Different Vulvas

Different Vulvas
Part of HuffPost Lifestyle. ©2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
Viva la vulva, as 10 people cast their bits in plaster to show its diverse beauty.
Sign up and we'll email you a daily dose of lifestyle stories, covering sex, relationships, health, wellness, money, and green living.
Liz Truss Says She Will Start Cutting Taxes 'From Day One' If She Becomes PM
Penny Mordaunt Campaign Forced To Change Launch Video After Embarrassing Gaffes
Tory Leadership Candidates Under Pressure Over 'Unfunded' Tax Cut Plans
Penny Mordaunt Announces That She Is Entering Tory Leadership Race
Lauren Goodger Announces Tragic Death Of Her Newborn Daughter Lorena
Grant Shapps Unveils Plan To Slash Taxes And Hike Defence Spending
Florence Pugh Pokes Fun At Instagram's Double Standards With Sheer Dress Photos
Kate Garraway 'Taking It Day By Day' After Husband Derek Draper Spends Two Months In Hospital
Jeremy Hunt Says He Would Make Esther McVey His Deputy Prime Minister
Sugababes Singer Keisha Buchanan 'Sets The Record Straight' After Reunion Comments
Part of HuffPost Lifestyle. ©2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
Over half the population has one, yet we’re still really, really confused about vulvas.
Almost half (46%) of 16 to 24-year-olds are not confident they know exactly what a vulva is, according to new research by the period care brand Callaly. So let’s get that cleared up from the start: the vulva is the external genitals, including your labia, clitoris and vaginal opening. The vagina is the bit inside.
But even among those who are clued-up on the anatomy, there’s still a lot of vulva hatred going on. Almost a third (29%) of people aged 16 to 35 have worried about whether their vulva was abnormal, while 40% of 16-24 year olds and 37% of 25-34 year olds wished they had a “neat, symmetrical shaped vulva”.
In addition to this, 22% of 16 to 24-year-olds and 15% of 25-34s have considered changing their vulva themselves, either by cutting or bleaching it, and 13% of 16-34s are planning to have surgery on their vulva. More than half (55%) of 16-24s and 40% of 25-34s agreed there is too much pressure on people to have ‘perfect’ vulvas.
But what even is the “perfect” vulva anyway? Spoiler: there’s no such thing.
To prove it, 10 brave participants have cast their vulvas in plaster, shedding light on how diverse vulvas really are. Some of them have also shared how their relationship with their vulva has changed over time.
“As a teenager, I started looking at porn and it was all white people,” said Rubina Pabani, a 33-year-old podcaster from Margate. “I noticed I had more hair and a different structure, so I immediately thought something was wrong with me.”
Another anonymous contributor added: “I felt so uncomfortable that I wanted to cut my vulva. I remember being sat on the toilet with a pair of nail scissors, ready to cut it off. At the time, when I was 11, I genuinely thought I was the only person who had a vulva like this but there are billions of different vulvas, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. If we all looked the same, it would be really boring.”
Others supporting the campaign include Lydia Reeves, now 29, who had a distorted view of her vulva due to seeing porn aged 14 and was desperate to turn 18 so she could get labiaplasty. She didn’t end up getting the surgery and now makes body casts of people with vulvas to help them embrace their own bodies.
Vic Jouvert, a non-binary trans man, also took part, after going on testosterone and experiencing ‘bottom growth’. “It’s probably the most trans part of my body,” says Vic. “I mean, my whole body is trans, but I like that this part of my body is different from what you were taught your genitals should look like.”
Ginny, 24, who posts under @MyDisabledSexLife , is another ambassador, and wants to remind others that disability shouldn’t automatically be an obstacle to sexual pleasure.
Jody Elphick, who’s Callaly’s “vulva diversity campaigner”, hopes the photos will help others to gain a new appreciation of their vulvas.
“We knew this conversation was long overdue, but it wasn’t until we got the results of our research back that we realised how serious the problem is,” she said.
“For such a high proportion of people to be walking around thinking there is something wrong with their perfectly healthy vulva is nothing short of a crisis. We hope this campaign will help dismantle the culture of shame and secrecy surrounding vulvas, spark frank conversations, and encourage improvements in the education system so that future generations can feel more confident in their own bodies – whatever shape, size or colour their vulva happens to be.”

