Different Vulvas
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Different Vulvas
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Viva la vulva, as 10 people cast their bits in plaster to show its diverse beauty.
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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.”
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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.
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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
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