So I shaved my bikini area for the first time. I'm tired of pads and blood chunks of period offal getting stuck in the hair, and a lot of girls have recommended it to me said it was pretty comfortable, so I went ahead with it. Afterward, I asked my mom if we had any bikini-safe lotions, and she gave me her advice. Normal stuff, right?

A little while afterward, she calls me back into her room and says that I shouldn't shave there anymore. She says that "shaving there is opening doors to getting into 'trouble.'" She insists that (even with clothes on) it makes everything "accessible," and that girls just have to "start showing it off" once they've shaved. I get where she's coming from (she's had several trysts out of marriage), with me trying new things and having my first boyfriend and everything, she's scared that I'm going to make a choice that I'll regret. But I already decided, a long time ago, that I wanted to save my first time for my wedding night. It has nothing to do with my family's religion; I just feel that that first time is special, and I wouldn't want to share it with anyone else. I'm very firm on this decision, and have explained that to my boyfriend, who understands and respects my decision wholeheartedly. My mom also knows about this decision.

It just made me feel sick to my stomach. Does she really think I'm just going to start flashing everyone I see? This isn't the first time she's done this, either. Long before I met my boyfriend, I asked about birth control to try and tame my periods (which are heavy and very painful), and she started asking me why I "wanted to go out and have sex with everyone."

I don't know. I just feel bad about it. Sorry about the long post.