A note on language: In biology the word vulva is used to describe female external genitalia. Sexual dynamism assumes there are only two types of genitals that belong to two types of genders, either cis men or cis women. The use of the word vulva is very intentional, to juxtapose this narrow narrative with stories about bodies and health that are both within and beyond the gender and genitalia binary. I often use vulva and genitalia alongside each other because we all use different language name our body parts. So as you read, please feel free to insert any language you use to describe your body.
My personal relationship with my body has always been a challenging one. Not knowing or understanding what was happening when my body underwent changes, not having words to give my changing feelings about my body as my gender and sexuality shifted, working through why certain touches felt good and others bad and working through experiences of sexual violence. Carving out a path to heal and claim rightful ownership over my own body was a struggle for a long time. Moreover, I wasn't even sure who to talk to, or what the right questions to ask were. So this remained a deeply internal struggle for a long time. My relationship to my body became far more complex once I started consensually sharing myself with other people. I didn't get the chance to feel like I had gotten to a point where I was attuned to the harmony between my mind and body because it was suddenly disrupted, by new sensations, other peoples perceptions, values, and bodies. Consensual or not, finding a place to negotiate what I felt okay with, and understanding my health seemed out of reach. It took a long time for me to move away from blaming myself for the experiences I had had, to come to a place where I could start reflecting on them and asking why, and feeling safe enough to seek knowledge and care for my variety of health needs.
Why specifically female external genitalia? Physically, the variation of female external genitalia is not regularly engaged with, and we can't easily see all the parts. Engaging with them seems like an in passing relationship; when we use the washroom, maybe when giving birth, when having sex, masturbating, possibly when changing what ever we use while bleeding on our cycle, etc. It seems like engaging mostly serves as a means to an end, and is not necessarily for the sake of getting to know our genitals and all it's parts. Engaging with female external genitalia requires a lot of intention to get to know (being able to move about, use a mirror to look, and move all the parts around to see everything). I dunno about y'all, but I was never encouraged to do so. Socially, there are few places where we can exchange and access information that isn't narrow depictions of reproduction and sexual availability, which I think this leads to unnecessary health complications and fosters many violent contexts for our bodies. Knowing allows us to make more informed and self-directed decisions about our health as opposed to being persuaded by others (i.e. family, social groups, media, doctors, pharmaceutical companies and so on).
This blog and the tactile crochet genitalia serve to share knowledge about intersecting realities and falsehoods that surround our health. It is to move beyond representing vulvas and genitals as objects of sexual consumption and reproduction, and as a symbols of binaries. Check:Genitalia Storyweaving to contribute!
My personal relationship with my body has always been a challenging one. Not knowing or understanding what was happening when my body underwent changes, not having words to give my changing feelings about my body as my gender and sexuality shifted, working through why certain touches felt good and others bad and working through experiences of sexual violence. Carving out a path to heal and claim rightful ownership over my own body was a struggle for a long time. Moreover, I wasn't even sure who to talk to, or what the right questions to ask were. So this remained a deeply internal struggle for a long time. My relationship to my body became far more complex once I started consensually sharing myself with other people. I didn't get the chance to feel like I had gotten to a point where I was attuned to the harmony between my mind and body because it was suddenly disrupted, by new sensations, other peoples perceptions, values, and bodies. Consensual or not, finding a place to negotiate what I felt okay with, and understanding my health seemed out of reach. It took a long time for me to move away from blaming myself for the experiences I had had, to come to a place where I could start reflecting on them and asking why, and feeling safe enough to seek knowledge and care for my variety of health needs.
Why specifically female external genitalia? Physically, the variation of female external genitalia is not regularly engaged with, and we can't easily see all the parts. Engaging with them seems like an in passing relationship; when we use the washroom, maybe when giving birth, when having sex, masturbating, possibly when changing what ever we use while bleeding on our cycle, etc. It seems like engaging mostly serves as a means to an end, and is not necessarily for the sake of getting to know our genitals and all it's parts. Engaging with female external genitalia requires a lot of intention to get to know (being able to move about, use a mirror to look, and move all the parts around to see everything). I dunno about y'all, but I was never encouraged to do so. Socially, there are few places where we can exchange and access information that isn't narrow depictions of reproduction and sexual availability, which I think this leads to unnecessary health complications and fosters many violent contexts for our bodies. Knowing allows us to make more informed and self-directed decisions about our health as opposed to being persuaded by others (i.e. family, social groups, media, doctors, pharmaceutical companies and so on).
This blog and the tactile crochet genitalia serve to share knowledge about intersecting realities and falsehoods that surround our health. It is to move beyond representing vulvas and genitals as objects of sexual consumption and reproduction, and as a symbols of binaries. Check:Genitalia Storyweaving to contribute!
