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Myth or Reality?

© Alyssa Skye

My mother introduced the phrase "old wives' tale" to me at an early age when she told me that drinking coffee would stunt my growth. I wasn't a big coffee drinker at the time (I was merely five), but I loved the color of cream-laden coffee and the taste that tickled my tongue when the coffee was thoroughly laced with sugar.

Over the years, I was occasionally told many more of these familiar "tales" by various people who passed through my life. While most of them were never in the running for serious consideration or thought, once in a while a phrase would stick itself somewhere in my subconcious only to pop up in relevant situations.

In doing my research for this column, I have come across several statements which I later learned were false or misleading...yet another form of an "old wives' tale." I would like to take a moment to dispel some of these myths.

Myth one: having sexual intercourse before competing in an athletic event will cause you to be unable to perform the event well. Reality: often, satisfying sex or some form of physical intimacy will allow your mind and body to relax before the athletic event thus helping your performance.

Myth two: men have erections just at the sight of a women or thought of sex. Reality two: while this might occur once in a while, more often than not, men need some other form of stimulation to help them become erect. Not to worry then if your man doesn't become immediately erect if you model your new lingerie for him.

Myth three: older women (people) don't want to have sexual intercourse as often. Reality three: why do we believe as a society that age precludes inactivity and disinterest. Often, it is with maturity and experience that we become more sexually aware and more able to experience different types of physical pleasure. While some older women might have more vaginal dryness or pain, this is very treatable by various methods.

Myth four: women who don't have orgasms are frigid. Reality four: women who are unable to experience orgasm usually have a situation which is treatable by a doctor or therapist. Often, stress or poor communication or lack of trust with a partner are factors that contribute to a woman's inability to reach orgasm. There is nothing inherently wrong with this woman's sexuality however.

Myth five: women who enjoy their sexuality are immoral or bad. Reality five: Wrong. Our bodies give us pleasure in many different ways; sexuality being one of those ways. Every woman should be allowed the opportunity and support to achieve sexual satisfaction and pleasure in their own bodies.

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