mary roach, author of bonk, has a very wry and creative way of teaching me about my own body. there are loads of tidbits in bonk that i find compelling and extremely hard not to share with all of my female friends. this is one of the most fascinating things i have learned:
when women get turned on they get "wet." this lubrication is plasma secreting from the capillaries in the nether region. who knew, right?! in our culture, this wetness is a nice, even requisite part of sex. if a woman does not or cannot produce enough for the ease of penile sliding, she needn't fret, our capitalist friends have produced all kinds of synthetic lubes.
if, however, this woman lives in parts of africa, haiti or indonesia her wet vagina is a turnoff. wow! i didn't see that coming. in those places, men prefer dry sex and the women accommodate. they use all types of drying agents including newspaper, cotton, rock salt, detergent, bark and dried animal excreta. most of us probably have a similar reaction to that new information. ouch, coach. but roach goes on to explain that women in "developed" countries are regularly taking part in an even more damaging practice - using super absorbent tampons. unfortunately, they have been shown to cause the outer layer of the vaginal cells to dry out so severely that it peels away. ouch. again.
an alternative for women who can't help but shed their uterine walls once per month, is to use a diva cup. it is a friendly option for our sensitive bodies, it is convenient and reliable, there is no risk of toxic shock syndrome, and it is an environmentally friendly choice.
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