by yoursl | Jan 1, 2015 | Men's Sexual Health, Women's Sexual Health |
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? The answer depends on whom you are asking. Studies have shown that female dissatisfaction with physical appearance, which is known as poor body image, begins at an early age, sometimes as young as 5-years-old. Brown University defines body image as how we perceive our bodies visually; how we feel about our physical appearance; how we think and talk to ourselves about our bodies; our sense of how other people view our bodies; our sense of our bodies in physical space (which is called kinesthetic perception); and our level of connectedness to our bodies. Let’s use a Your Sexy Librarian blog reader, Savannah, in a real world explanation of the above definitions. Savannah told me that she never felt like a small person physically because she feels like she takes up quite a bit of space in a room when she enters it. Savannah is of average height, with amazing curves, a perfectly proportional body and better-than-average breasts. Savannah said she feels her body size is not the definition of “small.” Savannah told me she has never liked having her photograph taken, which is why very few photos of her exist. Recently, someone took a photograph of Savannah surrounded by a group of people. When Savannah saw that photograph, she said she was absolutely shocked at how small she looked when compared to those in the photo with her. Savannah told me that she has started to pay more attention to her body size compared to others around her and quickly accepted that she is indeed a small...
by yoursl | Dec 18, 2014 | Sexual Discussion, Women's Sexual Health |
Mastora, who was born in Sudan, cannot return to her birth country because she has spoken out about the sexual violence faced by women in Darfur. When I told a fellow networker that I was planning on writing about the sexual violence facing African women in refugee camps housing people affected by genocide, he advised me not to write about this particular taboo until my blog was “very well established.” I’ve always done things my own way, following my inner compass and not the opinion of others for self-guidance on the right thing to do. I am a believer in the First Amendment, which allows us freedom of speech as well as the freedom to stop listening to others and to decide what we want to read for ourselves. For those reasons, I am giving you the story of Mastora and the women she is trying to help in her native country of Sudan. A geography lesson is in order first. Sudan is the largest country in Africa, is located on the eastern side of the continent, and borders the Red Sea, Egypt, Chad, Uganda and six other countries. Across the Red Sea from Sudan lies Saudi Arabia. The region of Darfur is roughly the size of France, is located in the western part of Sudan and shares a border with the country of Chad. The United Human Rights Council website reports Darfur is home to about 6 million people from 100 different tribes, with all of those people being Muslim. Sudan did not make worldwide headlines due to the Ebola virus, but due to past and present...
by yoursl | Dec 11, 2014 | Women's Sexual Health |
The vagina is an amazing sex organ that is self-cleansing and self-regulating. The pH balance of the vagina is acidic (3-4 on the pH scale) in order to discourage infections from occurring, and this acidic environment is created by naturally-occurring bacteria. In contrast to the vagina, sperm prefer an alkaline environment, which is why semen has a pH level of 7.2-7.8. Because of the difference in pH levels in the vagina, sperm typically will not survive in the vagina for more than one to two hours. When a woman is closest to ovulation during her menstrual cycle, the pH level in her cervical mucus is not as high as during the rest of her cycle, thus making the environment friendlier to sperm. In this friendlier pH level, sperm can survive for up to 2 days. A healthy vagina produces secretions, or discharge, as part of the cleansing process. This discharge is similar in purpose to saliva, which cleanses and regulates the environment of the mouth. Interference of the pH balance in the vagina can create an environment that welcomes infection. Douching is one example of this interference. Vaginal discharge does not contain any waste products. All women have some vaginal discharge, which is made from fluid produced by the walls of the vagina; cervical mucus; uterine and tubal fluid; secretions from glands in the vulva; oil and sweat from glands in the vulva; cells shed from the walls of the vagina; and healthy bacteria. Thus, vaginal discharge is mostly salt water, mucus and cells. Amounts of daily discharge vary from woman to woman. Some women create little discharge while...