Why Marvel's Karen Gillan Embraces Her Anxiety
Your New Must-Try: Sautéed Dandelion Toast
The Only Marathon Training Plan You'll Ever Need
Your June Horoscope: Communication Clarity
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Anna Medaris Miller
Anna Medaris Miller is a writer and editor in New York City who has years of experience reporting and writing on various health topics.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Should You Be Worried About A Plan B Ban?
9 Types Of Bug Bites You Shouldn’t Ignore
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
The Right Way To Do An Elimination Diet
What Is TikTok's Dangerous 'Blackout Challenge'?
Do Anti-Bloat Supplements Really Work?
What It's Like To Live With Ongoing Lyme Disease
'Sometimes Self-Care Means Discipline'
The 10 Best Air Purifiers, According To Doctors
10 Places To Buy Plan B Online That Deliver To You
'I’m An Abortion Doula And I Won't Stop Fighting'

Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in.

Why trust us?

Who wants a portrait of their lady parts?
Every day for the last year and a half, Hilde Atalanta has painted a picture of one vulva. At first, inspiration came from her imagination; then, from the internet; and, most recently, from women who send her photos of their goods.
For the Amsterdam-based illustrator who also paints full bodies and faces, vulvas are compelling portrait subjects. “You have some people who have big noses, some have small noses, but in all those standard sizes, you have a lot of these tiny differences in character—it’s the same with vulvas,” she says.
A vulva, by the way, is the name for the visible part of what most people just dub "vagina." It encompasses all the external parts of the female nether regions including the mons pubis (fatty patch perched atop your pubic bone), the labia (inner and outer lips framing the vaginal opening), the clitoris and its protective hood, and more.
Together, Atalanta's colorful sketches make up The Vulva Gallery , an Instagram phenomenon showcasing more than 550 vulva illustrations. Her gallery, she hopes, will help people celebrate their down-there diversity, whether or not they identify as women. “We seem to strive for some kind of normal or perfect, but normal doesn’t really exist, so every vulva is normal in its uniqueness,” she says.
So true. "Some are wrinkly, and some are really tout, and some sort of gape a little; some completely close up the entrance to the vagina, and all of that is variations of healthy and normal," says Lee Roosevelt, Ph.D., a midwife and clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing who just happens to see about 35 patients (and thus vulvas) per day.
Here's a sampling of some of Atalanta's awesome vulva illustrations, with expert commentary about what you're looking at, exactly. Full disclosure: After checking these out, you just may wind up deciding your vulva should be immortalized, too.
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:41pm PDT
Researchers surveyed more than 3,000 U.S. women and found that 83.8 percent of them did at least some grooming, according to a 2016 JAMA Dermatology study . Young, white, and educated women, as well as women whose partners preferred it, were most likely to tend their gardens.
Perhaps that's why more women seem to be concerned about the size, shape, and color of their vulvas these days. "If you've got a forest, you can't see the rocks," says Lauren Streicher, M.D., an ob-gyn in Chicago and the medical director of the Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause at Northwestern University Memorial Hospital, "and now everyone's looking."
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Oct 3, 2017 at 7:30am PDT
Of course, not everyone's baring all. In her clinical practice, Roosevelt finds the bush is coming back. For some women, that's a good thing since it can mean avoiding shaving- and waxing-induced folliculitis (inflamed hair follicles), razor burn and other complications.
One study even found that the more frequently and completely folks groomed, the more likely they were to have STIs. (That may have to do with the little nicks hair removal can create in the skin, allowing bacteria and viruses to infect, but the study authors point out there's still no evidence that shaving causes the increased STI risk.)
While Roosevelt doesn't judge any grooming habits (or lack thereof), “the more we talk about vulva and its variations," she says, "the more accepting women are of their bodies and the more accepting they are of it in its natural state.”
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Jul 25, 2017 at 7:34am PDT
Do your labia minora hang low? Own it, advocates Atalanta, who started what turned into The Vulva Gallery after learning about the global rise in labiaplasties.
“Cutting away a body part that is so sensitive, a very important part of your erogenous zone, something so delicate, just because you are afraid that your partner might not like it really hit me,” she says. (She’s cool, by the way, with such surgeries for physical comfort or medical reasons.)
Women’s health experts concur: Labia minora that aren’t so, well, minor aren’t only totally normal; in Roosevelt’s words, “they’re these pretty little wings.”
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Mar 14, 2017 at 10:09am PDT
Just like one boob is often bigger than the other, one side of the labia minora can be longer than the other. Nothing to worry about, experts say, although when both sides are super long, some women can experience issues like discomfort biking, embarrassment wearing yoga pants, or trouble peeing straight.
"There are some theoretical health concerns," of long or asymmetrical labia minora, says Karen Horton, M.D., a plastic surgeon in San Francisco who specializes in female cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, including labiaplasties. "But in the medical community, it’s normal and natural."
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Oct 28, 2017 at 6:13am PDT
Roosevelt can make a good guess about a woman's BMI and age just based on the looks of her mons pubis—the patch beneath the pubes. "It may be rounder, it may be thinner, how far it extends down before the labia split varies," she says, but women with more body fat tend to have plumper patches.
Women who've gone through menopause, on the other hand, may find theirs slimming, thanks to hormonal changes. "After menopause, you loose fat in your external genitalia," Horton says. In Asia, fat grafting procedures to fluff that deflated pillow are trending, she adds.
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Sep 8, 2017 at 7:03am PDT
Vulvas don’t only differ in color person by person, but they often sport various shades in and of themselves. One of the most common patterns? Inner lips that are a shade—or 50 shades—deeper than the outer lips.
“A lot of women complain that their labia minora are too dark—they’re picturing these teeny little pink things,” Streicher says. But darker inner lips are totally normal.
Attempting to bleach them (or any part of your vulva) is a bad idea, Horton says. "Creams and lasers can create harm," like burns or increased sensitivity, she says. And some can even cause more pigment to form.
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Aug 21, 2017 at 7:00am PDT
This clit don't hide, and that's no big deal since the size and visibility of the clitoris varies as widely as the vulva's other parts, experts say. The clitoral hood can be large or small or in between, says Horton, who occasionally performs clitoral hood reduction surgeries.
"The hood is basically folds of drapery, and a lot of women feel like they have fold after fold after fold of skin there," she says. But none of that matters when it comes to pleasure, Roosevelt says.
Plus, most women’s clitorises look more or less the same during arousal, when it swells and emerges from under the hood. "There’s not sexual response difference in women who have a smaller clitoral hood," Roosevelt says.
A post shared by The Vulva Gallery (@the.vulva.gallery) on Dec 16, 2017 at 7:23am PST
Whether the idea of a below-the-belt piercing arouses you or makes you cringe, “as long as they’re done by safe, experienced, clean piercers, there’s absolutely no risk,” says Roosevelt, who’s had patients who’ve loved their piercings, and others who’ve wanted them removed.
The key is understanding your anatomy. If, for example, your clitoral hood—the bit that’s often pierced—has always been fiercely protected by your your labia, a jewel may be jarring, for better or worse. Some women, Roosevelt says, “don’t want their clitorises stimulated when they’re sitting in a meeting.”
As for this vulva owner: “I like how it shines and how it surprises everyone who sees it," she writes. "My vulva shines, I shine and this is an awesome feeling!”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
External genital organs of the female mammal
For other uses, see Vulva (disambiguation) .
Vulvas of different women ( pubic hair removed in some cases)
Further information: Orgasm § In females

