Vagina

I loved every page of the book. I think there are so many information out there about our own body what a woman need to know. This book is amazing and reasuring women about think positively about their body.

I love how this book give empowerment to woman to talk about their body and do not feel ashame to call it on name, check and talk about their vulva, vagina or any other part.

In this book Lynn Enright explores the marginalisation and misunderstandings around the vagina and vulva in common knowledge, science, and medicine. Enright investigates the biology of the vulva and deconstructs binary concepts of sex, gender, and genitalia, presenting thorough and well-researched information through a combination of statistical analysis and personal testimonies. Enright approaches feminist concepts with a clear voice and argues that an intersectional understanding of feminism and an emphasis on education around the vulva and vagina in feminist politics are not opposing ideas.

'There is sometimes a sense that to be a feminist who cares about vaginas is to be a person who does not care about trans rights. I reject this notion completely. To put it plainly, I think the suggestion that a woman can’t care about vaginas and trans rights is deeply misogynistic.
[...]
I do not believe that there has to be a battle between those who care about vaginas and those who care about trans rights. I think it is possible to care about both.'

I personally found much of the information on the menopause fascinating, as there is little general information about it and many women are reticent to share their experiences. The statistics about the representation of middle-aged men and women in film and television was shocking, and shows how the stories and knowledge of older women are silenced and censored through popular culture.

'Aged 42– 65, men had 55 million words: this was when they were most powerful, when they delivered impassioned monologues or portrayed sparring lawyers or wooed much younger women with long-winded jokes. Aged 42– 65, women had 11 million words. They were being disappeared.'

One thing I found disappointing was the lack of information about Lichen Sclerosus. Enright described a multitude of medical conditions and symptoms, particularly those that affect perimenopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal women, and yet didnt make a single mention of Lichen Sclerosus at all. Some conditions she mentions: Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), cystitis, UTIs, vulvodynia, vaginal dryness, etc. She also goes into detail about hormone changes during the menopausal stages. LS is a serious and incurable condition found in all ages, but according to current statistics mostly in post-menopausal women (although in my opinion that's a result of lack of awareness and data). It causes scarring, atrophy, difficulty with sex, itching, and increased risk of cancer. Perhaps Enright didn't include LS because of the historic lack of scientific research and persistent misdiagnoses and lack of knowledge of the condition amongst doctors, but that ignorance is exactly the problem that this book is trying to interrogate.

Ultimately I enjoyed Enright's authenticity and straightforward voice, and would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with a vulva. This book is focussed specifically on the vagina and vulva and menopause and representation, although with thorough awareness of the complexities of gender and sex in the conversations, and while for the majority of the text she uses cisnormative language, this awareness that binary language and thinking is outdated, is sorely lacking in most texts on this subject.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review.