Bite the Fruit offers products that aligns with our commitment to sexual wellness.
Sexual wellness is a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality, encompassing more than just the absence of disease or dysfunction. It is a holistic and positive approach to sexuality, emphasizing pleasure, safety, and respect for oneself and others.
Key components of sexual wellness
• Physical health: This involves reproductive health and the proper function of sexual organs. It includes preventing and managing sexually transmitted infections (STIs), using contraception, and addressing sexual dysfunction.
• Emotional and mental health:Your feelings about sexuality, including your body image, self-esteem, and ability to manage stress and anxiety, all affect your sexual wellness. Past experiences, including any sexual trauma, also play a significant role.
• Social well-being: This aspect includes the cultural and societal norms and values that influence views on sex and relationships. Social well-being encompasses building healthy relationships based on consent, honesty, and mutual respect.
• Pleasure: A core component of sexual wellness is the possibility of having pleasurable sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence. This includes exploring one's own desires and understanding what feels good, both alone and with a partner.
• Education and communication: Staying informed about your own needs and having open, honest conversations with partners and healthcare providers is essential for maintaining good sexual wellness.
Sexual Wellness vs. Sexual Health
While often used interchangeably, sexual wellness and sexual health have distinct focuses.
Sexual health: concerns the prevention and management of adverse medical outcomes, such as STIs and unintended pregnancies. It is historically a more medically-focused term. It is a medical state of being free from disease, dysfunction, or infirmity related to sexuality.
Sexual wellness: pursues a positive, respectful, and fulfilling sex life that is free from coercion and discrimination. It is a broader, holistic, and affirmative view of sexuality that focuses on overall well-being and pleasure throughout one's life.
How to nurture your sexual wellness
Sexual wellness is a lifelong process that evolves with age and experience. You can nurture it through a number of practices:
• Educate yourself on contraception, safe sex, consent, and different aspects of sexuality.
• Prioritize communication with your partners about desires, boundaries, and concerns.
• Practice self-care by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, and managing stress.
• Seek medical help for regular health screenings and to address any concerns with a healthcare provider.
• Engage in self-exploration to better understand your own body, desires, and limits.
Agency and Consent
In the context of sexual wellness, agency is the power and freedom to make your own sexual decisions, while consent is the practice of respecting that power in yourself and others. Both are foundational to healthy, respectful, and fulfilling sexual experiences.
Sexual agency
Sexual agency is the capacity and self-confidence to make conscious, informed choices about your own body, pleasure, and relationships. It is more than just saying "yes" or "no." It encompasses understanding what you want and feeling empowered to act on those desires.
Key aspects of sexual agency include:
• Autonomy: Making your own decisions about your sexual life free from coercion, manipulation, or pressure. This means having the right to define and control your own sexuality.
• Self-awareness: Knowing your own desires, boundaries, and limits. This includes being in tune with your comfort levels and being able to communicate them.
• Assertiveness: Being able to speak up for your needs and boundaries, whether they are about pleasure, desires, or when you don't want something.
• Context: Agency exists on a continuum and can be affected by power dynamics, relationship context, and societal influences. For example, a person's agency can be constrained by poverty or societal pressures.
Consent
Consent is the agreement given by all parties to engage in specific sexual activity. For consent to be valid and ethical, it must be:
• Freely given: Consent must be a voluntary decision, made without pressure, manipulation, or guilt.
• Reversible: Any person can change their mind at any time, even in the middle of a sexual encounter.
• Informed: Everyone must have a clear understanding of what they are agreeing to. This includes discussing intentions and understanding the risks.
• Enthusiastic: Consent should be an enthusiastic and positive "yes," not just the absence of "no." Silence or passivity is not consent.
• Specific: Consent for one sexual activity does not imply consent for another. Each new activity requires its own separate consent.
How agency and consent work together for sexual wellness
Agency and consent are deeply intertwined and work in tandem to create a positive sexual experience.
• Consent as a practice of agency: Practicing consent is how you and your partners exercise your sexual agency in a mutual, respectful way. You are empowered to communicate your wants and limits, and your partner is empowered to listen and respect them.
• Empowerment: Valid consent empowers every individual to assert control over their body and choices. This builds a sense of safety and trust, which are vital for experiencing genuine pleasure.
• Healthy relationships: In a healthy relationship, both partners have and respect each other's agency. This creates a foundation of mutual respect and open communication that is crucial for sustained sexual wellness.
• Safety and security: Consent is the critical tool for preventing sexual violence, coercion, and pressure. A culture that values enthusiastic and informed consent ensures that everyone feels safe and respected.
In essence, you cannot achieve sexual wellness without both agency and consent. Consent is the active, ongoing communication that builds trust and respect, and agency is the internal sense of power and ownership that allows you to participate in sexual experiences authentically and freely.