Outro / Conclusion

Iris reflects on the series as a whole and reminds us to keep exploring sexually, even when it might feel awkward or funny. Letting go of expectations about what sex should look like is the best way to grow. 

This podcast is created by The Pleasure Society and sexologist Iris van Domselaar. Here's where else you can find us online. 

The Pleasure Society: Website / Instagram

Iris van Domselaar: Website

Music by Jord van Domselaar @jordvandomselaar

All episodes recorded at So PR in Amsterdam 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, and welcome to our final episode of the Pleasure Narratives, at least for now. Um, because we hope to expand this series. But for now, I would like to take some time to reflect on the past episodes and the guests we've seen and the stories they've shared, because they have been so courageous with telling us all about their personal experiences and the things they've gone through and what their own journey was surrounding sexual pleasure. I think it was so nice and empowering as well to hear them talk about their own journey because it's such a vulnerable thing as well, and so deeply human to feel influenced by these scripts which we talked about and these gendered norms uh which lay so much so much pressure and expectation upon us. So, thank you to our guests again because it's been so nice, and I hope the listeners can also find a bit of recognition in these stories, and maybe also take some time to think about their own scripts. Like, what are the ideas I have about desire and uh what pleasure should be like and how I should behave in the bedroom, uh, or even about body image. I mean, um, we are influenced by our environment, and I hope we can all take some time to reflect on that. Um, but I also know it is really challenging to still um be aware of what you desire and what your thoughts and feelings are. And are these your own, or are you influenced by your environment? Because every guest I've been speaking to have told me parts of their own story where they felt ashamed of um their own thoughts, or they felt a lot of shame about their sexual experiences, and this makes it so hard to communicate your desires or to think about your own pleasure if you don't have these role models uh and these societal expectations about the way you you should be like. Um so I think it's really important to just take away this message of exploring can be awkward, it can be funny, we can laugh with each other, or uh you do something which uh which doesn't work for you. But I think it's really nice to go away from the the idea that sex has to be always aesthetically pleasing. And I heard Tom also say that you have this this image of what sex should look like also, I think originates from porn as well and from movies. Um, and the message I also want to give other people is like uh this is not real life, sex can be clumsy as well. So um, yeah, take that in mind as well, and keep on exploring because the sexual orientations, the sexual preferences, the gender identities, um, the possibilities are endless. So I think it's really nice to just look at people in a humane way and not try and put everyone into boxes because there's not enough boxes to put everyone in, and um be mindful of who you are, who you are influenced by, and keep exploring because it's not something to achieve in this moment right away. I've also heard Kat saying that she's not quite sure where she is right now, and I think a lot of people can relate to that as well. Um, sexual exploration, sexual pleasure, uh, sexual preferences. It's a journey to keep on exploring. I think that's also one of the most beautiful things about it. So keep on exploring. Um, and for now, thank you for tuning in and listening to the pleasure narratives.