‘Labiaplasty is now the fastest growing cosmetic procedure in the world’
Young girls and boys are growing up in a digital era where pornography is becoming their main source of sex-education. They are bombarded with unrealistic expectations of ‘what is normal’.
In this age where porn is so easily accessible, and social media is at every young person’s fingertips it is becoming increasingly important to them that they meet society’s expectations of
‘beautiful’, ‘sexy’ and ‘flawless’.
On top of this, they are not getting the appropriate education, teaching them that every body is unique and that that is what is beautiful.
This is the reason for my Vulva Diversity Project.
THE BOOK: My vulva and I
Within these pages, you’ll find stunning photographs of 200 vulva casts, lovingly created by me between 2019-2021. Each one is unique, just like the people they belong to, each with an intimate story to share. The book also includes 100 stories from the participants of the project about their relationships with their vulvas. These stories divulge such varied experiences they have had, anecdotes of specific points in their lives, and thoughts and feelings towards their vulvas. These stories are heartwarming, joyous, upsetting, enraging, eye opening, educational and liberating.
A celebration of vulva diversity, this book hopes to help us all feel less alone in our experiences, the journey we have been on with our bodies, and our thoughts and feelings towards our own vulvas.
Whether it’s questions around the size of our labia, pubic hair, sharing experiences of sexual trauma and abuse, disease, discharge, pornography, giving birth, or reclaiming sexuality, The Vulva Diversity Book and its authors
are here to speak openly, freely, and without judgement.
(CW: Some of the stories included in this book discuss rape, sexual abuse, and some other topics some
people may find distressing or triggering.)
Click here to purchase the book
If you're a retailer interested in becoming a stockist, you can support My vulva and I by pre-ordering copies wholesale. Get in touch by emailing hello@lydiareeves.com.
‘My vulva and I’ - A Vulva Diversity Project created by Lydia Reeves
Exhibition & Book launch
4th - 12th September ‘21
12-6pm
159 Bethnal Green Road
London
E2 7DG
Over the space of 2 years (2019-21) I have cast a wide variety of vulvas. 200 vulvas in fact.
I have asked each participant to also write up a story about their relationship with their vulva.
I want to get the conversation flowing around vulvas. I hope that I can help open up people’s eyes to see not only how different all vulvas look, but also how unique our journeys and experiences are, as well as our thoughts and our feelings towards them.
Whether it’s questions around the size of labia, pubic hair, discharge or pornography, or sharing experiences of sexual trauma and abuse, disease, giving birth or reclaiming sexuality, this project is here to speak openly about it all.
The book ‘My vulva and I’ is now available for sale which includes stunning photographs of all 200 casts, and shares stories from 100 participants about their relationships with their vulvas.
And the exhibition is also running from 4th-12th September at 159 Bethnal Green Road.
I, like many young people, grew up with major anxiety and insecurity surrounding my vulva.
I had stumbled across pornography at a young age and suddenly became so aware that my vulva did not look like all of those vulvas in porn. This absolutely destroyed my self-confidence as a young girl, and completely shaped my young teenage years, and still majorly affected me many years into my adult life.
This magical part of my body was a huge source of shame for so many years. No-one, ever, educated me on the whole range of vulvas that, infact, there are. I was left to go through the changes of puberty alone, with porn as my bible.
This is why I am so passionate about finally celebrating this amazingly unique part of our body, as it has been a source of shame for so many of us, for so many different reasons.
