Personal Stories

There’s a lot of power in recognising yourself in someone else’s story, and thinking: ‘Hey, that’s me, that’s how I feel too!’. Many of us aren’t used to speaking about our vulvas, but it can be very helpful to know that other people have the same kinds of experiences or insecurities.

Since 2017, The Vulva Gallery community has been sharing their personal stories with me. Here you’ll find a selection of personal stories and vulva portraits from all around the world.

Alopecia vulva

My hair loss started a year ago. It began behind my ears, on the top of my head, later my legs and after just two months I had lost all hair on my body. Except on my vulva. I was later diagnosed with Alopecia, an autoimmune disease. Before this, I never thought about my femininity but after this I gave it a lot of thought. All I wish for is for my hair to grow back, and because of this I have decided to not shave the hair on my vulva. Since I figured out how much the hair meant for my femininity and sexuality, how can I then shave off the only hair I have left?

X – 23 years old

Soft, nurturing, powerful

For a long time I was quite self conscious and squeamish of my vulva. I didn't know what was 'normal' or what any one else's looked like. It was all a bit of a mystery down there for me. I got more and more uncomfortable with my vulva when it came to pubic hair, my period, my sex life and unexpected changes that sometimes occurred.

Not long ago I read a book called 'Manhood : The Bare Reality' by Laura Dodsworth. This book is a series of 100 photographs of penis's alongside personal stories of what each persons penis means to them. The diversity was amazing and the stories so insightful. Reading the book made me consider more my relationship with my own body and my vulva, as well as wondering what a vulva equivalent of the same book would look like. I think it's so so important for people to have these conversations around such taboo topics as they are often so engrained and connected with a persons body confidence and how they see themselves and relate with their own body.

Seeing the vulva gallery has been really inspiring for me. It makes us see that each vulva is a beautiful and unique artwork in its own right. It takes away the secrecy and the embarrassment and celebrates openness, honesty and diversity. Vulvas are our first soft, nurturing, creative, powerful, mystical beautiful gateway into this world and owning one is something to be proud of. I am now full of self love and admiration for my vulva.

P – 27 years old

Confidence in myself

I have a vulva type that is typically shown in sexual health education images. Therefore the shape of my vulva was never something I really thought of. However because I didn’t really think about it, I also didn’t know what it could do. I didn't know women could masturbate until I was around 20 – I thought it was just a guy thing. When I found out, I spent a summer in my bedroom getting to know my body and what felt good. This gave me a certain confidence in myself, in my body, and in my vulva – she's perfect as she is. Following The Vulva Gallery has shown me more beautiful individuals with their beautiful vulvas that make them feel good too (I hope beyond all hopes)! You're doing an amazing thing and making the world a better, more loving place.

E – 27 years old

Who I am is enough

Growing up, I was a very precocious child. I relished reading puberty books in secret, learning how my body was changing, and what to expect. Then one day I worked up the courage to use a mirror and see what I looked like down there, for I realised I had no idea. As silly as it may sound, this incidence made me believe I was secretly deformed. One labia was longer than the other, and purple, too. Which convinced me that my flesh was rotting and that I could be seriously ill. I became insecure and unhappy with how my love parts looked. I thought boys would be ashamed, too if they knew what it looked like. That it wasn't symmetrical and skinny or tight.

My relationship with myself became even more complicated as I grew up and into my sexuality. I felt inadequate, impotent. That I didn't really know myself or how to be pleased or what I enjoyed. In my family it is forbidden to even use tampons. I felt immature in comparison to my classmates and friends who knew what sex was like and even just how to insert tampons.

Since then, I've developed a better relationship with myself. Now I realise no one should pressure me to look a certain way, because who I am is enough. I'm still learning about body diversity and trying to heal from an abusive relationship, but thanks to communities like The Vulva Gallery, I've come to better appreciate the human body in all its wonderful colours, shapes, and sizes. Thank you all for giving me an outlet to share my story.

M – 18 years old

I never felt better with my body

I've always had a complicated relationship with my longer inner labia, I think mostly because I started discovering my sexuality very young and I felt dirty when seeing my friends who weren't sexually active yet. But I discovered third wave feminism and body-/sexuality positivity as a teenager and it allow me to progressively change my vision of my body and myself. I still have a few complexes but I feel much better in my body now! I even stopped wearing bras and make up and shaving a few months ago. I never felt better with my body and instead of trying to change myself for others, I started to think that if someone has a problem with my looks, it's their problem and not mine!

Thank you so much for doing what you're doing, and I hope it will help others to feel better with themselves!

M – 22 years old

Like a cheeky tongue

Here’s my vulva, it’s like a cheeky tongue sticking out! It’s usually all covered up with thick pubic hair, but I shave probably once a year just to say hello (and then the itchiness and ingrown hairs remind me why I don’t usually bother!). My long frilly labia have never bothered me, but I’ve always wished my clitoral hood was a bit more tucked away. Then I hear stories of women who have had genital cosmetic surgery and lost some – or all – sensation, which I think is so terrifying it’s not worth the risk at all. Luckily none of my sexual partners have ever said anything to make me feel negative or self-conscious about my vulva. I’m still learning to love my clitoral hood after many phases of insecurity, influenced by the overwhelming promotion of cosmetic surgery that comes up in the search results for ‘large clitoral hood’. But I would rather come to terms with my vulva than let our societal beauty ideals push me to self-mutilation. This page is so liberating for those of us who spent many years wondering if we’re ‘normal’ – thank you!

Anonymous – 25 years old

Your asymmetry is normal

At age 13, I found myself comparing my vulva to those of porn stars. My inner labia protruded a little bit, my skin looked "wrinkly" and one of my labia was bigger than the other. I just felt something was wrong with me. At age 14, I went to my doctor and told her of my concerns and of wanting a labiaplasty surgical procedure. I even contemplated cutting them off myself for one moment. I had some friends as a teenager that always discussed their "perfect vaginas" nonchalantly and would even criticise vulvas that didn't look like theirs. My first boyfriend in high school once said to me, "Your vagina doesn't look like a porn star's vagina." Although I still have days of insecurity, I have finally come to accept and love my vulva, at age 22. It was a journey, indeed.

Additional words: I just received your drawing in the mail and it is PERFECT!!! I teared up. I felt a warmth in me, simultaneously from seeing something that so accurately resembles me, alongside me realszing that I am normal and beautiful just as I am. Thank you. 

As I look at the drawing, I realised that the main reason I'd want this to be published in time on your instagram page, is that I want people to be able to feel/know their asymmetry is normal, just like mine.

L – 22 years old

Viva la vulva!

I can think of so many moments where the opinions of others or the expectations of society led to internalised feelings about my own vulva and labia. Example: I was sixteen, I think, when I was fooling around in the car with my high school boyfriend, and he slipped his hand down my jeans for the first time. No one had done that before and I was really thrilled, but also, super embarrassed because I had a full thick bush... Somewhere along the line (from rumours, porn or Cosmo) I had learned this wasn’t cool, sexy or normal, and I started waxing – full Brazilians that I did myself, secretly in my bedroom. This continued for years until I got older and realised how sexy I think my public hair is, and how annoying it is to worry about waxing it. Now, though I’ve grown it out, it’s sadly not as thick as it used to be, probably from so much waxing. Oh well. Now I love myself with full bush or no hair at all – it’s up to me – and so does my loving partner. It’s amazing and upsetting how social ideas of beauty and sex appeal manifest in our little brains at such a young age, and how much time and effort it can take to unlearn this bullshit. From old boyfriends commenting on my full labia (negatively comparing it to past girlfriends!), to guys in school ridiculing the look/feel of other girls, to not knowing what my longer inner labia even were when I was developing (because sex ed often isn’t comprehensive, body positive or generally empowering for girls), I had to learn/unlearn things with time, on my own. I know these experiences apply to so many people and they build up over time to sneakily create a feeling that you aren’t good enough or normal, but you are! The Vulva Gallery has been huge in contributing to my confidence and growth, and I’ve shared it with so many beautiful friends, many of whom feel somehow less-than because of some attribute of their vulvas/anatomy/hair/whatever. I’m grateful for platforms like this and for all you gorgeous people who support one another and have the courage to be open and honest about your varied bodies. No matter what your vulva looks like or how you feel about it, it’s glorious and sexy and beautiful! Viva la vulva!

R – 28 years old

I don’t have to change a thing

I remember well the process of how my vulva changed when I reached puberty, and also how I thought it was exciting and not shameful in any way. That changed when I became older and suddenly started to feel more ashamed about my body. I started to think about if there was something wrong with my vulva, was there too much hair and did it look different? Today I’m almost back to the stage where I can just enjoy and be relaxed with what my vulva looks like. But I have to keep reminding myself when the bad thoughts come that I know what’s best for my body and that I don’t have to change a thing just to satisfy someone else. I think this account is amazing in showing there is diversity and that all vulvas are beautiful ♥️

– K.

A cute puppy

My relationship with my vulva has been difficult. I was uncomfortable with the changes that puberty brought. I come from a conservative Western country where bodies are generally viewed as shameful and where bodies should be covered – and conversations around the fact that all sorts of vulvas are ‘normal’ don’t happen often. If my relationship with my vulva wasn’t difficult enough, my first boyfriend made horrible comments about my body throughout our relationship, including my vulva (even to our friends). He made me so self-conscious that I hated cunnilingus and I believed that nobody else would find my vulva attractive.

The expectations of men have driven me to hate my body (and I’m an average white woman who meets Western beauty standards!). The same light-skinned, hairless, symmetrical vulvas are everywhere, and I had always wanted one of those ‘perfect pussies’. But your project is making a difference and I love it. I think it’s so important to not let anyone grow up hating their vulva or any other part of their body. It has taken years and yet I’m still learning how to love my body and forget what other people might think of it.

Now that I’ve come this far I can say: no, my pussy does not look like anything my ex-boyfriend called it. It looks like a cute puppy. Or a friendly bear. And I love it!