^ Jump up to: a b c d Tortora, Gerard J; Derrickson, Bryan (2008). Principles of anatomy and physiology (12th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. pp. 1107–1110. ISBN 9780470233474 .

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Tortora, Gerard J; Anagnostakos, Nicholas P (1987). Principles of anatomy and physiology (5th ed.). New York: Harper & Row. pp. 727 –728. ISBN 978-0060466695 .

^ Jump up to: a b "Anatomy and Physiology of the Female Reproductive System · Anatomy and Physiology" . Phil Schatz.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020 . Retrieved 14 March 2018 .

^ Jump up to: a b Stevenson, Angus; Lindberg, Christine A., eds. (2010). New Oxford American Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press . ISBN 978-0195392883 . Archived from the original on 5 November 2019 . Retrieved 18 September 2019 . The rounded mass of fatty tissue lying over the joint of the pubic bones, in women typically more prominent and also called the mons Veneris.

^ Gould, George Milbry (1894). An Illustrated Dictionary of Medicine, Biology and Allied Sciences . London: Balliére, Tindall & Cox. pp. 649 , 684, 778–779, 1212, 1610. OCLC 1045367748 .

^ Jump up to: a b c d Hennekam, RC; Allanson, JE; Biesecker, LG; Carey, JC; Opitz, JM; Vilain, E (June 2013). "Elements of morphology: standard terminology for the external genitalia" . American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A . 161A (6): 1238–63. doi : 10.1002/ajmg.a.35934 . PMC 4440541 . PMID 23650202 .

