Disrupting Porn with Sex: Cindy Gallop on Identity, Power, and Sexual Agency

We'd love to hear from you. Send us your questions, comments, and suggestions.In this bold and radically honest episode, Chisom Udeze sits down with legendary brand innovator and sextech entrepreneur Cindy Gallop, founder of Make Love Not Porn. Together, they explore themes of identity clarity, leadership, power, sexual agency, and culture change — all through the lens of someone who refuses to play by outdated rules.Cindy shares how her tagline “I like to blow shit up” isn’t just branding, it’s a philosophy: be your own filter, repel the wrong rooms, and stay unapologetically true to your values. She reflects on her upbringing across cultures, her rise in advertising, and how sheer luck (and male allies) protected her career from the worst effects of sexism — but that this shouldn’t be the norm.The episode then dives into why she created Make Love Not Porn: to counteract porn as default sex education and to normalize real, human, communicative sex. She reveals the massive resistance she’s faced from banks, tech platforms, investors, and regulators — not because of what she does, but because of society’s fear of sex and shame around pleasure. And yet, she keeps going, propelled by the life-changing impact her work has had on survivors of sexual trauma, men craving intimacy, and people reclaiming agency.Chisom and Cindy talk about:Why tokenism fails, and three women on a board is the bare minimum for changeThe myth of meritocracy and what it takes to hire for potential, not proofHow Make Love Not Porn empowers women and men to redefine pleasure and consentWhy we need a new, inclusive vocabulary for sexThe link between sex education and ending rape cultureHow investors’ personal discomfort often blocks world-changing venturesWhat Cindy would tell her younger self, and why rage fuels her resilienceWhether you’re a founder, leader, educator, parent, or simply someone questioning the script society handed you — this conversation is a firestarter.Links:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOnymx5eTi8https://makelovenotporn.tv/https://www.makelovenotporn.academy/Non-profit vehicle for philanthropic capital:https://givebutter.com/InspireAccessxMLNPIn partnership with non-profit InspireAccess: https://www.inspireaccess.org/Cindy’s talk that includes MLNP and MLNP Academy, with a specific focus on the impact they can have on boys and men:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBXgVkXnW8Connect with Cindy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindygallop/Support the show-----------------------------------On Overnight Wisdom, new solo episodes drop every Wednesday, with occasional guest and solo conversations released on Sundays.Streaming & Social LinksVisit our website https://overnightwisdom.com/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Chisom-Udeze Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5pD7OuPqWKDsd5ymoo7lSzApple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overnight-wisdom/id1804746544Instagram https://www.instagram.com/overnight.wisdom/TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@overnight.wisdomLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/overnightwisdom/ RSS Feed https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2464633.rssConnect with Chisom on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chisomudeze/