Precious, the Movie. We are All Precious Posted on December 4th, 2009
See the movie Precious. It will shock you and inspire you. Precious is the story of Claireece “Precious” Jones, a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life of unimaginable abuse and violence. Pregnant for the second time by her father, threatened with expulsion from school and suffering from horrific violence and verbal abuse from her mother, Precious is able to transfer to an alternative school where she is supported step by step to self-reliance, belief in herself and hope. Precious is a story of triumph against great odds. This is the story of the cycle of family violence and abuse – the cornerstone of poor self-esteem and resultant health and lifestyle issues. The deep pain of abuse on all levels is responsible for a myriad of health problems – headaches, asthma, digestive problems, sexual dysfunction, hampered creativity and self expression. The movie teaches us that in the eyes of God everyone is precious. We must learn to treat all persons as precious – including ourselves.
On a higher level these cycles of abuse, poor self image, and physical violence are playing in the background behind all that is wrong in the world. Or perhaps seen from another angle what is wrong is actually right as it reflects what we are doing to ourselves and each other. The cycles must be recognized and broken for lasting change.
Tags: Oprah, pleasure, sex, teen sex
Dr Laura Berman on Oprah Show speaks out on teen sex Posted on April 27th, 2009
Laura Berman M.D., sex therapist and author was recently interviewed on Oprah. She suggested that teenage girls should be given vibrators following a frank discussion about sex, the female anatomy and pleasure. This suggestion was met with shock and horror with some Oprah viewers.
Good, pleasurable sex is not just an automatic “given.” It takes knowledge of what works and does not work for you. It takes a caring, loving, experienced partner and it takes time and practice.
I learned the details of sex across the kitchen table from my mother when I was six years old. It sounded pretty horrifying to me. Then I accidentally saw my father’s penis when I was nine and I was horrified. You mean, something like “that” is going to go in “there,” I thought. It was pretty puzzling if not deeply concerning at the time.
I believe that we have a whole society of people who are pretty hung up about sex. I agree with Dr. Berman that girls need to be encouraged and educated to value and appreciate sex and their bodies and not waste their precious commodity on pimply-faced youths and their gropings in washrooms and the back seats of cars.
I raised two daughters who now from all accounts have healthy sex lives. At the time when they were teenagers, one of the other mothers in our crowd told me that when her daughter turned 15 she gave her a vibrator, a book about sex and a tube of KY jelly. She told her daughter to go ahead and experiment. Looking back on it, I should have done the same with my daughters.
Sex is healthy, pleasurable and health-enhancing. Here’s to vibrators! What do you think?