^ Jump up to: a b Marshall, WA; Tanner, JM (June 1969). "Variations in pattern of pubertal changes in girls" . Archives of Disease in Childhood . 44 (235): 291–303. doi : 10.1136/adc.44.235.291 . PMC 2020314 . PMID 5785179 .

^ Jump up to: a b c Pocock, Gillian; Richards, Christopher D. (2006). Human physiology : the basis of medicine (3rd. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 438. ISBN 9780198568780 .

^ Jump up to: a b Tortora, Gerard J; Derrickson, Bryan (2008). Principles of anatomy and physiology (12th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. pp. 235–236. ISBN 9780470233474 .

^ Burrows (7 October 2009). 100 Questions & Answers About Vulvar Cancer and Other Diseases of the Vulva and Vagina . Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 9781449630911 . Archived from the original on 22 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 March 2018 .

^ Neill, Sallie; Lewis, Fiona (6 July 2009). Ridley's The Vulva . John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781444316698 . Archived from the original on 22 January 2022 . Retrieved 14 March 2018 .

^ Young, Barbra; Lowe, James S; Stevens, Alan; Heath, John W; Deakin, Philip J (March 2006). Wheater's Functional Histology (5th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 175–178. ISBN 978-0-443-06850-8 .

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o King, Bruce M. (1996). Human sexuality today (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. pp. 24–28. ISBN 978-0130149947 .

^ Jump up to: a b c Fahmy, Mohamed (27 November 2014). Rare Congenital Genitourinary Anomalies: An Illustrated Reference Guide . Springer. ISBN 9783662436806 . Archived from the original on 22 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 March 2018 .

^ O'Connell, HE; Sanjeevan, KV; Hutson, JM (October 2005). "Anatomy of the clitoris" . The Journal of Urology . 174 (4 Pt 1): 1189–95. doi : 10.1097/01.ju.0000173639.38898.cd . PMID 16145367 . S2CID 26109805 . Archived from the original on 4 March 2022 . Retrieved 5 December 2019 .

^ Wilkinson, Edward J. (2012). Wilkinson and Stone Atlas of Vulvar Disease (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins . pp. 187–188. ISBN 9781451132182 .

^ Lee, MY; Dalpiaz, A; Schwamb, R; Miao, Y; Waltzer, W; Khan, A (May 2015). "Clinical Pathology of Bartholin's Glands: A Review of the Literature" . Current Urology . 8 (1): 22–5. doi : 10.1159/000365683 . PMC 4483306 . PMID 26195958 .

^ Zaviacic M, Ablin RJ (January 2000). "The female prostate and prostate-specific antigen. Immunohistochemical localization, implications of this prostate marker in women and reasons for using the term "prostate" in the human female". Histol. Histopathol . 15 (1): 131–42. PMID 10668204 .

^ Raizada, V; Mittal, RK (September 2008). "Pelvic floor anatomy and applied physiology" . Gastroenterology Clinics of North America . 37 (3): 493–509, vii. doi : 10.1016/j.gtc.2008.06.003 . PMC 2617789 . PMID 18793993 .

^ Maclean, Allan; Reid, Wendy (2011). "40". In Shaw, Robert (ed.). Gynaecology . Edinburgh New York: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. pp. 599–612. ISBN 978-0-7020-3120-5 .

^ Jump up to: a b Puppo, V (January 2013). "Anatomy and physiology of the clitoris, vestibular bulbs, and labia minora with a review of the female orgasm and the prevention of female sexual dysfunction". Clinical Anatomy . 26 (1): 134–52. doi : 10.1002/ca.22177 . PMID 23169570 . S2CID 14737481 .

^ Albert, Daniel (2012). Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary (32nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders/Elsevier. p. 140. ISBN 9781416062578 .

^ Albert, Daniel (2012). Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary (32nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders/Elsevier. p. 2043. ISBN 9781416062578 .

^ "Superficial Inguinal Lymph Nodes — Medical Definition" . www.medilexicon.com . Archived from the original on 12 May 2016 . Retrieved 25 March 2018 .

^ Jump up to: a b c Albert, Daniel (2012). Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary (32nd ed.). Phila
Chirbit Incest
Nepi Asstr
Hot Dude Ass

Different Vulvas

Report Page