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| health > women > story page |         |
Love your body and feel sexy, tooAugust 16, 1999
By Deb Levine, M.A. (WebMD) -- Most women can remember an instance of making love in the dark, wearing an oversized T-shirt to bed, or otherwise turning sex into an exercise in camouflage. When the lights go down, sexual passion ends up replaced by anxiety and self-loathing. In a 1997 Psychology Today survey of women in America, more than 85 percent of the respondents were unhappy with their appearance. And almost 35 percent had significant problems with the way they looked. Women's self-contempt is the anti-aphrodisiac, sure to nip any arousal in the bud. Ironically, while women punish themselves for the disgust they imagine that their partners feel for their bodies, the men in their lives are more turned off by their sexual inhibitions. In general, men's sexuality is not negatively affected if a woman has a little bit of a pot belly, or thick thighs. Most men say their biggest turn-on is a woman's responsiveness in bed, not a particular body part. How can women get beyond physical insecurity to enjoy sex? Here are five tips to help women learn to love their bodies and feel as sexy as they want to:
Ultimately, the struggle for a woman's self-respect is more worthwhile than the struggle to lose 10 pounds, or prevent wrinkles, or whatever else the current fashion demands. And a woman's newfound comfort with her body will fire up her and her partner's sex life in potentially delightful ways! Deb Levine, M.A., is an author, health educator and social worker who gives sexuality and relationship advice on several Web sites.
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