Be honest: How much do you really know about what's going on down below? For all the attention we pay to our private parts, there's still so much mystery surrounding them. But understanding your anatomy is not only key to enhancing your pleasure, it's also essential to keeping yourself healthy.

Wanna find out more about your body parts... down there? Click on each picture to take the fun, interactive quiz on what's what, who's who, and OMG!It's called what now ??

Warning! These quizzes have graphic images and content. If you don't want to know what an actual vulva or penis looks like in real life -- then don't click.

Now let's talk about MASTURBATION!

Why? Because chances are, you're going to want to explore your body parts...down there and because it's perfectly normal and sexually healthy. At myelsie.org, we want to reinforce positive sexual health: not only should you be informed about STI's and unwanted pregnancy, but you should know about sexual pleasure and desire. In fact, we believe that every teen boys and girls must be sexually efficient. That means, they should have the ability to say 'no' to unwanted sexual encounters; the ability to assert one's own sexual desires and wishes; and the ability to take responsible precautions in sexual encounters (like using birth control). In fact, we believe that if a teen girl or boy who doesn't know about the positive aspects of sexuality will not become a sexual advocate for his or her own health.

The sexual lives of teenagers include a wide range of behaviors, including complete abstinence, masturbation, mutual masturbation, and oral, anal, and vaginal sex. What is more, these behaviors might involve a variety of sexual partners and occur in a number of relational contexts.

Pleasing Yourself

Although masturbation is often treated as taboo, it's entirely normal and extremely common.  As a baby or toddler, you probably explored your body to find out where you began and ended, and what felt good. This kind of experimentation usually evolves into masturbation, but children often receive a puzzling message from parents at this point. They are discouraged from touching themselves and hands are slapped away, which tends to leave a feeling that sexual exploration is a thoroughly bad thing.

It doesn't stop children from doing it, but it may mean that boys masturbate hurriedly and furtively in order not to be caught - which may lead to premature ejaculation in later life. Girls grow up feeling they should never admit to masturbating, let alone do so in front of a partner.

Lots of scare stories have grown up around sexual self-exploration over the centuries. People are told that it makes hair grow on your palms, makes "real" sex unsatisfying, and that it's only for the sad and desperate. None of these tales are true, but the overall result of the negative messages around the subject is that masturbation is seen as a sad activity for desperate people, which shouldn't be valued or discussed.

Different Kinds of Touch

Masturbation can be all the more satisfying if you vary the ways in which you touch yourself. Choose a time when you can be alone, relaxed and comfortable, and lie back and run your hands over your body. Try strokes, caresses, nips, pinches and gentle scratches.

No one is born knowing how their own body or anyone else's responds to sexual stimulation. You have to learn by trial and error. Since everyone's different, the only way of finding out how to please your partner is to learn from them. It's also common and normal for adults in happy relationships to feel like pleasing themselves at times.

Taking Your Time

Concentrate on areas that particularly excite you, but try not to stimulate only the most obvious bits. You're likely to bring yourself to orgasm by stimulating your penis or clitoris, but it will be more arousing, and your climax more satisfying, if you explore as much of your body as possible.

Sharing Your Discoveries

When you've had a chance to explore your body and your responses alone, you could think about sharing your discoveries with your partner. Watching them pleasure themselves can be arousing, and it's also the best way to learn about what pleases each of you in the bedroom.

Mutual masturbation or body rubbing has a variety of advantages. It's safe, with no risk of pregnancy or infection. Non-penetrative sex also reduces the pressure to perform. Losing an erection or coming before your partner doesn't have to spell the end of love-making. All in all, brushing up your masturbation skills can add a lot to your sex life.