From the age of 13, high school experiences led me to become self-conscious of my vulva. Due to a lack of education and horrible things other students (boys AND girls) said, I came to believe I needed to be “fixed”.
After years of this body shame dictating who I dated and who I let in, I decided to go see a plastic surgeon.
Of course, after two consultations, it was clear that I couldn’t afford the surgery. Eventually, I saved up the money for the cosmetic surgery, but I was lucky enough to see a plastic surgeon who talked me out of altering such a delicate body part.
He told me to go and educate myself on what a normal vulva looks like.
Looking back at the dozens of intimate photos I have taken, I think he would laugh if he saw how seriously I took his advice. But I no longer want to change my labia and I want to do for women all around the world what that one person did for me: I want to educate men and women on what means to be “normal” downstairs.
Listen to Mamamia's daily news podcast, The Quicky, where in this episode, Ellie Sedgwick, photographer and founder of Comfortable In My Skin, speaks about why labia shame is on the rise. Post continues after audio.
This journey has shown me that there is a huge gap in the understanding and acceptance of female genitals.
I’ve learnt that labiaplasty is the fastest-growing cosmetic surgery in the world.
