Sex ed. Everyone remembers their health class that was mandatory in high school. Well, in my health class, we were told to read the chapter on sex and STDs. Or the famous “the safest sex is to not have any” speech from the teacher. Not really teaching much, is it?
During a sex ed course, many things should be addressed and not neglected. Not the standard "sex gets you pregnant" speech. Sex is such a vital thing that humans need to—oh, I don’t know—keep repopulating the earth. Sex ed could and should cover everything. Yes, including menstruation. There is no reason that a powerful woman should be embarrassed enough to have to hide a pad or a tampon on her person, on the way to the restroom. Periods are totally natural and each period is as unique as the women that have them. Talk about the dangers of toxic shock and the over usage of douching (which causes urinary tract infections).
I’m not going to go on and on about periods but learning about menstruation is important. Let’s talk about contraceptives now. Most birth controls will make you gain weight. It sucks, but it will. Depo shots will screw so bad with your system you probably won’t have a period, which is pretty much the only positive side effect. Choosing a contraceptive that works best for you is extremely hard and a lot of money.
It's completely normal to have pain during sex first few times. However, if the pain continues, there could be something going wrong. For instance, he could be hitting the cervix, which can be pretty painful. Or there could be an insulin resistance in your body. Or even worse, you may have a more serious condition that you’ll have to see a doctor for. But in class or from your parents, you only hear that sex hurts for the first time, and bam—it becomes this amazing thing for everyone without ever really hearing about all the other information.
Another thing. Sex ed courses are extremely heteronormative. It wouldn’t hurt to teach safe sex to homosexuals. They are people, too, and they should be safe. Maybe, just maybe, if sex ed was taught to help every single individual there wouldn’t be STDs that “only gay people” get.
I realized my lack of knowledge on sex when I found an app called Eve, which answers any question about sex, relationships and periods you may have. Now I’m sharing this with you because it’s important to know. Like Eve, you might call me a "sexpert." But that’s besides the point. The point is we all deserve to know everything there is to know about sex, so we can all be truly safe in that department.
