Sexual Health & Wellness
As 2023 comes to a close, you may be thinking about setting some new year resolutions. Maybe you are looking to move your body more through exercise, eat healthier, read more. But what about some resolutions for your sexual health? Our sexual wellbeing is just as important as our health, and sitting down to evaluate the sex and intimacy that you have is an important task. Here are 6 sexual health resolutions that we at TPC recommend for the new year
There is no need to worry as all STIs* are treatable, most are curable and all are preventable! And they are way more common than you would think: on average, 1 in 4 people contract at least one STI during the course of their life. Becoming informed about treatment and prevention and getting tested regularly for STIs is a sign of responsibility and respect for not only yourself, but your current and future sexual partners too. If you have tested positive for an STI, talk to a trusted friend, seek out medical treatment, and be proactive when it comes to taking care of your sexual health. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
By de-stigmatizing STIs, we create a SAFE and RESPECTFUL environment in which people can speak about their STI status, whether they test positive or negative. There is no shame in communicating openly about your STI status with a sexual partner.
* Why we don't say STD: STD stands for sexually transmitted disease, whereas STI means sexually transmitted infection. Essentially, the difference is between a disease and an infection. Not all diseases begin with infections, but many do. Sexually transmitted disease first begin as sexually transmitted infections.
Masturbation is a common and healthy part of human sexual behavior. Given that there is no evidence that masturbation has any negative effects on health, we couldn't agree more than it is one of the best and safest ways to explore one's body and sexuality. Obviously there is nothing wrong in not being interested in masturbation. But many times solo sex and self touch is filled with shame, insecurity or just it gets boring as we don’t give it enough attention, space and time it deserves.
Appreciate your body. Some of us are far too harsh on our bodies, nitpicking things we'd like to change and obsessing over parts we don't like. Why not try and use this year to become comfortable in your skin and accepting of your body. Write a list of all of the things you like about yourself and your body. This can be personality traits, physical aspects, or even just things that your body can do that you're grateful for. You could also try taking some sexy snaps that you keep just for yourself.
Remember that masturbation doesn’t have to be limited to your genitals. Touch your breasts, thighs, stomach, feet… anywhere that feels good. You can experiment with some new techniques like temperature play, edging or using a mirror. You can use ethical porn, pics, videos or nothing at all, close your eyes and let your imagination fly. To mix things up a bit you can also have sex at a different time of day and at a different space than usual.
Have you felt intrigued by something but haven’t tried it yet? Use 2024 as an opportunity to experiment with something you've been curious about but haven’t had the opportunity to try. Sex toys can be an amazing sexual ally as they allow us to explore more pleasure points, roles, power dynamics and bodily sensations.
If you are new to sex toys, you might wanna try to write down your fantasies to get to know your desires, which will help you find the type of sex toy to start with. Scrolling through all the different types of sex toys, you could find out some desires that we didn’t know you had. Take the time to explore your desires and let your imagination go without blame or judgment.
Top 5 sex toys for different uses and bodies:
Wondering how to clean sex toys after putting them to sue? Depends on the material, but typically warm water and a mild soap are enough!
Lube is not only for anal sex or for times in which we don’t naturally produce enough fluid to make sex smooth (which is also very much okay). Lube is for all times, lubrication enhances your bodily sensations and make sex as a whole a lot more enjoyable! If you’re curious about what is the best lube for your sex life, we recommend using a water based lube when using silicone sex toys.
There are also home-made solutions that can be used as natural lubes like coconut, olive or almond oil. But be careful with DIY lubes, as they are all not body safe. Refrain from grabbing the baby oil or any other body lotion for lubrication. It’s always better to use lubricants that are made specifically for sensual pleasure as these homemade solutions could increase the risk of yeast infections or broken condoms.
Ethical porn ensures that what you are watching was made with respect to performers' working conditions and rights, and with their previous and continued consent to everything that is happening during the shoot. When you watch porn 'for free' on the tube sites owned by Mindgeek (i.e., Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, etc.), you are supporting a business model based on piracy and poor working conditions while validating a poor and narrow-minded representation of sex and sexuality, which reaffirms gender power imbalance, racism, and homo-transphobia that are still very present in society. And as in many other industries, those who have the most significant responsibility and power to drive change, especially when it comes to how porn is produced and distributed, are the consumers. Consumers and their consumer choices are ultimately part of the porn industry. That is why we need to bring the same level of ethics and sustainability that has now been normalized in the meat or clothing industry, organic agriculture, etc., to porn consumption.
Although Ethical Porn typically exists beyond a paywall, we want to give you a the chance to see what ethical porn is all about when you're looking for something ELSE (NSFW) that aligns with your values.
Take this year to educate yourself about sexuality. One is never too old for sex education. This could look like reading books about sex, watching a TED Talk, reading erotic fiction, or even just watching documentaries about sex. Once you try them out, you'll know what interests you the most. Here are some of TPC recommendations on where to learn more about sex:
Attend a workshop:
Attend one of our workshops. The Porn Conversation hosts monthly online sex education workshops.
Watch series about sex:
The Principles of Pleasure (Netflix)
Sex Education (Netflix)
Read a book:
This year, we encourage you to prioritize your sexual health and wellness. This could be starting your day with an orgasm, practicing mindful masturbation, scheduling some play time with your favorite toys, giving yourself a sensual massage, or even reading a Sex Ed book or taking yourself to get STI tested. Whatever it is; whether it’s every day, week, or month - schedule it in and try to find the pleasure in your year.
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