Self Cultivation

I hate the Oprah Winfrey Show, yet I feel compelled to tune in every once in awhile. As contradictory as it may seem, watching Oprah helps me feel connected to women and women's issues. I accept that Oprah Winfrey is an important role model for many people, and I applaud her efforts to help and encourage her fans. But sometimes, she just goes to far. Last week Oprah and guest star, Dr. Christiane Northrup, discussed female masturbation, aka female cultivation

Joan Z. Shore has an amusing blog on this very episode. So I'll merely add my two cents to her excellent summary. What the heck is wrong with these women? I get that this is an uncomfortable topic, but come on. Do you really think that you are encouraging women's self discovery by forcing them to define their personal activities as some sort of self enlightened act of cultivation? Let's get technical, cultivation is defined as the process of fostering the growth of something. So ladies, what are you growing? Let me be sure to to enlighten you - until you learn to call sex sex, vaginas vaginas and masturbation masturbation, you are not sexually aware. Your clever euphemism clearly indicates your inability to come to terms with your sexuality.

So let's drop the pretense. I am all for diagrams and directions. Bring on the videos and photo array. Let's face facts, women who are frightened of this word need to get a grip. Stop it. Seriously. Gross.

Oprah's Va Jay-Jay