We’re in a new season of our podcast–and we’ve decided to change the name!
Well, really we’re going through a rebranding process that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but couldn’t because I relied on Google so much for my income (that’s changed in the last year, so now we can finally do it!).
One of my most popular facebook posts and tweets from 2020 was actually my very last one, when I said this:
True story:
— SheilaGregoire (@sheilagregoire) December 31, 2020
Want to rebrand blog. Thought of the best name. Domain is already bought. Put in a request for GoDaddy to negotiate on my behalf to buy it.
Then discovered my son-in-law owns it on his account because he parked it for me a year ago.
I’m negotiating with myself.
Yep. We’re rebranding!
And we’ve decided to start with the podcast, which will now be known as the Bare Marriage Podcast.
I know everyone knows me as Bare Marriage, and that name made sense in 2008 when I started this blog. It was the name of my first book, and it had a very important subtitle which explained it: When you feel more like a maid than a wife and a mother. It was about how to make marriage feel less like a to-do list and more like a relationship.
But over the years as I’ve morphed more into talking about sex, it didn’t make any more sense. And it had a weird connotation.
So we’re starting with the podcast, and we’re hoping to rebrand the whole blog in the next few months. But that takes some time on the back end!
(And by the way: nothing will change for you all. My blog will just automatically forward to the new URL, and all the posts will stay the same, and you really won’t notice a difference except for the new name).
In this first podcast of the year, Rebecca and I explain the name change, and then we launch into some questions!
So listen in:
Listen to the Podcast Here
And you can watch on YouTube, too:
Don’t forget to subscribe to me on YouTube, so you’ll see whenever we put up new videos, because sometimes we post stuff that isn’t even podcasts.
Timeline of the Podcast:
(with Rebecca)
0:41 We reveal our NEW name!
2:33 Why we want to strip everything ‘bare’.
11:40 The ‘authority’ message has distorted the church
23:11 The institutionalized church is NOT the problem.
(with Keith)
24:35 Research: All about mental health, connectivity in relationships, and long-term sex!
31:18 RQ: How to I have a healthy view of men/sex with my tough job?
35:15 The importance of healthy routines and people around you
38:51 Why we need to replace BAD with GOOD.
Main Segment: Why the new name?
“Bare” Marriage certainly has a sex connotation. That’s why we used the name for our big survey project last winter!
But it’s more than that. Like I was talking about last week in my post on scattering stones, it’s about stripping marriage of all the weird and negative teaching we’ve been given, and getting back to the basics of what life is about–Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is who we follow.
Rebecca and I get rather passionate about this, and share the Scripture that’s been most important to us as we think about this.
If you want to read more about what we’re talking about, I highly recommend Rebecca Davis’ article on how your pastor isn’t Moses. (I didn’t mention this in the podcast; I just think it’s good).
New Research Segment: What do political views have to do with sex as a senior?
The famous Harvard long-term study on happiness, which I’ve written about before, was a longitudinal study of a cohort of men they followed for fifty years. And one interesting finding was that conservatives tended to stop having sex earlier than liberals did once they entered the senior years.
Keith and I had fun talking about this–and no, we don’t think it’s all about Democrats vs. Republicans. And we really didn’t get political in this! We think it has more to do with people’s views of relationships.
Reader Question: How can I keep a positive view of sex when everything around me is ugly?
A reader wrote in asking:
I can really relate to her problem! Keith and I gave our thoughts, but I’d love to hear yours in the comments, too.
Things Mentioned in the Podcast
- The Great Sex Rescue–our book that’s coming out in March! You can pre-order it now.
- Tim Challies’ post on the importance of following mediocre leaders
- Rebecca Davis from H
- My post on The Harvard Study
- More information about the Harvard Study
The Great Sex Rescue
Launches March 2!
What if YOU’RE not the problem with your sex life?
What if the things that you’ve been taught have messed things up–and what if there’s a way to escape these messages?
Welcome to the Great Sex Rescue.
You’ll feel: Validated. Seen. Heard.
You’ll have a roadmap to escape the lies.
