What is positive sexuality? Knowledge is the key to greater pleasure.

In this sense, sexual education from childhood is seen as the foundation for building a healthy relationship with the body. With information, dialogue, and a space to listen, it becomes possible to deconstruct limiting ideas and open space for new possibilities—including recognizing the body as a source of sensation, pleasure, and autonomy.

Pleasure, health and self-knowledge

Talking about sexuality involves considering the whole picture: emotional aspects, lifestyle habits, culture, and even the environment in which a person lives. In gynecological appointments, for example, it's not uncommon for sexual complaints to serve as a starting point for a broader journey of self-discovery, where many women leave with more questions than answers. The search for pleasure also becomes a quest to understand who one is.

Understanding the types of stimulation, limits, and preferences helps us move beyond a passive stance toward our own sexual experience. When this stage of sexuality is experienced fully, we have a broader repertoire for establishing healthier, more pleasurable, and consensual relationships.

Furthermore, women who explore their own pleasure tend to have greater body awareness, which benefits both their self-esteem and their sex lives with others. This connection with oneself also influences overall well-being, as exercising sexuality—dancing, creating, touching, or having sex—stimulates the release of hormones linked to happiness.

Sources interviewed: Gabriela Mendes, gynecologist and obstetrician specializing in humanized care; Mariana Stock, psychoanalyst; and Sheylli Caleffi, activist for the eradication of sexual violence and a supporter of positive sexuality