Description: In this intimate and wildly honest episode of Kaleidoscope, Ruby Rae Liu sits down with Luigi and special guest Shay Rees-Davies—sexologist, therapist, and TRE provider—for a conversation that moves fearlessly between sexuality, culture, trauma, desire, dating, gender norms, AI girlfriends, and the messy, beautiful ways humans try to connect.

The trio unpack everything from hookup anxieties to purity culture, attachment theory, and what consent actually looks like in real-world interactions. Ruby reflects on life pre- and post-transition, how estrogen reshaped her pleasure, why dating apps feel both liberating and alien, and the surprising softness she meets in the world now that she passes.

Shay brings grounded, compassionate clarity to topics most people whisper about—sex toys, fear of rejection, intimacy scripts, and why purity culture survives even though it’s barely 40 years old. Luigi opens up about his fear of being “a creep,” the emotional labor men carry, and the awkward social collisions that shape who we become.

The result is candid, funny, vulnerable, and deeply human.

Fact Check Correction: At the end of the episode, Ruby corrects her earlier statement about an “all-male queer warrior tribe in Africa.” While no such tribe existed, queer history is deeply rooted in many African societies—from Azande warrior culture to the gender-nonconforming ƴan daudu in northern Nigeria. Modern purity culture, by contrast, emerged much later—primarily in 1980s–1990s U.S. evangelicalism.

Topics: Sexology • Trauma Release • Consent • Dating Apps • AI & Intimacy • Queer History • Purity Culture • Gender Socialization • Trans Experience • Friendship • Romantic Connection • Psychology • Attachment Theory • Shame & Desire • Sex Toys • Body Autonomy

Guest: Find Shay at @creating_capacity_with_shay on Instagram. - Make an appointment with her at https://www.shayreesdavies.com/

Find Us: YouTube — @echoperspectives Instagram — @firefromheat TikTok — @heatfromfire