Unsealed Section: Taslim Parsons says open conversation is key to a healthy relationship with sex

Taslim Parsons says parents should be buying their kids their first sex toys.

We're not talking anything crazy here, but as the founder of a sexual wellness brand, Parsons explains that she understands where a good point for young adults to start is.

"It's non-threatening and not invasive, it doesn't look like a massive dildo or anything, and it shouldn't," she tells 9Honey.?

"And I think that particularly young women are taught that the male pleasure thing is a big deal."

Parsons says it's important for young adults to grow up with a positive relationship with sex, to not be ashamed or 'grossed out' by the thought, but to realise it's natural and it's about pleasure ¨C for both parties.?

"We live in a very patriarchal society still, and it will, you know¡­ it's changing, the rhetoric's changing," she says of heterosexual relationships.

"I've got a son, and I think for me it's really important that his experience is wonderful, too. But he's respectful, and it will be wonderful if he's respectful and understand that it's not all about him."

Ensuring kids have a positive relationship with sex starts much earlier than the teen years, however.?

Parsons says it's about having those open conversations, and at a young age calling body parts by their anatomical names and teaching kids consent in the form of things like not having to hug a family member if they don't want to.?

"If you do that, then those conversations become easy," she says.

"I think we just put so much pressure on ourselves as parents to do the right thing. But if you're thinking about having those conversations, you're doing the right thing.

"I think parents mostly just want to do a great job, and I think they just want the best for their kids. And the best for the kids includes an amazing sex life.?

"I think it's our job to look at how we empower them to have the most fulfilling life they can."

Parsons is a mother of two as well as the founder and owner of sexual wellness brand Share Satisfaction.?

As a mum, she says she understands the struggles so many women go through when it comes to sex after giving birth.?

"I had babies and my pelvic floor was shot," she says.

"I knew that there were things I just couldn't do anymore, and it was like, 'Oh, I don't like this, this is horrible. I'm really active and I'm a busy woman and I don't want to not be able to do things'.

"But pregnancy is really hard on the body, it's really physically hard."

It was this experience, coupled with stories of painful sex from other women, that inspired Parsons to create a range of toys centred around women's pelvic floor wellness.?

"Lots [of toys] focus on pleasure alone, right? Which is fine, of course, that's the main crux of it," she says.

"But the thing is that we all go through something in our life, and I think sexual trauma, or a bad marriage, or abuse, or just a failed marriage or relationship, even stress at work ¨C it affects our connection with ourselves and it affects our libido.?

"You can't take pleasure in one aspect because it's so much more than that."

Parsons spent over a year consulting with multiple doctors and pelvic health specialists to develop Eyden, a range of toys designed to help alleviate a range of pelvic and vaginal health concerns.?

One of her main concerns with the range was making sure it didn't look clinical; instead, she designed elegant pieces to help women enjoy their lives in all aspects.

"There's people that have painful intercourse, whether it's due to pregnancy or not, and there's ways to have pleasure without having penetration," she explains.

"And that's why Eyden was such a big deal for me, because so many women I know have had issues and no one talks about it, no one talks about these issues."

Her work at a parenting foundation helping women with pregnancy care and post-pregnancy care prior to founding Share Satisfaction helped her develop the range.?

"I'm a mum. I've got children. I'm also menopausal, so there's a lot going on," she says.

"I've had children, I know the effect that had on me. And also, I've worked with so many women through the charity work that I did that you realise that this is a big, big thing.?

"And so there is more to life than just getting your rocks off, it's more than that."