Many myths have been spread over time about women’s sexuality. And they have survived in our culture making us believe that they are true; we have integrated them without questioning them, putting obstacles in the way of women experiencing their pleasure.
In this case, women have been the great losers. Until very recently, women’s sexuality was not even recognized. Their self-knowledge and self-pleasure had been nullified since it was frowned upon even among women themselves. The responsibility was placed on men, who were the active figures, and generators of pleasure.
Today, the sociocultural model of sexuality has changed. Although women’s sexuality is now recognized, there is still a lot of repression and lack of information about it. Advertising in the media and a large part of health experts continue to feed myths that limit women’s sexuality.
The myths about female sexuality that continue to circulate in our minds are taken for granted due to a lack of information; due to political, social, cultural and economic interests. Everything forms a whole that gains strength when not questioned.
Some of these myths that prevent healthy development in female sexuality are the following:
“Women don’t like sex”
A belief that can be seen as ridiculous, however, to a greater or lesser extent, it is used in many speeches, with the idea that women have less sexual appetite than men and that women are sacrificed so that men can enjoy.
Women may like it just as much or even more than any man since this is not a question of gender, but rather of each person and their circumstances. Sexual desire has to do with each person’s libido, which is in turn conditioned by the sociocultural and educational context.
Pressure from the environment and erroneous beliefs of this type cause sexual desire to be repressed, and therefore women themselves find it difficult to express it, due to prior learning. This feeds the myth that women have a lower sexual desire than men when this is not true.
“Sexuality in women begins when they have their first menstruation and ends with menopause”
This is another myth that has persisted over time, and many people still believe it. People, both men and women, have sexuality from birth until death, regardless of our hormonal cycles and the stages we go through throughout our lives.
There are no cycles in which we have or stop having sexuality; we are sexual beings by nature. Sexuality is an integral part of our identity, and therefore, for each person it is different and manifests itself differently at each age; its expression and evolution are mediated by social influences and psychological and biological processes.
“Sex is what we do and sexuality is what we are”
-Anna Freud-
“Women take longer to get aroused than men”
Science wanted to prove the falsity of this widespread myth, which so many people believe. In a study carried out by McGill University in Canada, both men and women were subjected to different tests to measure the time it took them to become aroused.
This was confirmed by thermography, obtaining the temperature emitted by the genitals of the different participants in the study, by observing a series of different images; and it was found that there was no difference. They thus managed to break a myth, which would also allow them to make a better diagnosis and treatment for some of the female sexual dysfunctions.
“What women like most is intercourse”
For most women, penetration is not the way they get the most pleasure during sex, nor is it the way they reach orgasm. Direct stimulation of the clitoris is more stimulating, although it is true that due to anatomical reasons of the vagina, which is closer to the clitoris, there are women who get the most pleasure through penetration.
In addition, we must take into account the erogenous zones, which can be found anywhere on our body, and are sensitive to excitement and the production of pleasure; this contributes to the quality of the sexual encounter. Everything as a whole is important for sexual enjoyment.
These myths contribute to generating false expectations, limiting female sexuality and therefore the attainment of pleasure. There are many erroneous beliefs that we have about sexuality in general. To dismantle these beliefs, we must be open to new possibilities and seek information from appropriate professionals, in this case, psychologists who are experts in sexology.