We all know that having a relationship with ourselves from a place of love is vital to our well being, but it goes beyond self care and healthy nutrition. In learning to love yourself, it’s important to learn about sexual health, personal pleasure, and how the external world’s perception of porn and the sex industry impacts your relationships. Allow me to introduce The Porn Conversation, a not-for-profit sex education website that has resources, community articles, and the Student Ambassador Program to help you understand the world of pleasure that’s out there in a safe and healthy way. They feature articles from licensed psychologists, sexologists, intimacy coordinators, sex therapists and other professionals in the field.
With the increasing depictions of sexualization across TV, social media, and other outlets, it can be hard to recognize your own identity or whether its influenced online. This internal disconnect can make you feel outside of yourself, but that is a normal feeling as your body grows and changes into adulthood. In the process of connecting with your own identity over the representations online, always remember that every body is different and what is portrayed online is not always the truth. The Porn Conversation has articles and helpful guides on what representations of gender identity and biases look like so you can be more informed on what you align with personally.
Developing a healthy relationship with yourself and learning what pleasure your body enjoys can not only improve your mental and emotional health but it feels great too. While being in the dorms can be tricky, there are toys that are discrete and quiet to handle. Remember to breathe and check in with yourself on anything that feels uncomfortable. While watching porn, it’s helpful to realize that sex in real life is not what is portrayed on the screen and having insecurities or feelings of confusion when having sex IRL is normal. It takes time to figure out what feels best for you and how to advocate for yourself with healthy boundaries in any type of relationship.
The highs and lows of having a relationship in college can be difficult enough on their own, but that layer of intimacy can leave you with more questions than answers. The Porn Conversation has articles on how to manage dating in college, safe sex practices, and what healthy boundaries in a respectful relationship looks like.
While relationships, masturbation, and forming identity may be topics you are familiar with, The Porn Conversation offers so much more! They cover a range of topics from anatomy diagrams, sex work and stigma, as well as porn literacy. If any of these topics interest you or you want to learn more about what resources they offer, visit The Porn Conversation’s website. The Porn Conversation also has the Student Ambassador Program for students to use their voice to help others through advocacy and connection with a community!
Tips & Tricks: Follow their Instagram & TikTok or visit thepornconversation.org for more information on helpful and free, educational tools!
Student Ambassador Program–> https://thepornconversation.org/become-ambassador
