When I was a young girl, I never gave much thought to my vulva. As a matter of fact, I didn’t care at all that I had one. It was just a slit I had between my legs that made me wear the puffy dresses and patent leather shoes my mother would buy me. But, as I grew and started to comprehend the complexity of womanhood, I was aware that that slit came with rules and expectations. Both that are incredibly hard to follow and live up to. I used to think that I was nowhere near to being like that cookie cutter mold imposed by those expectations, and I hated my body so much for so long because of it. I was embarrassed to have sex, mortified to show it for the first time to my gynaecologist, angry because it didn’t look like the petite ones I saw that one time I wasn’t supposed to. Then, one magical day I fell in love… with myself. And I finally understood that my slit, my beautiful vulva, was perfect just the way it was.
D. - 24 years old