Properly educating teenage girls about sex and relationships can be a trying task for mothers, but a new book aims to ease the flow of the conversation.
Author Peggy Orenstein believes young women are often not receiving efficient information when learning about the sexual environments they’re exposed to on a regular basis, and she’s looking to shed some light on the issue in her new book Girls And Sex: Navigating The Complicated New Landscape.
One of the topics discussed in the book, which is sure to raise a few eyebrows, touches on teaching young girls to “enjoy themselves” once becoming sexually active rather than allowing them to think that their sole purpose during a sexual encounter is to give without receiving. A self-proclaimed feminist, Orenstein believes that the miseducation of girls with regard to sex and relationships begins at a young age, pointing out the practice of many parents to “label” their sons’ private parts but implicitly “shaming” their daughters into viewing their private part as an “unspeakable thing.”
Through her book, Orenstein says she hopes to empower girls and young women to be sexually confident in themselves and more comfortable with their bodies rather than defined by them.
“I want sexuality to be a source of self knowledge and creativity and communication, despite its potential risks,” she writes in the book. “I want [girls] to revel in their bodies and sensuality without being reduced to it. I want them to be able to ask for what they want in bed, and to get it…”