How comfortable do you feel with this word? I believe that most of the women reading this could think this word is not well seen, even in today's society, because people consider these types of topics as perverted, which gets us thinking, why do we have so many barriers as females? Why do we have to hear things like; "don't do that, that's not very lady-like" or "it's not right for a lady to talk about those things", and since very young we've heard the typical "don't touch down there, that's not to be touched". Again, why? Many people in society have the wrong idea about sexuality, they think that sexuality is only present after puberty, and it's not.
According to Sigmund Freud, founder of classic psychoanalysis, sexuality starts one day after we are born, during childhood we have the capacity to recognize our body parts and admit the gratification it gives, and mature sexuality is the result of the sexual development that occurred during infancy. So if what Freud proposes is true, why is it such an issue to communicate with our bodies and get to know it better?
"Sex is something you do. Sexuality is something you are." -Anna Freud
There's no formula for getting to know our bodies, but what we do know is how they react to certain stimulus and that's a good start. Our body has an infinity of nerve endings capable of pleasing us, but again, for each body it's different and that's the reason why it is a gift from you to you.
Self-exploration in children is normal for their development and it is our responsibility to teach them about the constitutions of healthy sexuality. Forbidding them to do something, will most likely end in confusion about the subject and hiding it. Communicate to your children how their bodies work and guide them to have more understanding, instead of shaming them for their actions, this will result in them loving their bodies properly later on and knowing what should be kept for one's self.
This form of self-love brings many benefits to our bodies from improving your self-confidence to increasing your libido. Truth is, knowing ourselves is not a synonym for guilt or weakness, but of self-love.
So I ask again, how do you feel with the word self-exploration?
Camila Quintero
Adira advisor, last year medicine student interested in women’s wellness and promoter of a healthy lifestyle. You can find more of her content on @karantina_col where you'll find recipes and tips to a better wellbeing.
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BBC Mundo | A fondo | Entrevista con Esther Corona Vargas. News.bbc.co.uk. (2020).
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