06 | Pup Play + Autism w. Dr Liam Wignall

In this episode, we examine the subculture of pup play, what it looks like in practice, and why it offers such effective sensory relief and social connection. We discuss research showing that over half of surveyed pups score above the cut-off for autistic traits, and we explore what this community teaches all of us about explicit communication, boundaries, and intimacy.

Joining me to discuss this is Dr Liam Wignall. Liam is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and a member of the Centre for Transforming Sexuality and Gender at the University of Brighton. His academic work focuses on LGBTQ+ sexualities, digital sexual cultures, and sex-positive psychology. He is the author of Kink in the Digital Age, published by Oxford University Press, and wrote the first academic papers to formally document pup play through a non-pathologising framework.