Ask a (S)expert: "How Can I Improve My Sexual Health?"
Welcome to our series hosted by Gigi Fong, Hypebae’s in-house sex and dating editor.
Welcome to your new safe space and Hypebae’s first-ever sex and dating column, Ask a (S)expert. This new weekly series is led by Haitian-Chinese and LA-based sexpert Gigi Fong, our in-house sex and dating editor.
Gigi is a former sex worker, boudoir artist and podcaster now hosting safe spaces for the Hypebae community. She specializes in all things sex-positive from unconventional dating to pleasure for lovers of all identities. To have your questions answered, visit our dropbox below and anonymously send your intimate inquiries ♡
“How can I improve my sexual health?”
Hey bae! *Insert the Michael Jackson “I love this song” meme* – because I truly do. Improving your sexual health is lightly discussed in sex education, and as we age, the conversation tends to fall off. As a result, most people don’t know that sexual wellness is an ongoing journey that enhances your relationship with yourself and others.
Let’s dive in!
Enjoy Self-Pleasure
The best hack for self-confidence and relaxation is self-pleasure. As Billie Eilish shared in a 2024 interview, self-pleasure can do wonders for stress relief and body confidence. “People should be jerking it,” she joked. “I can’t stress it enough, as somebody with extreme body issues and dysmorphia that I’ve had my entire life.” She continued, “Partly because it’s hot, but it also makes me have such a raw, deep connection to myself and my body and have a love for my body that I have not really ever had.”
Research shows that she’s right. Masturbation can benefit mental wellness through stress reduction and lifting your mood, “which can act as anxiety and depression prevention.” It also improves sleep and focus, enhances your sex life through body confidence and provides pain reduction.
Practice Safe Sex
Having a thriving sex life must include safe sex. This includes getting tested for STIs regularly, using condoms and communicating your safe sex practices with partners.
Diet
Poor diet, like frequently ordering takeout, or eating vitamin-deficient food can result in lower libido over time.
Check-in with Partners
There’s no bigger cockblock than relationship stress. Yes, I’m looking at the girlies in situationships, too. Whether you’re official or not, dating and relationship stress are no different from mental stress. Why? Unchecked stress can manifest into medical problems. For example, research shows that relationship stress can cause lack of arousal in genitals and low libido. A great hack for this is to make sure that you’re having weekly check-ins with your partner(s). But most importantly, if you’re in a situationship, it’s definitely time to evaluate how it’s affecting your mental and sexual health.
Best of luck, bae!
While you’re here, check out “100 Effed Facts About the Gender Health Gap.”
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