Our Bodies Ourselves Today

What is the hymen and why is it important to so many of us? Common knowledge has it that the hymen is the difference between being a virgin and not being a virgin. But is “losing your virginity” the same as “losing” your hymen? And how do you lose your virginity anyway? Understanding the hymen can affect our sexual health. The vaginal corona — called the hymen before 2009 — is made up of thin, elastic folds of mucous membrane located just inside the entrance to the vagina. The vaginal corona may tear or thin out during exercise, masturbation, or tampon use, or during other forms of vaginal penetration. The vaginal corona may tear or thin out during exercise, masturbation, or tampon use, or during other forms of vaginal penetration; one does not have to engage in sexual activity for the hymen to tear. Because of this, no one can look at or touch a vaginal corona and know whether a person has had vaginal intercourse, or even whether they have masturbated. No medical exam on earth can tell if a woman or girl is a virgin. Virginity is a religious and cultural construct, not a medical or scientific term. Our value as human beings should not be based on our sex lives, whatever our gender. If virginity has no medical or scientific meaning, what is it really? It’s clearly a status with great cultural and social significance in most places in the world. But it’s also something that we can define for ourselves, or reject entirely. Because virginity has an emotional connotation, whatever virginity, or losing your virginity, means to you is valid. However we understand virginity, our worth as women and girls should never be based on the thin tissue of the vaginal corona. Learning about our hymens, and our bodies in general, can help us to feel more comfortable and in control in sexual situations. Unlearning the misinformation that we’ve been taught can help us better protect ourselves from STIs, as well as increase our sexual pleasure. https://lnkd.in/eM4-kEaN #OBOSToday #OurBodiesOurselves #VaginalCorona #Hymen #Virgin #Virginity #WorldSexualHealthDay #NationalSexualHealthAwarenssMonth

How did you find a birth control method that works for you? What advice would you give to others? In this story, AB shares her advice for finding birth control methods that fit our needs, highlighting the importance of mental health and self-advocacy: “I would say, first of all, don't discount your mental health. I know some people find that birth control affects them differently mentally. And don't feel guilty or feel like that's not as important as your physical health or physical symptoms because you deserve to have a birth control [method] that works for your mental health as well. . . Second of all, you don't have to use the thing that works best for all your friends... There’s sometimes different stereotypes that go along with different birth control [methods]. My friend was like, “I can't use a NuvaRing. That's for, like, moms. That’s for moms in their 40s.” You can use the NuvaRing... It's okay to not be a mom in your 40s and still use the NuvaRing. . . Don't be afraid to try new things, or to be annoying to your provider and be like, “Hey, we need to talk about myself and my problems more. You can't just prescribe me this and let me walk out the door within two minutes. I want to sit down with you and work through this and maybe try a few things.” https://lnkd.in/gf6t6fSy #OBOSToday #OurBodiesOurselves #BirthControl #Contraception #SelfAdvocacy #BirthControlMethods

Get ready for these key dates in September, pertaining to the health and sexuality of women and gender-expansive people. How will you engage with these days? 4: World Sexual Health Day 10: World Suicide Prevention Day 15: Start of Hispanic Heritage Month 26: World Contraception Day 28: International Safe Abortion Day Healthy Aging Month National Sexual Health Awareness Month Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) Month #OBOSToday #OurBodiesOurselves #SeptemberHighlights

Why don’t we celebrate the transition of menopause? Melanie Faranello explores the stigma and shame surrounding both menstruation and menopause. “Rather than a shedding of our youth and productivity, this transformation is an unburdening of that which no longer serves us, literally reshaping our brains, leaving us liberated, a distilled version of our most necessary selves. Instead of thinking of menopause in terms of everything we are losing, can we embrace it as a time of empowerment?... The hot flashes, now familiar, no longer flatten me on the couch as I wait for them to pass, but new moments of brain fog and memory lapses give me that same inward pause, observing the chaos inherent in this transformation occurring in my brain. But if we understand it is happening for a greater reason than just to make us suffer, if we remember we are only one of four species on earth meant to live long past this phase, can we embrace it as a time that will propel us into a new chapter? Can we celebrate this milestone? What about greeting card companies? Party supply stores? Can they get on board?” https://lnkd.in/eyVVm9tf #OBOSToday #OurBodiesOurselves #Menopause #Menstruation

