“One of the most radical things women can do is to love their body”, says Eve Ensler, author and playwright of “The Vagina Monologues”, (which explores sexual experiences, body image, reproduction, vaginal care, prostitution and more, through the eyes of women of various ages, races, sexualities). And we agree!
Pleasure activism
Our empowerment as women is deeply connected to our sexuality. Reclaiming our bodies and our pleasure are important steps to a full life and authentic self-expression. I suppose that is why a friend called our decision to launch Clitoria “courageous”. At first, we were surprised. Where was the bravery in this? She added that we were choosing to tackle a taboo subject – women’s pleasure. If anything, this made us more determined to start speaking up and speaking out against myths about who we are and what we want. Yet, launching our company and our Arousal Oil is more than claiming our role as “pleasure activists”. We wish people to join us in the conversation. We want our voices to be heard – in all their expressions. And the conversations have begun – women in discussion at our launch parties have relished the opportunity to ask and to listen, to share, to giggle and to laugh out loud, unashamedly.
Things are changing and we are changing our attitude to our “things”
A recent report in a Canadian newspaper stated that as Covid-19 changed our lives, it also changed our behviours behind closed doors and between the sheets. Research by The Sex Information & Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN) revealed that people began using isolation to talk about emotional needs and explore sexual pleasure. What’s more, isolation also provided people with an opportunity and the time to explore their needs and desires.
“There is a slowly changing narrative around women’s agency over their sexual pleasure and we’re in a time when women are receiving more information on their bodies and how to get to know them and understanding, for example, that it’s not just penetrative sex that is the ‘goal’ but that clitoral stimulation is important, too,” explains Jessica Wood, research specialist at SIECCAN.
We named our Arousal Oil after the beautiful, delicate flower Clitoria ternatea that is at home in all the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics of Asia, Africa and Australia. We hope to see our Clitoria blossom beyond borders. We encourage all women to explore their inner buds, their hidden scents and to expand into full bloom.
Image by @trishathompsonadams