Female Empowerment Groups are turning their Attention towards Female Sexuality

Within the last thirty or so years, feminism has become a large focus for many groups within the United States. From supporting women’s rights in the home to their work place, more and more people are becoming involved with the state of women’s affairs. With the turn of the century, we have had an increasing focus on sexuality for all genders. The media is becoming bolder with what is acceptable to talk about on the air. Yet female sexuality still remains hindered by many stigmas that present the idea of a women being sexual as a moral crime. Much of these ideas are due to the heterosexual schema for dating. Female empowerment group Pure Romance’s Consultant, Dominique Thoemmes explains the basic nature of benevolent sexism within the heterosexual dating scene.

Benevolent sexism is widely considered acceptable by both men and women 

The entire concept of benevolent sexism states that in a heterosexual relationship, the male is obligated to present assistance to women due to their fragile and angelic nature. Thoemmes noted that according to many studies, women are generally accepting of benevolent sexism or do not see it as sexist at all. Some women reported that they in fact deserve this sort of treatment and expect it from men. Thoemmes explained that within the dating scene, benevolent sexism is used a means to expect sexual participation of women without sullying their reputation by having them ask for it. Instead of the woman seeking out a sexual encounter, she waits for the man to exhibit taking charge of the date, such as paying for their meal, walking her home or assisting her with some other issue. Because the male has helped her or provided for in some way, many women and men have reported that they would then expect sexual favors as a means of repaying the man for his service. Thoemmes also noted that due to the nature of waiting to express sexuality within their relationships, many women also did not feel comfortable exploring their sexuality by themselves or that they could not speak of it with anyone, unless they wished to be seen as an immoral figure.

Part of encouraging better sexual attitudes for women lies in breaking this stereotype that a women expressing her sexuality is uncommon and immoral. Many women are dating longer and marrying later, and within college, there are a lot of groups encouraging women to explore their sexuality on a solo basis. Pure Romance focuses on educating women in terms of both enjoying themselves and healthy ways to express their desires within their heterosexual relationships. While Thoemmes notes that Pure Romance focuses on heterosexual couples, they do adjust their presentations and offer some products for women of alternate sexualities. Their reasoning for focusing on heterosexual couples is due to the sexism factor that has limited many heterosexual women from addressing their own sexual and health concerns. Thoemmes explains how Pure Romance attempts to educate women within all facets of their sexuality.

 Female Empowerment Groups feel it necessary to focus on changing the lack of health information provided to women

Thoemmes talked of how many women are not only unwilling to explore their sexuality, they have very little knowledge when it comes to their sexual health. Pure Romance’s consultants are trained to address these issues by reaching out to women with a variety of materials, including books, blogs and forums allowing women to only become informed but reach out to each other through these methods. Thoemmes stated that cancer remains a large gray area for many women in terms of knowledge, and Pure Romance has attempted to combat this with their online presence. But in keeping with Pure Romance’s focus, they have made a point to include encouraging sexuality for women with cancer. Many media outlets have featured them for the positive attitude they are helping women to achieve by providing sexual tips and assistance for women with cancer. Thoemmes also said that the training of Pure Romance’s consultants allows them to continuously keep up with new trends in dating and health.

Many empowerment groups are reporting increases in sexual acceptance of women by all genders after attending one of their presentations

These tools have allowed women to educate themselves the way they wish to be educated. This is as important in allowing women to understand their sexuality, as they now have the freedom to seek out information they are comfortable with. Since Pure Romance focuses on heterosexual couples, they make sure to note hesitations women feel in how to conduct themselves in the relationship and are encouraged to be much more expressive of their desires.

Thoemmes noted that in one study, represented by the chart above, this focus of many feminism groups has been felt, as many women are becoming more willing to experiment sexually. There has been a significant increase in the willingness of women to go after new sexual partners despite other hesitations, and Pure Romance reports that their presentations have illuminated many women on health concerns they were unaware of.

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