For the past two or three weeks Hailee Steinfeld's "I Love Myself" has been blasting through speakers everywhere I go. And I couldn't be happier to have a song playing on repeat through my mind. The song is an absolute power anthem for women. Don't know what I'm ranting about? Let me explain. "I Love Myself" is all about self-love and self-pleasure. That's right, ladies... masturbation. Using lyrics like "know how to satisfy, keeping the tempo right, without you" and "I'm gonna touch the pain away, I know how to scream my own name, I love myself and I don't need anybody else," Steinfeld's message is crystal clear. She is not hiding behind metaphors and other sneaky lyrics. She is proud of how she loves herself and doesn't care who knows about her NATURAL expression of that self love.

Naturally, I love this song. It's loud and it's proud. It's a beacon of hope that we, as a society, may be able to open the conversation about why we don't talk about female masturbation. While young boys are often lauded for exploring their bodies at a young age, girls mostly never have the opportunity to even have a conversation. And if they do, they may be told to stifle their physical temptation, to remain pure, etc. Female sexuality is either always to be exploited or suppressed. A simple Google search of the word "masturbation" will result in results that are mainly geared toward one gender, and I'll give you a hint, it's not looking great for the females.

This struck such a deep chord with me, so, I brought up the topic in conversation with my seven female housemates. And their reactions genuinely astounded me. Of my seven housemates, four felt uncomfortable with the conversation so much so that two were legitimately cringing in their seats. And two said they've never in their 21 years even attempted to masturbate! And I quote, "It's weird and I don't want to do that to myself." And I was shocked. Do you know a 21-year-old boy who could swear, and mean it if they did, that they've never touched themselves? I'm going to guess no. But in front of me, I have two of my best friends, with whom no boundaries exist, swearing they've never experienced what I consider to be completely natural and incredibly important.

And this is why I am so grateful for Hailee Steinfeld and her bold song. We need to normalize the conversation around female masturbation. But really, the issue is much deeper. Women have become so over-sexualized, their bodies exploited, that something as intimate and as innate as masturbating has become an uncomfortable taboo. Any association with female anatomy makes girls, literally, cringe. Although no immediate solution exists, we continue to make progress with every day that passes. So, girls who are proud, "I Love Myself" is your new jam! And to the girls who aren't quite there yet, give it a whirl, anyway -- the song I mean...