The 12 most common perimenopause symptoms affecting women ages 35-55 are: - Heavy menstrual flow - Shorter menstrual cycles - Disrupted sleep - Cramps - Mood changes - Headache - Hot flashes & night sweats - Sore breasts - Low libido - Brain fog - Weight gain - Vaginal dryness From Women Living Better https://lnkd.in/gsvcqEQ6 

Don’t miss this great event! --- Repost from EducateUS Join Woodhull Freedom Foundation’s virtual August #Censorship Series: Sex Education in a Censored Nation on August 29th at 12pm EST! 📚 With back-to-school season here, too many students still aren’t getting the comprehensive sex ed they need—let’s change that. Hear from our founder and executive director Jaclyn Friedman, Alison Macklin from SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, Rosalie M. Wong of SWEEP NJ, and moderator Mandy Salley as they talk about the critical connections between human rights, free speech, and the fight for universal sex education. Don’t miss this important conversation—register now at https://shorturl.at/3sybM! #sexed #sexedvoter #sexedforall #socialjustice #sexeducation #educationpolicy #activism

Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Clara Bingham—award-winning journalist and the author of "Witness to the Revolution," "Women on the Hill"—for a discussion of her new book "The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973." She will be in conversation with Our Bodies Ourselves founders Judy Norsigian, Joan Ditzion, Jane Pincus, and Norma Swenson—co-authors of the groundbreaking book "Our Bodies, Ourselves." Monday, September 23, 2024 6:00pm EDT Cambridge Public Library 449 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02138 RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of "The Movement" to pick up at the event. A book signing will follow the presentation. https://lnkd.in/eQ4yXcrh

Federal law states that hospitals must provide abortions when necessary for the life of the person who is pregnant. But the Associated Press (AP) found that many hospitals have not complied. State abortion bans and staffing shortages put our lives at risk. The AP found that, “More than 100 pregnant women in medical distress who sought help from emergency rooms were turned away or negligently treated since 2022.” While doctors may fear the consequences of violating state law, they could be violating *federal* law. The Center for Reproductive Rights says that this was the case in two Texas emergency rooms that failed to treat two women with ectopic pregnancies. One of these women, Kyleigh Thurman, arrived at the emergency room at Ascension Seton Williamson with an ectopic pregnancy. The hospital just sent her home with a pamphlet on miscarriage. Three days later she returned, still bleeding, and was told that her fallopian tube had ruptured, which could affect her fertility. “[The doctor] came in and she’s like, you’re either going to have to have a blood transfusion, or you’re going to have to have surgery or you’re going to bleed out,” Thurman said, through tears. “That’s when I just kind of was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m, I’m dying.’” Dara Kass, an emergency medicine doctor and former U.S. Health and Human Services official, told the AP, “It is increasingly less safe to be pregnant and seeking emergency care in an emergency department.” https://lnkd.in/e57H3Ntj #InTheNews #EmergencyRoom #EctopicPregnancy #Abortion #AbortionCare

We need expansive abortion protections without limitations around viability or gestation. Our Bodies Ourselves Today supports the “Abortion Justice, Now” initiative, co-authored by OBOS Today Leadership Council member and content expert Pamela Merritt, Dr. Jenni Villavicencio, Dr. Colleen McNicholas, Garin Marschall, and Erika Christensen. Returning to the Roe era is not enough. If you agree, sign on to support protecting abortion at the federal level! Read the full memo at https://lnkd.in/e2mgAfsH and consider adding your signature. #OBOSToday #OurBodiesOurselves #Abortion #AbortionRights #ReproductiveRights #ReproductiveJustice

Have you visited our website today? If you have, you’ve probably noticed that it looks different. We are in the process of developing a new site, featuring all of your favorite Our Bodies Ourselves Today and Our Bodies Ourselves content in a format that is easier to search and navigate. https://lnkd.in/gpEc4dxW