My mom is 56, retired, and still one of the most open‑minded Asian parents I know—sharing boldness, humour, even her taste in lingerie.
I remember one afternoon she pulled a completely new, sexy lingerie set from her wardrobe and handed it to me, saying, “Girls your age will wear this beautifully.”
She was open in ways many Asian parents aren’t. Yet beneath that openness, we never spoke about sexual health or desire. Because these topics were never brought up at home, I grew up seeing them as deeply taboo — even between mother and daughter, talking about them would have felt awkward and shameful.
Seeing this, I started to notice how rare such openness was. I envied mothers and daughters who could speak openly about the female body from an early age — so they could gain essential knowledge through their own experience, and learn to face their bodies and beauty with confidence. They could explore pleasure safely, learn the basics of physiology and sexual education together, and normalise curiosity about their bodies, whether growing into adulthood or navigating the changes of aging. To me, that had to be the sweetest, most intimate time a mother and daughter could share.
Yet for my mother and me, and for so many women I knew, the conversation never reached that level. There was a gap—not just between my mom and me, but among women in general. We swapped skincare tips and wedding stories, but we rarely talked about the questions sitting just under the surface: irregular periods, the awkwardness of first orgasms, feeling self-conscious when naked, or the shy embarrassment of buying sex toys or contraceptives.
The gap is where we want La Casa 18 to begin and grow.
La Casa 18 exists to make these conversations possible — to normalise curiosity, desire, and self-exploration, and to give women the space to feel at home in their own bodies.
I hope that one day I’ll feel open and comfortable sharing my thoughts about these long-“taboo” topics with my mom. Until then, I’ll be committed to creating spaces where women can feel free to speak, explore, and connect.
Co-Founder, C.
