Sexology: What it is, why we need more of this, and why this is my calling

Sexology is the scientific study of human sexual behavior, how people think and feel about it, and the impact on the self and others. Sexology uses information from many fields including psychology, history, medicine, and others. People who have a background in sexology can branch out into a variety of fields including but not limited to therapy, education, advocacy, and even art.

Unfortunately, in our current day and age, information and misinformation run amok. Add to this the lack of accurate, comprehensive sex education in our schools, our tech-savvy children and teen’s ability to navigate the web better than their parents, and the sex-negative diatribe from our leaders (political, clergy) and we find ourselves in our current situation. It becomes very scary and eye-opening when on my Twitter feed, I read about a 24 year old woman who had to be explained what a vulva is.

Another common occurrence, is prescribing medications and therapies for everything, particularly in the realm of sex. People want to find a cure, a one-stop fix-it-all. Please, don’t misunderstand me. I come from a background with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and I have a huge amount of respect for therapists. On the other hand, as a society we sometimes get lost in pathologizing clients and labeling them with this, that, or the other disorder. [Of course, there are some instances where medications are necessary, but not always.] From my own personal observations, and conversations with people who have been in this field longer than I have, if we begin these discussions at a young age with accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education, we would be raising a generation who are comfortable with themselves, have the power, confidence, and knowledge to make relationship and sexual health related choices which are appropriate for themselves.

Which brings me to why this is my calling. I have had an interest in the topics of sex and sexuality for almost as long as I can remember. I think I was very lucky in my upbringing to not have much shame surrounding sex. However, being brought up in a Jewish home (as is common in many religious households), it was stressed that sex could be very beautiful within the context of marriage. [As a side note, I have no problem with people who would like to remain virgins until marriage. It is a personal choice, and far be it from me to devalue someone’s beliefs and choices.] My goal is to create positive discussions about sex and sexuality and to find a common ground at which others are comfortable and meet them there. While I do not wish to offend anyone with a topic that might eventually be discussed on this blog, I challenge you to pause a moment when something weirds you out initially and before clicking the little “x” at the top corner of the screen, to think about why you have the reaction you have.

It’s all about gaining knowledge and respecting people’s preferences even if it’s something you have no desire to take part in. Together we’ll learn lots. Thanks for joining me on this journey!