Ideas worth spreading

The lies we tell pregnant women

2,659,979 views |

Sofia Jawed-Wessel |

TEDxOmaha

• October 2016

"When we tell women that sex isn't worth the risk during pregnancy, what we're telling her is that her sexual pleasure doesn't matter ... that she in fact doesn't matter," says sex researcher Sofia Jawed-Wessel. In this eye-opening talk, Jawed-Wessel mines our views about pregnancy and pleasure to lay bare the relationship between women, sex and systems of power.

"When we tell women that sex isn't worth the risk during pregnancy, what we're telling her is that her sexual pleasure doesn't matter ... that she in fact doesn't matter," says sex researcher Sofia Jawed-Wessel. In this eye-opening talk, Jawed-Wessel mines our views about pregnancy and pleasure to lay bare the relationship between women, sex and systems of power.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxOmaha, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Donate to sex science and join the movement towards a more sexually just and literate world.

Follow Dr. Sofia Jawed-Wessel on Twitter for her latest work and thoughts on related current events.

About the speaker

Sofia Jawed-Wessel

Sofia Jawed-Wessel

See speaker profile

Sofia Jawed-Wessel's teachings utilize a sex-positive and pleasure-inclusive approach to providing medically accurate, comprehensive sexuality education.

Emily Oster | Penguin Books, 2014 | Book

Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know

Our culture insists on not resting until every expectant parent is a strung-out, anxious mess. This easy-to-read yet data-driven book is the antidote. Oster, highly trained in interpreting data, guides readers through the science of pregnancy so they can take a step back from the hysteria and make fact-based informed decisions.

Ian Kerner | William Morrow Paperbacks, 2009 | Book

Love in the Time of Colic

I love gifting this book to new parents. This is a humorous, frank, science-based discussion of how parenthood need not be at odds with sexuality and romance. An incredibly relatable and QUICK read — because what parent has time to read?

Roxanne Gay | Harper Perennial, 2014 | Book

These essays critique the culture and media we consume, including literary representations of women from a very personal perspective. The images we are inundated with and the stories we are told shape who we become, and Gay's witty and sophisticated analysis allows us to be more cognizant of this process.

Virginia Wolf | Mariner Books, 1989 | Book

A Room of One’s Own

Many of us had Virginia Wolf as required reading at some point in our schooling, but I think her works are worth revisiting as an adult. Wolf’s intended audience in this book are women writers, it just as relevant, however, to social scientists or anyone looking to carefully examine patriarchal culture. Her observations and insights are just as meaningful now, nearly a century later, as they were when she first wrote this extended essay—unfortunately.

Sarah Wengert | Today's Omaha Woman, 2016 | Article

"Adolescent Health Project Advocates for Comprehensive Sex Education"

Sofia Jawed-Wessel | Live Well Nebraska, 2015 | Article

"Omaha sex researcher, parent says OPS needs updated sex ed curriculum"

Sofia Jawed-Wessel | Conditionally Accepted, 2015 | Article

"Sex Researcher Dr. Sofia Jawed-Wessel in Cosmo Magazine"

| Article

Jawed-Wessel, S., Herbenick, D., Schick, V. (in press). Body image and self-consciousness during sexual and physical intimacy among first-time mothers. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. DOI: 10.1080/0092623X.2016.1212443

| Article

Jawed-Wessel, S. & Sevick, E. (in press). Sexual behaviors during pregnancy and after childbirth. Annual Review of Sex Research.

| Article

Jawed-Wessel, S., Schick, V., Herbenick, D., Fortenberry, D., Cattelona, G., Reece, M. (2016). Development and validation of the Sex during Pregnancy Scales. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 42, 8: 681-701. DOI: 10.1080/0092623X.2015.1113587

| Article

Jawed-Wessel, S., Herbenick, D., Schick, V. (2013). The Sexual Function Questionnaire’s Medical Impact Scale (SFQ-MIS): Validation among a sample of first-time mothers. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10:2715-2722. DOI: 10.1111/jsm.1230730192-2/abstract)

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxOmaha, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Donate to sex science and join the movement towards a more sexually just and literate world.

Follow Dr. Sofia Jawed-Wessel on Twitter for her latest work and thoughts on related current events.