L – 28 years old

Your happiness is worth it

I grew up in a strict religion and without much knowledge of sexuality. Sure, as a teen, I snuck a peek at a couple of Playboys I encountered, but it was always just a brief glance at the photos before I got caught. While beautiful, the women seemed to all have very similar body types, and while I now realize I was almost certainly looking at ladies who had opted for cosmetic surgery, at the time, my body didn't seem to measure up. I battled body dysmorphia and eating disorders over the years. After a lot of therapy and support, I finally reached a place of self-acceptance, and eventually, love. I have found that taking photos of my body, even just for my own viewing, has helped me to see myself in a more endearing light. I even think I'm pretty cute these days! I'm nearing my 5th decade, and I want to say to all of those who struggle with loving their bodies - please keep trying. You are worth it. Your happiness is worth it.

– L.

Beauty is everywhere around me and in me

Learning to love myself has been an uphill battle my whole life. I’ve struggled with not being skinny enough, pretty enough, or just enough at all. Now, in my young adult life, I am understanding that beauty is everywhere around me and in me. The Vulva Gallery helped me to find love and acceptance in a unique and fun way! xoxo

R – 28 years old

A message of love and acceptance

I want to share a message of love and acceptance. There is so much shame surrounding such a beautiful part of us! It may be the symbol of femininity, but we are told to pick, prune and pluck them. Since a young age I have always been so conscious of pubic hair and was horrified that mine grew earlier than my friend's. Shaving was expected and my sensitive skin didn't like it at all. A couple years ago I said no thank you to causing myself razor burns and rashes, now I shave if I fancy it, not because I feel like I should to be feminine or to be appealing to other people. It was hard but I have accepted my vulva as a part of myself, not separated as an object to be scrutinised by myself for flaunting stubble. Talking to my friends and family about my vulva portrait has started a beautiful conversation on self love and confidence that I will carry through with me in every aspect of my life. I love my vulva! I love my little bean of pleasure and my inner labia. But I also love my sensitive skin, my relentless pubic hair and my vagina that has caused me problems in the past.

This gallery is so important for showing vulva diversity and love for all of them! ️♡

I’ve embraced how it is

About how I feel about my vulva: when I was a little kid I liked it, but growing up I listened to some comments from people, not about mine but just in general. You know, about the look (colour, shape, etc.), and for a short period of time I became a bit worried mine was ugly. I asked the gynaecologist about it on my first visit. She explained to me there are plenty of shapes and colours, just as there are all different kinds of noses on people’s faces (what an analogy!). Well, I learned to accept it as it is. I’m not shy about how it looks, although I’ve noticed it is changing, especially after childbirth. For some reason I think my clitoris is larger, and the labia are getting darker. That’s life, I guess. I’ve embraced how it is and all the changes that will come with age. 

M. – 34 years old

Proud of my uniqueness

- Content warning: this story contains information about self harm which may be triggering to some readers. -

I have always suffered from low self esteem but a really low point for me (and my vulva) was a reaction to a negative comment on the before photos of labiaplasty patients. My self confidence plummeted and I attempted to cut off the parts of my inner labia that are visible when standing: the little extra bits that get caught when riding a bike; the skin that I am conscious of when I stand front on, naked, facing somebody; the sensitive parts that touch my inner thighs when I walk unclothed, reminding me always that they are there; the bits that I tuck inside my outer labia when wearing tight jeans or riding a bike or even just when I want to stand in front of the mirror and pretend that I am ‘neat’. Luckily I didn’t get very far before the realisation of what I was attempting to do took over. I healed with no visible damage but it was the beginning of a journey to self acceptance and confidence.
I found blogs dedicated to women with larger labia and art pieces celebrating female genital diversity. The Vulva Gallery has been the icing on the cake, because to see a vulva depicted from the front, showing the limitless variety in shape, size, texture, colour and every other possible variation alongside positive messages of acceptance is a daily reminder to be kind to myself and continue to try to embrace and be proud of my uniqueness.

C. - 33 years old

Loving every part of my own vulva

- Content warning: this story contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors. -

I’ve never felt self conscious of the way my vulva looked in terms of general aesthetics, so when I found your gallery on instagram I felt kind of confused about why I’ve had a tendency to hide mine for most of my life. I’ve had loving partners who have told me how much they loved it, but I still wasn’t quite comfortable looking right at it. I think I’ve found that my hesitancy to be exposed to myself as well as partners has been a result of my first real boyfriend, who taught me the first things I learned about sex when I was fourteen, and was physically and emotionally manipulative and abusive. I think I didn’t want to engage visually with this part of myself because of how much of my emotional burden it was carrying, if that makes sense. It took many years but I have overcome and unlearnt almost all of the pain and the shame that he made me feel. Seeing your gallery pop up in my feed and looking at all of the different beautiful people you have portrayed has been so helpful in wanting to love every part of my own vulva, and see the beauty in what I have overcome. Thank you for doing this work! It would be an honour to be a part of your gallery.

F. - 

Just as unique and special

I grew up not putting much consideration into my vulva and what it looked like and whether it was up to “men’s” standards and what not. It wasn’t until I became an exotic dancer and began seeing a lot of beautiful photos of porn stars’ vulvas that I realised my vulva was not "perfect", it wasn’t light coloured and completely free of scars and other markings, and I felt it wasn’t cute and small and petit. I became very self conscious about it, embarrassed to show it to new lovers. I’ve even used different bleaching creams and skin fixing methods on it and I even began doing laser hair removal to try to perfect mine. I’m still on my journey to complete self love but at this point in time I feel so much more confident and I’ve grown to appreciate my vulva and love her for who she is. The Vulva Gallery helped me so much in realising that there are so many women like me and my vulva like every other woman’s is just as unique and special. 

A. - 21 years old

Support it, love it and nourish it

I tend to be much meaner to myself than I could ever be towards someone else. I would feel guilty if I just thought something unsavoury about someone else, yet when it came to me, I was the most cruel.

The mean thoughts I had about my body started around puberty. At first, I hated my body for changing and becoming something I had not anticipated. When my mother approached me about wearing a bra for the first time, I threw a fit and screamed at her in rage: how dare she think I have breasts? I hated the sanitary pad talks, the pride my mother and grandmother showed me for "becoming a woman," the new pain I was feeling once a month, but most of all, I hated my body. Why was it so complicated? Why couldn't I have just continued living in my prepubescent body? And why was all of this out of my control?

In my teenage years, as the idea of change settled in and I got over my puberty denial, my thoughts developed and fixated, and the hatred towards my body became more specialised. I hated my breasts for being too apart, my stomach for not being flat enough, my thighs for touching. But my vulva remained my worst enemy. The internet did not help things either: If I saw a meme of a pastrami (or whatever other meat) sandwich that was compared to a vulva, I would think of my vulva: why does it look like that? I didn't look closely at my vulva with a mirror until I was in my twenties because I was afraid of what I would see. I wouldn't let lovers see or touch my genitals because I was too ashamed. I went as far as having a consultation with a surgeon for a labiaplasty, all the while thinking that I should be so embarrassed to show him the horrendous thing between my legs!

A change in perspective has helped me come a long way. Today, I try to approach my body as if it were another person, and I treat it with the kindness and consideration that I would show others.

This includes sustaining it through healthy and filling foods, cleaning it with safe and nourishing products, and letting it rest as much as it needs to. Most importantly, this approach relies on me thinking about my body in a supportive and loving manner. If I find myself not particularly enjoying some aspect of my body, I restrain myself from thinking negative thoughts. For example, I will think "let me wear something that will complement your curvy shape" instead of "this makes my thighs look fat." I will also apologise to my arm if, for example, I accidentally burn it with a curling iron. I will tell my toes they look beautiful in red, and I will ask my stomach to be patient when I have PMS. When considering labiaplasty, or a sugary meal, or getting a tan, or staying up too late, I will ask my body "am I hurting you?"

Today, my labia are just as long as they ever were, and I love them that way! I try to show my vulva how much I care by accessorising it! Recently, it has been sporting a landing strip, which I think compliments it well.

I never want my body to feel like I don't love it. I really do believe that the body is "someone" else: If you treat it badly, it will cower and weaken. If you support it, love it and nourish it, it will flourish, and it will thank you.

R. - 23 years old

Alopecia

I have alopecia, the autoimmune condition where your body rejects your own hair, and sometimes it progresses and spreads all over your body and if that were to happen to me (knock on wood) I wouldn't have pubic hair. So I've very rarely shave all of my pubic hair, mainly then just out of curiosity. I think I look better with hair on my mons pubis tbh. I know some of you'll think "oh that sounds amazing, not having to shave or wax" - but guess what else goes away; eyebrows and eyelashes and hair on your head... It's not something you'd want to wish for so I'm  hoping it won't happen (besides that, your pubic hair is there for a reason just like your facial hair). I used to be self conscious about my vulva like many others but due to accounts and artists like The Vulva Gallery I just feel proud to be able to join in the diversity, in fact having seen so many gorgeous ones I kinda feel mine is too normal, haha! The fact that I have a pesky external hemorrhoid is more of a bother these days, although I know those are very common as well and shouldn't be something to be disgusted or ashamed of either.

This gallery is absolutely amazing and beautiful and I hope everyone finds their way here to see how gorgeous they are 💕

K. - 31 years old

My decorated vulva

I discovered your work recently and I really love what you do. I never really was concerned about my vulva, even when I discovered porn at a young age. But since I began dating guys and having a sexual life I understood there where vulvas considered "beautiful" and others "ugly" and I thought that was really unfair. I apparently have a "perfect pussy", [as my vulva shape is considered in the popular media / mainstream porn, red.] so I guess I should consider myself lucky. But I still think it's awful to rate vulvas by there appearances and I don't need a man's "seal of approval" on mine. I personally like my vulva, and decorated it 3 years ago because I wanted to. I also have a ring on my inner labia that is hidden most of the time since I have really really small inner labia. When I told my friends some of them told me that it's too bad to pierce "such a perfect pussy" and I find that very revealing of the pressure put on women in our society. But I like my pussy this way so I don't care what people think.

A. - 28 years old

Amazing, mysterious and beautiful

I love the female body and having a free attitude with nudity, admiring the beauty of the female body (every single body is beautiful and a unique piece of art) and especially of the vulva: the amazing, mysterious and beautiful part we all have and should be really proud of!

