When I saw this tweet for the first time, it made my blood boil. The fact that someone had the audacity to post something so wrong, so sexist, and so misogynistic on Twitter is telling of how society views women.
Before we talk about what is so wrong about this picture, we have to understand what exactly this person is saying. My interpretation is as follows:
The two sandwiches represent a vulva, or external genitalia that includes the opening of the vagina, the labia majora, labia minora, and the clitoris. The left sandwich has a very pronounced structure while the right does not. The poster then writes that their daughters’ vulva looks like the right sandwich while Taylor Swifts’ looks like the left. They seem to suggest that people who aren’t virgins, or that have had multiple sexual partners, have more pronounced labia. And since Taylor Swift has had many partners, she must have a more pronounced labia.The reason why their daughters’ labia looks like the right sandwich is because they preach Christianity, which tends to forbid sexual relations before marriage.
First of all, the only thing that dictates the size and shape of someone’s vulva is genetics. That’s it. Also, I’ve never really understood the argument that having multiple partners changes the shape of your organs because logically, it makes no sense.
Let’s dissect some of the language used in the post. What does Christianity have anything to do with the shape and size of someone’s vulva? There seems to be a pervasive misconception that women who have not had intercourse have smaller labia, and therefore, women who practice religions that discourage intercourse before marriage should also have small labia, but that is incorrect. Labia come in all different shapes, sizes, folds, etc and it has nothing to do with your sexual experiences.
Another common error that many folks make is the conflation of vagina with vulva. The vagina is the opening to the uterus. What this person is trying to represent is the vulva, or the outer portions of the vaginal opening. Vulva =/= vagina
Finally, I find it quite absurd that this person is talking about their daughter’s vulva in this way and in such a public setting. How embarrassing must it be for their daughter! It’s borderline sexual harassment. Furthermore, why would you shame another woman, i.e. Taylor Swift, like this? Why would you talk about another woman’s genitalia? It’s rude, insensitive, and frankly perverted.
With that said, there is this fascinating art exhibit called The Great Wall of Vagina, which is a 26-foot-long sculpture series of 400 plaster casts of REAL vulvas. The artist, Jaime McCartney, wanted to show how external genitalia are all different. Take a look below:
The Great Wall of Vagina displayed at Glastonbury. Photograph: James McCauley. From The Guardian.
As you can see, vulvas truly come in all different shapes and sizes and there is nothing wrong with that!
If you are interested in learning more about the diversity of vulvas, check out @the.vulva.gallery on Instagram!
