This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #BreakTheBias promoting gender equality and a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.
Let's talk sexual empowerment.
The power of knowing your own body
Evidence shows that the power of comprehensive sexual education in- and outside of school can drastically improve girls’ health and well-being. Women who are the master of their own bodies have a better chance for a brighter future, both for themselves as well as for the communities they are part of.
It all starts with gender equality
To advance ourselves as a society, it’s important to ensure that women and girls are empowered with a voice and receive the opportunity to be equal players in decision-making.
One of the main reasons why we started The Oh Collective stemmed from the realization that the sexual wellness industry (targeted at women) was presented through a cis-male gaze originating from a white cis-male dominated industry. The sexual wellness industry needed a shake up, from a female third culture point of view.
Breaking the bias through sexual empowerment
As 4 third culture women we want to #BreakTheBias promoting gender equality through sexual wellness and female empowerment through our products, our community of strong and inspiring women and their stories.
For International Women's Day we asked our community what #BreakTheBias meant for them:
Nico - photographer/artist/model
"In 2019 I finally shaved my head. I contemplated shaving and donating my hair for three year. My friends and family all told me not to. They told me boys wouldn’t like me. They told me I would be cold in winter. They told me that my face was too round to “pull it off.” They told me I would regret it. Eventually, I decided to give my own voice a greater weight than theirs. In that moment, I realized that I could make decisions about my own body. I don’t owe looking a certain way to anyone."
"I think owning our sexuality makes us more powerful and connected to our own body on a deeper level. It's kind of sad that so many women are still feeling ashamed to explore and connect to their own body in a more intimate and sexual way. But I don't blame them because we live in a patriarchal society where everything revolves around male pleasure. It's time to #BreakTheBias around sexual wellness, we need the society to accept that women feel horny too and we deserve to feel good, especially with the state of the world we're living right now. We want to be able to pleasure ourselves in any way we want without feeling guilty or ashamed. That's the ultimate equality right there 😛❤️."
Stephy - student/model
"I always wondered whether I oversexualised women: the way we need to look, how we need to dress and how to behave. These days I recognize I can be myself. I’ve also been lucky to have met partners along the way that cheered me on for the person I am. I have come to better understand myself, my anxieties and my flaws. And I accept them all. I hope one day, all girls can truly appreciate themselves the way they are and overcome any biases set by society."
Simona - Cofounder The Oh Collective
"I think I've always had a deep rooted feeling to #breakthebias. I'm born into a Chinese traditional family where boys were more appreciated than girls. I attended a Dutch school as only Chinese kid. Growing up, I've cherished the thought that 'A (Chinese) girl can do as well as any other (boy or kid). I think that understanding your own body, realizing its strengths and exploring its sexuality are fundamental to building confidence and a better world."
Our favorite International Women's Day Quotes 2022
"Take your pleasure seriously and take your power back."
“Exploring your sexuality starts with you. Masturbation is powerful.”
"A woman who loves and cares for herself is NOT selfish. She is powerful.. and she harder to control or manipulate" — Bethany Webster
Cherella Gessel - Artist / Model
“Haven’t tried yet” allows so much more eroticism than “never!” Believe me.
Diana Lin - Cofounder The Oh Collective
“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” - G.D. Anderson
“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” — Serena Williams
Join The Oh Collective x IWD in Shanghai
8th or March: Sip, paint and appreciate: Our festival A Day For Women
Understand the power of your own body to #breakthebias: start with knowing yourself first.
Come, sip, paint, share your darkest secrets and be in awe of an all female focused exhibition all while sipping and eating the most delicious wines and delicacies.
8th of March: Women's Day Spinning Session @ FlowCycle
Get those dopamine and serotonins flowing with an energizing cycle session at Flow Cycle. Don't sleep on it as we've got special surprises for our community members 💖.
A little going a long way
Starting this month, we will donate 1% of our sales to charities of our communities' choosing. For this month we have chosen to donate to Educating Girls of Rural China whose mission it is to sponsor girls in the rural areas of China to successfully go through their studies by receiving financial aid and psychological support. More on this later.