Love, Sex, and Masturbation
Welcome back for this week’s post. To
continue discussing our sexual health, how often do you masturbate? That among
other topics are important to discuss with your sexual partner (whether you are
romantically involved or not). Communication is important in sexual
relationships because you need to be able to let your partner know what you
enjoy and do not enjoy during sex as well as understand the things your partner
says they like and do not like.
Sex makes everything difficult because
you are allowing another person to see you in your most vulnerable state. Our
romantic relationships are also affected by sex because it will escalate all
feelings, good and bad and that is why it is important to have a healthy relationship
with the person with whom you decide to have sex with. According to the
American Sexual Association (2018) in a healthy relationship, partners “are
treated with kindness and respect, honest with each other, like to spend time
together, take interests in things that are important to each other, respect
one another’s emotional, physical and sexual limits, and can speak honestly
about their feelings”. Romantic relationships can be fun and exciting but to maintain
a healthy relationship takes a lot of work and sex can make that difficult if
one or both parties were not prepared for the level of commitment to hard work
before they had sex with their partner. Sex can be fun but according to Planned
Parenthood (2018), “no relationship is perfect all the time. A healthy relationship
takes more than attraction — it takes work, and both partners have to be
willing to put in the effort”.
It is possible to have sex without a
relationship but to enjoy it you should be willing to communicate what you like
and do not like. Our sexual health is in our hands and we should be in control
of our sexual habits. This means asking questions, being honest, and making
educated decisions when it comes to deciding to have sex. “Sex can help you
create a connection with another person, and sexual pleasure has lots of health
benefits — whether you’re with a partner or not,” (Planned Parenthood, 2018).
Sex is meant to pleasurable, “we learn how to experience sexual pleasure for
pleasure’s sake by understanding our own sexual desires and responses. Our
enjoyment of specific sexual behaviors and practices varies from one individual
to another”, (American Sexual Health Association, 2018). However, we need to
mindful of our sexual health, “having a healthy sex life is about taking care
of yourself. Physically, that means practicing safer sex, getting tested for
STDs regularly, preventing unintended pregnancies, and seeing a doctor or nurse
if you have any problems”, (Planned Parenthood, 2018).
Sexual pleasure is one main reason
to seek a sexual partner but that is not the only way to find pleasure. One
thing people do to find pleasure is to masturbate, touch ourselves for sexual
pleasure. This is, generally, a taboo topic but, “lots of people masturbate!
Even if they don't talk about it, it’s common for people of any gender or age
to do it. Even before puberty, children sometimes discover that touching their
genitals feels good”, (Planned Parenthood, 2018). One common misconception is
that people in sexual relationships do no masturbate, however, people with a
sexual partner still masturbate because it feels good to them. “People masturbate
for different reasons — helps them relax, they want to understand their body,
they want to release sexual tension, or their partner isn’t around. Masturbation
is totally personal decision, and there’s no “normal” way to go about it”, (Planned
Parenthood, 2018).
“Sex has been shown to promote
better sleep habits, less stress, more happiness. Sex is a healthy bodily
function. Our bodies thrive on the chemicals released during orgasm, so a
healthy sex life is part of a healthy body”, (American Sexual Health
Association, 2018). “When you’re comfortable with sex, your body, and talking
to your partner, you’re more likely to feel comfortable protecting yourself
against STDs and pregnancy,” (Planned Parenthood, 2018). Sex is good but to be
comfortable with it, communication with your partner is key.
References
American
Sexual Association. (2018). Retrieved from: http://www.ashasexualhealth.org/sexual-health/healthy-relationships/
Planned
Parenthood. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sex-and-relationships/sex
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI have been loving every one of your posts, and I still am! I think that when the topic of masturbation comes up, nobody wants to talk about it but I'm sure everyone does it. We're all grown here. It's a common thing, especially if you're not seeing anyone. C'mon we're human! We were made to be touched, and we all have needs. I think it's great that you chose to talk about this because there are rules and precautions with masturbation just as much as there is with sex.
This is probably the best title that I have read so far! This might be my favorite blog post as well just because it is so real and so honest. Most people don't like to talk about masturbation but there can be a million reasons on why someone did it. It is all your person preference and i am really glad you made that know. Thank You. And the statement that sex makes everything complicated...you couldn't be more right.
ReplyDeleteGood post! Honest is key in a relationship. I agree that more people masturbate than what people actually think. I think for me personally while in a relationship, I wouldn't want my partner to masturbate, because it might causes them to not be as hungry to be with me when I am there. I wonder if people masturbate too much especially guys it links to erectile dysfunction? I liked how you put in that it is possible to have a great relationship without having sex. I feel like in American sex is so open and people don't wait till marriage because it's normal in our culture not to so some might just gear their relationships based on how they physically pleasure eachother. Overall, Interesting post.
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