M. - 27 years old

No more hiding

I’m approaching my birthday again. I’ve made a lot of changes in my body lately. I lost 21 lbs in the past year, got a new hair color, and after hating myself since childhood, finally I am trying to love the body I have. It’s the only one I’m going to get!
I’m happy and proud to show most of my body to the world, but I feel my genital area is ugly and shameful: my thighs and butt are my largest fat deposits, the skin is very pale with freckles, it’s sensitive and often red, and I have one labia much longer than the other. My body insecurity keeps me from enjoying sex as well... I just don’t want to think about it or look at it! I remember wishing for many years that I was featureless like a Barbie doll down there. 
So as I approach year 31 of my life, I want to be more open about my body and my feelings, and maybe even be friends with my body. No more hiding. It feels so good to confess these secret feelings I’ve had for so long, and I’m sure many other women can relate as well. So I’m conquering my fear and showing everyone the beauty of my body through The Vulva Gallery! And we can all appreciate our bodies as the gifts they are no matter how we are told they “should” look. Who decides that anyway?

V. - 31 years old

Celebrate the diversity

When I was a little child I thought that I was the only person who had a vulva like mine. I didn't know that the part in between the inner labia was the clitoris. In in the locker room of the swimming pool I had only seen vulvas without the inner labia visible. I remember that I prayed God to change my vulva. My cousin (a boy) told me, after seeing my vulva and my cousin's vulva, that mine was strange. Growing up and learning about the female anatomy, my vision has changed. Even if I hear negative comments from boys and girls about some vulvas that they saw (and also hearing concerns from girls about their vulva), it doesn't hit me so much any more. Now I have a boyfriend who totally changed my consideration about my body and I love it. I appreciate your work and in general the work of artists like you, that celebrate the diversity of the female anatomy.

R. - 20 years old

There is not one way vulvas should look

My husband of 10+ years stopped touching me over the years. I’ve never put that much thought into how attractive or unattractive my vulva looks before that. I developed insecurities because of how “pretty” vulva looks on the internet. Could this be the reason why he doesn’t find me attractive enough? I am grateful for all the courageous women sharing what they look like because now I know there is not one way of how vulvas should look.  

S. - 46 years old

We are life

After finding this group on Instagram I instantly fell in love. Seeing so many people come together and share their stories was amazing. I have always been super self conscious about my body ever since a young age, and once I got into high school my vulva became something I was self conscious about too. It all started with the boys talking about their stories from being with girls stirring around the halls of our school. Hearing them make fun of girls for having pubic hair, no pubic hair, different odours they had, the way it tasted, and to the way the vulva just looked to them made me wonder if I was normal? Could I possibly have a "pretty vulva"? It haunted me for years, and I never wanted to have sex with lights on, have oral sex, or have any guy close up to my vulva. I was too embarrassed and cared more about what those guys thought than what I felt about myself. Over the years with age I became more in touch with my sexuality, I started to care less and less about what men have to say about my vulva because I know the my vulva and reproductive system is what creates life, it's the most magnificent thing I could imagine. I hope more women start to realise how truly perfect we are and that we have the greatest gift ever to this planet...life. We are life. ❤️

H. - 26 years old

A cute compliment

I am Chilean and even though Chile has advanced a lot and the youth are more open-minded; the older people are still very conservative. Sexuality and my naked body was always a taboo subject in my family. When I reached my adolescence and began to self-explore my body I noticed that I did not like it. There were so many stereotypes and prejudices that I put into my head since I was little that I always hated the way my vulva looked. I felt that it was such an ugly part of my body that I had to hide and feel ashamed of it. All this until I met my partner. Our first time was quite uncomfortable because I hated my body... He taught me to know even more and to love my body, my vulva, my clitoris and everything. To accept it as it is. In addition to that he says that I have a very pretty vulva and I feel that it is a cute compliment if the person you love says so."

C. - 21 years old

Starting to cherish it

As many others already featured in this gallery, I have struggled with the appearance of my vulva. Actually, the thing I was most insecure about, is something you cannot see in my portrait. I am a natural redhead and my pubic hair is also red. Growing up with it, I didn’t realize that might be something special until people began asking me about it. I don’t mind talking about it with friends, but sometimes complete strangers came up to me asking if “the carpet matches the curtains” and things like that. I felt as if some guys were only hitting on me to find out how redheads look “down there”. So I began to completely shave my pubic hair and decided to never let anyone know its color. It was only some time ago that I began to cherish my red pubic hair like I always did that on my head. When I saw the picture of the vulva with red and golden pubic hair on the vulva gallery, I think I completely overcame my issues. I still shave because I just feel better that way, but I don’t mind stubbles and people’s words don’t get to me anymore.”

L. - 26 years old

Asymmetry

My biggest source of shame concerning my vulva was always the asymmetry of my inner labia—one is visibly larger and has a different shape than the other one. This shame originated in the fact that it hadn’t always been that way—one side began growing when I began pleasuring myself at a young age. I thought I was deforming myself, mutilating myself, and watched in deep shame as my right inner labia grew over the years. I don’t know to this day if it actually grew because of me pleasuring myself or if it just grew because that’s what bodies do. Interestingly, as I was taking the front angle picture for my vulva portrait, I realised with surprise that I can’t even see my apparently large inner labia at that angle. I got into the habit of tucking it away over the years, but even untucked it is not visible. All these years spent on dreading my huge, one-sided, deformed inner labia, and it turns out I can’t even see it. Now I try to be thankful for my cute little vulva, and even my one-side-longer inner labia. And I am thankful to Hilde, who is the creator behind this lovely and empowering project. When I came across the Vulva Gallery, I knew I had to be a part of it. And I am in love with my portrait! Thank you!!! And thank you to all sharing the stage with me! ;-)

M. - 25 years old

New year, new life, new love

I’m 27, and I don’t really remember why I suddenly just started feeling weird about the way my vulva looked. But I remember the exact moment — when my boyfriend at the moment asked me to join him in the bathtub. It meant I was going to be standing in front of him at first and then I needed to step over the side of the bathtub. Right in front of him as he’s sitting in it. I did it, and it went well, and he was nothing but great to my body. 7 years and several boyfriends after — none of them ever commenting on it — I’m still struggling to accept my vulva. I was insecure and weird about it, all by myself, all in my head, and I think I’m finally coming to loving it, and I mean LOVING. New Year, new life, new love. Thank you for what you are doing, there are no words to describe the healing effect it has.“

D. - 27 years old

Perfect to me

Personally I have struggled with the appearance of my vulva. I've never liked it and have always been extremely self conscious of her. I was always afraid to wear bikini bottoms as a kid due to the fact that my clitoral hood would poke out causing a bulge. It made going to public pools very difficult for me; because the other girls would have nothing showing and have such confidence. Growing older I realised I wasn't the only one. That was really an eye opener for me. I grew confidence and have learned to love my vulva. Some days are hard and I do sometimes wish I could have her perked up. But then I realise what I have is mine and it's always perfect to me.

J. - 22 years old

I’m so happy with my vulva now!

So, I’ve always hated the look of my vulva. It always looked so fat and disgusting until I got a boyfriend. At the beginning of our relationship, he said it's beautiful and this really increased my self-esteem. I’m so happy with my vulva now!

P. - 21 years old

Proud of my vulva

I decided to get my clitoral hood pierced about 8 months ago. Though, I’ve never been a fan of genital piercings in general, I stumbled upon VCH piercings, got obsessed and went and got it done. I’ve always loved how my vulva looks and the idea of adorning my clit with jewellery is amazing to me. I’m glad that I’m one of the seemingly few people who is proud and infatuated with her own vulva. It breaks my heart when I hear people disparaging their vulvas, especially when the root of their insecurity comes from some stupid comment that a man has made about it, but I also understand because I’ve suffered from body dysmorphia and anorexia. Ironically, my vulva is one of the few parts of my body that I am perfectly comfortable with. I understand what it’s like to desperately seek validation in pictures of other people’s bodies because somewhere along the line, we’ve all been made to feel abnormal in our own skin.

C. - 26 years old

I love my non binary trans body

As a trans person, I was lead to believe I was born 'in the wrong body', as if I had to want a penis and hate my vulva. My past experiences with non-consensual sex have also lead me to feel insecure about my parts. However, over time I have learned to reclaim my body and transitioning has also enabled me reconnect with myself in ways which have helped me grow stronger every day. Taking testosterone has changed the appearance of my genitals, my clitoris grew larger and its texture become rougher. I love the fluidity and versatility of my body, as I can adapt it as I go through life.

I love my non binary trans body.

M – 21 years old

Like a goddess

I’ve always been super ashamed of my vulva. I always thought she was ugly and I feel that watching porn (when I was younger and still to this day) had only exacerbated that notion. My mind was warped by porn about what mine should look like and for a very long time I denied myself the sexual pleasure of oral sex from guys because I was so ashamed and nervous of judgment. Although I should have realised it on my own, when the right guy came along (who I’m still with) he made me feel like a goddess, untouchable, utterly beautiful! He made me feel so confident in that my vag is beautiful how she is! In addition, positive body image accounts like yours and others have really helped me to zone out negative false and fake media of typical skinny/white/insta-fit chicks and accept myself for the whole of who I am!

H. - 23 years old

Slowly starting to accept my own

At age fifteen my vulva changed. For me it was a dramatic change, which ruined many years of my life. I don’t know how many tears I have cried, but I guess I could fill up a swimming pool. I have struggled with an eating disorder for fifteen years, and mentally from age fifteen until today (at thirty-six years old) because of my issues. When I started being sexually active, I cried every time I had sex with a new partner, and my issues have ruined a lot of my relationships, because of my hang-ups regarding my vulva. None of the guys/girls I’ve had sex with have ever said anything but positive things, but in my head there is something wrong with my vulva. And I have always believed that everyone else thinks the same way I do. I have never ever seen a woman in real life with long inner labia, so I thought it was just me. My current boyfriend has really pushed my limits regarding my vulva, and I hated him for that for a long time. He says that he really loves it, and I want to believe him! I have always found long inner labia very sexy, but I hated my own. There are so many beautiful vulvas in The Vulva Gallery, so I’m slowly starting to accept my own. But I have a long way to go. The Vulva Gallery: thank you!

