S2 Ep122: Go Where you are Celebrated, Not Just Tolerated ft. Kennedy Ryan

Lovers and Friends with Shan Boodram

LOVERS by shan

Sexuality, Society & Culture, Relationships, Health & Fitness

5 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From fatphobia to racism to ageism and ableism, Kennedy challenges the norms around love, desirability, and who gets to be the “main character.” This one’s for anyone who's ever felt left out of the story — and is ready to take the pen back.

Bestselling romance author Kennedy Ryan (Before I Let Go, Reel) sits down with Shan to talk about what happens when women stop shrinking themselves to be chosen. From rewriting the stories we’ve inherited about sex, love, and partnership — to questioning why women with standards get labeled as “too much”

Kennedy opens up about what radical self-worth actually looks like, and why romance should always center women’s pleasure. This episode is a love letter to anyone who’s ever been made to feel like they’re asking for too much. Kennedy shares her love story of being married to Sam for over 20 years while raising their autistic son.

This episode is sponsored by Lovers by Shan. Join the community today:
https://www.loversbyshan.com/community

Follow Kennedy on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1
Get her latest book https://kennedyryanwrites.com/

Get a weekly love letter from me:
https://www.loversbyshan.com/newsletter

Transcript

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0:59.2	You're 30 years old. You're 35 years old. Culture's already tried to erase you.
1:03.3	And I'm like, these are 40-year-old women. They have urges. They have pleasures.
1:08.0	The people I like to center and celebrate are usually from communities and identities
1:13.1	that are relegated to the edges of cultural narratives, meaning it's the black women,
1:17.1	it's the brown women, it's the fat women, it's the disabled, it's the neurodiverse, it's
1:21.1	the chronically ill. I say this carefully and truthfully, I only write men who are feminist.
	...

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