This Is About Your Vagina

Feeling empowered to talk about your body openly and without embarrassment is essential for about a million reasons. So why are so many girls still silent?

- By Erin Sargent

Vagina. There, we said it. Feel like you can say it, too? Out loud? If you’re embarrassed by words like vagina, vulva and labia, you’re not alone: Tons of teen girls have problems verbalizing them. But take a step back and think about that for a second. Why are we uncomfortable talking about our own bodies?

In a perfect world, all of us (teens and grown-ups alike) would be able to talk about vaginas like we discuss the weather, but statistics show that’s not true.

According to The Eve Appeal, an ovarian cancer research organization, 65% of young women balk at words like vagina. Even more problematic? One in 10 struggles to talk about those body parts with their doc.

Saying it out loud for those cringing in the back: Being able to talk about your vagina without embarrassment, shame or hesitation is extremely important—for your health, body image and sense of self. That’s why we reached out to gynecologists and activists for help. Because it’s time to find our voices and advocate for our bodies. Yep, every part of them.

YOUR BODY, FOR LIFE

You only get one body, so having an empowered relationship with it is absolutely essential. But that can feel difficult when the world around you makes talking about your body—especially your vagina—seem taboo.

Growing up, Kelsey H., 15, remembers how she’d “be hushed or even get in trouble for saying words like vagina out loud,” she recalls. “And as I got older, the stigma was still there.”