Up Close and Personal With Dr. Jen Gunter's "The Vagina Bible"
“ No woman has ever benefited from learning less about her body.”
Before Reading The Vagina Bible
At fifteen, I was adjusting to the big, bad world of public school, after spending my first eight years at a tiny private school. But my parents decided to pull me out and send me to a new school approximately twenty-four times bigger. Not not exciting...not not intimidating.
At my new high school, it wasn’t uncommon to hear about things like two students getting suspended, caught doing “stuff” under the staircase; or that one teacher got knocked up by another mid-affair; or that the track team started mandating gender-separate buses to track meets, when before, all athletes used to share one bus...you get it. Between starting high school and graduating, three of my homeroom classmates got pregnant.
Pretty much, sexual activity ran rampant at my new school. It was a brave new world for an unassuming (and sheltered) fifteen-year-old.
So in the spring of 2008, I received a thirty-minute lecture from my hippie health teacher, where I did learn a few things: statistically, one in twelve penetrative sexual encounters result in pregnancy. (Yikes, scary.) That, and that our teacher found the term fallopian amusingly odd, so he kept repeating it: fallopian…fallopian…fallopian…and that was about it.
Sure, throughout the rest of school I’d “learn” new things here and there: college friends swearing by gorging on pineapple the morning before a hookup (to achieve a certain desirable taste down there), or taking cranberry (pills? Or juice?) to help with UTIs - and other weird claims. One scary Seventeen article even frightened me off wearing thongs for a while.
But in a classroom setting where clinical studies and textbooks were the resources - not Hayley from sixth grade who learned everything from her older stepbrother - all I really had was that week-long lesson in high school on sexual health.
That is, it was until I found this book...reminding me that self-empowerment is my responsibility. How? With knowledge! Fast forward twelve years after that awkward health class, and I’m excited to start reading an unusual pick for my first book of 2020: The Vagina Bible. Now that we’re all aware of my lacking knowledge on all things vagina, let’s dive into the book review...
“Buy [The Vagina Bible] if you have a vagina or if you spend any time at all in close proximity to one.”
The sad truth is, unless you pursue higher education in that specific field, the scant bit of schooling like what I had, is about all we get for sex education in the United States. According to Esquire, for instance, only 24 states and the District of Columbia, actually mandate sex education in public schools. Of that half, only 13 even require them to be medically accurate. That’s bananas! (More bananas than the “penis props” few schools are using to teach proper condom placement, an activity my high school did not offer...).
Dr. Jen Hunter via Dame
Even med school needs to step it up here, which remains plagued by limited research, bias, and patriarchal sway. Thankfully, Dr. Gunter’s work is breaking the barrier between the substance (medicine, studies, and research) and the bull crap (wives’ tales, misinformation, and middle school locker room talk.)
Honestly, even at age eleven, I remember my skepticism toward my summer camp bunkmates’ wacky claims, such as falling asleep wearing your bra giving you breast cancer…really??
While Reading TVB
via Twitter
Frustrated by the vastness of misinformation and health hoaxes in our society, Jen Gunter, MD, a practicing OB/GYN in both Canada and the US, sought out to address the confusion. So, in August of last year came The Vagina Bible: The Vulva and the Vagina - Separating the Myth from the Medicine. At nearly 400 pages, it’s no quick beach read (although given the host of vulvar and vaginal irritants at the beach, I'd recommend reading it there anyway).
Nevertheless, Gunter strikes that yummy balance between informative and entertaining; it reads as a note from your very intelligent best friend. Now both a NYT and #1 Canadian best seller, The Vagina Bible is making major waves in the world of women’s health.
Though primarily academic in voice, Gunter weaves in several feminist treats: for instance, unveiling the patriarchal influence on women’s health (pointing to centuries of phallocentrism in art, sculptures, and medicine); tips in choosing a provider; and patient responsibility to self-advocate. Gunter is the real, reliable, no-shits-given OB/GYN we all wish we had.
Babes, here is my highlight reel..
The vagina and vulva are distinctly separate.
While the term vagina is a generic umbrella term for everything “down there”, medically speaking, this is inaccurate. So, say it right! The important components of the female lower genital tract - the two “queens,” if you will - are (1) the vulva, an organ in the female reproductive system, or everything on the outside (whatever touches your clothes); and (2) the vagina, or everything on the inside. They play different roles, and require different treatment and care. Another term many of us know, but may not understand, is the clitoris, which is part of the vulva. The clitoris is the only anatomical structure (in both men and women!) whose sole purpose is for pleasure. How amazing is that!
via Twitter
Vulvas and vaginas are hardy, capable, multi-functional (like a Goldfish), self-cleaning, and responsible for orgasm (unlike a Goldfish).
