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Sex Education ’s Aimee Lou Wood has revealed she used to think masturbation was “only a boy thing”.
The British actor, who played Aimee in the wildly popular Netflix series, explained that the way she was taught about sex in school meant subjects like virginity, slut-shaming, abortion and masturbation , were left out.
However, they are all addressed in Sex Education, in which Lou Wood had to film a masturbation scene and soon found out that other young people had similar views to her on the subject.
“When I filmed a masturbation scene, extras were asking me, ‘What do you mean you had a scene like that? That’s only for boys’,” she told BBC Newsbeat .
The actor went on to explain how important comprehensive sex education in schools is, adding that she felt like a “weirdo” for wanting to masturbate when she was a teenager.
10 quotes from women that defined the decadeShow all 10 1 /1010 quotes from women that defined the decade 10 quotes from women that defined the decade Malala Yousafzai "One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world." United Nations Youth Assembly, New York, 2013
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Michelle Obama “Whether it was during my time as a lawyer, as an administrator at a university, a nonprofit manager, even now as First Lady, I’ve never once asked someone I was interviewing to explain a test score or a grade in a class -- never. I’ve never once made a hire just because someone went to an Ivy League school instead of a state school -- never. What I have looked for is what kind of person you are. Are you a hard worker? Are you reliable? Are you open to other viewpoints? Have you stepped outside of your own self-interest to serve others? Have you found a way to serve our country, whether in uniform or in your community?” Commencement address at Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky, 2013
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Emma Watson "I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop." United Nations, New York, 2014
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Patricia Arquette “To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all." Academy Awards, California, 2015
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Hillary Clinton "All the evidence tells us that despite the enormous obstacles that remain, there has never been a better time in history to be born female. But the data leads to a second conclusion: That despite all this progress, we're just not there yet." Women in The World Summit, New York, 2015
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Gloria Steinem “We are here and around the world for a deep democracy that says we will not be quiet, we will not be controlled, we will work for a world in which all countries are connected. God may be in the details, but the goddess is in connections. We are at one with each other, we are looking at each other, not up." Women's March in Washington DC, 2017
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Oprah Winfrey “So I want all the girls watching here and now to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again. Thank you.” Golden Globe Awards, California, 2018
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Emma Gonzalez "So we are speaking up for those who don’t have anyone listening to them, for those who can’t talk about it just yet, and for those who will never speak again. We are grieving, we are furious, and we are using our words fiercely and desperately because that’s the only thing standing between us and this happening again.” March for Our Lives rally, Washington DC, 2018
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Tarana Burke “So much of what we hear about the Me Too Movement is about individual bad actors or depraved, isolated behavior, and it fails to recognize that anybody in a position of power comes with privilege, and it renders those without that power more vulnerable. Teachers and students, coaches and athletes, law enforcement and citizen, parent and child: these are all relationships that can have an incredible imbalance of power. But we reshape that imbalance by speaking out against it in unison and by creating spaces to speak truth to power. We have to reeducate ourselves and our children to understand that power and privilege doesn't always have to destroy and take -- it can be used to serve and build. And we have to re-educate ourselves to understand that, unequivocally, every human being has the right to walk through this life with their full humanity intact.” Ted Women, California, 2018
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10 quotes from women that defined the decade Greta Thunberg "The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say - we will never forgive you." UN Climate Summit, New York, 2019
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“Food, jobs, sex... it’s a very key part of life and we don’t know enough about it,” she said.
“I wish I knew it was normal to want sex for pleasure, and not just to make babies.”
Tanya Reynolds, who plays a character with vaginismus, added that the show teaches women about sexual health issues they might not otherwise have known about.
“I didn’t even know [vaginismus] had a name,” the actor told the BBC.
“So many women will watch this and realised there’s not something wrong with them.”
The NHS states that vaginismus is when the vagina suddenly tightens as you try to insert something into it.
It cannot be controlled and could lead to severe pain or distress. It can, however, be treated and those experiencing symptoms should seek support from their GP.
You can read more about vaginismus here .
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