Some days it feel like dicks are everywhere. They are scribbled on walls, on people’s faces, and even hoisted up above the crowds in penis festivals. Sure, it’s hilarious or whatever…but in humor there is always truth – Vulva’s are denied such public space and the consequences of not knowing our vulvas span the ridiculousness of not being able to pick our own out of a lineup to the devastating impact of getting adequate medical attention pretty damn late in the game.
But in the past year or so, vulva’s have been making a comeback. Across the arts, medicine, and the good old market, vulvas are being brought into the light and acknowledged in serious conversations physical, physcological, societal and sexual health.
In case you missed the sign of the times from Janelle Monae’s inspirational music video, here is a recap of breakout vulva moments in 2018. It’s finally happening people!
Art: Vulva’s are the focus of more public art.
Art inspires a feeling, a way of envisioning a changed world, and let’s us know we are not alone. This is about more than scribbling a vulva next to every penis on a bathroom stall. Here’s to hoping energy will continue to build on the great vulva art of 2018!
Montreal took the banner for holding its first vulva festival, Festivulve. On the illustration front, Hilde Atalanta of the Netherlands, creator of the celebratory and diverse Vulva Gallery got her book funded in just 11 days on Kickstarter. And, while the U.S. could still take some notes, there were ways for just about any vulva to get involved with a cross country vulva printing road trip, much more magestical than a fingerprint we do say.
Artists of the vulva can serve as a powerful educators and activists, using their voice to advance a world more inclusive where vulva is more than gender identity, or euphemized as flowers and cats (If you prefer cats in anatomy videos, here ya go). Yes, momentum is been building, coming a long way since Jamie McCartney’s 2015 international “Wall of Vagina” (actually they were vulvas). We can all benefit from more vulva art, and in that 2018 should be a sign of greatness to come.
Medicine: Vulva conditions and painful sex gained a bit more room in public dialogue.
This is a shocking number. The The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports nearly 75% of women are likely to experience painful sex in their lifetime. At a given moment…https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pelvicpain/conditioninfo/howmany
And as research shows, a “large majority” don’t communicate pain to their partner, it still needs to be said – sex should not be painful. If it is, something is wrong. Unfortunately societal conditioning, embarrassment and ignorance (and institutional dismissal of female pain!) surrounding vulvas lead many people to either go months and years without seeking care or receiving proper diagnosis.
Even though about half the population may have a vulva, and most of the population came into existence via one, chances are far fewer have heard of the following not nearly exhaustive list of vulva conditions that need proper treatment: dyspareunia, lichen sclerosus, vaginismus, vaginal agenesis, vulvar vestibulitis, vulvodynia, vaginal stenosis, ect.. And female sexual pain, including vulva conditions are not as understood by the medical community as you might assume.
But why?!! Earlier in 2018, Lili Loofbourow’s brilliant exploration into female sexual pain highlighted the VAST GAPING discrepancy in clinical trial focus on the severe physical pain some women experience during sex — vs. erectile dysfunction.
PubMed has 393 clinical trials studying dyspareunia. Vaginismus? 10. Vulvodynia? 43.
‘The Female Price of Male Pleasure,’ Lili Loobourow
Erectile dysfunction? 1,954. [in quote box]
2018 was an important year in bringing the connections between female or vulva pain and what is happening in the medical community to light. The good news, the number of articles indexed in PubMed is finally ramping up for vulvodynia (a general term for pain conditions of the vulva experienced by an estimate 16-18% of women). Out of the 700 indexed for vulvodynia, over half were published in the last 8 years, despite “vulvodynia” being first clinically identified in 1987…over 30 years ago.
And major outlets like the New York Times, and The BBC and The Guardian have finally written about conditions like vulvodynia in the past year or two, in addition to hosting columns or special series about female sexual health. OBGYN Jen Gunter teamed up with editors at the NYT to address health issues and wrote with due fury to recap the long way we still have to go.
Overall, 2018 was a great year for kicking off deeper conversations and more diverse perspectives on vulvas and the history behind where we are today in vulva medical care.
Industry: Even capitalism is getting the message. Vulva’s had a breakout year in advertising and vulva-centric products.
A lack of products on the market to meet ones needs generally indicates a lack of recognition of those needs. In other words, a misunderstanding a consumers value, or misvaluing a consumer. Take for instance the dramatic rise in just the last few years reconciling the longstanding demand from consumers for better options in IUDs and menstrual cups (Target is now carrying at least four brands of menstrual cups!)
In 2018, multiple women brought their own products to market out of frustration that their needs were not being met, like in-home options to to treat the vaginal tissue and pelvic floor muscles, healing magnetic vaginal dilators and a genius customizable penetration device funded entirely by a Kickstarter campaign. A side-effect of more products on the market, is consumer education about why they could benefit from those products, resulting in companies acknowledging…vulvas!…and their diversity of sizes, shapes, lifestyle choices, and health issues.
On the advertising front, some companies are pledging to be “less sexist” and some are actually walking the talk with a surge of body positive centric campaigns in 2018. Let’s be honest, people are still feeling the pressure to look good, but one company went where none has gone before. Libresse’s “Viva La Vulva,” brought body positivity down on home to vulvas and got a lot of notice with it’s very catchy ode. With advertising’ power to shape our perceptions in dramatic ways, the more real vulva’s the better.
Marketing might not be the best way to affirm the vulva’s existence, and we hope there comes a day when acknowledging vulvas and periods in ads isn’t awarded as an act of bravery. But we will take it as another sign vulvas are moving on up.
Conclusion: Vulvas are joining the zeitgeist, but this is just the tip of the iceberg, (or the clitoral hood if you’ve been paying attention).
Yes. Vulvas are joining the zeitgeist. So stay tuned for more in vulva art, medicine and lifestyle. We are going to be diving into these issues here at Know Your Vulva. In the meantime, “Boy it’s cool if you got blue. We got the pink”