“The real taboo is not sex but the relationship of people with vulva to their sex and their body”*. A few months ago, a reality TV candidate created controversy, taking her millions of young subscribers on social networks to an appointment with her gynecologist for a “vagina rejuvenation“. In addition to the misunderstanding between vagina and vulva, conveying the idea that a vulva must respond to aesthetic injunctions is particularly worrying. “You shouldn’t blame her, comments Laura Stromboni-Couzy, contacted by TopSanté. She is simply a victim of a society that does not know women’s bodies, which does not know women’s desires and yet constantly hypersexualizes women’s bodies.”
In 2018, deeply moved by the #MeToo movement, the artistic director and web designer launched the Instagram account @MyDearVagina. “I wanted to create a creative space on all of these questions”. Quickly, the account becomes an art gallery specializing in the representation of vulvas. “It’s basically curation, where I show the work of artists. In the book, it’s about my work.”
There are no lips too small or too big
Laura Stromboni-Couzy has used all the mediums at her disposal to show the diversity of the female sex. “I want to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the human body through art”, notes the author in the foreword of the book. Because each vulva is unique, that there are no normal or abnormal vulvas, no labia that are too small or too big, no clitoris that is too prominent or not, My Dear Vagina is a celebration of diversity. The message gets across through drawings, paintings, collages that challenge, arouse curiosity and arouse interest. It’s beautiful, creative, but not only.
“I re-educated myself”
Laura Stromboni-Couzy relies on this aesthetic and sophisticated gateway to inform and popularize. “Mainstream porn and sexualized representations of women’s bodies in no way reflect reality or the diversity of our bodies. The patriarchal society appropriates women’s bodies by leaving them on the low side. We are given no keys to solving any problem, medical or sexual. I first re-educated myself to be able to use this book to contribute to the re-education of others”, explains the web-designer.
The year of the 365 vulvas thus staged is divided into four ages, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and middle age. Anatomy of the vulva, genital system, uterus, clitoris, infantile masturbation, consent, menstrual cycle, menstrual protection, hygiene, vulvar pathologies, sexuality, penetration, self-exploration, masturbation, contraception, fertility, infertility, pregnancy, cancer of the cervix, abortion, obstetrical violence, urinary leakage, menopause, post-menopause, sexuality of seniors… These major subjects in the lives of half of the world’s population are discussed using testimonials, scientific data, words of experts and figures. “This book is not a medical book. It is out of the question to be exhaustive on all of these subjects. But I wanted to address them, make them accessible to everyone. It is a basis that should make you want to go deeper and know where to go to find information”, explains Laura Stromboni-Couzy.
“A genital turning point in feminism”
My Dear Vagina “has been thought and written for all those who wish to learn more about the said reproductive system known as ‘feminine’ and its wonderful functioning. But it is dedicated more particularly to all people with vulva or vagina. All those who ask themselves questions about their body, its mechanisms, its appearance, its evils, its evolution, its messages, its mutism. Those who are in misunderstanding. ”, note the author in the foreword.
Really taking power over your body, your mind, your health, your pleasure, requires a solid knowledge of yourself. For the philosopher Camille Froidevaux-Metterie, philosopher, figure of feminism quoted in the book, “we are at a genital turning point in feminism and a battle of intimacy”. Thanks to numerous accounts on Instagram, books like My Dear Vagina – still unimaginable to see appearing in the catalog of a large publisher like Larousse only a few years ago – women are reinvesting in their own privacy, an essential step towards equality. “There is still a long way to go, but things are really changing,” concludes Laura Stromboni-Couzy.
My Dear Vagina, The Intimate Journal of 365 vulvas, Laura Stromboni-Couzy, Larousse, September 2021.
*Excerpt from the foreword to My Dear Vagina
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