What intimacy advice do you wish you could give your younger self? 🤔

[Flora Jones]

Hey everyone!

I was reflecting on this recently and wanted to open it up to the forum. If you could sit down with your younger self—whether that’s you in your teens, early twenties, or even just a few years ago—and give them one piece of wisdom about relationships, sex, or intimacy, what would it be?

To kick things off, here is my take:

I would tell my younger self that pleasure and boundaries go hand in hand, and you don't have to compromise one for the other. When I was younger, I used to think being a "good partner" meant going along with whatever made the other person happy, sometimes at the expense of my own comfort or what I actually wanted.

If I could go back, I’d tell myself that true intimacy only happens when you are completely honest about your limits, and that saying "no" or speaking up about what you actually like doesn't ruin the mood—it makes the connection so much better and safer.

What about you guys? What did you have to learn the hard way that you wish you had known from the start? ​

 

[Sally]

I wish I had known about this earlier. In Australia, sex workers are respected and treated with the same dignity as other women who work in the corporate sector. But in India, a girl might be unfairly judged just for talking to two boys in her community. I really admire the Australian way of thinking. If you want to make a difference, start by living those values yourself.