M – 36 years old

My vulva is wild and free

I had such a wonderful relationship with my vulva when I was a little girl. I was mesmerised by the beauty that I could always find in it, and the multitudes of sensations it provided me. This was my natural state, until I was caught at age seven or eight while pleasuring myself. I was shamed and punished severely, without understanding why, and the relationship between us became so complicated. It took my entire adolescence, and then some, to amend that and restore the love and bond that came so naturally to us. I was lucky to have been able to break out from all of the religious and societal pressures that constantly vilified my vulva and my sexuality. My vulva is wild and free.

Where I come from, sharing this kind of portrait and story is extremely dangerous for women. But I am doing it so we can be seen and heard. We refuse to be invisible.

D – 36 years old

Learning how to love my vulva

From an early age I’ve been made fun of for my vulva. It’s not ‘neat’ and tucked in and a little meaty. I’m a stripper, and I’m just learning how to love my vulva. I will never get surgery and I want women to grow to love their outie vulvas.

E – 25 years old

My pubic hair rocks

I had a lot to say in this little blurb. I was going to explain how terrified I was the first time I shaved my legs, how for years the amount of body hair I had depended on what somebody else said about it. Sometimes I'll look at my fingers and laugh because I used to shave my knuckles, thinking that girls shouldn't have hairy fingers. I am a woman. I will grow whatever hair I want, whenever I want, and I've recently come to realize that no matter what I choose, I am still me. Right now, I'm growing out my pubic hair... and it rocks.

B – 21 years old

Your flaws are what makes you YOU

I’m very self conscious of my body. Especially after having kids, everything changed.. including my vulva. I don’t know why my clitoris got bigger after giving birth, but it definitely made me feel less feminine overall. I’m still working on feel comfortable in my own skin, but as I get older and will be moving into my 30s, I’ve realised what is actually important in life! I truly believe everyone is beautiful and your flaws are what make you, you!

K – 28 years old

I need to spend more time with myself

So this is my vulva. We have a love/hate relationship. I think I like the size of my labia but I really hate the color of it. It's darker than the rest me, for my girlfriend I'm overreacting, for me it's way too dark. Also sometimes it makes me sad to see that I have like "texture", isn't smooth as I wish it was. I've Googled if there's some procedure to bleach that part of me, then I feel bad because I know I shouldn't be complaining about this stuff, it really doesn't matter the color of my vulva, it doesn't matter if it doesn't look like most of the porn stars, it matters that is mine, that most of the time I really enjoy having it, that I like how it feels my hair growing because when I'm falling asleep I play with those little or long hairs.

I found this gallery and it made me see that if support and enjoy diversity, I should enjoy me, the diversity of colours I have.

Also I found out that I can see my clit more than I thought haha, which made me realize I need to spend more time with myself.

D – 26 years old

Here I am

I would proudly say I'm a feminist but when it comes to my vulva and its surrounding hair my female assurance falters. All I had seen as a teenager was hair and the first few men I was with that's what I had, no issue. As I grew older I became aware that societal expectations didn't agree with mine. What was normal? I obsessed; googled and read articles and quizzed friends. I tried shaving, I feared its effects weren't 'perfect' enough. I got waxed at eighteen, mortified when they asked if I wanted my bumhole done, I couldn't afford to maintain that. I plucked it bare, I still have scars from digging out hairs as they regrew. I epilated. At uni I shaved obsessively, scared of judgement, and it being the 'norm'. Now, I'm happily in a long-term relationship and he reassures me he does not care, but still I shave it all, apologise when I've not kept on top of it. Personally, however, I feel more woman when I'm not bare. I'm working on owning what I am ultimately, personally, most at ease with. So here I am, sharing this image, hair and all. 

G – 26 years old

Finally making peace with my vulva

I've always had anxiety and insecurities over my body and my vulva since I was a teenager. I have always had the feeling and worry that something may be wrong with the way I look down there and have often questioned my partners over how I look there, asking if I look 'normal' and how I compare to other women they know. I once had one boyfriend add to my insecurities by laughing and saying my vulva was 'droopy' compared to others. Since then I became preoccupied with the notion that mine was weird looking.

I've been very hesitant to share this but I'm coming to a time in my life where I feel like I am finally making peace with my vulva and learning to love and accept myself just the way I am.

I would be honoured to be a part of your gallery. Thank you!

H – 30 years old

What an ordinary vulva looks like

I have always been shy when it comes to my private parts, and since I was young, I have felt alone feeling that I look different. Growing up and becoming an adult, made me change the way I looked at it. All of us are and looks different, and that is okay. It is so important to me that everyone feel good about themselves and that everyone can see what an ordinary vulva looks like. There is nothing to be ashamed of, because we are all beautiful, just the way we are.

– C.

Look, we aren’t alone!

It all started when I was about fourteen or fifteen. I noticed that my vulva was ‘bigger’ than most. Bigger than those I saw in porn. Bigger than bathing suit models. And as a dancer, I was very self-conscious in my daily uniform of a leotard and tights. I started watching porn early on and quickly learned that big labia were hardly ever featured in videos. All the vulvas I saw were really small, which was so opposite from mine.

I also had a hernia surgery at age eight and have a small scar on top of my vulva. I remember being a teen and overhearing boys joking about vulvas and thinking to myself, ‘Thats me! I have that’, and being absolutely disgusted with my own labia and worried no boy would ever like me. I would look at myself in the mirror and tuck my labia up into my vagina. I remember looking up labiaplasty as young as fifteen years old because I felt something was so wrong with how my vulva looked.

With age, open conversations with my gyno and even close friends, and an amazing boyfriend who makes me feel sexy no matter what, I have come to love the size, shape, feel and look of my big labia. I only wish I knew more women/young girls had very similar vulvas and thoughts about their vulvas when I was fifteen. That's my story.

I also want to personally thank you for bringing something that was never discussed into the mainstream focus and helping people like myself feel more confident. I honestly feel like The Vulva Gallery opened me up to a world of amazing people all going through exactly what I have felt! I remember sending the Instagram page to my roommate and being like: ‘Look, we aren't alone!!’

C – 25 years old

Different is not deformed

I always had a good relationship with my vulva until I started sharing it with others. Words cannot describe the feelings of disgust and shame I had. I always thought I had a ‘fat vulva' – I would hide it with loose clothes, otherwise I was convinced people would think I had a penis. My labia were so long that they got tangled and my partner's would struggle to get through. My hair was always thick and rough which often caused chafing. I ignored my vulva, always, unless I was gritting my teeth through the embarrassing moments when my abnormal body would betray me. Moments I was suppose to be enjoying. That was until I had a daughter. She was born with very unique labia. Upon the hospital’s regular inspection after birth her labia were noted as deformed. My question was "deformed compared to what?" Her body still functions perfectly, she is not in pain or suffering. She is perfect just the ways she is. I'm determined that she will know that we are all unique. That different is not deformed. I'm sharing my vulva with you, it's hiding under a generous mons pubis, robust protective pubic hair, covered in scars and blood. I'm not gritting my teeth anymore.

– K.

My hair

I have always had a lot of body hair. My hair is a lot and thick. Before I even discovered my vulva I was told to stop washing it with soap due to vaginal pH imbalance that used to make me suffer a lot. When I discovered my vulva I became very paranoid about how it smelled, because I wasn't using soap and have a lot of hair. I worried it smelled bad. In reality it didn't. However, I developed a vulva washing ritual that also involved making my partner wash his genitalia as often as I did. It wasn't until my mid 20's when I realised why my vaginal pH balance was still being disturbed. Why I was getting more infections than I would've liked. Not removing my pubic hair was what stopped the infections. I now get infected very rarely. Also, in my mid 20's I decided to stop getting anxious about: what if my partner asks me to shave my pubic hair. I explain why not and break the relationship if they insist. Men have made negative comments about my pubic hair, so have female members of my family. I don't keep all of my hair but what is shown on the photo. I just can't get used to the idea of leaving all my pubic hair on. I also had insecurities about my inner labia, because I compared it with my mother's and sisters, which looked different from mine and I therefore thought mine had a defect. I wish for a world where in sex education - where it exists - children and teenagers are told to explore their genitalia and inform them about differences, and health care is widely available. Whilst education should start at home, sex education needs to start at school, so future generations are educating their children.

A – 35 years old

Nature made it perfectly

This gallery has given me the push toward self love that I needed, and by becoming a part of it I hope I can have a hand in helping people with vulvas like mine feel that same encouragement. Every person and every body is unique, and in that uniqueness is beauty. When we look at a flower we don’t judge it, we just admire it, flaws and all, because nature made it perfectly. That’s how we should view humans. We are all made exactly the way we’re meant to be. And we are beautiful.

J – 25 years old

Coming to terms with Lichen Planus

I had never heard of lichen planus until I was told I had it about three years ago. It is when the immune system attacks mucus cells on different parts of the body, and in my case, the vulva. It creates sores on the labia which feel dry and itchy and I am in nearly constant pain because of this. I've stopped any hair removal and I barely wear underwear anymore as any irritation in that area is so painful, even just sitting down sometimes. It seems to be one of those 'mystery' things that doesn't have a clear explanation or cure. The cause is also unknown, although there are many speculations. 

This has hugely affected my sex life; from being a naturally very sexually active person in the past, now I feel in some ways dirty or 'tainted'. I also feel fearful and disconnected from my vagina, like my body has rejected it, which makes me sad. I'm treating it homeopathically at the moment, and trying to strengthen my immune system with eating well and taking supplements, but I would love to know if other people have or have had the same issue and have any good suggestions. 

I'm trying to come to terms with this and find a way forward / trying to imagine how I can enjoy having sex again. I'm so grateful for this wonderful gallery, this makes me love vulvas even more, as we're all so beautifully unique! I feel it's important to share and help each other, and this space allows that.

R – 26 years old

Marvelling warmly at our differences

I've had a weird relationship with "down-there" for a while, swinging repeatedly from acceptance to bitterness, dependent largely on 3rd party opinions. For years I have been intermittently ashamed of the odours associated with frequent yeast infections (no doctor I do not douche, yes doctor I wear cotton). In my early teens I even had the fabulous experience of tiny white worms! I have defended myself as male partners dimly implied that my natural creases and loose skin could indicate a "busy [read slutty] past". More positively I have also been with ladies and marvelled warmly at our differences. I love my vulva – from its ingrown hairs, fluctuating smells to its creases and ability to help me feel amazing... so... sod 'em all.

