Polly Rodriguez on Destigmatizing Pleasure, Sexual Health, and Building Unbound

About This Episode

Polly Rodriguez is the CEO and co-founder of Unbound, one of the leading sexual wellness companies in the United States. Her path to building that company runs directly through a cancer diagnosis she received in her twenties — an experience that forced her to confront her own relationship with her body, her sexuality, and the profound lack of resources available to people navigating sexual health after illness.

Cancer and Sexuality: The Conversation Nobody Has

Topics covered in this episode include the ways a cancer diagnosis can disrupt a person's sexual health and sense of themselves as a sexual being. Dr. Ross discusses the medical realities: the effects of treatment on libido, lubrication, sensation, and body image. Polly shares her personal experience of receiving almost no guidance from her medical team about what to expect sexually after her diagnosis.

Building a Business Around Shame-Free Wellness

Polly walks through the founding of Unbound and the challenges of building a sexual wellness company in a culture that still treats pleasure as taboo. Topics covered include the regulatory and advertising barriers that sexual wellness companies face, the ways shame is embedded in how society talks about sex, and why Polly believes that access to accurate information and quality products is a health equity issue.

Destigmatizing Pleasure

Dr. Tammy Nelson brings her expertise in sex therapy to explore the psychological dimensions of pleasure and shame. Topics covered include where sexual shame comes from, how it affects people's ability to communicate with partners and healthcare providers, and what it looks like to develop a genuinely positive relationship with one's own sexuality.

What Healthcare Providers Get Wrong

One of the most important topics covered in this episode is the gap between what patients need and what they receive from the medical system when it comes to sexual health. Dr. Ross and Polly discuss the ways healthcare providers often avoid or minimize sexual health conversations, and what patients can do to advocate for themselves.

The Future of Sexual Wellness

The episode closes with a look at where the sexual wellness industry is headed — including the growing body of research on pleasure, the increasing mainstream acceptance of sexual health as a legitimate medical concern, and the work still to be done to make these conversations accessible to everyone.