For centuries, there has been an abundance of sexist and ill-informed meanderings about female sexuality and what constitutes healthy attitudes and practises towards sex in general. It’s been an uphill battle trying to get more honest and open approaches on the table, but at long last, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While sex education in public schools around the world is still seriously lacking authenticity, humanistic approaches and transparency that is vital in ensuring both older children and adolescents have a good grasp of healthy sexual practises, relationships and social interactions, more and more information is becoming increasingly available via the internet, key speaking events, local workshops and printed texts. Also, more scientific research is being carried out in the area of human sexuality. Never before has the world seen such a push for genuine information relating to sexual and interpersonal behaviours.

The most recent example of this is Lazeeva’s very own research into ‘sex-positivity’ and the major cities across the globe that are deemed to be the most sex-positive based upon the data collected from 100,000s of participants, the UN and WHO. Some noteworthy criteria for said research was ‘sex toy consumption’, ‘sexual satisfaction’, ‘access to contraception’ and ‘gender equality’.

The general public have started to slowly realise over the past 20 years or so, that a lot of women do in fact enjoy sex and it isn’t simply a chore. More options in terms of adult products and types of contraception have been developed. Companies such as Lelo, are deemed to be pioneers when it comes to revolutionising adult products for women. Their ultra sleek, luxury, high tech designs and enticing ads, market self-pleasure as the integral part of feminine sexuality that it is. There are even several options, thanks to the development of bluetooth-enabled teledildonics and mobile apps, when it comes to long-distance sexual connections. For example, the Realov vibrator and mobile app remote control.

Due to the multiple options available when it comes to contraception, women now feel like they have more control over their birth-control. No more relying on their partner to always cough up the goods, they can either purchase them from any pharmacy or supermarket or even collect them from local sexual health clinics and GPs. If this isn’t the best option for the individual (though it tends to be deemed as one of the safest against STIs) they can consider alternative means such as the contraceptive pill, IUD (otherwise known as the coil), contraceptive injection, diaphragm / female condom, contraceptive implant etc. Any good health practitioner will be happy to discuss the different options to help you find the best method for your needs. While there are many places in the world, particularly those who are deemed as ‘third world’ countries or economically weak / unstable that do not have the means to provide contraceptive options as easily, many countries have them available, though they may not be free from the GP or sexual health clinic.

There has been a number of televised sexual health campaigns in both Europe and the US to help combat any stigma surrounding adults purchasing or seeking out contraceptives. We now even have vegan condoms thanks to the folks at the Green Condom Company! You can order yours through our app store. This in some ways has helped to make couples and even singles feel more confident in obtaining them and thus actually having them available for use, in turn it lead to a decrease in the contraction of STI infections as well as unwanted pregnancies. Sadly, there are still a number of major cities that are not promoting such practises, particularly those that still maintain a strong religious presence such as Dublin and Rome. This hinders accessibility and results in the aforementioned consequences, as sexual encounters still take place regardless of it’s social connotations.

The areas of feminine sexuality that are now starting to take centre stage are masturbation, adult content viewing and sexual pleasure. If the media even mentioned female masturbation 30 years ago it would have been deemed to be salacious and would have triggered a public outcry along with the demand for the termination of it’s print. Now, publications such as Cosmo, Broadly and Huff Women are regularly and openly discussing female sexuality, specifically topics such as masturbation. Even world-renowned fashion magazine Elle published a glowing review on ‘OMGYes’ the website dedicated to the teaching of female masturbation techniques through educational and instructional videos by naked, female members of the public. It is through the support of the mainstream, that companies such as ourselves and others who believe in promoting healthy, sexual lifestyles and interactions can reach the general public, especially those who may have been too shy to seek out such information prior.

Not only that, there are more sexologists and female discussion panels that are helping couples to discover more about their erogenous zones and how to stimulate them in a variety of ways. By being able to talk openly and not placing any stigma around consensual sex acts between adults, people can feel more comfortable and confident to discuss their desires and to try out new techniques or acts. Women no longer have to lay there unstimulated and feeling unsatisfied; they can now vocalise what they want and how they want it. The biggest thing that ultimately is helping women to evolve sexually is the understand that their pleasure matters. That yes, women have the right to be sexually satisfied and to have a good, active sex life. Not only that, but there’s no strict rule book when it comes to your sexuality. You don’t have to conform to labels. You can have sex as often or as little as you want. You have the freedom to explore as and how you feel is best for you. As long as your will doesn’t impact that of another’s, you can be free to try new things with those who share the same interests and that you have chemistry with.

As we have discussed previously in our piece about couples and female orientated erotica, adult entertainment is also diversifying so that women’s actual desires are being shown. Productions such as Filly Films not only depict lesbian sex between gorgeous women, the whole set up from script writing, producing, directing, editing, marketing and even it’s ownership is solely by women. All too often, lesbian sex is shot by men and portrayed in a way that is male-centric i.e. caters to the heterosexual male’s fantasies rather than women’s. That’s what makes companies like Filly Films perfect for women who love to watch genuinely sensual, highly erotic content made with women in mind.

Written for Lazeeva by Burn The Night