Leave it to Dr. Gunter to remind us that the vulva and the vagina are hardly given the credit they’re due. “The vulva can handle urine, feces, and blood, and vaginas can handle blood, ejaculate, and a baby, so this idea that a black lace thong is the harbinger of a vaginal or vulvar apocalypse is absurd.” (Evidently, that Seventeen article about thongs that I read in seventh or eighth grade wasn’t as accurate as I’d thought.)To be kept healthy, they do not need steaming, cleansing, special diets, snake oil, jade eggs, shamans, prayer, or cosmetic surgery.
Your relationship between you (the patient) and your provider is very important.
Trust and communication are key components to a successful relationship with your OB/GYN. As women take responsibility in educating themselves on their bodies, this includes finding and partnering with a reliable provider who listens. With the help of a trusted provider, patients can learn about self-care, ask questions freely, and pursue specialist referrals if necessary.
Menopause
Clearly I’m not quite menopausal yet at twenty-seven, but because this life stage aversely affects sex life for about 1 in 4 women (remember Samantha’s alarming hot flashes from Sex and the City?), learning how to treat symptoms can only help. Given our nature to innovate, think of all other treatments that’ll be available decades from now!
Health, Hygiene and Grooming
Bottom line: when it comes to regular upkeep, we don’t need nearly as much as we think. “Your vagina is a self-cleaning oven,” writes Dr. Gunter, scolding menstrual product manufacturers (yes, they should be called menstrual products, not the euphemistic “feminine” products) for their manipulative marketing convincing us that our nether parts are dirty, gross, or smelly. Ladies, your vag is glorious just as is. Period. (See what I did there…)
Dr. Gunter quips that “a vagina is meant to smell like a vagina - not a Piña colada.” Fair point! In fact, many harmful ingredients fly right under the weak radar of our Food and Drug Administration (which regulates menstrual products). Booooo. Love, it’s on YOU to determine what’s in those products on your shelf. Do some research. Become an educated consumer.
According to Dr. Gunter, coconut oil and olive oil are just as effective moisturizers as those pricey and fancily packaged ones (sorry, Goop - maybe rethink selling over-priced moisturizers and other phoney products like jade eggs, or $300 dildos made of glass??)
And, like any other cosmetological procedure (waxing, sugaring, shaving, electrolysis, etc.), each is acceptable as personal choice, but each comes with its own risks. (Click here to read my overview of hair removal options.)
Journal of Old Wives’ Tales
In the last chapter, Dr. Gunter delivers her magnificent address to vaginal myths. Hallelujah!
The claims behind vaginal steaming are a hoax. There are no toxins in your uterus that require flushing out. That is a bogus load of crap.
Douching is not only unnecessary, it’s harmful, and you should never do it (the argument that they’re sold in stores is weak, because so are cigarettes).
Birth control pills do not cause weight gain.
Using essential oils for medical treatment is not backed by science.
Hormonal contraception does not cause infertility.
Eating yogurt does not help with yeast infections any more than pineapple makes your “yoni” taste any better, as food has no direct correlation to vaginal health…sorry ladies.
After Reading TVB
Visiting the gyno. I’m pretty pleased with my shifts in mindset after reading this book: namely, taking initiative with my health. Despite loathing health insurance and its multitude of complications and phone calls, once I finished TVB, I braved the frustration, sought out a gyno, and booked an appointment. Pleased with the privilege to sift through a dozen different specialists nearby, I chose one and scheduled a pelvic exam and PAP smear.
Prompted by Jen’s boldness, I came prepared with questions, feeling confident speaking up if anything felt uncomfortable or painful (now I knew that pelvic exams should not be painful.)
While I sat waiting on the examination table in my paper gown, I looked at myself in the mirror and felt proud of myself. I had taken control of my own health, established great rapport with my new OB/GYN, asked my questions, and had zero discomfort or pain with my exam. She even asked me to send her pictures of my last birth control brand so we could adjust to one that was a better fit for me.
Talking to my partner. This gets real for a second, you guys. While I was excited about everything I’d learned from the book, my partner was...not as enthusiastic. We all love those guy friends that grew up with sisters, and so their attitude toward “woman stuff” is pretty lax and easy. But not all men are that way. With no sisters or much space or experience with discussing these things, my guy was more squeamish talking this stuff out. I had to show him that to be a caring man meant to take some initiative in learning this stuff with me. And I had to learn to be patient in that. It is, after all, a process for two people to step into together. Regardless of your partners’ reactions to your efforts in this, initiate those conversations, and be patient with them.
That said though, whether you know your partner is committed and in this with you for the long haul, or only in this for selfish intentions, is up to you. If they are anything less than kind, supportive, curious, and patient with both you on your journey to knowing more about your health and with you helping them learn your body better, it might be time to reconsider the relationship.
So? Have any of you read TVB? Did anything challenge you? Thoughts, questions, or comments? Leave yours in a comment box below.
