The second of our 3-part series on the discussion of female self-love…
Self-love… female masturbation… polishing the pearl… whatever your preferred phrase, can something that provides so many people around the world so much harmless pleasure really be considered taboo?
Last week in the 1st part of this series we questioned why it is important to talk about female self-love. We concluded that:
- Talk of female self-love should be encouraged to dispel any shame or stigma that may be attached to it
- We should be teaching women to love themselves and their desire, not be repulsed by them
- Masturbation helps women to feel in control and empowered
- Knowing your own body is healthy and helps you to notice unusual signs
- Masturbation helps you to discover what you enjoy about sex
- Honest and healthy talk about masturbation will help to remove any negative feels attached to it
This week:
Absence of Discussion in the Media
There is a serious lack of discussion on the topic of female self-love from popular western media. This has to be a significant factor in perpetuating the belief that it is wrong to talk about female self-love.
Whether we like it or not we are taught a lot by the media that is fed to us: TV, movies, video games, music and latterly – but perhaps most significantly, these days – the internet. The media, like most other industries, has been dominated by men. Does this explain the absence of female masturbation-related topics from our daily dose of media?
There is nothing to be gained from avoiding talk of masturbation… but is there something someone is worried about losing?
Threat To Patriarchal Society
Is there a suspicion that the establishment will lose some kind of control if the majority of women come to feel that they meet their desires without a man? Women have always been able to give themselves pleasure, but it feels as though there is a fear that open discussion of this will lead to women abandoning homes, families, communities to commit themselves to full-time self-love! We can imagine that this was a genuine fear seventy years ago but can such attitudes endure in light of:
- working women becoming the norm
- the rise of feminism
- women raising families as single mothers or choosing to live as single women
- the general acceptance of lesbianism in western society
- the general rejection that it is a sin to have sex for pleasure, not procreation?
What do you think about what we have discussed here today?
Has the media deliberately stifled discussion? Why would they do that?
Should the media play a bigger role in creating a healthier discussion about female self-love?
Let us know your thoughts!
