It sounds funny, but for many couples, pets in the bedroom can spark real tension around intimacy. Do you let them stay? Do you kick them out? And what does each choice say about us? Figs dives into our desire, boundaries, and relationship with pets in “Do we let the dogs out?”

citations and things read in preparation for today's episode:

Bancroft, J., & Janssen, E. (2000). The dual control model of male sexual response: A theoretical approach to centrally mediated erectile dysfunction. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 24(5), 571-579.

Boddi, V., Fisher, A. D., Maseroli, E., Rastrelli, G., Corona, G., Jannini, E., ... & Maggi, M. (2014). Lack of sexual privacy affects psychological and marital domains of male sexual dysfunction. The journal of sexual medicine, 11(2), 431-438.

Butterfield, M. E., Hill, S. E., & Lord, C. G. (2012). Mangy mutt or furry friend? Anthropomorphism promotes animal welfare. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(4), 957-960.

Coombe, J., Kong, F. Y. S., Bittleston, H., Williams, H., Tomnay, J., Vaisey, A., ... & Hocking, J. S. (2021). Love during lockdown: findings from an online survey examining the impact of COVID-19 on the sexual health of people living in Australia. Sexually transmitted infections, 97(5), 357-362.

Eleuteri, S., Alessi, F., Petruccelli, F., & Saladino, V. (2022). The Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Individuals' and Couples' Sexuality. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 798260. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.798260

Janssen, E., & Bancroft, J. (2007). The dual control model: The role of sexual inhibition and excitation in sexual arousal and behavior. The psychophysiology of sex, 15, 197-222.

Nagoski, E. (2015). Come as you are: The surprising new science that will transform your sex life. Simon and Schuster.

Panzeri, M., Ferrucci, R., Cozza, A., and Fontanesi, L. (2020). Changes in sexuality and quality of couple relationship during the Covid-19 lockdown. Front. Psychol. 11:565823. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565823

Roy, D., & Srivastava, S. (2023). Environmental Factors: Sexual Desire. In Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior (pp. 1-7). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Servais, V. (2018). Anthropomorphism in Human–Animal Interactions: A Pragmatist View. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 401521. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02590

music: https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/afffdce9-02e1-4c37-ae12-75d01e21291f/