Imagine a world where something as essential to personal health and wellbeing as a healthy diet and regular exercise was deemed too taboo to openly talk about.

It is constantly debated whether it should be taught in schools, and parents avoid discussing any more than the basics of the subject, if that, with their children. Sounds ridiculous, right?

This is the dilemma when it comes to open discussion regarding reproductive and sexual health in most cultures. The main argument that reproductive and sexual health are too taboo to really talk about is that our sex organs are called “privates” for a reason.

However, open dialogue about our “privates”, what they do and how to take proper care of them are as essential to personal and public health as proper diet and exercise. Our “private parts” can remain private if we wish, but how to take care of them should always be common knowledge.

On a personal level, it is crucial to our individual health to know all about our reproductive systems: what they look like, what their functions are, what doctors we should see and when, and how to take proper care of ourselves in order to ensure proper function and avoid infection and disease. The issue with a lot of sex education programs is that they only cover what reproductive systems do and how they look. Although this is better than nothing, it would be wonderful if schools offered comprehensive sex education courses that taught exactly how to stay safe and healthy in regards to reproductive and sexual health.

Whether people like it or not, reproductive and sexual health issues are public as well as private. It is a public health issue that many people are unaware of how STD’s are transmitted and how to prevent an outbreak from happening. It is a public health issue that many people are unaware that regardless of what sex organs they possess, they need to see a doctor regularly in order to prevent or discover diseases such as cancers of the reproductive organs that can cause infertility, impotence and possibly lead to death.

That being said, it is crucial to educate the public through open discussion of these issues. Now, imagine a world where reproductive and sexual health were as okay to speak about openly as other health topics. That would be a world where people know to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, as well as to get regular pap smears or prostate exams at the recommended age. This is a vision of a much healthier world.