Anonymous – 28 years old

The benefits of pelvic floor physiotherapy

After my first child, born cesarean, I became passionate about trail running. I even ran trails for more than half of my second pregnancy until one day, almost overnight, had horrible pain in my clitoris and rectum area. The remainder of the pregnancy was a struggle to say the least. At 42 weeks pregnant I had a successful non-medicated VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). After delivery the pain never went away. Months after delivery I couldn't walk far or run at all without terrible shooting pain and urinary leakage. My OB recommended pelvic floor physical therapy for urinary incontinence. There, they told me they treat a number of issues and could have even helped me during my pregnancy! I was treated with internal myofascial trigger point release and muscle strengthening exercises. It has been four years since the birth and I not only run trails but am doing triathlons. I am so thankful for their knowledge of the very intricate muscle structures of the women's pelvis. Sadly many OBGYNs in the USA do not have much knowledge about PT benefits. They treat a number of issues from urinary or fecal incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, pain from sexual assault, untreatable constipation, and many more. I have greatly benefited from pelvic floor PT and wish to share my story to let other woman know they do not have to suffer.

I completed my first ultra marathon this past month. So happy to have had the benefits from healing through Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy! Without PT, it would not have been a possibility.

Anonymous – 35 years old

Really grateful

It is so powerful to look at this photo and realise how much love I have grown for my vulva and my body. This love did not exist for a very long time. I remember the first time I shaved my entire vulva - and the razor burn, irritation and (omg) the itchiness that followed. One time, I tried self-waxing and I left my vulva covered in blood blisters and bruises. Then for a long while, regular Brazilian waxes were a standard part of my routine. However, as I began to grow confidence in my body and sexuality, my relationship with my vulva started to shift. I started to love the way my hair naturally gets thicker and swirls toward the middle, my unique labia lips, and those soft, dark, fine hairs that sprawl out to my thighs. I found myself being drawn to sexual partners who loved and celebrated my body the same way I was trying to. Now I am so insanely lucky to having an amazing, caring girlfriend who never hesitates to reinforce my own love of my vulva, my body and myself. This portrait is actually a present for her :) Of course, self-love and acceptance is such a journey, and I am nowhere near perfect at it, but I do feel really really grateful to be exactly where I am right now.

R. - 27 years old

We are all diverse

The brief story begins here: I started becoming sexually active at 14, my vulva was not something that bothered me, until I began to notice that its size was increasing and the colours changed with time. When I started having relationships with girls, I realised that it was very different from the rest of them. Although all are, my vulva was the largest, the most colourful, wrinkled and even the funniest of all.

It's still hard for me to accept myself as I am, but your page is very helpful! Since we are all diverse.

Thank you very much for letting me be part of your gallery and congratulations for your great talent!

V. - 23 years old

Hella wicked!

As for my story, I hadn't really considered if I had one. Maybe.. My sexuality has been such a rollercoaster from day 1. I still don't know what's up and down with it. My vagina, like so many others, has seen negative experiences and praise and the negative experiences stick more. But I love my vulva today. I cherish it the same way I cherish my sexuality. The piercing was a dream of mine, and it has given me such a permanent confidence boost; more than my nicest dress would ever do. It makes me feel hella wicked.

L. - 24 years old

My unique paradox

My sweet honeypot. You are a paradox; you are so strong, yet at times so fragile. So pretty, yet sometimes not so much. You are unique to me, and that is such a blessing. I hope all woman can embrace the uniqueness that lies between their legs.

E. - 21 years old

Treat it with kindness

Growing up in a household with a mother that was always walking around naked, I found comfort in being able to do so in front of my peers. It wasn’t until 4th grade, when one of my friends pointed out that I already had pubic hair (as I was an early bloomer.) From then on, I was extremely self conscious about having any hair down there. On top of struggling with some body issues, I thought I was some sort of freak. Having this “fat” vulva and shave bumps, from constantly trying to make sure I was “clean shaven” 100% of the time. It wasn’t until I reached the age of 15, where I was becoming sexually active, that it really did occur to me that I was no longer shaving for my own comfort, but for someone else’s. 
As the years progressed, I found solace in the arms of partners who praised my vulva. They found my larger outer lips to be “cute.” While I was so busy being worried I was deformed from having next to no inner labia and a much more prominent outer labia; I never had someone think I was anything less than normal. Best of all, a single partner once asked me to grow out my pubic hair. He told me “it would only make you that much more of the naturally beautiful woman, that you are.” Since then, I have never looked back, as those words, almost 4 years later have stuck with me. It’s amazing what one comment can impress on a young one’s mind. And what liberating yourself sexually, can do to your self confidence (when with those who respect your body.) I am now 24 years old, and I can honestly say that I have never loved my body more, just the way it is. I am so thankful for the people who reminded me how unique every vulva is, and how beautiful they all are, in their own way. These bodies we were gifted are for us, and those we choose to welcome anywhere near it. Treat it with kindness and remember what a powerful gift having a vulva is.

T. - 24 years old

A little mark – a major time

See that little scar? Just a little mark left behind on my body, but it signifies such a major time in my life. I have always struggled with pain in my uterus, usually because of my periods, but this past year it took a turn for the worse. The pain became so much that it hurt to sit or lay down and sometimes I couldn’t even move. Paralysed because of two cysts leaking in my left ovary. I had surgery recently to see if it could be anything worse, but thankfully everything came back negative. Slowly, I am starting to feel more like myself physically and emotionally ♡ Thank you to The Vulva Gallery for helping me document this strengthening experience!

A. - 28 years old

A perfectly normal and lovely vulva

When I was a child I never gave much though to my vulva. It was just another part of my body like my hands, my mouth or my eyes. It was down there and it was fine! As I grew older my vulva changed. Although my inner labia became longer I never thought I had an ugly vulva.
At the age of 15 I had my first sexual experience and after that I had a lot of sexual partners, both men and women. Interestingly, just one person told me she didn’t like my long inner labia: another woman. I always thought that women were more empathic that men, but apparently not at all. When I talk with my best friends (women too) about how vulvas should look they often have a strong opinion about appearance. This always makes me a bit sad.

I used to have a small clitoris, but once I took hormones for a sport competition it started growing. Since that moment I don’t like how my vulva looks. I feel very insecure about it. I’m afraid people will not like my clit and inner labia. Now I have a boyfriend and he loves it, but I always think about what will happen if I get single... I'll probably feel ashamed and worried about my vulva.

Before finding your beautiful project I was seriously considering labiaplasty and clitoral hood surgery, but you remind us we all have a perfectly normal and lovely vulva. Thank you!”

D. - 35 years old

A sense of relief

Seeing this gallery gave me a sense of relief and I knew I had to participate. When I was a young teenager, I had never seen my own vulva. I’d only seen pictures from porn I found on the Internet in secret. They were all light coloured, small, and hairless. Eventually I got up the courage to look at mine with a mirror. My heart sank and I thought I was deformed: browns, purples, fat outer labia and long inner labia (both different lengths) and lots of coarse hair the vulvas online didn’t have. I was ashamed and swore not to show anyone until I got my “deformity” fixed. I was sad for a long time until I found something else on the Internet one day. It was a forum thread with lesbians talking about how much they love vulvas and what they specifically love... ALL of my traits were mentioned. These lovely strangers made me swell with pride and had cured my “deformity”. I still had a bit of insecurity when I showed it to my boyfriend but he thinks it’s lovely. This gallery is great for showing young individuals what is normal and good, not just photoshopped, bleached, and altered bodies!

L. - 24 years old

My body hair is mine and it is beautiful

I started developing earlier than most girls, and when I was around 9 years old I got my first pubic hair. I didn’t understand what was happening to me so I told my mother and she made me pluck it out. She had me do this for a while until I got my period that same year. Ever since I was young I looked at my body hair as disgusting or abnormal. Guys I’ve been with have told me to shave it or they won’t do anything with me. I’ve been told I’m not clean if I have pubic hair and that no one will want to be with me. I started shaving at a very young age and felt immensely ashamed if anyone saw any hair on my body. I shaved my stomach because I felt that it wasn’t normal to have hair there. But just last year I shaved my head and let all other body hair grow out. I did a full transformation and my view on my body hair has changed dramatically. I don’t shave anything on my body. Every bit of hair is grown out and is what it naturally looks like. I am no longer ashamed to have pubic hair or to have hairy legs when I wear a dress or to wear a tank top when my armpits look like a jungle. My body hair is mine and it is beautiful. I have learned that love shouldn’t be based on the length of my hair or the lack thereof. Who ever decides to love me will love me with or without the natural hair on my body. And if they don’t like it they can leave. I am satisfied with my hair and encourage all women to be at peace with the vulvas that have been given to us. 

J. - 18 years old

Self love is important

I was having some real struggles with taking a photo of my vulva to submit to The Vulva Gallery. This is the first step on my way to self love. Self love is important, you are important. Spread the love to everyone. Be kind and mindful. Love yourself.

H. - 19 years old

I wouldn’t change it for the world

I became aware of my longer labia when I was about 13, back then it didn’t bother me so much but as I grew and became more aware of my sexuality my labia became a massive insecurity of mine. I used to look for solutions online - I even bought some creams that claimed to shrink your labia (bullshit), and I even considered having surgery but I didn’t know how to bring it up with my family. Then one day (quite recently) I started to accept the way my labia are and I started to take better care of it. And now I wouldn't change it for the world! I love my labia so much.

L. - 18 years old

I think it’s adorable

I wish this gallery existed 15 years ago. I grew up extremely insecure about my vulva. I would be disgusted looking at it in a mirror. I would try to fold the outer labia in so it would look like a clean slit, but of course it didn't stay, because that's not how my vulva is meant to look. I didn't want my partners to look at it, I wanted the lights off when they went down on me. I googled labiaplasty. I watched porn and never saw one that looked like mine - I thought mine was weird, different, ugly. It took a boyfriend who loved going down on me for me to realise that he actually loved it, and I could love it too. I was still insecure about it, I still felt embarrassed about how it looked and felt like I was different, but I was adjusting. Finally, this past year, with the discovery of The Vulva Gallery, a new relationship, and just constantly practicing self-love, I can say that I actually love my vulva. I think it's adorable. I love how my clitoral hood protrudes. I love my purple labia. It's so exposed, floral, open. I think it's beautiful (along with all the vulvas in this gallery). Thank you for your gallery. It has honestly shifted paradigms in me and has helped me along my journey of self-love and gratitude.

