Vulva 90210

The following article was posted on Open Salon by Jennifer Elle Lewis.

"Time has come to see how women measure up."
-The Vagina Institute

To address the current anxieties and judgments women face when confronted by the looks of their genitals, it is useful to describe the ways in which these anxieties are manifested. One place that serves as a good example of the pressures that can be brought to bear on women’s attitudes about their genitalia, and the “choice” to alter them, is the pseudo-medical website for The Vagina Institute (http://www.vaginainstitute.com).

They have a page titled, “Interactive Vaginal Tests,” where they ask “How well does your womanhood measure up?” For $17.95 a month, one can gain access to the site, where they “put on display vulvas and vaginas in a visual and uncensored manner allowing you to see and explore the differences between pretty and ugly female genitalia.”  (1)  The Institute also offers the service of assessing member’s vaginas themselves. Each member can submit a photo of their vagina, along with their height and weight, “vaginal measurements,” and a list of vaginal odours and fluids.  The Institute will inform the participant if their vagina is sufficiently “pretty” or “ugly,” “large” or “small,” “normal” or “abnormal.”

To read full story, click here.

Comments

[Prudence]

Oh My God! Aren't women battling enough stereotypes about how they should look? It never even occured to me that my "uglies" might be more ugly than the next woman's and I'm not sure it would ever occur to the man/woman I was with either. I think generally the female form is a beautiful thing, and by the time you're getting to the stage where people are seeing that part of each other it's pretty much accepted that you already fancy each other, plus you've got certain desires on your mind which will not be affected by the prim and perfect nature of the other person's genitalia!

I've come here from a link on Feministing.com. I was rather disappointed to be unable to find the Shameless Self Promotion post on there - I presume they don't do it any more, I'm hoping some people might read my blog sometime...

[Teresa]

Wow, I didn't know our vaginas were up for comparison and measurement. I wonder if their are sites for men to check if they 'measure up.' These people are trying to create unreal flaws so they can make money off cutting up vaginas.