The Pleasure Principle Of Loving Ourselves

We’ve come to terms with zits, love handles, and the skin we’re in. But could loving ourselves also be about embracing the human instinct for sexual pleasure, even when it’s a solo endeavour? Three women share how they’ve cultivated a better understanding of their bodies, sexual wellness and relationships, through embracing the act of self-pleasuring

- Andrea Sim

ON UNDERSTANDING HER BODY, DESIRES AND NEEDS THROUGH SELF-PLEASURING

SYLVIA CHAN, 33 Co-founder and CEO of Night Owl Cinematics and co-host of The Thirsty Sisters podcast series that addresses topics like dating, sex, empowerment, rights and more

It was my 18th birthday, and my best friend and I were chatting about how it could be special and what present I would want. We were talking about this in her bedroom, and the topic of sex toys came up. There were much fewer options back then, this being more than a decade ago. Sex shops were shady and scary. Think neon lights, a man in shades behind the counter who you did not dare approach, and eight-inch vibrating metal dildos. Online, only trashy or porn websites featured sex toys. It was not synonymous with health, empowerment or female wellbeing in general. We ordered through the phone, and we ended up with a silver Jack Rabbit that, I think, was made for porn stars.