C. - 28 years old

Our differences makes us the same

So much of the time it feels like we're walking on a tightrope. We want to stand out and yet be part of the crowd. We celebrate difference and denigrate it at the same time. So often our bodies, our vulvas, get caught up in this tension. With the added complexity of shame, desire, secrecy, and power. As a heterosexual girl who grew up in a culture where the words 'communal changing room' struck horror in my heart, my interactions with other vulvas has been minimal. And I learnt that secrecy and invisibility are not conducive to a positive body image. Projects like The Vulva Gallery show the life-changing power of art and representation. They literally shine a light on the parts of ourselves that are so often shrouded in darkness. My own relationship with the way my vulva looks, my appreciation of it, is changing every day I hop onto Instagram and see another lovely portrait, another story. These portraits help me see that it is our differences that actually make us all the same.

V. - 35 years old

I fell in love with myself and my vulva

My personal story is quite simple: I have always struggled with self love and body acceptance, but one thing I’ve learned is that my vulva is beautiful, and nobody should be ashamed of their natural body. It is powerful, and it is unique! I’m so happy to have found a group like this, because it has opened my eyes to the many amazing ways bodies take shape. I fell in love with myself and my vulva, and so can you!

N. - 19 years old

I realised that all vulvas are different

When I was a child I thought that all vulvas are the same. I did not see many, only the vulvas of my school friends, and these were just like mine. I thought there are only differences between penises, because I listened to jokes about sizes, etc. For a long time I thought that between penises there is a huge difference but that vulvas are all the same; the same size, same appearance... This idea stayed in my mind for a long time (which I now see as ignorant). Now I realise that vulvas can be very different from each other and they are all beautiful.

C. - 19 years old

My acceptance journey

I grew up in a very nudity and sex positive household, where we talk about everything. I always knew a lot about sex and bodies, because my brother and I were allowed to ask whatever regarding the topic. 

Although I had such a body positive upbringing, loving my vulva was very hard for me. There are/were three factors that made me uncomfortable: 

Factor one: I have one very long labia and because I didn’t know better, I thought it was abnormal. When I showed it to my mum and told her, that I felt like my vulva was ugly, she didn’t really make me feel better at first, because she hadn’t seen such a long labia before, either. We went to the doctor and she told me, that I could get surgery, if I felt that insecure about it. I never did, because I was too scared, and I am so glad I didn’t! After I started having sex, I didn’t grow more confident in the beginning, because people mistook my labia for my clitoris, but I somehow, as I grew older and had other sex partners, cared a bit less about it and found more pleasure in sex and my vulva. 

The second factor that always bothered me though, was the hair and the smell/taste. I’m doing permanent hair removal at the moment (aka laser treatment), because not being hairy makes me feel cleaner and I feel more comfortable when I’m naked. I feel like, everyone just needs to find out what suits them best, if they want to have hair, shave it partly, or remove it completely– just experiment, until you feel happy. 

The third and last factor that I am currently struggling with, is a little scar I have, because I had a small heart surgery and they put tubes from my inner thigh up into my heart. The scar is, as you can see, indeed small and it might not stay forever, but it is still something that bothers me a little. It’s part of who I am and part of my story, but I don’t look at it that way all the time. I see it as a „flaw“, but I’m getting better at accepting it. It’s weird that the scar bothers me so much, because (as you can see) I have a birth mark too, but I never felt insecure about it, ever. I always loved it. 

I love being part of this amazing project, because it has surely been helping me a lot on my acceptance journey and I hope my story can be of some help or at least part of the bigger picture, showing the wonderful diversity of the human (and female) body.

K. - 21 years old

A little added bling

Male or female, bleached or pigmented, enhanced, hairy or shaven, for most of my life I haven't thought of ANY genitalia as being attractive whatsoever. I've commonly referred to sex as "bumping uglies" and still do so, only in a strictly joking matter now. 
The moment I grew to accept, love and appreciate my own lady bits, I also decided to go forth and break the norm a little bit by acquiring this piecing both for aesthetics and enhanced pleasure. I did months of research and went in really wanting it. Everything worked out perfectly. 
This addition gave me a boost of confidence and comfort with myself. I'm still my natural and unique self, just with a little added bling. I look in the mirror and flash myself at times thinking how cute it is, while often laughing at myself doing so. Something I didn't do before. Although I do often wonder why I couldn't flash and laugh at myself in the same way before the piercing, I wouldn't change a thing.

S. - 28 years old

Sometimes I shave, sometimes I don’t

When I examined my body more closely at primary school age, I was able to talk to my mother about my vulva. It was never a taboo subject for me. But when the first pubic hair grew I probably started to shave pretty soon after, influenced by the media. One of my ex-boyfriends insisted quite a lot on it.

Fortunately, my partner today doesn't care and so do I. Sometimes I shave, sometimes, especially in autumn and winter, I often let my hair grow for a while until it starts annoying me.

V – 26 years old

I am a work of art

Living in a society that glorifies a certain type of what they would call a "perfect body" made me hate myself. When I was little, people around me would ask what the favourite part of our body was and my friends would immediately have an answer, but I never knew what to say because I had never seen any part of my body as beautiful, especially not the parts that were usually hidden. Growing up seeing all those beautiful people in the media and later seeing naked girls in porn put an unattainable ideal in my head and made me think looking like them was the only way I could ever look normal, let alone beautiful. A few years ago, I came across the Vulva Gallery on Instagram and while some may think it is a strange concept, all I could think of was how beautiful every single one of the portraits were. Funny thing is, all the vulvas there looked different and none of them looked like the ones I thought mine was supposed to look like. And all of those painted vulvas looked perfect. Seeing something that wouldn't normally be perceived as beautiful through a work of art made me realise what beautiful actually was about. Beautiful is everywhere. Looking at my body through art helped me understand how much beauty there is in this world that we are not even aware of. If you take a moment and look around you, or simply look at yourself, you will realise how much beauty there is in and around you that you had never even seen before. There are no rules in beauty. There is no such thing as an ideal of a perfect body. Every body is different and beautiful. I am beautiful in my own way. Because I am a work of art and so is every single one of you.

E – 19 years old

Vulvodynia

For the last 7 years, I've suffered from a depressed vagina. Can you believe that’s a real thing? I take antidepressants for it everyday. It's a condition called vulvodynia, which causes persistent pain in my labia and at the entrance to my vagina. For the 2 years before I'd been diagnosed, I would often wake up in the night in tears from the sunburn-like pain radiating from my vulva. Doctors told me it was thrush, dermatitis - even allergies to soap powder. I tried lotions, pessaries, ice packs, huge cotton undies. Sometimes I couldn't sit down, I felt unsexy and unfeminine. For me, finally taking tablets and being able to control some of the pain is a tiny triumph. I know there are lots of women out there struggling with vulval pain which often goes misdiagnosed and mistreated. It's because we don't talk about our bodies enough, and vaginal problems are something we've become ashamed of. Don't let years pass you by before you take control of your vaginal health. If you've had similar symptoms, you might have vulvodynia. Go ask your doctor for a full check up. Self care is best care ♥️

V. - 26 years old

Be proud

To all the people out there, no matter what you got "down there" appreciate it! Because it is unique and very beautiful. Take care of your body and especially of your sensitive genitals. Be proud of that part of you and keep it healthy! 🐣♥️

H – 18 years old

Vulvas are amazing yet underrated

I am a comedian and I use my stand up mostly to talk about feminism, sex and slut shaming. I love to make people laugh, and I hope to make them think while they do. I touch many topics, including... vulvas! Vulvas are amazing yet underrated. Everybody talks about the vagina, but the external part is way more fun! And beautiful. It breaks my heart that some women are ashamed of their vulva. I’m not! And that’s why I’m so happy to be part of The Vulva Gallery. We need more projects like this.

C – 30 years old

Embracing my natural hair

For years I completely removed the hair from my vulva. Initially I was asked to do it by my partner at the time, however it became habit and I continued the practice after we broke up.  I’ve recently started to let my hair grow back and I feel so good about it! I have a beautiful woman in my life who loves my vulva unconditionally, which has given me the confidence to embrace my natural hair growth and keep her in whichever way makes me most happy :)

A – 34 years old

You’re not alone

I'm nineteen years old and sometimes I feel like I'm alone with my insecurities, I haven't met somebody who suffers with acne and colouration on her vulva and inner thighs, it makes me feel like I’m not sensual or capable of having sex, I'm afraid of someone watching me naked because of my pimples, I'm trying my best to feel better about it, so if you have the same as me, you're not alone, we can't be the only people in the world with that, right?

I also have a big vulva because I'm also big, so I guess it has some logic. Every time I try to look at porn I see the same kind of girls with different sizes and everything but with ‘perfect’ vulvas, it's almost like a mould and instead of making me feel good or horny, I usually get sad and frustrated about it because I’m struggling with the complete opposite.

K.R. – 19 years old

We are all human beings

I have always felt self-conscious and somewhat embarrassed about my vulva, mainly the labia (lips) as they're longer and darker than what's deemed as 'normal' and 'sexy' in society. The media, especially porn, completely distorted my brain into thinking I had a disgusting body and that I wasn't good enough for anyone, it made me believe I was unattractive, undesirable and worthless. I understand now that it is a completely fake and twisted platform for hooking and brainwashing innocent people into thinking the same stuff I do, for the eventual gain of profit. I have never really let anyone see or touch my body because of how much I've been made to hate it.

My current partner has opened his eyes to the truth on how women have been treated throughout history and made to feel everyday (not that men do not stuffer but I am talking about females for now) and he is no longer a slave to the illusion. The stupid illusion of this perfect (alien) female form that's only here for men's pleasure. He gave up watching porn and he feels amazing for it. He now considers himself a feminist and he's made me feel loved and wanted and continues to help me grow every day. I have a long way to go on the path to self-love and self-confidence but he has helped me so much. We are all human beings, let's stop pretending that we're not.