by yoursl | Oct 9, 2014 | Breast Cancer, Sexual Discussion, Women's Sexual Health |
Artwork used with permission from P.Ink The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 232,670 new cases of breast cancer among women and 2,360 new cases of breast cancer among men in 2014, with an estimated 40,000 deaths among women and 430 deaths among men. This number has increased steadily since 2012, which is when I personally started keeping track of these numbers. Breast cancer treatment can include mastectomy, which is the total removal of one or both breasts. According to the Mayo Clinic, newer mastectomy techniques can preserve breast skin. Some women who undergo mastectomy choose to have breast reconstruction surgery, which can restore shape to a breast with the option to have a nipple implant performed during the reconstruction surgery. Breast reconstruction surgery can be done immediately after a mastectomy or in a separate surgery at a later date. According to the Mayo Clinic, newer mastectomy techniques can preserve breast skin. Cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy are left with scars from these surgeries. P.Ink is a non-profit organization that helps partner mastectomy patients with tattoo artists so that scars can be transformed into beautiful designs. Areola pigmentation professionals help survivors by restoring the circular pigmentation around reconstructed nipples using a tattoo technique so reconstructed breasts will have a more natural look. P.Ink Day’s inaugural event was held in 2013 at Saved Tattoo in New York City. At this event, ten tattoo artists helped ten breast...
by yoursl | Sep 18, 2014 | Dating/Relationships, Men's Sexual Health, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Women's Sexual Health |
Herpes simplex virus is a common contagious viral infection and is classified into two categories: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2). Under a microscope, the two viruses are almost identical as they share about 50 percent of their DNA. Both strains of the herpes virus infect human mucosal surfaces before establishing latency, which is the period between infection with a virus and the onset of symptoms, in the nervous system. Basically, the virus lies in wait in a person’s nerves until the time is right for an outbreak of herpes. The HSV-1 virus prefers to establish latency in the trigeminal ganglion, a collection of nerve cells near the ear, and from there can recur on the lower face or lip. The HSV-2 virus prefers to establish latency in the sacral ganglion at the base of the spine and recurs in the genital area. Thus why HSV-1 is often referred to as oral herpes and HSV-2 as genital herpes. About two-thirds of people infected with herpes, regardless of the type, are asymptomatic, or without symptoms, or they experience symptoms too mild to notice. Both types of herpes viruses can recur and spread even when no symptoms are present. HSV-1 causes oral herpes on the lips, mouth, gums, and/or face. These small, usually painful blisters are often referred to as cold sores and like to form in the soft moist skin that lines the lips, mouth and nose. Cold sores can form on ordinary skin if there is a break in the skin that...
by yoursl | Sep 11, 2014 | Bedroom Fun, Dating/Relationships, Men's Sexual Health, Sexual Discussion, Taboo Topics, Women's Sexual Health |
Your Sexy Librarian is a real woman with family and social obligations, a relationship that takes compromise and understanding in order to remain strong, and a demanding job in the corporate world. I research and write all of my blogs. Each blog is then edited by one of three editors: an experienced copy editor at a newspaper, an ace reporter who specializes in government and investigative journalism, and a former sports writer and editor who now works in the pharmaceutical industry. My editors work for free because they believe in me. And where else will they get to edit writing about sexual health, sexual issues, and other taboo topics? I want to write blogs about interesting topics, and I need real people with experiences who will share their stories with me to help keep my blog going. When I attend networking events, I ask people to suggest stories or sources to me. I am usually met with wide eyes and hesitation, which is why I am asking via the internet for reliable sources to help me educate and re-educate adults in this country and abroad. I work in the healthcare industry and deal with hundreds of people’s most personal information on a daily basis. It is a Federally-mandated job requirement to keep that patient information confidential, and I will treat sources for my blogs with the same respect by ensuring all sources will be protected and kept confidential. Names can and will be changed to better conceal the identities of those who do not want their confidences told to their families, neighbors,...
