By Chandrama Anderson
E-mail Chandrama Anderson
About this blog: About this blog: I am a LMFT specializing in couples counseling and grief and have lived in Silicon Valley since 1969. I'm the president of Connect2 Marriage Counseling. I worked in high-tech at Apple, Stanford University, and in ...
(More)About this blog: About this blog: I am a LMFT specializing in couples counseling and grief and have lived in Silicon Valley since 1969. I'm the president of Connect2 Marriage Counseling. I worked in high-tech at Apple, Stanford University, and in Silicon Valley for 15 years before becoming a therapist. My background in high-tech is helpful in understanding local couples' dynamics and the pressures of living here. I am a wife, mom, sister, friend, author, and lifelong advocate for causes I believe in (such as marriage equality). My parents are both deceased. My son graduated culinary school and is heading toward a degree in Sociology. I enjoy reading, hiking, water fitness, movies, 49ers and Stanford football, Giants baseball, and riding a tandem bike with my husband. I love the beach and mountains; nature is my place of restoration. In my work with couples, and in this blog, I combine knowledge from many fields to bring you my best ideas, tips, tools and skills, plus book and movie reviews, and musings to help you be your genuine self, find your own voice, and have a happy and healthy relationship. Don't be surprised to hear about brain research and business skills, self-soothing techniques from all walks of life, suggestions and experiments, and anything that lights my passion for couples. (Author and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Calif. Lic # MFC 45204.)
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Check out Lili Sohn’s new graphic medicine book. “Half of all people have vaginas. But how much do we know about that part of our body? And why are we too shy to talk about it?”
Why Graphic Medicine? “The combined language of words and pictures that is the comic medium gives approachability and emotional impact to these personal stories, and even to the clinical data they sometimes include.” National Institute of Health
In a 2019 Study in the Journal of Women’s Health, it’s reported that sexual health is a vital sign of overall health. There remains stigma around female sexuality which leads to women being embarrassed to discuss sexual health issues, even with their healthcare providers.
Sohn was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29, and had a double mastectomy. Now they check her ovaries and uterus on a regular basis. She realized there was much about her body that she didn’t know.
So Sohn went on a journey to learn about her vagina and bust the many myths she’d either heard, been told or came to figure out (often incorrectly) on her own.
In my experience seeing clients for the last 18 years, most people don’t talk about sex, bodies, and many other topics considered taboo. Even using the words vagina, penis, and orgasm are foreign to many tongues. Thank goodness for books like “Vagina Love” and “Our Bodies, Ourselves”.
Sohn’s book is educational, scientific, provocative, and disarming. It’s an important read for women of all ages (and young women coming of age). I think men and young men coming of age would find it extremely useful as well. I learned a few things I didn’t know (e.g., the clitoris measures almost 4”, about the same size as the uterus.)
Vagina Love sections:
1. So What is a Woman Anyway?
2. The Anatomy
3. Clitoris
4. The Cycle
5. How Babies are Made
6. Contraception
7. Orgasm
8. Gynecology Today
9. And More (which briefly covers breasts, endometriosis, menopause, hair, toxic shock, and nymphoplasty.)
Educate yourself, and share it with the women and men in your life. Knowledge is power.
