneath it... Welcome back to yourself.

  1. 2d ago

    You've Been a Very Good Girl. Was It Worth It? (Good Girl Conditioning After 40) - Ep. 44

    You stopped believing the rules years ago. Don't be too available. Don't be too sexual. Don't be that kind of woman. You'd argue against every one of them over dinner. And then you stand in front of the closet and change your outfit because of who'll be there. Not the men. The women. Being a good girl got you real things: respect, belonging, a reputation you're proud of. Marta and Barbara ask the harder question. What happens when the deal that built your life starts costing you the life you actually want? In this episode: - The impossible instruction most of us got as girls, and what it did to our bodies - Why you never had to be called a slut to learn the lesson - What being a good girl actually got Barbara (it's not what she was promised) - The midlife rules that replaced "don't be easy" - Why the opposite of a good girl is not a bad girl Start here 👇 Join The Sensual Sisterhood (free), where women talk about this every week: 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Meet her 👇 OH F**K, THERE SHE IS, a one-hour on-demand experience: 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/there-she-is Go deeper 👇 F**K YES, a 12-week live group experience for women ready to feel wildly alive in their own lives. 22 seats. First to Know women get the first shot at them on December 1, two days before applications open to everyone. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 You've been a very good girl 01:20 The first time you learned the rules 02:24 Be desirable, but don't desire 03:59 The inner policewoman 05:01 You didn't have to be called a slut 06:25 What being a good girl actually got you 08:30 A great deal for 20 years, a terrible deal now 09:45 The opposite of a good girl 12:09 What we mean when we say slut 13:30 The rules you still follow 15:02 Wearing a ring for someone else's wife 17:17 When another woman gets to be free 19:36 Do women get freer as they age? 23:25 At 20, don't be easy. At 50, have some dignity. 25:27 Reclaiming the word slut 27:14 Find your flavor 30:59 Good girl or bad girl is a false choice 33:01 Keep it, break it or rewrite it 39:41 Make sure the rule was yours to begin with 40:32 Choosing or performing? 42:19 Notice one moment of self-editing 43:43 What's actually on the other side

  2. Oct 20

    Who Will They Think I Am? Why You Still Care What People Think After 40 - Ep. 43

    You tell someone you love something true about what you want. Nothing outrageous. And for about three seconds their face does something you didn't expect. They're not judging you, exactly. They're recalibrating. And before you've even decided to, you hear yourself start explaining, softening, walking it back. You'd tell anyone you stopped caring what people think years ago. So why does that moment still land so hard? Marta and Barbara go straight at the part of "what will people think" that smart, self-aware women rarely see in themselves. In this episode: - Why fantastic boundaries won't protect you from your own reputation - The question underneath "what will people think," and why it's more uncomfortable - What happens in the three seconds after someone sees a side of you they didn't expect - Who's really doing the judging (it may not be them) - What to do when the people who love you genuinely don't like your choice - The line between choosing privacy and hiding - Something Marta says she has never told anyone - A practice for letting a desire be true before you do anything about it Start here 👇 Join The Sensual Sisterhood (free), where women say what they actually want out loud and get celebrated for it: 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Meet her 👇 OH F**K, THERE SHE IS, a one-hour on-demand experience: 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/there-she-is Go deeper 👇 Be first to know when F**K YES opens: https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Who will they think I am? 01:04 Do we actually care what people think? 02:20 Trapped by your own reputation 03:57 Wanting something that doesn't fit who you are 08:06 The first lie is the one you tell yourself 10:25 "I don't want to want this" 12:58 Getting ready to be ready 15:43 When you say it out loud and their face changes 17:19 They're updating their file on you 19:25 Freedom is surviving three seconds 20:26 Who gets to hear your desires 22:17 Maybe you're the one judging her 26:06 Why a woman who trusts herself is dangerous 29:44 When the people you love don't like your choice 32:16 Their opinion is real. It's not the deciding vote. 36:13 The fantasy Marta never told anyone 37:56 Privacy vs. hiding 41:58 How to start without blowing up your life 45:07 A practice: what do you want that you "shouldn't"? 47:34 Whose face shows up first? 51:34 You can't be free and control everyone's interpretation 54:07 You're allowed to become new information

