"I could finally understand and enjoy my body"

“I started taking the anti contraceptive pill at 15 because of my doctor's suggestion. I had acne and hirsutism and other treatments did not seem to work. For 10 years, I had some side effects without even realizing they were so. One of them, about my vagina, was that it never lubricated enough. Some sexual partners I had, they told me it was "like a virgin pussy", with all the wrongness in that concept itself. It was hurtful sometimes to have sex and sadly I never had any reference or remember any sexual education about what could be happening. No one ever suggested artificial lubrication. I thought something was wrong and the doctors told me that maybe I wasn't relaxed enough. But I knew when I wanted sex, it was only my body not answering properly. Even when I masturbated, it was dry but for me it was "normal".

When I was 25, due to taking them accidentally wrong, I had to stop the pill for a month. That's when I realized they were causing me problems. Sex changed completely for me. I could finally understand and enjoy my body, all my menstrual cycle and how it affects my lubrication, among others. Also, I always have the lubrication tube near, in case my boyfriend and I want to use it. I wish there was more information about this, and we could talk openly. I really like this project because it is one example of the path to achieve that.”

– Y, 28 years old, Spain (she/her)