Welcome
Love Your Vulva!
Most of us don’t take much time to think about what our vulvas look like, or pay too much attention to what’s going on “down there”, but knowing what our vulvas look like and what is normal for us can help us to feel comfortable in our bodies and to know when something is not right. Body positivity and self-love is something many people struggle with, and learning to embrace and love ourselves can take time, patience and self-compassion.
More and more people with a vulva are wanting labiaplasty (plastic surgery of the labia) for cosmetic reasons. Sometimes this can be because we don’t think our bodies are ‘normal’ or don’t fit to a certain standard to what we think is ‘perfect’. For some people, we might never see another person’s vulva, and often the vulvas that we might see in advertising, social media and pornography are usually airbrushed and don’t show us how diverse vulvas actually look. Being able to see the wide range of vulvas that exist can help us to realise that our vulva is normal and beautiful, which is why we have made this blog full of resources that celebrate vulvas!
The Labia Library
Women’s Health Victoria
The Labia Library is a website created by Women’s Health Victoria that includes vulva facts, information, advice and a photo gallery of labia. It describes the anatomy with a drawing diagram and some information about normal labia.
http://www.labialibrary.org.au/
The Vulva Gallery
Hilde Atalanta
The Vulva Gallery is a website that shows drawings of vulvas accompanied by personal stories. There is a book called “A Celebration of Vulva Diversity” that includes lots of artwork, stories and other information about the vulva. The book is fun, positive and inclusive with lots of bright colours and very easy to read. Check out The Vulva Gallery on Instagram too!
https://www.thevulvagallery.com/the-vulva-gallery-book/the-book
Petals
Nick Karras
Petals is a book of vulva photographs that aims to capture their beauty and variety. The photographs were shot in black and white, but are presented in sepia tones
Femalia
Joani Blank
Femalia is a collection of 32 full colour photographs of the vulva that embraces their diversity.
The Great Wall of Vagina
Jamie McCartney
Jamie McCartney created an artwork of over 400 vulvas and named it “The Great Wall of Vagina” – although it actually showcases genital castings of many vulvas. There are some vagina and penis mould artworks too.
Celebrate Vulva!
These galleries are designed to celebrate and embrace the diversity and variety of vulva. Hopefully you can see just how different our vulvas can be, just like all of the other parts of our bodies. You might even feel more comfortable to check out your own vulva and see what is normal for you.
SHQ Library
If you would like to see the books mentioned in this blog, there is no charge to access our library, although an appointment is needed. If you want to borrow books and resources – joining is only $5! Visit our library page for more information.
References
Atalanta, H. (2019). The Vulva Gallery. The Netherlands: This is us books.
Blank, J. (2011). Femalia. San Francisco, CA: Last Gap.
Karras, N. (2003). Petals. Korea: Crystal River Publishing.
Sharp, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). Educating women about normal female genital appearance variation. Body Image, 16(70-78). doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.11.006