  3. Oct 13

    Wet Doesn't Mean Yes. Dry Doesn't Mean No. - Ep. 42

    Your body is clearly on board. You are clearly not. Or the reverse: you've wanted him all day, the moment finally arrives, and your body just doesn't show up. Either way, the interrogation starts. Which signal is the real one? What does this say about me? About him? About my age? Most of us were handed a very simple rulebook for this, and it has been quietly wrong the entire time. Marta and Barbara take it apart. In this episode: - The name for the thing nobody explained to you - What being tickled has to do with consent - Why a physical response can't answer the question we keep asking it - The story midlife women tell about dryness, and why it's usually the wrong story - Barbara's royal table, and what p***y pacing protects - How Marta and Barbara each know when they actually want something - Five pieces of bad sex mythology, destroyed in about thirty seconds each Care note: part of this conversation touches on the body responding during experiences that weren't wanted. Listen when you have room for it. Start here 👇 Join The Sensual Sisterhood (free): 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Meet her 👇 OH F**K, THERE SHE IS, a one-hour on-demand experience: 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/there-she-is   💎 F**K YES · JANUARY 2027 Twelve weeks, live, for the accomplished woman whose life works better than it feels. Not a course. A room where you stop negotiating your desire down and start living as her. 22 seats. First to Know gets early access December 1, two days before applications open to anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/   Related episode 👇 Ep. 40, Consent Is the Dirty Talk: How to Ask for What You Want in Bed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kTvmsyT_E8 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Which one of me is lying? 01:12 What we grew up believing arousal meant 02:31 Separating sensation from meaning 05:19 When your body and your mind don't match 08:53 Arousal non-concordance, defined 11:02 When your body responds to something you didn't want 12:29 The speed of his orgasm vs. p***y pacing 14:32 A reflex is not a confession 15:00 Your body can hold more than one truth 18:22 The flip: you want it, your body doesn't show up 21:05 Midlife, dryness, and the meaning we make 24:17 How do you actually know you want something? 27:57 If it's not a f**k yes, it's a no 30:13 Rapid-fire myth busting 34:26 Your body gives you data. You give the answer. 35:38 P***y pacing gives truth time to arrive

  4. Oct 6

    You Know Better. So Why Are You Still Doing It? - Ep. 41

    You know that 'no' is a complete sentence. So you say it. Then you watch her face fall. And before you've decided anything, you're backpedaling, explaining, offering to help after all, doing whatever it takes to make that look go away. You've done the therapy. You've read the books. You could name the pattern in your sleep. And you did it anyway. So what's actually missing when you already know better? We have a theory, and it isn't another book. (Yes, we see the irony of saying that on a podcast.) In this episode: - The real reason understanding a pattern doesn't stop it - Why "no is a complete sentence" is only half the skill -What Barbara realized after years of "knowing" she was worthy - The five moments Marta watches for in herself and her clients - Where even very self-aware women get stuck - The one-week experiment Marta and Barbara are each taking on  START HERE👇  Join The Sensual Sisterhood (free): 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about     💎 F**K YES · JANUARY 2027 Twelve weeks, live, for the accomplished woman whose life works better than it feels. Not a course. A room where you stop negotiating your desire down and start living as her. 22 seats. First to Know gets early access December 1, two days before applications open to anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/     TIMESTAMPS 00:00 You know better and you did it anyway 01:27 The endless search for the next book or program 01:59 Intellectualizing the feelings you don't want to feel 04:02 Looking for the solution outside yourself 05:21 Understanding something vs. living it 06:18 Getting the mind obedient to the body 07:54 "I know I'm worthy. I didn't feel it." 09:09 Affirmations your body doesn't buy 09:52 Where it shows up: no, compliments, help, impractical wants 11:25 Why "practice" makes you reach for a clipboard 12:46 A messy rep still counts 14:12 Feel, want, receive, express, choose 16:09 Where women get stuck 17:18 Hours on the mat 21:44 Pick one practice for seven days 23:07 The reps Marta and Barbara are choosing

