This is the final installment of a three-part series on the Livejournal-hosted women's sexual health community VaginaPagina. To read the first two sections, visit ThePenn.org.
America's famous for a lot of things, but educating young people about genitals isn't one of them. While most people have seen computerized pen-and-ink drawings of human anatomy in health books across the land, few have seen many honest, accurate depictions of genitals outside their own pants.
Women seem to shoulder the brunt of this nationwide ignorance. Everyone knows what a penis looks like, right? They're out there in the open for our glimpsing pleasure. But when's the last time you've seen the likeness of a vulva scratched into the top of a desk? That's where VaginaPagina's Everyday Bodies Project steps in.
EBP began as an idea by VP member "Feckalyn" in June 2004, according to the VP Web site. She had been searching for real, natural photos of women online, but hadn't had any luck. Overwhelmed and frustrated after finding only pornography, retouched photos and depictions of "perfect" women, Feckalyn decided to make some change.
At her urging, VP members began taking self-portrait photos of their own genitals and e-mailing them to Feckalyn who, in cooperation with VP moderators, posted them anonymously on the VP site. Once a modest beginning, EBP has become collection of more than 200 vulva photos and includes other body parts, such as breasts, thighs and stomachs.
Feckalyn passed the torch on to the current EBP coordinator Rebecca Kraemer, 25, of Boston. Kraemer explained EBP's purpose as a service to women and men that isn't provided elsewhere.
"EBP is important because many, if not all women, question whether or not their anatomy is 'normal,'" she said in an e-mail interview. "While anatomical names might be taught in sexual education classes, how often are we shown pictures of the many varying shapes, sizes and colors of vulvas?"
Kraemer admitted that diagrams are a great starting point for learning about female genital structure and teaching a preliminary vocabulary. But EBP goes further in its portrayal of the everywoman, who isn't as symmetrical, snow white and perfectly shaved as many diagrams would have us believe.
"By seeing 200-plus examples, women might learn that what they think is 'ugly' or 'weird' about their own anatomy could actually be quite normal," Kraemer said.
She also rebuffed the suggestion that the vulva collection could be viewed as pornographic.
"The shots are not seductive or titillating - they're shot by our members and are never retouched," Kramer said. "They're presented in a factual format and may include vulvas with tampon strings or gentian violet, scarred breasts and stomachs from surgeries and all of the other personal details that take us from being objects to being real-life women."
The EBP entries are locked to prevent the images from appearing in search engines or LJ-feeds. Anyone can access the photos, however, by signing up for a free Livejournal account and joining the VP community. Also, any vulva-owner at least 18 years old can participate in the project by e-mailing a photo to Kraemer,
No one need fear negative responses, either.
"We also have a rule that members cannot comment on individual pictures," Kraemer said. "This keeps the spirit of empowerment and the idea that all of us are normal and natural."
While she was a bit apprehensive before submitting her own vulva photo, Kraemer said she mustered up the gumption to add her own a year and a half after the project's start. "I did it because after viewing the submissions from other women in the community, I felt more confident and secure in my own body, and I felt that I had something a little different to share," Kraemer said. "I wanted to the project to continue to thrive, and without submissions, it won't.
"I will proudly stand up and say that I've submitted."
Anyone who wishes to view the EBP's collection of vulva (or any other part) photos can find them at VP's Web site, community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina. The EBP entries are currently locked, however, as said before, access is possible by obtaining a free Livejournal account at livejournal.com and joining the VP community.
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