Let’s stop the hushing and speak up. If it’s normal to talk about your physical health, let me remind you, it’s equally important to talk about your sexual health. Everyone’s sexual health needs to be addressed. However my concern is, why should only women consume all those contraceptive pills to avoid pregnancy? Why can’t the men simply wear condoms?
How many of you enjoy sex? Well, many of us, right? And how comfortable are you talking about sex? Well, none of us, am I right or am I right? Why don’t we admit the fact that sexuality is an integral part of human beings?
We, humans, have a tendency to keep our sex life a secret! Well, we all enjoy privacy, and that should be our fundamental right! However, there’s a difference between keeping something private and keeping something a secret! Privacy is voluntary, but secrecy is not.
The concern isn’t about keeping your sex life private. But the concern arises when you keep it a secret and hide something that would have required immediate attention.
We should speak out when sexual wellness demands consideration and attention. Speaking with either our intimate partners or a sexologist or gynaecologist at some point becomes crucial.
While many of us see no reason to make sexual health and its importance a priority, it’s high time that it should be given due weightage!
As per some reports, every year, millions of women, married and unmarried, young and not so young, are getting an upshot — pregnancy — that they didn’t plan on or desire.
Also, one in two sexually active persons will contract an STI by age 25. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that approximately 20 million new STDs occur every year in this country, half of those among young people aged 15–24.
Sexual Health and Wellness form a vital part of our emotional, mental and physical mindset. Sexual Health entails more than just avoiding unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s).
Sure, these two are the most crucial components of the subject. However, other factors define our sexual well-being and affect our sexual health equally.
Let’s look at the other elements one by one —
1. Communication Is Integral For a Healthy Sexual Relationship With Your Partner
To be able to discuss your sexual experiences with your partner benefits a lot. If you keep the terms of discussions open among each other, it sets the right expectation. Talk to each other about what concerns you have when indulging in a sexual act and what responsible behaviour you expect and wish to be taken seriously.
2. Barrier While Having An Intercourse
Sex is great, but safe sex is even great and vital! Avoid indulging in intercourse without having any obstacle to your sexual act. The chances of STDs are more when one indulges in an unprotected sexual act. STDs can spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex.
Refrain from having sex if your partner refuses to use condoms. Make it clear, either protected sex or no sex at all. This way, you are considerate for you and as well as your companion.
3. Know There’s A Difference Between Pleasure and Pressure
Sure, an intimate bond keeps the relationship lively and exciting. However, both the partners should be thoughtful enough to guess each other’s mental state before initiating a passionate act. It is recommended to indulge in the act only when both of your consents match. One should not be forced into it, as it can lead to unnecessary pressure, without feeling positive about the whole act. If not addressed early enough, it can lead to notable outcomes like unwanted pregnancy, sexual complications or serious diseases.
4. Consent Is Important; Always
No matter how long you have been with your partner, permission is required every time you people decide to have sex. Asking one another builds a foundation of your relationship trustworthy and shows that you recognize the other partner’s choices. One should not be doing it half-heartedly. Remember, it’s a two-way act, and both should be feeling satisfied and not pressurized.
5. Freedom To Fulfill Your Sexual Desires Without Feeling Threatened
It’s high time people should digest the fact that masturbation is normal for all the genders. One should be able to experience a sexual relationship without the fear of being questioned. Any personal sexual relations should be free of violence and prejudice.
Nonetheless, in a world where we talk about advancements in technology, the sad part is adopting westernization, growing economically. The basic idea of educating the masses about this subject remains in the dark. People still shy away from using the word sex or discussing their sexual troubles with their families or even partners.
It’s essential to divulge hypocrisy and make people conscious of what needs to be known! Let’s see how one can educate the people on this subject -
- Sex Education: Children in schools should be taught in graphic detail about intercourse, sexual relationships, knowing about their body and hormones, changes one goes through when hits puberty, reproduction, and everything that will make them an informed individual in the future.
- Awareness: From the very beginning, children should be educated about consent, bad touch and good touch, and unwelcomed gestures from anyone. Also, they should be encouraged to speak up if anything wrong happens to them instead of hiding and keeping it to themselves. Parents, teachers and families should discuss these topics rather than fraying away from it.
- Don’t Get Scared To Ask For A Professional Help: If things slip out of your hands even after taking due precautions and preventive measures, don’t hesitate to visit a doctor; otherwise, the consequences would only gain momentum, and there will be no way out to recover from the crisis. Keep in mind, the sooner you talk it out, the sooner it gets healed.
To sum it up, It’s time we normalize subjects like sexual health awareness, sex education and its importance. Respecting people’s opinions, acknowledging when one says “NO,” indulging in safe sex and feeling free to communicate on such topics needs to be adopted sooner for the betterment of the coming generation.
PC: Google
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.