  5. Sep 29

    Consent Is the Dirty Talk: How to Ask for What You Want in Bed - Ep. 40

    A full-body yes feels nothing like "sure." This room is built for the first one. F**K YES opens December 1 to the First to Know list, before anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/ You said yes. But was it a yes you could feel in your body? Or was it *sure*, because stopping felt awkward, disappointing him felt worse, or you'd already started? Consent gets treated like the paperwork of sex: ask once, get an answer, move on. Barbara and I are talking about the version that stays alive throughout the experience. The version where you can ask for something different, change your mind, or stop, and know your answer will be respected. Because when part of you is standing guard at the exit, how much of you is actually free to let go? CHAPTERS 00:00 How much could you surrender if you knew you could stop? 01:43 Consent is more than a yes at the beginning 03:11 What somatic consent means 06:03 Does marriage imply consent? 08:27 Self-consent: hearing your body's answer 12:01 The taco story: putting a simple no on trial 14:37 How "sure" feels different from a full-body yes 19:35 Being wanted versus knowing what you want 21:15 Two questions that interrupt people-pleasing 25:07 How women quietly override themselves during sex 29:18 Saying stop without having to explain why 34:03 Why the freedom to stop makes surrender possible 41:46 Surrender, compliance, and resignation 44:08 How boundaries create room to explore 48:35 Making consent conversations sexy 50:10 Red, yellow, green as foreplay 53:26 Questions that invite her desire into the room 59:22 "Consent is the dirty talk" 1:00:11 Rapid-fire consent myths 1:07:09 Closing thoughts and where to find us ✨ COME JOIN US The Sensual Sisterhood is our free community for women exploring pleasure, desire, and what it means to live in their bodies. https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Want a five-minute place to begin? Get The Sensual Spark: https://bemarvelus.com/sensual-spark 💋   💎 F**K YES · JANUARY 2027 Twelve weeks, live, for the accomplished woman whose life works better than it feels. Not a course. A room where you stop negotiating your desire down and start living as her. 22 seats. First to Know gets early access December 1, two days before applications open to anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/   Where did your body give you an answer this week before your mind started negotiating?

  6. Sep 22

    Why Midlife Women Don't Trust Other Women (And Who Benefits) - Ep. 39

    Women hurt you. You were judged, betrayed, excluded, talked about, or made to feel like you were too much. So you learned to keep other women at arm's length. The hurt was real. But the lesson was reinforced by a culture that benefits when women remain isolated from one another. In this episode, Marta and Barbara examine why so many capable midlife women learned to become lone wolves, what that independence may be protecting, and why having support is not the same as being witnessed. They also tell the story of the day they met, when Barbara had a full-body tantrum in lingerie while everyone else quietly made vision boards to classical music. Nobody fixed her. Nobody shamed her. Nobody left. That moment revealed what real sisterhood can make possible: You can tell the truth, remain completely yourself, and still belong. They explore: What may really be underneath "I'm not a girl's girl" Why protection and freedom are not the same thing How competence can disguise loneliness Who benefits when women remain isolated The difference between support and witnessing Why being witnessed can change your nervous system The logistical and emotional barriers to friendship in midlife How editing yourself platonically affects your erotic aliveness Why sisterhood gives women permission to want more   Join The Sensual Sisterhood for free: https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about

  7. Sep 15

    Why You Don't Know What You Want After 40 (It's Not Confusion) - Ep. 38

    You keep saying, "I don't know what I want." But what if the confusion comes after the wanting? A clean, inconvenient desire rises in you. Then your highly intelligent, deeply responsible mind puts it on trial. Is it fair? Is it practical? Am I asking too much? Shouldn't I be grateful? What if I'm just bored, hormonal, restless, or having some kind of midlife crisis? By the time the cross-examination is over, the original want has been negotiated into something sensible enough not to disrupt your life. A date night instead of being erotically consumed. A bath instead of time that belongs completely to you. One more year of "fine" instead of admitting you want something radically different. The thing is... confusion keeps your life intact. Desire asks whether that life is still worthy of you. In this episode of The Sensual Sisterhood Podcast, we're catching that negotiation in real time. IN THIS EPISODE:  • The difference between genuinely feeling blank and being afraid of what clarity might require • The three ways we downgrade, defer, and discredit desire • Why competence can make you exceptionally skilled at building a case against yourself • What envy may be revealing about the life you secretly want • How negotiating with your desire erodes trust in your own body • What can happen when your body learns that speaking will not change the outcome • The difference between performing consent and actually giving it • Why listening to your body does not mean blindly obeying every sensation • A four-question practice for hearing the original want before you make it reasonable  "You are not confused. You're negotiating. And you're really f*****g good at it." ✨ START HERE — FREE Join The Sensual Sisterhood, our free community for women reclaiming their pleasure, desire, confidence, and aliveness after 40: 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Listen to The Sensual Spark, Marta's free five-minute audio activation: 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/sensual-spark 💬 What desire have you been downgrading, deferring, or discrediting? TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — "A clean, inconvenient want rises up in you…" 01:08 — Meet Marta and Barbara 01:41 — Why this isn't about asking for what you want 02:23 — How to tell when a woman already knows her desire 02:52 — What "I don't know" may be protecting 05:42 — Afraid of what your clarity will require 07:32 — The two women hiding inside "I don't know" 09:03 — Envy as a mirror for your own desire 10:07 — The negotiation: Is it fair to want this? 11:54 — Downgrading, deferring, and discrediting desire 13:12 — How self-abandonment erodes self-trust 15:14 — Why highly capable women can be especially vulnerable 17:07 — Teaching yourself that your truth cannot be trusted 20:40 — When your body performs consent it hasn't given 22:29 — Somatic consent and learning to listen to your body 23:42 — Rebuilding trust after years of overruling yourself 27:15 — The four sentences to finish honestly 28:42 — The acceptable substitute you've been settling for 29:50 — Barbara's Embodied Majesty