Plus it’s a super fun read!
Because you deserve real freedom and intimacy.
So there you go! i’d love to know what you think about how to keep a positive view of sex, too. Or anything else you’d like to comment on! Let’s talk below.
Sheila Wray Gregoire
Founder of Bare Marriage
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Keith – ROFL! That was hilarious! Thanks for taking one for the team brother. Appreciate you.
Hi Sheila! I started following your blog last year, and it’s been such a blessing to me. Just wanted to recommend a book for the reader question you discussed at the end of the podcast. This book teaches how to create joy so that we are more peaceful and more resilient. I’m enjoying it, and I thought others might, too. Thanks for all you do. My husband and I enjoy listening!
https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Switch-Circuit-Relationships-Activate/dp/0802421717
Thanks, Jen!
I’m a divorce and child protection lawyer, so I often see domestic violence and horrible family situations.
I’m incredibly grateful to my family, because they keep me sane and balanced. I have peace and joy at home, I know what healthy relationships can look like, and that allows me to know that what many of my clients experience is NOT normal.
You need to have some role models for what healthy relationships can look like. Otherwise, you can start to automatically think that relationships are inevitably abusive – and if that happens, there is a risk of thinking that abuse could be the price of not being alone.
So true, Cynthia! Thank you.
Love the new name and the reasoning behind it. I think it will also attract more male listeners as well
Thank you!
I must admit I like To Love, Honor and Vacuum. The name caught my eye, not because it made sense but rather because it didn’t. I did not know the story behind it but I assumed it was based on some kind of a pun. It sounded funny and made me curious.
Of course, it’s your program, it’s your blog, you can call it anything you wish and I’ll keep following anyway, because the contents are good. I only wish you to know the old name was not bad at all.
Just want to say I really like the new name! I think it reflects how the site has evolved over the years (been reading since around 2011/12, I think)–specifically, how it has shifted more towards an emphasis on sex AND how your target audience has included men more and more. I mean, I would assume your focus will always be women to some extent, but since Keith has been doing some writing and you have podcast episodes focused on men, it seems you’ve made more of an intentional effort to create content directed at us.
On a different note, as a web developer and someone with a fair amount of SEO knowledge, PLEASE make sure you set up all of your redirects properly (or find someone who can)! Your SEO rankings will really take a beating if the proper steps aren’t taken. Just wanted to throw that out there!
Thanks for all you and your crew do!
Bare Marriage.
I like it.
And things around this place are way more real (honest and healthy) than a certain book that was named “Real Marriage” which was a real mess.
So many people talk about that book, but somehow I’ve managed never to read it. I hear that at one point he says he “forgives” her for being abused or something. just awful.
I’m from the UK, where ‘bare’ is slang for ‘very’ or ‘a lot of’ in a lot of places particularly London and Bristol – for example, ‘bare money’ means lots of money, ‘bare hungry’ means very hungry, etc. Usually used by young men with a South London accent, so I can’t help but read ‘Bare Marriage’ in the voice of one of my friends who says it a lot! That being said though, I get it and it’s a great new name 🙂
That’s funny! It kind of fits too, doesn’t it? 🙂
Re: Challies’ claim that we should all follow leaders due to fifth commandment to obey fathers…
Consider from Matthew 23-
8 “But you shouldn’t be called Rabbi, because you have one teacher, and all of you are brothers and sisters. 9 Don’t call anybody on earth your father, because you have one Father, who is heavenly. 10 Don’t be called teacher, because Christ is your one teacher. 11 But the one who is greatest among you will be your servant. 12 All who lift themselves up will be brought low. But all who make themselves low will be lifted up.
So, Challies calls all to obey leaders as “fathers”, but Jesus warns us not to call anyone father, which would be a submission to him as a spiritual authority.
Great point! Yes, exactly.
Your podcast from March 4 was so helpful to me. I have been angry with the church for so many years about ignoring abuse of women. The purity culture I grew up in was harmful in so many ways. I have been in the process of helping for many years and your podcast is helping me in that. I can’t wait to read your book. Thank you for caring about women!