For goodness sake, let the vagina breathe!

Any kind of talk where the human vagina is the center of discussion is never suited for dilettantes. It demands that the speaker is well acquainted with the subject matter and may need some form of boldness to openly speak about, especially when the discussion is outside clinical practice.

Not being a gynecologist, my interest in vagina talk is somewhat informal. So to set my intentions clear, my focus on the vagina is as equivalent to any other body part that is daily tasked with duties that are necessary for the body to survive.

The vagina is well known as a source of sex pleasure which exudes body relaxations, and procreation.

However, the vagina is daily confronted with enormous ‘user’ demands especially from the men. Just like one would pick a shirt size, men often demand for different vagina sizes, depths, shapes, elasticity, wetness, and sometimes even color.

Silently, the woman is always on the move, or run, trying her very best to match these demands. It would be understood if such demands were static, but the opposite is true.

Male demands on vaginas vary by preferences, choice, and age. Time and again, the vagina is expected to live up to the task - causing enormous pressure, anxiety, and stress for the woman.

Little surprising that there is growing business in the provision of vagina adjustment procedures, medication, and surgery.

Among some African societies, adolescent girls are tasked to do certain vagina drills like elongating the clitoris, which is said to enhance sexual satisfaction.

In other instances, acts such as female genital mutilation (FGM) are persistent among cultures around the world as they are motivated by the desire to control women’s sexuality.

Spotlight initiative, a global women’s rights organization estimates that 200 million women and girls worldwide have undergone genital cutting, which involves injuring female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

There is growing evidence that such practices have profound physical and psychological damage on the women, and account for life-long pain, distress and sometimes, death.

Solidarity Now estimates that 55 million girls under the age of 15 have experienced or are at risk of experiencing FGM in Africa. Such practices remain prevalent despite the existence of anti-FGM laws.

Notwithstanding that, there are growing movements to end FGM globally, and these movements have gained traction over the years with state and non-state actors at all levels coalescing around actions designed to address these harmful practices against women.

Suffice to note that female related vaginal struggles are inadequately talked about and in cases where they are discussed, focus is particularly on cultural dysfunctions and drivers specifically FGM and related practices.

The psychological advances and demands from men towards women’s vaginas is never tabled for discussion. Hence the number of women living with the feelings of worthlessness and sexual displeasure is scanty or not known.

The likely dangers of such experiences are neither beyond emotional, nor psychological measures often expressed through addictions to drugs, stress, vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse.

For goodness sake, let the vagina breathe! Women need to feel safe, cared for, and loved irrespective of their vaginal dynamics. Society should learn to let what is be what it is.

What is equally true is the fact that men feel uneasy when women demand specific penis sizes, elongation, thickness, and the likes.

What is true for men is true for women as well. Only that for women, such demands, advances, and practices can be more damaging in severity, prevalence, and negative psychological consequences than for men.

If our societies can recognize that women own the right to their vagina preference, then what barrier can remain for women empowerment and inclusion?

None in my view!

---

Laetitia Mugerwa is a Ugandan writer, and founder of Empowerment Initiative for Women and Youth Uganda that helps rural women and youth attain economic empowerment through skills development.

----

Pulse Contributors is an initiative to highlight diverse journalistic voices. Pulse Contributors do not represent the company Pulse and contribute on their own behalf.