  8. Sep 8

    Sexless Marriage: Why You Stopped Having Sex (Even Though You Still Love Each Other) - Ep. 37

    You can't outsource your turn-on. You can get it back. F**K YES opens December 1 to the First to Know list, before anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/ You still love each other. You may even still be attracted to each other. Nobody's cheating. Nobody's screaming. Nothing is obviously falling apart. But somewhere between the jobs, the children, the aging parents, the exhaustion, and everything you both keep handling, sex quietly disappeared. The reasons are real. The question is whether they're the whole truth. In this episode, Barbara and I look beneath the logistics of a sexless marriage and explore what your dead bedroom may be telling you about intimacy, vulnerability, pleasure, and the relationship you've quietly learned to maintain. IN THIS EPISODE:  • The difference between a genuinely difficult season and a relationship running on autopilot • Why love and attraction aren't always enough to keep intimacy alive • How protecting each other from your feelings can create more distance • Why accomplished, high-functioning women can tolerate disconnection the longest • The difference between "You never initiate anymore" and "I miss you" • What open sexual communication changes, even before you start having sex again • Why conversations about sex so often turn into courtroom battles • The physical signs your body may already be tense, guarded, or checked out • Why you cannot outsource your turn-on to your partner • Where rebuilding intimacy actually begins "Responsible and avoidant can look identical from the outside." — Marta   💎 F**K YES · JANUARY 2027 Twelve weeks, live, for the accomplished woman whose life works better than it feels. Not a course. A room where you stop negotiating your desire down and start living as her. 22 seats. First to Know gets early access December 1, two days before applications open to anyone else. 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/f**k-yes-first-to-know/   ✨ START HERE (FREE) Join The Sensual Sisterhood 👉 https://www.skool.com/be-marvelus/about Download The Sensual Spark 👉 https://bemarvelus.com/sensual-spark 💬 When intimacy goes quiet, which explanation appears first: no time, no energy, no privacy, or no idea how to begin again?  TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Nobody's cheating. Nobody's screaming. Everything looks fine. [00:50] What a dead bedroom is actually asking [01:35] What qualifies as a sexless marriage [02:20] The survival model of relationships [04:42] Why chemistry alone cannot sustain intimacy [05:31] What sits underneath "We're not having sex" [07:30] A client's airtight list of reasons [ 09:02] Busy season or organized avoidance? [09:58] The moment emotional distance shuts the body down [13:21] Protecting each other, over-giving, and the fixing trap [16:00] Intimacy outside the bedroom [18:09]( Why capable women can run a relationship on autopilot [20:30] "I miss you": what intimacy actually sounds like [21:48] What research says about sexual communication [24:10] The lie that your partner creates your turn-on [27:12] Why conversations about sex become courtroom battles [ 29:30] Busyness, obligation, and the cultural deprivation of pleasure [30:26] Why high-performing women become disconnected from pleasure [35:16] Physical signs your body has already checked out [40:12] Why intimacy with your partner begins with intimacy with yourself [41:02] You cannot outsource your erotic life [43:37] A simple practice for noticing pleasure [44:12] How sisterhood helps women reconnect

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Most women don't need fixing. They need aliveness. The Sensual Sisterhood is a podcast for women who have built successful lives but no longer feel fully alive inside them. Hosted by Marta Kagan and Barbara Katsnelson, this show explores the hidden conditioning, cultural messages, and self-abandonment patterns that leave so many women feeling numb, disconnected, exhausted, resentful, or wondering why life doesn't feel as good as they thought it would. We talk about desire. Pleasure. Sex. Relationships. Midlife. Aging. Feminine power. Body trust. Emotional aliveness. But this isn't really a podcast about any of those things. It's a podcast about coming back to yourself. Through honest conversations, personal stories, and powerful revelations, Marta and Barbara challenge everything women have been taught about what makes life meaningful, what makes a woman valuable, and what it actually takes to feel fully alive. Because the goal isn't to become someone new. The goal is to remember who you were before the world taught you to disconnect from yourself. If your life looks good on paper, but something still feels missing underneath it... Welcome back to yourself.

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