Your Body - Let’s talk about the bits that don't get much of a mention!
 

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Female sexual anatomy is hardly ever talked about, even though it’s what allows us to function every single day. There’s so much scrutiny and awkwardness associated with wanting to understand your own body that most of the time we just avoid talking about it. 

 

So, let’s talk about it. 

 

Knowing your anatomy is really important in keeping yourself healthy, so this is why we’re going to have a bit of a look over what you were probably never taught about the female body. 

 

In order to fully understand our anatomy, we’ll break it up into two parts; the External Parts and the Internal Parts.

 

External Parts:

 

Vulva: 

This is the outer part of the female genitalia and is mostly conversely called the ‘vagina’ even though this term is not correctly used. The vulva includes the opening of the vagina, the labia majora, labia minora and of course the clitoris. You could think about the vulva being the umbrella term that all the other external parts of this area, that we will look at next, fall into.

 

Mons Pubis:
This is the fleshy part above your vulva and below your belly button. As you start puberty, it becomes covered with pubic hair. 

 

Labia:

The labia consists of the labia majora and the labia minora. The labia majora which is also called the outer lips, is usually quite fleshy and covered with pubic hair. In other words it’s the large flaps that come before the smaller flaps which are the labia minora. The labia minora (or inner lips) are inside the labia majora. You can see them beginning at your clitoris and going all the way to the end under the opening to your vagina. Labia vary in their size, colour and whether they are wrinkled or smooth. These things can also change as you grow older and it’s very normal for one labia to be longer than the other.

 

Clitoris: 

Fun fact, the clitoris is the female equivalent to the head of the penis. When you look at your vulva, it is located at the top where your labia minora (or inner lips) meet. There are many different sizes of clitoris so whatever you see down there is completely normal! At the tip of the clitoris you have the clitoral hood which covers it. The clitoris extends into your body and is roughly around 12.7 cm long. It has lots and lots of nerve endings (we’re talking thousands) meaning that it can be one of the most sensitive parts when you’re aroused. 

 

Urethral Opening:

This is the hole that you pee out of and it is located slightly below your clitoris.

 

Vaginal Opening: 

This is where menstrual blood and babies come out of, as well as various things being able to go up it (tampons, menstrual cups, penises, etc). It is located below your urethral opening. 

 

Anus:

This is your butthole and is the opening to the rectum. 

 

Internal Parts:

 

Vagina:

This is the tube that connects the vulva and your uterus. Menstrual blood and babies leave the body through the vagina. 

 

Cervix:

It is located between the vagina and uterus, connecting the two. It has a tiny hole in the middle of it, allowing menstrual blood to exit and sperm to enter. You may have heard that during childbirth, the cervix stretches open (dilates). You can often feel your cervix at the end of your vagina as it separates your vagina from everything else (uterus, etc), meaning that it’s a myth when people say that things can get ‘lost’ within your vagina. 

 

Uterus:

This is also called the womb and is where a fetus grows during pregnancy. It looks like a pear-shape and is a muscular organ that is around the size of a small fist.

 

Fallopian Tubes: 

Two narrow tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to your uterus. In order to fertilise the eggs for pregnancy, sperm travel through the fallopian tubes. 

 

Ovaries:

This is where the eggs are stored. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone are all different hormones that are produced in the ovaries. These hormones are vital for controlling your period and pregnancy. The ovaries are what regularly (usually each month), release an egg until menopause (when your period stops - this usually happens around your 40s or 50s).

 

Hymen:

This stretches across a part of the opening to your vagina and is a thin, fleshy tissue. This tissue can vary quite a bit in different people of how much of the vaginal opening it covers. The hymen occasionally can tear during the first times that something is inserted in your vagina, causing bleeding. However, this does not always happen but if it does that is nothing to worry about.  

 

It’s important to note that everyone’s body is different and there is no right or wrong way of how it should look down there. Remember, despite what other sources may try to make you believe, your body is perfect and there is nothing you need to change. 

 

You are beautiful :)