When You Are Battling Body Shame In The Bedroom, Remember This

There comes a time in every grown woman's life when she finds herself in the middle of an unexpected sex session.

Unfortunately for many of us, the sex that catches us by surprise will look more like a Saturday Night Live skit starring Maya Rudolph than a sweaty Paula Patton character returning from the gym with Michael Ealy waiting on her for some intense makeup sex. This was the topic of conversation a few happy hours ago when my girls and I discussed what to do when good sex catches you off guard.

“You dip out to the bathroom real quick ‘Whitley Gilbert’ style to get it together and hope the lights are out or he’s half asleep when you come out.”

“Try your best to hold on to her (the wig) and hope she makes it through the ride with you.”

“Getting under the covers is key. Once that happens that fool can’t tell the difference between Frederick’s and Fruit of the Loom.”

Whether your husband catches you before you can undo your twist out or you’ve decided within the first 5 minutes of your date that you'll be grabbing your ankles for the faux Boris Kodjoe sitting across from you, what's a girl and her waist trainer to do?

The last thing you want to do is ask a man to give you five minutes to pin down your lace front or pull a Houdini move getting undressed under the covers so he won't see your stretch marks.

That's not exactly "setting the mood" now is it?

Between waist trainers, lace front wigs and just general body insecurity, my friends and I were surprised to discover there's a whole lot of people who have gotten creative to avoid baring it all in front of a partner when they felt like they weren't bringing their best to the bedroom. I’m sure some women have bounced around the house in their birthday suit in front of their boyfriends without a care in the world that the “hedges aren’t trimmed” but how many of us are still hiding under the covers or bolting for the light switch when your man is unexpectedly in the mood. After having a c-section last year, my hormones were all over the place, and with my newborn, I barely found the time to shower most days, let alone do my hair. My sexual self-confidence took a hit and there were times I found myself too self-conscious to enjoy sex with my husband.

[Tweet "There comes a point where we have to accept our flaws in the flesh, literally."]

Life happens and in between pregnancy, losing and gaining weight, and embarrassing birthmarks there’s something to be said about loving the skin you’re in both in and out the bedroom. It’s easy to have high self-esteem when you’re out in the world with your waist snatched and the winged eyeliner no one knows took you a half hour to perfect, but your sexual self-confidence can take a hit when the clothes come off and you can no longer hide behind that extra help.

If worrying about your wig, your weight, and everything in between is getting in the way of your sexual self-confidence, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. He's probably more nervous than you are.

While you're sweating some unshaved legs there's a chance homeboy is worrying about his own performance and how long he can he can last too much to care about you skipping the Nair. Sex for the first few times is all about learning what gets your partner off, how high their freak flag flies and seeing how your partner reacts to you without your clothes on. But the good news is that sexual chemistry isn’t all about perfection as much as it as pure attraction.

It’s complicated.

You know how Drake said, “Sweat pants, hair tied, chillin' with no make-up on…”? The very things you’re the most self-conscious about may be what gets him going.

2. You're probably more worried about your wig than he is.

I’ve always felt like morning sex is the absolute worst. I’m the absolute worst version of myself before ten and “sunrise” service has never quite been my thing.

I’m groggy, I need to brush my teeth and most importantly my wig is probably lying next to me which means I’m not feeling the slightest bit sexy. Nonetheless, you can’t tell my husband that I’m not workin’ a satin bonnet like Rihanna pulling a double shift at Walmart during the holidays. There’s something special that comes with any long-term relationship, and honestly, any man that’s really into you knows that you have the potential to be a 10 even if you’re feeling like a 5. If a little lace front is enough to make or break the mood, maybe he’s not the man for you.

[Tweet "Any man that’s really into you knows that you have the potential to be a 10 even if you’re feeling like a 5"]

3. He's not perfect either.

When it comes to being self-conscious in the bedroom, I think part of the reason is that we give men too much credit. Men are socialized to be more confident and usually there’s an implied message with them of the more unkempt the better. I mean, think about it. How many commercials have you seen that sell the ultimate sex symbol as a guy who’s rocking 5 o’clock shadow, with grease on his hands as he’s bent over in the summer sun sweating under the hood of a Mustang?

Exactly!

Bet you don’t see his behind running for the bathroom to get it together before he gets some. The point is men have insecurities as well and don’t always look the most polished or put together, but somehow that works to their advantage. You’re not the only one worried about everything falling apart during foreplay. Rest assured that even though homeboy may seem like he’s not phased, he secretly may worry if you’re into his dad bod, his crooked toes or his uneven hairline.

4. There's no Photoshop in Kim K's bedroom either.

Just keep in mind that no matter how mind-blowing Kim K.’s hip to waist ration is or no matter how retouched Amber Rose’s backside looks on Instagram, there is no Mayfair filter in the bedroom. When it gets down to the real deal we all have dimples in our booties, a random roadmap of stretch marks, or maybe even a c-section scar. If we all tripped on a birthmark or two shaped like Plankton from Spongebob, none of us would be getting any.

5. Good sex gets messy.

I always say if you’re not leaving the room with a loose track or two or an eyelash hanging on for dear life, you’re not doing something right. But seriously, being preoccupied with looking perfect during sex will totally distract you from what you came to do. The best sex happens when partners are focused on pleasing one another and not putting on a show.

Sex is just about as much as taking all your clothes off as it is about revealing how you feel on the inside, which means that no matter how "sexy" you may appear your confidence gets magnified in the bedroom. Sharing a moment of intimacy with someone, as difficult as it may be means revealing and dealing with your insecurities. Many of us cover or hide what we feel the most insecure about instinctively whether it means we're constantly fixing our hair or choosing positions that will downplay our "difficult" areas.

When you're preoccupied with how your boobs look without the extra lift of a push-up bra, it can prevent you from truly connecting with your partner. The battle with body shame is something you need to conquer way before the bedroom and long before the clothes come off.