Read My Lips Read Free Page B

it changed.
Vanessa had previously been at a conference talking about her labia research when a person pointed out how problematic the language was that she was using. Instead, he suggested that perhaps we should all use “inner labia” and “outer labia” rather than “labia minora” and “labia majora.” Why?
Well, labia can vary in size. And although the inner lips are sometimes smaller than (and thus “minor” as compared to) the outer lips (the labia majora), this is not always the case. This man, and then Vanessa, felt we could be setting women up for misperceptions about their bodies if the term “labia minora” suggests that inner lips should be small.
After thinking about it in this way, Debby and Vanessa have both tried to use the terms “inner labia” or “inner lips” more often when referring to the labia minora, though old habits can die hard. If you see us out and about and using the term “labia minora,” give us a nudge in the right direction, will you?
    The outer labia encase the inner parts of the vulva, such as the clitoris, clitoral hood, and the vaginal entrance. However, there is some variability in terms of the size, shape, and color of women’s outer and inner labia. 8 The labia minora , which are also sometimes called the inner vaginal lips, are sometimes smaller than the labia majora (or outer vaginal lips) and sometimes longer than the labia majora. Not a lot of women and men know this because, as Vanessa discovered in a research study that she and her colleagues at George Washington University in Washington, DC, conducted, inner labia that hang down lower than the outer labia are often missing from sexually explicit magazines such as Playboy —probably thanks to digital editing or air-brushing techniques. 11 If the famous fictional detective Nancy Drew were more progressive and took on vulva-related cases, there would perhaps be a story called The Case of the Missing Labia .
    As a result of inner labia that are mostly missing or airbrushed out of porn and other sexual images, many people don’t know how creative nature has been with women’s genitals and what a wide range of labia exist in the wild—and by “the wild” we mean in women’s bedrooms, apartments, tents, and mud huts around the world. Vulvas are incredibly diverse—just like faces. No wonder so many artists have portrayed women’s genitals with such beauty and reverence. 6 , 12
    VULVARIATIONS
    The inner labia (labia minora) are perhaps the most diverse part of women’s genitals. The color of women’s inner labia may vary greatly from one woman to the next. 8 They may be a shade of pink, red, brown, gray, black, or slightly purple (particularly as women become sexually aroused and blood flow increases to the genitals, as the inner labia are filled with blood vessels; inner labia also sometimes darken in color while a woman is pregnant). The outer ridges of the inner labia are often darker than the rest of the labia. Similarly, in one study, forty-one of fifty women (92 percent) had genitals that were darker than the skin around their genitals. 8
    Like a woman’s eyes, ears, and breasts, women’s inner labia are usually not symmetrical. One labium (the singular version of labia) may be longer, differently shaped, or differently “textured” compared to the other one. It is critical to understand that this is a normal part of development. Because the inner labia don’t have fat in them (unlike with outer labia, which contain fat that acts like padding to keep the genitals safe and comfortable), the inner labia are thinner and may lay in ways that give them the appearance of assorted shapes. In fact, the inner labia can take on a variety of shapes depending on how one holds them up or down or to the sides. If you have a full-length mirror, you might find it interesting to sit in front of it (make sure the room is well lit), spread your legs open enough so that you can view your genitals, and then see how