Before you read on, here's a self-assessment to stoke self reflection.
Take a look at Victoria's Secret's website and Rihanna’s SavagexFenty website. Ask yourself: “if my sex and intimacy occupational therapy practice was either Victoria’s Secret or SavagexFenty, which one would it be?”
Here are some questions:
Last week, I wanted to buy a few new pieces of lingerie. Like an old habit, I typed Victoria’s Secret into my google search bar and went to the website…I didn’t last 7 seconds.
I quickly visually scanned the pictures and saw the bodies were all airbrushed, very tall, very thin. I noticed the more sexual the piece of clothing the more often it was on bodies that simply didn’t look like mine. Sure, I saw bigger (than the very thin) bodies, but bigger bodies that also somehow don’t seem to have belly rolls and back creases like my body does or they were in camisoles that cover their stomach. I didn’t see myself and didn’t want to buy from them.
Then I went to SavagexFenty. Different story.
While most of the people also did not look like me, it just felt better. I saw the beautiful variety of people being celebrated as sexy. I saw belly rolls front and center on people photographed in a way I felt was empowering - for example, their stomach wasn’t hidden under a flowy camisole. I saw lopsided boobs, scars, tattoos, wheelchairs. I liked seeing people with minimal chest modeling the bras. I’m full chested and it felt nice to not seeing big boobs always being centered in a sexual portrayal. So while I certainly didn’t see myself in every model - or even in most of them - I felt I wasn’t being sexualized or made to fit this narrow view of sexuality. Instead I felt empowered in my own uniqueness and sexuality.
Needless to say, I bought 3 pieces and felt fabulous in them once they arrived.
This got me wondering how our clients feel when we address sexuality with them or, probably more likely, how they feel when we don’t discuss sexuality with them.
The OT profession in the United States is overwhelmingly white, straight, female, and not disabled. Our demographics aren't even close to representative of the actual demographics that make up our client population in the US. Additionally, occupational therapy was founded by white females and so the very lens of OT is informed by norms most familiar to white females.
All of this to say, we have to be intentional about providing OT interventions that are informed by our clients’ norms, preferences, and goals and NOT our assumptions and expectations.
I think looking at these two websites is an creative way for a clinician to assess their own sex and intimacy OT practices. We can ask the questions:
Challenging these thoughts can look like this:
Self-reflection is the first step here, and I hope you’ll find the self-reflection prompts I provided in this newsletter helpful in that process. You can use this information to start thinking of actionable ways to change your practice to enhance the experience and provide your clients with sexual health intervention opportunities.
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