Rethinking Sexuality
What is Sexual Trauma?
Michael Charming, Aug 25 2019
Sexual trauma includes violating someone’s consent or sexual boundaries either by force or coercion. Read on to know the full extent of it.
Sexual trauma includes violating someone’s consent or sexual boundaries either by force or coercion. Read on to know the full extent of it.
You Are Not "Losing" ANYTHING: Rethinking Virginity
Raksha Saraf, Aug 21 2019
In stark contrast to this environment lies a side of the globe where women's virginity is held to the highest regard - it bears the weight of her whole family's honor. In these societies, not bleeding on your wedding night could result in your own father killing you. Virginity is inherently connected not only to the woman, but her hymen specifically. The maintenance of the hymen is considered so important that women fear using tampons and playing sports. In some countries, parents mutilate their own daughters' labia, clitoris, or sometimes even the whole vulva, and stitch them up for a lifetime of sufferance, so that they would be charged with incredible pain if they brought dishonor to the family (tried to have sex). (A brief digression - I once heard that language grows instead of evolving - it carries cultural remnants that are thousands of years old that we might not even comprehend today. And this is one of those cases. In fact, the Greek goddess of marriage was named hymen, r
In stark contrast to this environment lies a side of the globe where women's virginity is held to the highest regard - it bears the weight of her whole family's honor. In these societies, not bleeding on your wedding night could result in your own father killing you. Virginity is inherently connected not only to the woman, but her hymen specifically. The maintenance of the hymen is considered so important that women fear using tampons and playing sports. In some countries, parents mutilate their own daughters' labia, clitoris, or sometimes even the whole vulva, and stitch them up for a lifetime of sufferance, so that they would be charged with incredible pain if they brought dishonor to the family (tried to have sex). (A brief digression - I once heard that language grows instead of evolving - it carries cultural remnants that are thousands of years old that we might not even comprehend today. And this is one of those cases. In fact, the Greek goddess of marriage was named hymen, r
The Hymen Is Not What You Think
Raksha Saraf, Aug 20 2019
This week in 1953, a brave man named Alfred Kinsey published the world's first book documenting scientific findings about women's sexuality. He likely hoped that his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" would stop people from believing popular myths that suited the religious/patriarchal propaganda and were thus promulgated. But of course, the book didn't reach everyone in places they were needed the most. However, this publication marks the beginning of the movement of women's sexuality to the public domain, and for this, we wish to celebrate this occasion with two articles dedicated to busting one of the worst myths that plagues womankind around the world: The Myth of Virginity and the Hymen. Why is it that our society is so obsessed with the hymen? You might say it's for evolutionary reasons; that women had a hymen to help men figure out which women were 'pure' or, to put it crudely, which women could not be pregnant with another man's child. This, you might say, adds to t
This week in 1953, a brave man named Alfred Kinsey published the world's first book documenting scientific findings about women's sexuality. He likely hoped that his book "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" would stop people from believing popular myths that suited the religious/patriarchal propaganda and were thus promulgated. But of course, the book didn't reach everyone in places they were needed the most. However, this publication marks the beginning of the movement of women's sexuality to the public domain, and for this, we wish to celebrate this occasion with two articles dedicated to busting one of the worst myths that plagues womankind around the world: The Myth of Virginity and the Hymen. Why is it that our society is so obsessed with the hymen? You might say it's for evolutionary reasons; that women had a hymen to help men figure out which women were 'pure' or, to put it crudely, which women could not be pregnant with another man's child. This, you might say, adds to t
Why You Shouldn't Be Ashamed of your Sexual Fantasies
Raksha Saraf, Aug 17 2019
Sexual fantasies are, at the end of the day, only thoughts. Why should you be ashamed of thinking something when thoughts can't be controlled?
Sexual fantasies are, at the end of the day, only thoughts. Why should you be ashamed of thinking something when thoughts can't be controlled?
Consent and the Establishment of Boundaries
Raksha Saraf, Aug 06 2019
Have you ever been touched in the wrong place during a hook up? Felt weird about asking for consent? Here's how you can avoid the awkwardness.
Have you ever been touched in the wrong place during a hook up? Felt weird about asking for consent? Here's how you can avoid the awkwardness.