G – 26 years old

There’s no standard vulva

I discovered The Vulva Gallery by chance, to be more precise thanks to serendipity. It made me want to share my experience as it made me realise that there is still much to be done on body- and vulva acceptance :) 

From a very early age I was intrigued and at the same time disgusted by the 'piece of flesh' hanging between my legs. This distaste grew stronger during adolescence and particularly in my first sexual relations: how to position myself to prevent from seeing by vulva, make sure all lights are off. Cunnilingus: out of question!

I always felt my vulva was different. I soon began to search myself on the Internet, search for pictures to compare, find one that would resemble mine. It would appear that the only available documentation at this time was porn, where all girls were completely "smooth": definitely my vulva was wrong.

When I was around 26 years old, I finally got the courage to go and see a plastic surgeon.  What a relief when this last one confirmed I had a "defect", with a proper medical term that I do not remember.

Quotation in hand, I felt the need to talk to friends about the possible operation. I who had never found the courage to speak about this complex, I felt relieved to share it. They listened understandingly without disgust, and I learnt that I wasn't alone. I remember this friend asking me: "But did one of your boyfriend ever made a remark?”. The answer to this question awakened me: "No".

Following this, I decided to postpone the operation or at least the idea of it. Just having “my secret” revealed had lifted the burden from my shoulders.

Sometime later, I had a passionate love story with a man that helped me see the beauty of my body. I shared with him my complex that he didn’t understand as my vagina reminded him of a "little cherry". With him, I really learnt to let go.

To summarise, I am really pleased to see these initiatives grow; initiatives that strengthens the educational power of internet and social media. I do hope that it will help girls better know and accept their body and its diversity as no, there’s no standard vulva.

So many thanks for your gallery :)

C – 30 years old

Happy, healthy and unique

This is a very happy vulva/vagina. I just got off of my period, had a lovely orgasm with my partner, and most importantly, I am SO damn confident in how I look! Your gallery has tremendously helped me love my vulva for the way it is. I spent four years hiding it behind a giant bush, mortified of anyone seeing how ugly it is. But after seeing so many different vulvas in your gallery, I’ve realized mine is supposed to be unique, and that there’s no such thing an ugly vulva. So I finally shaved the other night! And it looks so cute. I love it (and I may or may not be guilty of telling it hello this morning lol). So if you’re out there, hiding your vulva from the world because you hate how it looks, just remember, it’s supposed to be that way. No two genitalia are the same, male or female, so love yourself and embrace what you look like down there.

Here’s to all of your happy, healthy, and unique nether regions ♡

H – 20 years old

Empowered by my differences

I was not taught about sexuality at a younger age, except to abstain. The only vulvas I had ever seen were mine and immediate family from walking in on them in the restroom. Mine always appeared so different than my mother and sister's, and I felt something was wrong with mine because it was smaller and the inner labia weren't long. Through life, and experience I now have a much different view. Now that I've grown older I realise that each body is different. I feel empowered by my differences and hope that each person can embrace her body and the beauty it holds. When I found this gallery I fell in love with the message and am so thankful to be a part of it.

N – 27 years old

From casual friends to BFFs

I’ve always loved my vulva, but I’ve hardly shown it any physical love. I didn’t look at my vulva in the mirror until I was seventeen. And it would be a number of years before I did it again. I know that there is no right or wrong about how much you should masturbate. But I know I can easily say I’ve done it less than a hundred times, and I’m in my late twenties. And I think I want to change that. I want my vulva and I to become the best buddies there ever were. 

(Update):The last couple of months have been revolutionary for my vulva and me. In just over two months, I've tripled the number of times that I've masturbated. Last night alone, I spent about two hours exploring myself. Plus, my long-term partner and I have had some very open and honest conversations, resulting in some of the best sex in our ten-year relationship. I feel like I've arrived late to the game, especially since I did not grow up in a sexually repressed home. But it's okay, since now my vulva and I have gone from casual friends to BFFs who love spending time together. 

K – 28 years old

All bodies are different

I’ve never really thought of the vulva to be something that should look “perfect” or that it should look a specific way, but as I got older I noticed that there was. I have luckily never felt insecure about that part of my body, and I think that this comes from my knowledge that all bodies are different, including the vulva.

I am happy to now be a part of if this gallery, and inform people about the different looks of our vulvas.

I – 19 years old

A liberating and cathartic journey

Over the last year I have gone through a lot of changes; personally, professionally, geographically and physically. This has been a liberating and cathartic journey, searching for self-acceptance and radical self-love. I knew I wanted to participate in The Vulva Gallery because I hadn’t seen one featured that looked just liked me. I was also terrified of writing a blurb, because blurbs give me anxiety, but anxiety can be good. I have found so much happiness seeing so many different vulvas, and wished this was a thing when I was a teen so that I could have actually loved my body. 

L – 26 years old

Endometriosis and self love

This is my vulva 6 weeks post op having had 2 large endometriomas removed from my ovary and bladder and my tubes unblocked to give me a better chance of falling pregnant. 1 in 10 women have endometriosis and the physical symptoms are debilitating. But what about the other side of endo. The stuff no one says. The part where due to the pain and the constant bleeding you forget how to feel beautiful. You forget sensuality, your sexuality - how to feel feminine. How do you love your vulva, your body - enjoy intimacy with another person when pleasure and climax is no longer enjoyable? Endo can take over.

This has been my hardest journey. To maintain positive mental health and show kindness to my body when to be touched is rarely an option. Learning intimacy in other forms and self acceptance beyond the physical. Finding my femininity again and sensuality and beauty within myself, my sensitivity and my strength. When I stare at this vulva, I don’t think about long labia or short labia or hair or hairlessness. I only want to live pain free. I only want to give kindness and self love to my body after the trauma it has been through. Yoga has been my saviour and the instagram endo community xx

– M.

Love one another and love yourself

The portrait Hilde drew of my wife’s vulva is immediately familiar to me, immediately recognisable as the vulva of my beloved. But Hilde’s portrait of my own vulva feels less familiar. It endears me less than does M’s. Thank you, Hilde, for guiding me to this realisation and reminding me to appreciate my own vulva as much as I do my beloved’s. The Vulva Gallery has helped me to see myself as an art form, a thing of beauty to be admired and honoured. From the first day we met, my partner has honoured every part of me in a way that has also shown me that my vulva is beautiful and unique. Before, my genitals were more for function than beauty and now I am learning to notice and be proud of my body in different ways, including being more comfortable while naked. Hilde’s work is powerful and important. We plan on hanging our portraits side by side in our new home together. Love one another and love yourself!

M & R – 35 and 36 years old

We all have different noses, so why not different genitalia?

I'd never really thought about how my vulva looked; although it sometimes was weird for me to touch it, I never questioned its appearance. But then one day I discovered The Vulva Gallery and realised that of course vulvas are all different, we all have different noses, so why not genitalia? I am currently working on a memoir about the subject of the female body and its different appearances. This work really has helped me with my own image and sexuality. I think it is important that we realise that no one is the same and that what makes us unique and beautiful are our own differences. I really wish to thank you, Hilde, for this amazing work of documenting intimate beauty from all over the world.

M. – 23 years old

I love this new feeling

I have been enjoying your artworks of lovely vulvas over the past couple of weeks and I am so pleased and amazed that you are devoting so much creative energy to this project of yours. I do believe in time it will become a go-to experience for every child and young person in the world as they grow up and learn about the range and variety of human body shapes. It’s already an amazing project and I have shown it to my daughters who are 18 and 11. I so wish, like many other women, that I’d had something like this to go to when I was younger in the 1980s and 90s. I always felt my vulva was a bit odd when I was younger but never dared ask any of my friends with vulvas how they felt about theirs. 
After the birth of my first daughter I had tears that healed badly, causing lumps in my vagina and I almost had surgery to “correct” it, but the surgeon also wanted to “correct” my natural shape of my vulva to something she thought was more “normal”. The only reason I didn’t go ahead with the surgery was because I was still breast feeding my baby and didn’t want to leave her overnight without me and with a bottle. I suddenly felt insecure about my vulva again in my thirties! How ridiculous and sad! 
More recently I started to despise my vulva because I was going grey. I felt like it was totally unsexy, very unattractive and when I started seeing my new partner I was too embarrassed to let them see my vulva because of the white hair. After a while I couldn’t stand it and I decided to wax it off, and keep it naked. Wow. I suddenly felt like a new woman and all my prejudices about shaved or waxed vulvas went flying out the window. I used to love my big black bush and I miss it, a bit, but I also love this new feeling and know I can grow my bush again if I want.

I love love love seeing the new vulvas each day. Keep up the wonderful work, you are a hero.

M. - 48 years old

The confidence and love I needed

I was young when I started questioning and disliking my body. I'd never really been open with my family about sex so I never understood what's healthy and what isn't. I'd found myself in an unhealthy relationship and he confirmed my insecurities telling me my body wasn't worth him or pleasure. This all changed when I met my current boyfriend, my true love. The first time I showed him my body, he called me beautiful. When he feels I'm not feeling the most confident he'll take my hand and feel my body with me and caress me gently reassuring me that I'm perfect in my own skin. Whenever I question the appearance of my vulva he says to me 'let's look at The Vulva Gallery'. So this is for the man that gave me the confidence and love I needed to love my vulva!

J. -

It deserves appreciation

It took me some time figuring out that my vulva is just as much a part of my body as the rest of it and that it deserves appreciation exactly the way it looks. I am really happy that your work is helping others to get to that point of full acceptance too.
I also recently (finally!) started to date women and it’s so much more joy to see with my own eyes how much beauty is out there!

