Vulvovaginal Wellness » Culture & Society
A broad and open conversation about the intersection of mental, physical, and vulvovaginal health. Science, opinion, musings, and mantras. We explore it all.
Reverse Black Friday 2020
In lieu of a traditional Black Friday sale, we want to reverse it, and give back through conscious consumerism. Friday through Sunday, we will donate 100% of profits to Covenant House, a nonprofit that provides housing and support services to homeless, runaway and trafficked youth. Shop here to support our future. Families come in...
Sex Worker Rights Around the World
In order to imagine a better, safer future for sex workers, it’s important to look for precedents. It has become increasingly obvious in recent years where our country lacks in terms of equality, freedoms, and bodily autonomy, and we need to look to other nations, learn from their mistakes, and collaborate as a global network to ensure that sex worker rights are protected.
Choosing Not to Vote is A Privilege Millions Wish They Had
words by Arielle Egozi (she/her)@LADYSAVAJ 2020. A global pandemic. Forest fires caused by climate change — and gender reveal parties. Cities on fire. Funerals for the state-sanctioned murders of black men. A mammoth economic recession. Mass joblessness. Isolation. Black Panther and RBG have met each other in the place superheroes...
Big Boobs: Confessions From Someone Who Has Them
I have big boobs. You’ve probably already noticed.
I’ve spent the entirety of my post-pubescent life trying to hide them, ignore them, and pretend they don’t exist. This proves to be rather difficult when you have boobs as big as mine.
Facing Misdiagnoses: BIPOCs & Trans Folks Take Sexual Health Into Their Own Hands
words by Tara Michaela (she/her) @tara.michaelaFavorite Product: Salve & Tonic Medicine and profit are related. Now more than ever, we see a system where medical school and health care organizations are often funded by pharmaceutical companies or politically motivated businesspeople. The system of corporations that finance health care services for profit is...
Shedding Sexual Shame
Sexual empowerment is an aspect of my sexual expression that I hold dear to my heart. But as I reflect on this, I notice that my journey to sexual liberation has been more of a marathon rather than a sprint. At a young age, I quickly learned that sexual empowerment can be weaponized against people with vaginas.
Vagina is #NotADirtyWord
The words we use for our genitals can bring up all kinds of feelings—from good to bad to ugly. Some adults still use the euphemisms we were taught when younger and avoid using anatomical terms for body parts altogether out of shame, or simply because they were never taught the proper terms.
Libido on Lockdown
words by Bree (she/her)@baebaeleche I can’t quite remember the moment I realized my partner’s body had become as familiar to me as my own. Was it when I could pinpoint which unibrow hair always grew the longest? Or when I could tell what he ate based on the nature of...
Getting to the Root of It: The Etymology of Vagina
By examining the meanings (both literal and figurative) of vaginas and their surprisingly brief recorded history, we may begin to understand why the word for a body part remains—to this day—enshrouded in stigma and shame.
The ABC's of LGBTQIA
Language is unique and universal, acquired and amended over time. We've compiled an abbreviated list of the ever-evolving dictionary of LGBTQIA+ terms used to help explain identity, gender, sexuality, and their varying spectrums. The following explanations are in no way all-inclusive and people are always free to choose to identify how they...
Meet the Photographer Celebrating Trans Existence
Documenting their lived experiences as a chronically ill, non-binary transgender artist coming of age amid the rise of social media, Laurence Philomene's photography illustrates a form of radical self-care while their long-form collaborative and autobiographical projects celebrate trans existence and identity as a space in constant flux.
A New Kind of Pride
words by Casey Tanner (she/her)@queersextherapy This month, many in the LGBTQIA+ community are holding space for grief, protest, and celebration as Pride month intersects with both quarantine and anti-racist protests across the world. While few queer folks know what it’s like to confront pride during a quarantine, holding space...
Pride's Proud Roots in Riot
June marks the beginning of Pride—a month dedicated to honoring LGBTQ+ people, places, and things that affirm queer existence. Past years have bathed the world with colorful streams of rainbows and glitter to celebrate social progress and self-acceptance. This year, Pride is perhaps more profound than ever as it coincides...
Philanthropy & The Organizations We Support
As a company that works at the intersection of sexual and mental health, we know that changing the world takes effort, intention, and daily action. It requires an openness to learning, unlearning, and a practice of reflection and self examination. It means pushing to the edges and embracing the complexity...
Redefining Activism
words by Kénta Xiadani Ch’umil@kenta.chumil Activism. Once a daunting word, it now steals mainstream media’s headlines. We are all familiar with the traditional definition of activism: “an action or actions of using vigorous campaigning and other techniques to bring about social or political change.” As youth, we are taught that...
Stuff You Should Know: The Tampon Tax & Period Poverty
The marginalization of menstruation goes much further than the physical burden of bleeding and bloating. Periods place extra socioeconomic stress on those who menstruate, highlighting the economic inequalities between people with and without vulvas that goes well beyond the pay and pleasure gaps. It’s not news that our country...
Mind the (Pleasure) Gap: Gender Inequality in the Bedroom
It is a truth self-evident that pleasure is inequitable. Our privilege to pleasure is defined by our social status, compressed and constrained by financial position, race, gender, and sexual orientation. However, the problem is not necessarily the pursuit of pleasure, but how we achieve and define what is pleasurable. We...
Rewriting the Motherhood Manifesto
The formula of what motherhood is and is not is ingrained in our society and sedimented in our cultural practices from birth. Mothers are expected to form intense emotional bonds with their children while overseeing their physical, moral, and educational development; mothers are disciplinarians, our friends and confidants, our tutors,...
The Intersection of Sexual & Mental Health
We’ve rounded up a list of some of our favorite websites, apps, and people who have helped us better understand our bodies while discovering innovative and practical ways to reverse the negative connotations we have been taught to associate with our sexuality.
Entropy, Earth Day & EPA Rollbacks
Covid-19 has destabilized our lives beyond recognition but another (in)visible pandemic has been affecting our society, economy, and earth for decades. The climate change crisis has been pushed to the background, dismissed as socialist pipe dreams, and explained away by world leaders that we entrust to guide us. The...
