INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Vagina Univeristy!
It is with great pleasure that we inform you that you have been accepted for admission to Vagina University—welcome! Your SAT or ACT scores don’t matter here, but you will find that PMS is a relevant part of the curriculum, and by virtue of owning a vagina, you are have free admission for life. In the time you spend with us, we hope that you will learn more about your body—especially that powerful little organ called the vagina. We would like to clear up any misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the whys and hows of female reproductive health and have some fun learning along the way.
Vagina University was founded by the editors of Women’s Health magazine and became a section on the Web site Womenshealthmag.com to educate, empower, and inform women. We’ve written blogs, published articles, and compiled listicles tackling issues like “Your Vagina On Sex” and “Nine Weird Vagina Issues—Solved!”—all the while talking to experts and doctors to keep our advice on the cutting edge. This book takes on all vagina-related issues, questions, and more, digging a little deeper and expanding on the discussions to place the information in context so that you will gain a more complete understanding of your awesome, complex, wonderful vaginal and reproductive self.
Don’t worry—it’s not at all like a textbook or health class (although we are going to take you on a tour of your lady parts just in case you need a refresher course or if you have never dared to look “down there”). We are going to cover the basics of your anatomy and reveal how all your amazing parts work together. From periods to PMS, from embarrassing itches to health concerns, from hair removal to hormones, we will cover it all. We’ll help you better understand your hormones and why you act, think, and feel the way you do when they are off balance. And your monthly unwelcome visitor? Well, we’ll talk about that, too, and how to best manage that situation, perhaps moving away from seeing that time of the month as a “curse” and more of a simple fact of life. Sometimes, if we think of something as dreaded and awful, it becomes dreaded and awful, but maybe we can flip the switch on your period perspective! We’ll lift a bit of that stigma and help you sail through that unpleasant stretch with some clever and effective coping mechanisms from pads and tampons, to herbs and yoga, to medications and help from your trusty gynecologist. And if your period is truly troublesome, we hope that some of the information and strategies we provide here can help you not just survive your monthly menace but resolve issues or find ways to reduce the impact of your period on your life so you can live the way the smiling women in tampons commercials do—or as close to it as possible.
To that end, we will share with you warning signs of potential health issues that may seem as if they just come with the menstrual territory but that should really be looked into by a medical professional. We hope to give you information so you can have a much clearer sense of what is typical and establish your own baseline of “normal”—with the caveat that what is “normal” for you might not be “normal” for your best friend—so that you know when you should seek medical care and information. Should you find yourself facing a health issue, we will outline some of the most common diagnoses that women face, explain the symptoms and solutions, and give practical self-help advice so you can better manage a disorder, disease, or infection.
VU is not all about itches and illnesses because—like at every college or university—there is sex! Yes, we are going to talk about gender, sex, sexuality, and sexual identity. We’ll cover the mechanics (how to insert slot A into tab B—and variations on that theme), but we’ll also talk about how sex isn’t only about the mechanics, and that being able to communicate what you want and understand your body and how it responds to stimulation will get you where you want to go: to the Big O. We’ll talk about sexual wellness and intimacy, too, and because safer sex is always your best option whenever you hit the sheets—we’ll tell you how safer is sexy!
And because we live in the real world, and it can seem that simply being a woman can draw unwelcome attention on the street and in the workplace, we’ll cover what can happen, what crosses a line, and your options for coping and making it stop. The Internet will get some attention, too: Because we all spend time online, we’ll give you pointers on how to stay safe when you are clicking and swiping all day and all night. We will also cover issues like consent, harassment, and rape as well as how to advocate for yourself and keep yourself safe.
We’re looking forward to spending time with you at VU, and we are confident that the knowledge you gain here will serve you well as you bring greater understanding to an important part of your anatomy and empower yourself to take charge of your physical and sexual health and self.
INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
Welcome to Vagina Univeristy!
It is with great pleasure that we inform you that you have been accepted for admission to Vagina University—welcome! Your SAT or ACT scores don’t matter here, but you will find that PMS is a relevant part of the curriculum, and by virtue of owning a vagina, you are have free admission for life. In the time you spend with us, we hope that you will learn more about your body—especially that powerful little organ called the vagina. We would like to clear up any misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the whys and hows of female reproductive health and have some fun learning along the way.
Vagina University was founded by the editors of Women’s Health magazine and became a section on the Web site Womenshealthmag.com to educate, empower, and inform women. We’ve written blogs, published articles, and compiled listicles tackling issues like “Your Vagina On Sex” and “Nine Weird Vagina Issues—Solved!”—all the while talking to experts and doctors to keep our advice on the cutting edge. This book takes on all vagina-related issues, questions, and more, digging a little deeper and expanding on the discussions to place the information in context so that you will gain a more complete understanding of your awesome, complex, wonderful vaginal and reproductive self.
Don’t worry—it’s not at all like a textbook or health class (although we are going to take you on a tour of your lady parts just in case you need a refresher course or if you have never dared to look “down there”). We are going to cover the basics of your anatomy and reveal how all your amazing parts work together. From periods to PMS, from embarrassing itches to health concerns, from hair removal to hormones, we will cover it all. We’ll help you better understand your hormones and why you act, think, and feel the way you do when they are off balance. And your monthly unwelcome visitor? Well, we’ll talk about that, too, and how to best manage that situation, perhaps moving away from seeing that time of the month as a “curse” and more of a simple fact of life. Sometimes, if we think of something as dreaded and awful, it becomes dreaded and awful, but maybe we can flip the switch on your period perspective! We’ll lift a bit of that stigma and help you sail through that unpleasant stretch with some clever and effective coping mechanisms from pads and tampons, to herbs and yoga, to medications and help from your trusty gynecologist. And if your period is truly troublesome, we hope that some of the information and strategies we provide here can help you not just survive your monthly menace but resolve issues or find ways to reduce the impact of your period on your life so you can live the way the smiling women in tampons commercials do—or as close to it as possible.
To that end, we will share with you warning signs of potential health issues that may seem as if they just come with the menstrual territory but that should really be looked into by a medical professional. We hope to give you information so you can have a much clearer sense of what is typical and establish your own baseline of “normal”—with the caveat that what is “normal” for you might not be “normal” for your best friend—so that you know when you should seek medical care and information. Should you find yourself facing a health issue, we will outline some of the most common diagnoses that women face, explain the symptoms and solutions, and give practical self-help advice so you can better manage a disorder, disease, or infection.
VU is not all about itches and illnesses because—like at every college or university—there is sex! Yes, we are going to talk about gender, sex, sexuality, and sexual identity. We’ll cover the mechanics (how to insert slot A into tab B—and variations on that theme), but we’ll also talk about how sex isn’t only about the mechanics, and that being able to communicate what you want and understand your body and how it responds to stimulation will get you where you want to go: to the Big O. We’ll talk about sexual wellness and intimacy, too, and because safer sex is always your best option whenever you hit the sheets—we’ll tell you how safer is sexy!
And because we live in the real world, and it can seem that simply being a woman can draw unwelcome attention on the street and in the workplace, we’ll cover what can happen, what crosses a line, and your options for coping and making it stop. The Internet will get some attention, too: Because we all spend time online, we’ll give you pointers on how to stay safe when you are clicking and swiping all day and all night. We will also cover issues like consent, harassment, and rape as well as how to advocate for yourself and keep yourself safe.
We’re looking forward to spending time with you at VU, and we are confident that the knowledge you gain here will serve you well as you bring greater understanding to an important part of your anatomy and empower yourself to take charge of your physical and sexual health and self.
INTRODUCTION