L. - 22 years old

Blossom with the years

I watch you change,
As the years pass,
The days grow shorter
All the while, I grow older

A path of your own
In-synch with nature
My job is to appreciate
My ever-growing flower

Like an O’Keefe painting
Letting go of the conditioning,
I am trying to find love,
Appreciation and honor

I know this flower is bigger than me
For it is a metaphor
For love, growth, compassion and strength
Softness, receptivity, emotion, sexual-wavelength

You are not bare
Balanced
Easy

You provide challenge
Healing
Tenderness
Opening

Like an ocean
You’re deep
Vast
And mysterious

I’m doing my best to find compassion
Your every imperfection
Your every imbalance

Blossom with the years
Maturity and wisdom
You know so much
I am trying to listen

G. - 24 years old

I wasn’t missing anything

When I was younger approximately 11-12 years old, friends and I were curious about what each other’s vulvas looked like because we were learning sexual education in school at the time. We all giggled after class and asked to see each other’s, so we all showed them in a circle when nobody else was around. And I noticed that everyone else had some little fleshy bits visible from their outer labia and I didn’t. So for years I thought something was wrong with me or maybe I wasn’t developing as quickly as the other girls. I had already had my period and was suffering from pretty intense cramps so my family doctor referred me to a gynaecologist. During my first exam with her I was pretty shy and asked if I was “normal”. She said “yes everything looks fine” but I wasn’t happy with that answer so I reached down and asked “no but what this little piece of skin here?” and she said “that’s your inner labia”. And that’s when I realised I wasn’t missing anything. I’m just different and that’s okay. 

V. - 29 years old

Beautiful and strong

Since I was very young I noticed I was different from the other girls and even from the adult women that surrounded me. My mom thought there was something wrong with me too, so she took me to the doctor who said my vulva was normal and it would change during my growth. My first sexual education was by seeing porn - I realised I was totally different from everything I saw. For years I suffered for being different - I even thought I was intersex - I thought I would never be loved, searched about labiaplasty and some natural way to decrease labia size. I was afraid of having sex, and I still don't like it very much, I can't enjoy the moment. However, luckily, nobody ever has said anything rude about the way I look.

In my journey to accept myself more, I found a lot of wonderful projects that helped me to see there's nothing abnormal about my vulva - projects like The Vulva Gallery - and it's truly helping me to accept myself more. Everyday I see a new artwork, a new history of women who go through the same as me. I realise that if I consider them to be beautiful and strong, then I can think the same about me. So it's an honour and it's making me very glad to be part of this ♡

A. - 19 years old

So much love

Growing up I was very uneducated about the many different ways women can develop. I was very insecure and felt like mine was abnormal! However my first boyfriend helped me love myself, he loved everything about it, never said a bad word and made me realise I was normal! This page has also given me so much confidence! So much love. 

P. - 21 years old

From a non-binary transmasculine perspective

I am a non-binary person of transmasculine experience, I use gender neutral pronouns in my life and I have a vulva. I wanted to be part of this project to support representation for people who are not women but who are also learning to live in and love their bodies. I love pretty much all the things about my vulva except maybe sometimes that it is a vulva and not the other option. Over the years of living with my vulva and also being an artist that works with the image of vulvas, and as someone who also romantically loves people who have vulvas, I have come across some shocking beliefs people have about their own bodies and bodies of others. The truth is that there is rarely consistency, everyone’s body is different, even within nuclear families. And vulvas can change over time - I know mine has. The idea that specific vulvas belong to people of color, lesbians, or trans people, or people with different sexual experience is mind-boggling to me. That's why this project is so important, and why I want to be a part of it. I hope we will eventually see that no one is "typical," that we are all different and that this is beautiful.

T. - 36 years old

My form of meditation

For me, my whole life has just been trying to be comfortable in my skin. Body modification has been a big contributor to that. I have been pierced, tattooed, branded, you name it I’ve probably done it. Even though most people would think I’m crazy for this, I think it’s my form of meditation. It’s how I center myself and get to feel any sort of normal again. Nothing is off limits when it comes to making myself feel okay.

C. - 27 years old

New found confidence

For a long time I felt like my vulva had some sort of deformity. I wondered if my inner labia were meant to stick out like that. In pictures, they looked different which made me feel insecure. I wondered if men would think differently of me because of it. That was until I stumbled upon this gallery. It gave me a new found confidence, knowing that not everyone had a vulva without visible inner labia. It felt like I'd taken another step towards learning to love myself and I'm grateful for it.

J. - 20 years old

My vulva, my body, my mind, my choice

I have gone through many stages of accepting my vulva. In the beginning I thought my lips were misshaped and that pubes were gross. I was raised to believe that all of my body hair was gross and needed to be shaved. Its taken my many years to get over this, for a long time I plucked and shaved my pubes/belly button hairs constantly. This led to rashes and red bumps all over. I now let my pubes and most of my body hair grow long and full. 

The stage of accepting my vulva that was the most eye opening was realising that having a vulva and vagina doesn’t make me female, I can dress how I like and be who I feel. I am gender fluid, some days when I am masculine I have a hard time looking at myself without feeling shame. Finally i have gotten to a point where i would never ask for a different vulva because mine is unique and special to me, I have the right to do what I please with my body and nobody can touch my vulva, look at my vulva or choose anything for my vulva without my permission and thats how it should always be ! This includes letting all woman get IUDs, go on birth control, shave, let their hair grow, wax, use menstrual cups, tampons or pads, it is the individuals choice no matter what anybody else says.

My vulva, my body, my mind, my choice.

A. - 19 years old

I love my labia

When I was younger, I was extremely self conscious about my labia and pubic hair. I spent a lot of time and money on waxing and hair removal, and had considered surgery to shorten my inner labia (even fantasised about doing this myself from time to time). I would even urge my early sexual partners not to look at my vulva during sex! I have finally reached a point where I love my labia and have become very sex positive since!

K. - 24 years old

I am golden

I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted to share, what was the most important message for me to share. I've looked at the portrait every day, from the day I got it. To this day it warms my heart. There is so much diversity in vulvas which is such a beautiful thing.

Being a ginger, I remember the first time someone asked me if the carpet matched the drapes, called me fire crotch and had some prenotion about my sexual desires because of the color of my head- and pubic hair. This had me believing that there was something wrong with me and my pubic hair for years. I even questioned if my sexual desires were wrong because they didn't align with the color of my pubic hair. Looking at this portrait every day reminds me that I am golden.

A. - 19 years old

Time to realise my power and worth

Growing up I always had a complicated relationship with my body, and would relentlessly compare myself to porn models and be angry that I wasn't naturally "perfect". I have always been a very sexual being so it was a struggle. Especially dating in my teen years when the boys I decided to be intimate with were very ignorant about female anatomy and their negative comments towards my body really stuck with me for a while. I remember being commented on the smell of my vulva, and being shamed after bleeding from being accidentally scratched during foreplay. I was mortified. It made even more ashamed of my body. Needless to say I broke up with him shortly after and any other partner who made degrading comments to me I kicked to the curb. It took some time to realise my power and worth. Now that I'm older I am very in touch with my body and sexuality and no longer have negative feelings toward my vulva or body in general but it was work to get here. Self love takes time but the payout is huge. I also feel like there's more body diversity in porn recently and it's a beautiful thing. My current longterm partner is so good to me and says nothing but positive and loving things about my body. 5 years ago I decided to put a huge tattoo over my pubic area and it hurt like hell but I'm so happy with it. It's truly unique and is just another reason to love what I see in the mirror. I love the Vulva Gallery and wish this existed when I was a teenager but I'm happy that it exists now so anyone with a vulva can see how beautiful and unique we all really are!

H. - 25 years old

Our differences equal beauty

I have to start by saying how much I love your page! Having multiple children made me worry that it would somehow change my vulva's appearance. I would feel self conscious about it especially during each pregnancy. I never hated my vulva, but didn’t connect with it. Didn’t appreciate or value it. It birthed my amazing children — that in itself is beauty and love. This page has made me appreciate and value it so much. We are all different. We are all unique. No single look defines what is “normal” or “perfect” — and to me that is beauty.

J. - 28 years old

I pushed new life into the world

I am a mother to a 5 year old, & I have learned a lot about my body throughout the years since giving birth; including how amazing and strong it is. One thing I was worried about while pregnant (as far as aesthetics are concerned) was that my inner labia would look different, & that my vagina would not feel as tight after labor, due to the social stigma we are constantly surrounded by about vaginas and vulvas changing after birth. Hint: it's not true. Our vaginas were made to stretch and snap back. Some women have had slight urine leaks while laughing or from other activities right after giving birth, but it tends to go away within a short amount of time for most. Even though I myself didn't personally experience anything of that nature, anybody that has, should not ever feel ashamed, because what they got in return was the gift of creating life. I think it is beautiful that the female body is capable of creating life. (For those who can't have children, you are no less amazing than a woman who can). To say the least, after I had my son my vagina snapped right back to its pre-pregnancy self and my inner labia looked and felt the same as it did before giving birth vaginally. Once I had some time to heal, it was the same as before. The vagina is a pretty neat organ, meant to be stretched for intercourse and child bearing. Its kind of like a strong hair band. If you stretch it before letting it go, it will snap back to where it was prior to stretching it. Some people are uneducated and make false statements about women with children being "loose" or looking different downstairs after having children. That's not true. The way that the inner labia look has nothing to do with how much intercourse one has had, nor does it change the way it looks after having children. I wish somebody would have told me this when I was pregnant. It would have saved me some anxiety. There is actually a chance I might be pregnant again (I am just waiting for a blood test to confirm it). If I am, I feel grateful to know better this time. I make a point to educate others when they make these wrongful statements, even if its meant in "jest"; because it's not only untrue, but body shaming is never cool in any form. Vulvas and labia come in all variations and are unique & lovely in their own ways. When I look at mine, I feel better than I ever did about it before, because I know that it helped push new life into the world. It is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I can't wait to find out for certain if I might be doing it again 9 months from now.

M. - 27 years old

Looking at my own body with love

I just recently started following your gallery on Instagram and was so happy and inspired when I found it. 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 galley like this one. Since then, I have learned to redefine my conceptions of beauty and take back my body for myself. Making the decision to get a vertical hood piercing was a big step in this direction. Not only has it helped me increase my confidence and pleasure within my sex life, but it gave me the power to have autonomy over my vulva rather than treating it as if it was an object for others. It has helped me look at my own body with love and acceptance rather than objectification and judgement. 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! I would be honored to be part of your gallery.

A. - 22 years old