Behind The Taboo is a series created by illustrator Hazel Mead to help break barriers about sexual health and wellbeing. In this series, Hazel talks openly about things like sexuality, how our bodies work and pleasure. She wants everyone—young people and adults alike—to understand that these topics are normal and nothing to be ashamed of. This helps young and older people recognise the stigma that still exist in our society and allows us to challenge these pre-conceptions. Through her illustrations, Hazel encourages people to accept their bodies and promotes an inspiring view of body-positivity. Visual communication (the use of pictures and illlustrations) is a powerful way to break down complex topics including medicine, health and sexuality, it is wonderful to see these topics combined to empower female-identifying people to speak about their bodies and pleasures.

The illustration you see on the right was created by Hazel Mead in collaboration with the Vaginismus Network. It highlights important parts of sex education that many of us wish we’d learned about earlier.

Here at ‘Debunking The Myths’ we are so lucky to be surrounded by healthcare professionals who want to empower people to understand their bodies and overcome the shame surrounding sexual health. By supporting better education about anatomy and encouraging self-knowledge, we hope to help everyone enjoy better sexual health and pleasure.