Planned Parenthood

Someone asked us:

hi pp! I’m sure this is absurd but I’m very concerned I have an ugly vagina. I’m a (proud!) fat girl and I have large labia majora. I’ve never seen a vagina like mine and it makes me nervous. once a doctor told me I got a yeast infection because of it (this strikes me as insane). idk I suppose I am just wondering if this is normal/okay?

Letter Writer, and anyone else reading this who has a vagina, take note: there’s no such thing as an ugly vagina.

You’ve never seen a vagina like yours because there is no vagina like yours. No two vulvas (the name for all the anatomy around there — including the labia minora, labia majora, clitoris, and vagina) look exactly the same.

There’s also no such thing as a “normal” looking vulva. That’s not to say that nobody else has large labia majora. Lots of people besides you do — that’s pretty common. Labia (meaning lips) come in all shapes and sizes. Some people have barely there labia, others have dangly labia, others have more plump-looking labia. Some people have wide vaginal openings. Some people have tight ones. Some people have large clits, others have little ones. Some people have long clitoral hoods that hide their clitoris. Other people have more of a “crew neck,” if you will, with a more exposed clitoris. Most people have asymmetrical vulvas, but some people don’t. And let’s not even get into all the different skin colors vulvas can have or the colors, textures, or amounts of pubic hair out there! Vulvas are as unique and diverse as any other part of the human anatomy — perhaps more so since there are so many parts that make up a vulva.

As for what that doctor said, it’s true that some people are more prone to yeast infections, but vulva shape usually doesn’t have much to do with it. If you find you do get a lot of yeast infections, visiting a doctor or nurse is the way to go, so kudos. There are things you can do to cut down on yeast infections, like wearing 100% cotton underwear, washing your vulva with mild soap and water in the shower, not hanging out in a wet bathing suit, and generally keeping your area down there clean and dry.

Finally, about the word “ugly”: I propose that we dump this word from our vocabularies as much as possible, especially when it comes to our genitals. Our culture spends more than enough time telling us what our bodies should look like — our weight, faces, clothes, hair, nails, etc, etc. But luckily (at least for the time being), there’s no “who wore it best” for vulvas, so for once we get to decide for ourselves how to talk about them.

-Emily at Planned Parenthood