SEX POSITIVE ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW

Written By Yari Blanco

Sometimes you need a little inspiration... so here are 13 accounts to follow on instagram to give you the visuals you need for a little self-love (ahem). Tweet at us your favs not on the list!

CYCLES + SEX

Today's breakthrough story comes from @moon_pug! We wanna hear your story too! If you've got one, email us at hello@cyclesandsex.com. ⠀ ⠀ "I've had chronic pain for almost 10 years. First it came in waves, starting at age 19. Debilitating cramps and migraines. Then at 26 I started having migraines once a week. For the past 3 years, I searched for answers. Doctor after doctor, and no answers. My cycles were beyond awful and migraines were becoming more frequent. ⠀ ⠀ At 28, I started having miscarriages. I thought I knew menstrual pain, but this was a whole new level. After the miscarriages I never stopped cramping. Everyday of every month was torture. I had a migraine everyday and my uterus felt like it was going to fall out of my body. ⠀ ⠀ This past August I finally met the most amazing doctor. She listened to me, spent time with me, and finally diagnosed me. I have stage 3 endometriosis. It was completely covering my rectum, my ovaries, and my cervix. My uterus was full of polyps and my ovaries covered in cysts. Both of my tubes are pinched in the middle. ⠀ ⠀ This diagnosis crushed me at first. Hearing the words, "you may never be able to carry a pregnancy full term" was not something I had prepared myself for. I went into a deep depression. ⠀ ⠀ And then I felt relief. I finally have an answer. I know why I have migraines, and I know how to work around them. I may never be able to have my own child, but now I know that it doesn't make me any less of a woman. I feel at peace. All these years I didn't understand why sex was painful for me, and now I know how to deal with that. I feel like I can finally thrive sexually. I feel less broken."⠀ ⠀ #yourstory #yourvoice #cyclesandsexbreakthroughs // image via @amandinekuhlmann

1,289 Likes, 35 Comments - CYCLES+SEX (@cyclesandsex) on Instagram: "Today's breakthrough story comes from @moon_pug! We wanna hear your story too! If you've got one,..."

WE ARE HAPPY PERIOD

ERICKA HART, M. Ed.

Most interviews I have done over the past two years have asked, "how do you feel about your body post double mastectomy?" Or "how do you feel about your new body, did it take awhile to get used to it?" This question, ableist as it is, presumes that I had to jump over some hurdle to accept what they have decided is now an abnormal body. But what I find interesting is how I have always been apathetic about my breasts. Honestly, about most of my body parts. They were there to serve its function or to fit in clothes but other than that, it didn't matter and I paid very little attention to my body, just like the books, media, boys/girls I liked did. What I wish I was asked in interviews: how do you relate to your position in the world now that you have read the works of black scholars? Do you now see that your apathetic nature surrounding your body was rooted consistent with an indoctrinated politic that said "your body doesn't matter." This presumed problem of bodies has been a very white conversation and so not about my breasts. It has never been about breasts. People have picked and prodded at my skin, my hair, how I speak, what I'm wearing, if it looks a mess or not, where I fit into society relative to a white beauty ethic, but the last thing people have regarded is my body. There was a whole nationwide campaign called #blacklivesmatter to enforce that we exist in corporeality. That shows up in more ways than fatal police shootings of black folk. The messaging in this country is simply, we are undesirable. Black people are not supposed to have sex, or only have sex when you say, how you say. Sex does not belong to black bodies, definitely not black femme bodies. Sex belongs to white bodies, the only ones worthy of being desired. I see my body now. I don't place value on it, cause just seeing my body and honoring its existence is enough. 📷 by @rubcha 💄 by @suzygerstein 📽 by @jasonikeler| @heyguysheyphoto 🎨 by @asilverman23 💇🏾‍♀️ by @ryaustinhair @cosmopolitan

8,035 Likes, 165 Comments - Ericka Hart, M.Ed. (@ihartericka) on Instagram: "Most interviews I have done over the past two years have asked, "how do you feel about your body..."

TABU

Weezy said it best. #musicmonday

256 Likes, 5 Comments - tabú (@talk.tabu) on Instagram: "Weezy said it best. #musicmonday"

WEARETHETULIP

PLEASENYC

UNBOUND

THE NAKED BEAUTIES

Instagram post by @thenakedbeauties * Oct 18, 2017 at 4:15am UTC

790 Likes, 4 Comments - @thenakedbeauties on Instagram

YOU'RE WELCOME CLUB

FEMINIST PANTS

#allbodiesaregoodbodies Credit: @khrystyana

4,837 Likes, 54 Comments - Feminist Pants (@feministpants) on Instagram: "#allbodiesaregoodbodies Credit: @khrystyana"

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Using condoms with your birth control? Treating yourself to some quality "me" time? Getting your PrEP and condom combo on? However you're celebrating Valentine's Day, safer sex + you = the perfect match. #valentinesday #valentine #couples #hearts #💗

10k Likes, 97 Comments - Planned Parenthood (@plannedparenthood) on Instagram: "Using condoms with your birth control? Treating yourself to some quality "me" time? Getting your..."

TRIBEDEMAMA

ALPHACHANNELING

Seeker getting initiated into the night garden ✨✨✨

10.9k Likes, 52 Comments - Alphachanneling (@alphachanneling) on Instagram: "Seeker getting initiated into the night garden ✨✨✨"

Yari Blanco
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