How proud are you of your vagina? We know:it's a bit of a silly question. A question that is rarely asked, too. But a question that should be asked, right? In fact, it is asked with some regularity. In investigations. And guess what? There are still many women who think their vagina is an ugly thing. And a lot of women still find it an embarrassing subject. The Belgian sexologist Goedele Liekens believes that this may well change. And I actually agree with her! That's why we're just talking about vaginas and labia this time.
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Join the average men's evening and there is one common thread in the conversation. Offe, a flesh-colored thread, if you know what I mean 😉 . That's right:the penis. Men seem to be a lot looser when it comes to their genitals than we ladies. Also striking, and now I quote Goedele:'the penis only comes in three sizes. Big, huge, and gigantic .' There will probably also be a less confident man – and ditto penis – here and there. But in general we can cautiously conclude that most gentlemen are quite proud of what they have in their house. Or in the pants.
It is often very different for women. First, most women don't talk about their vagina very openly. The mere mention of that thing gives many of us the shame on the jaws. There is apparently a reason why we prefer to keep our lips tight. And that brings us to point two:many women are even ashamed of their vagina. They think he's ugly. The term 'labia' can suddenly be taken very literally.
Where does that negative self-image around the vagina come from? Goode has an idea. Women are stars in themselves comparing themselves to others. But how do you know if your vagina is a bit 'average'? When you start from images from the porn industry, you quickly get a distorted picture. Not only about what sex entails, but also about what a vagina looks like.
That is why there is now, for all us insecure women, the solution. The designer vagina. I get shivers when I hear the word. Anyway:nowadays you can buy a new vagina as a woman. That still sounds like a present. Until you realize that your labia are surgically reduced and tightened. It also happens frequently in the clinic where Joyce had her eyelid correction done. Mostly with young girls. And all this to meet that ideal. I wonder if they also immediately thought of a designer birth. In fact, we are being led to believe that the vagina should be a bit more perfect. Personally, I don't think my vagina is my most beautiful body part. But to be ashamed of it or to be cut into it, that is going too far for me. Besides, is the penis such a piece of natural beauty?
What's wrong with my vagina, I hear you ask. Good question! I was curious myself. But the biggest downside (or actually:downsides) to the 'regular' vagina seem to be the labia. They could be a bit smaller. Just a fashion ideal, if you ask me. Did you know that there is a tribe in Uganda where the women stretch each other's labia? After all, the following applies:the bigger the lip, the more fun.
We really don't have to pick each other's pussy lips, if you ask me. That's another extreme. But it is time we started to think more positively about our vagina. Goedele says:it's all in a name. If women don't want to be ashamed of their genitals anymore, we can at least start naming them differently.
What's in a name? That name actually says a lot. labia. The Dutch language is the only one in which the labia (sounds better doesn't it?) have been given the prefix 'shame'. According to Goedele Liekens, that may change. Because we are not talking about the pubic glans, or the pubic ball.
Do you have an idea? What better name could we call labia? Goedele himself had already come up with an idea:proud lips. Do you think that sounds better too? Or do you have your own idea for a good name? Then do your part to break the taboo surrounding the vagina. Vote for an alternative name, or share your own idea. And who knows, you might even win a sex class from Goedele Liekens, or her new Vagina Book.
