Newsletter #1
The importance of showing diversity

Hi there!

Welcome to the first edition of my shiny new newsletter ✨ During the past four years I’ve been building The Vulva Gallery to be a valuable resource about all things vulva, and a space in which we can share and read experiences. A place where people can be comforted by the realisation: we are normal, and we are not alone. Because all vulvas are unique – just like our hands, noses and eyes are.

On a monthly base I’d like to go deeper into the topics that have been part of the gallery since day one: from the lack of representation in mainstream media and struggles with sexuality and self-acceptance to anatomy and physical conditions. And I’d like to do it together with you.

Do you have any tips: podcasts, articles, videos – anything vulva related that would be interesting to include in my newsletter? Share them with me! I’m also looking for written submissions: are you a sexual health professional and have you written about vulva-related topics? I’d love to hear from you!

...but first, let’s reiterate on the reason why The Vulva Gallery exists in the first place:

The importance of showing diversity
The vulva has been hidden and shamed for many years throughout modern history. On top of that, sexual health education is generally poor in many countries, and body diversity – the representation of physical and/or genital variations – isn’t part of most curriculums. Young individuals aren’t taught that their genitals can look very diverse. When people don’t learn to talk about their body, and when nudity and natural bodies are being shamed and sexualised rather than being normalised, they are more likely to develop a feeling of shame and a negative genital self-image.

To illustrate this, the following story I received in my mailbox is a good example of the issues that can arise out of the lack of representation or proper sexual health education:

“I started hating my body early on in life because of the way society conditions us to see beauty and my vulva was one of my most hated parts. I have been through many negative experiences, have been told that vulvas similar to mine are a result of promiscuousness, and I even remember being shamed by friends when I pointed out a vulva that looked like mine in an art gallery like this one. Since then, I have learned to redefine my conceptions of beauty and take back my body for myself. (...) I still often struggle with my own self deprecating thoughts sometimes, but communities like this make a world of difference. Thank you so much for providing a platform for this conversation. Everyone is so uniquely beautiful and should never have to feel ashamed or afraid about their bodies!” – A., 22 years old

Or read how community members talk about how the lack of representation, the shaming by inexperienced peers or poor sexual education affected their lives and how seeing the wide range of natural diversity has improved how they felt about their vulva and boosted their confidence.

Sexual health education needs to start showing diversity
Teaching individuals about body diversity should be a basic principle of sexual health education. From a young age – even before the onset of puberty – children need to learn that their body is perfectly normal as it is, as there exists such a broad range of ‘normal’. We need to encourage children to understand and embrace this diversity by creating an environment that normalises – instead of fetishises or rejects – different kind of body types. This could play a big part in combatting the problem of low self-esteem; not only will it give young individuals knowledge and confidence about the way they look, but it will also teach them to respect others with different body types by showing that we all look different – and yet we’re all equal.

Sexual health education should be provided throughout children’s schooling; it should be a recurring element of their education, adjusted appropriately to their personal needs at different ages. We must teach kids about body diversity, mutual consent, safe and pleasurable sex, and open and respectful communication – and accompany this information with images illustrating body diversity. We can give the next generation the tools they need to develop a body-positive and respectful mindset, and we can help them become more confident and more resilient in the face of the influences of mainstream media or remarks by any of their uninformed peers.

… and it needs to be inclusive as well
There is as much variation in vulvas as there is in the people that have one. Each person has their own background, their own sexuality, their own gender identity and every person relates differently to their vulva. Taking into account all these variations, an inclusive approach is important – not only in relationship to imagery, but to the language we use as well. Just because someone has a vulva, that doesn’t automatically mean that they identify as a girl or as a woman as well. An essential way to go about this is using gender inclusive language to make sure every individual feels welcome and seen.

Tools for learning or teaching about vulva diversity
To take a step towards diversity-inclusive materials I created the book “A Celebration Of Vulva Diversity” and made a fun vulva card game. For use in classrooms and practices I created a vulva anatomy education set and a clitoris print set. Not only are these materials increasingly being used in practices of sexual health professionals, they are also happily being used by parents and between friends.

It’s wonderful to receive so many emails and story tags of friends playing the card game during game night, parents reading the book with their kids and by educators including the education sets in their workshops and classes. Keep sharing them, I love seeing where the educational material ends up! :)

Share your topics!
My next newsletter will come out in a month! I’m curious about the topics you would like me to touch upon in one of the upcoming editions. Please feel free to share your ideas with me :)

Oh, and I would love it if you’d share my newsletter with others! Do you have a friend, sibling, lover, family member, therapist, or anyone else that you feel would be interested in all things vulva? Please don’t hesitate to forward this newsletter and help me spread vulva-positivity around the world ✨

Till next time,

Hilde xx