Hey, Let’s Talk About Vaginal Dryness!

Ashley Webb-Flickr

My BFF Lori is my go-to-gal when I want an unfiltered opinion. She always tells it like it is, and calls me on my shit whether I want her to or not.  We had brunch last week, and in between Heuvos Rancheros and coffee I asked her whether she had seen my commissioned piece in Huffington Post the day before.

 

In a rare show of restraint Lori hesitated to reply. I raised my eyebrow and demanded she spit it out. She said, “I decided not to say anything to you after I read your piece. I thought it was vanilla.” She didn’t think the post had my usual voice and added, “I thought maybe I didn’t like it because I was in a bad mood when I read it. But when I read it a second time I still didn’t like it.”

 

What is par for the course in my chosen field is editorial license. I get it. My 1000-word story was edited into a “quick-read” set of slides. If you are interested,  here is the piece: Why Do Women Get Vaginal Dryness And What We Can Do About It. Some good information ended up on the cutting room floor which I will repurpose for future articles. In the meantime, I want to give a shout-out to four women who helped me with the research:

 

-Dr. Anne Madigan is the kind of doctor you want to invite to tea, and never let her leave. She explained vaginal dryness in layperson’s terms in a way I could understand (and write about), and is a reassuring voice to women on a complex topic: “It’s not like your vagina doesn’t work. It’s not like it can’t be helped. It’s dry.”

 

-Chia Chia Sun is the CEO of Damiva. Their all-natural products for vaginal dryness come with the type of packaging that makes you want to buy a box for every one of your menopausal girlfriends: “Enough Beating Around The Bush. Let’s Talk About Your Vagina.” Chia Chia sent me links to helpful medical articles and videos and gave me enough information for an entire chapter.

 

Susan Valentine is a wise and wonderful relationship therapist. She says that women should not shy away from telling their partners what they are experiencing physically and emotionally: “Part of what ends up disconnecting couples is the withdrawal and other defenses that arise in trying to protect oneself from shame or embarrassment.”

 

-“Barbara” is a middle-aged woman who shared her story about vaginal dryness, and how she and her husband had to let go of society’s definition of “sex” as “penetration” in favour of more sensory and creative play. She told me, “I think men have sex with their eyes.”

 

I’m developing other pitches for the fall. Is there any topic you are dying to read about related to women’s relationships at work or play?

 

Photo credit:Flickr/Ashley Webb – cindy

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