Do Christians just need a good wank?

Feb 16, 2026

Guest

Rachel Hall

Guest

Simon Hall

Guest

Charlotte Naylor-Davis

Rachel Hall, poet and former social worker, reflects on shame, disability and secret conversations about sexuality. Simon Hall, practical theologian and youth worker, offers pastoral, practical takes on relationships and church teaching. Charlotte Naylor-Davis, biblical scholar, brings scripture analysis to sexual ethics. They discuss silence around pleasure, gendered sex education, media portrayals, biblical readings, and reclaiming bodily agency.

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ANECDOTE

Lockdown Chats Broke The Taboo

Rachel described lockdown chats with female friends where Shame by Nadia Bolzweber sparked candid talks about toys and masturbation.
Those conversations revealed deep, church-instilled embarrassment and lack of language about sexual desire.

INSIGHT

Silence Undermines Consent

Church upbringing left many women without words or tools to know their bodies or ask for pleasure.
That silence harms consent and later sexual communication within relationships.

ANECDOTE

One-Line Youth Guidance

Tim remembers a youth pastor's pamphlet bluntly opening with "all guys wank," then nothing else on masturbation.
Male masturbation was mentioned in church, but female pleasure was effectively absent from teaching.

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Content warning: This series covers issues of sexual relationships, abuse, gender and identity, so listener discretion is advised. Please look after yourselves.

Now that the average age of marriage in western societies north of 30, is sexual purity really worth two decades of bottled up urges and internalised shame?

If I never get married should I just pretend those bits aren't there? And what about whiplash of a culture that expects women to go from chaste and pure to innate pleasure seekers at the sound of an 'I do'?

Coming up

Our next Q&A episode is on Monday 2 March, so if you’d like to ask a question on anything you’ve heard from the podcast so far, then make sure you get your question to us by Friday 20 February to feature. Contact us via email, social media or our Substack page.

Episode 8 – Two genders and a spectrum walk into a bar – is released on Monday 16 March. Few issues within christendom are more divisive than that of sexuality. Many mainstream, global churches are facing existential collapse while they try to reconcile progressive and traditionalist voices. While the battle rages, we examine the cultural and biblical claims that make up the debate and explore whether the church can embrace an inclusive view of sexuality and gender.

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