For a long time the acquisition of reliable knowledge about sex was very difficult to come by. In order to promote various personal agendas religion, political and personal criteria created an atmosphere of mystery and embarrassment when it came to frank conversations to do with knowledge about sex. Body parts, their functions and possible malfunctions were the most taboo of topics and even frank discussions with health professionals left much to be desired in the way of specific information relating to knowledge about sex.

There is an old adage that states that knowledge is power. Taken within the context that much of today's world views power as a means of controlling others it's likely that saying knowledge about sex equates with power will appear as a negative attribute. However if one looks at power in a different context one sees the positive attributes of such a phrase as knowledge about sex.

The wielding of power is a perceptual concept. It most certainly can be viewed as being more powerful, whether physically, mentally or financially, than another but it also be viewed as being without fear. Usually that which is unknown is feared. We don't know what will happen and therefore we fear the possibilities. They may be something out of our abilities to do something about to change if negative repercussions ensue and therefore our protective instincts kick in and we are fearful.

For instance, indigenous people very often felt that thunder and lightning as well as other notable natural phenomenon were the doings of the gods. They couldn't explain them, they feared the occasional negative results so they came up with ways of placating the gods until the scientific explanations clarified the causative agents behind thunder, lighting and other natural phenomenon such as tsunamis.

Education and advice can be meted out in such a way as to help form personal criteria that is the best result of a wealth of knowledge about a given subject. For the purposes of this article, of course, the subject is sexuality. There is so much misinformation and so many mythological concepts floating around to keep people from enjoying a completely satisfying sexual relationship that I can't do anything but equate knowledge about sex with the power to form a stronger, more satisfying relationship with ones partner. Actually this means forming ones own personal criteria.

Another old adage suggests that the more you know the better off you are. Sometimes that's true and other times, as one tends to joke, one is privy to an overload of information. But all kidding aside the more one knows about something and in this case the more one knows about sexual interactions from the body's structure, to possible functioning difficulties, to health issues to position issues the better one can expect ones sex life to be.

Knowledge about sex can have positive effects when dealing with the possibility of  disease. If one is knowledgeable about the symptoms and repercussions of sexually transmitted diseases, or symptoms of issues beginning to occur in the sexual organs it may be possible to thwart a potentially serious problem before it reaches the point at which it can't be treated.

Knowing how things are supposed to work and monitoring oneself to learn what's normal and what's not can even result in such an important eventuality as saving one's life.