What is Sexual Wellness/Sexual Health?

Just in case you missed it, September is Sexual Health Awareness Month. If the questions of “what is sexual health” or “this isn’t sexy, why are we talking about it” popped into your head, don’t go exiting the page, I promise you are going to want to keep reading. With the focus of the month being sexual health, it is the perfect time to dive deeper into what sexual health is, how you can prioritize it, and ways to meld pleasure with sexual health. 

Sexual health is defined as “a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality” by the World Health Organization. It is a broad component of life for every person that extends beyond just the physical activities of sex. For many people, when they hear sexual health, they think of STI testing, barrier methods, and contraceptives but as the definition shows it includes so much more and one important aspect is missing in the everyday conversations of sexual health–the positive aspects of sexual health.

Though health makes many people think of medical settings, sexual health has many positive aspects like pleasure, exploration, and self-esteem. Experiencing sexual pleasure is something that everyone deserves and has a right to, but the way we talk about sexual health and sex in general that is not necessarily something everyone knows they deserve. Talking about pleasure as it relates to sexual health can also open the door to the other areas of exploration and self-esteem. If we can talk about pleasure as a positive and we can understand that pleasure can be found in many different ways which a lot of people find through exploration that they feel safe doing. A very popular avenue of exploration is kink & BDSM, which needs to be destigmatized, as it is a fun and safe exploration of one’s sexuality when engaged in properly and with education. Looking at the positive aspects of sexual health, self-esteem is one that has ripple effects to many areas of life, not just one’s sexual life. Building self-esteem in a sexual way can help people feel more confident in their work, in their relationships, and just in every day. There are so many positive aspects to sexual health, so we should work to prioritize them more.

If you want to make sure you are taking care of different parts of your sexual health and wellness, there are a few different things you can do. To prioritize sexual pleasure and exploration devote at least one masturbation session to a new or different form of stimulation and sexual position. This will be good to experience some variety and also make it so that your body doesn’t get into a routine when it comes to masturbation that will make it, so your orgasms are underwhelming or just meh. Always having lube is a great thing for your sexual health in many ways. Lube helps to increase the pleasure of sexual activity; it also helps to minimize friction which can help so you don’t get micro tears and fissures. I highly recommend you keep a travel sized lube in your bag or car so you are always prepared when the moment strikes. Regular STI testing is a part of sexual health that a lot of people already think of, but it’s important to make sure you getting all the STI testing, so make sure you are getting triple site swab testing as a part of your full testing panel. The last part of sexual health and wellness you should prioritize is the communication part. This means that you should be talking to the people.