FRISKY FRIDAY FRANKNESS: Relationships Improve When You Talk About THIS

Talking about the “Big Make-Out” can be awkward; but it can also be rewarding.

University of Waterloo researchers found that teaching the benefits of affirmative sexual consent while also validating anxieties people might experience about consent communication is an important step for improving sexual health and wellbeing.

Researcher Usma Rehman adds, “Participants noted that consent communication can lead to misunderstandings between partners, interpersonal awkwardness, and increase the risk for negative emotional reactions, such as rejection.  They also viewed it as enhancing the relationship, creating a context of safety and respect, and being instrumental in clarifying sexual expectations.”

The study also found that identifying and confronting barriers, such as experiencing shame or guilt, during such conversations, is critical to effective education about sexual well-being education.
(EurekAlert!)

• A study finds that while people think taking about sexual consent with a partner can be awkward, it also can enhance a relationship “creating a context of safety and respect”
• The study also revealed that identifying and confronting feelings of guilt and shame associated with discussing sexual consent is critical to effective education about sexual wellbeing education