Libido: Reviews: Femalia

Femalia

By Sharon Peters

What is the one thing horny heterosexual men can’t get enough of?

Right.

Second question: what’s the difference between a vulva and a vagina?

Not really sure? Here’s a hint: One you can shave. One you can’t; unless, maybe, it would be with a potato peeler.

Femalia is a good place to go exploring for the difference.

Femalia offers up 32 full-color, close-up, lick-smacking, life-sized vulvas. And right there in the center of each is the vagina of an adult, presumably sexual, women.

Femalia is not a new book; it dates to 1993. But as I sat in an audience in Chicago recently watching The Vagina Monologues, I got to thinking of it because it was clear to me that when author/actor Eve Ensler was talking about vaginas, she mostly meant vulvas. And nobody in the crowd of mostly worshipful women seemed to notice the distinction, which I take to be a major indicator that sex education in America is even more of a joke than I realized.

But then given the general level of sexual sophistication out there should I have been surprised that women can’t tell the difference between their holes and the whole enchilada? Unfortunately, when we reach adulthood -- let alone when we are born -- nobody hands us an owner’s manual for our body. To find out about the lay of the landscape, let alone the sexual workings of our own bodies, is not that easy.

While most men can’t get enough glimpses of vaginal openings, most women never ever see them. Even if a woman is bold enough to put a mirror between her legs, it’s not too likely that she’ll get a good look up any other woman’s legs. And that’s too bad in my book, because all this lack of information leads to much needless worry about whether one’s genitals are "normal," or if they will scare off potential lovers because inner lips are too big or clit is too prominent or whatever.

One of the reasons I’ve always admired Joani Blank as a pioneer is that she has dared to make explicit that which makes most folks blush. Femalia is a perfect example. As she says in the introduction:

"The vulvas pictured here belong to a group of women diverse in age, race and ethnicity. Some have experienced childbirth. There is also variation in style, color, size and proportion. Like faces, these genitals all have the same parts in essentially the same arrangement…"

And then, bang, there they are, without words, without pictures of the "whole" woman, without explanation and without apology -- 32 unashamed, objectified cunts, out there for the world to see, appreciate and love.

Totally vulvular!