“Your vulva is art!”

“For a long time, I struggled to accept and like my vulva, I even thought there was something wrong with it. I used to warn my partners beforehand, as I was afraid they might be repulsed if I didn't. Some years later, I discovered vulva art. First, the Great Wall of Vulvas made me realize that my vulva was, in fact, normal. After some time, I discovered The Vulva Gallery, which helped me see the beauty in all those different vulvas. This helped me accept my vulva, even though I still couldn't see the beauty in mine. 

That changed last March when my partner took a (consensual) picture of my vulva. He had praised how beautiful my vulva was many times before, but I still couldn't fully believe him. At first, I didn’t want to look at the picture, as I was scared I’d find it repulsive, but curiosity got the better of me, and I looked anyway. What I saw completely changed my perspective. 

The picture, taken from my partner's viewpoint, finally made me believe him. My vulva is, in fact, beautiful. It took some more time and additional pictures for me to fully believe and feel it, but now I’m finally there. I like my vulva, and I’m very thankful for her. To celebrate that, I decided to have my very own vulva art painted by Sam. Here I am sharing and celebrating my story because it's worth celebrating and also because some of you might still struggle. I’m here to tell you: Your vulva is beautiful! Your vulva is art!” – A, 24 years old, Germany (she/her)