In my work and in my life, I see a great deal of suffering. The thing that always touches me is how significantly someone’s suffering can be relieved when they share about it. The thing most people really want is connection, and when we suffer we need to feel connected to others even more. Several …
Continue ReadingWhen your kids are uncomfortable talking about sex.
I heard a sweet story yesterday and I thought I’d share it about a mother who has been trying to talk to her 10 year-old daughter about sex. Although she feels that her daughter listens, she had not been getting much feedback or questions. She discovered that, while her daughter feels too awkward and uncomfortable …
Continue ReadingIf Barbie had a labia.
Labia, which is the Latin term for lips, are the skin folds that the encircle the vaginal entrance, consisting of the labia majora (outer lips)and labia minora (inner lips). The coloration and size of every woman’s labia is different. And a woman’s labia changes over time. In girls, who have not yet gotten their periods, …
Continue ReadingVaginismus.
Vaginismus is a condition in which the vaginal muscles involuntarily contract, making penetration painful and sometimes impossible. When we first see a vaginismus patient at the Center, we do a psychosocial assessment as well as a medical one. Frequently, though women are told that the condition is all in their heads or the result of …
Continue ReadingHappy birthday, “Our Bodies Ourselves.”
There was a recent review by CNN on the book, “Our Bodies Ourselves”. The book, considered the definitive manual on women’s sexual health, is having it 40th anniversary (Boy is that going to make many of us feel old!). The book first appeared in 1941 and tried to take a non-paternalistic, honest look at the …
Continue Reading