Vulva - Society and Culture

Society and Culture

Many peoples have no or few taboos on exposure of the breasts, but the vulva and pubic triangle are always the first areas to be covered. Saartjie Baartman, the so-called "Hottentot Venus" who was exhibited in London at the beginning of the nineteenth century, was paid to display her large buttocks, but she never revealed her vulva. Khoisan women were said to have elongated labia, leading to questions about, and requests to exhibit, their sinus pudoris, "curtain of shame", or tablier (the French word for "apron"). To quote Stephen Jay Gould, "The labia minora, or inner lips, of the ordinary female genitalia are greatly enlarged in Khoi-San women, and may hang down three or four inches below the vagina when women stand, thus giving the impression of a separate and enveloping curtain of skin". Baartman never allowed this trait to be exhibited while she was alive.

In some cultures, including modern Western culture, women have shaved or otherwise depilated part or all of the vulva. When high-cut swimsuits became fashionable, women who wished to wear them would shave the sides of their pubic triangles, to avoid exhibiting pubic hair. Other women relish the beauty of seeing their vulva with hair, or completely hairless, and find one or the other more comfortable. Depilation of the vulva is a fairly recent phenomenon in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, but has been prevalent, usually in the form of waxing, in many Eastern European and Middle Eastern cultures for centuries, usually due to the idea that it may be more hygienic, or originating in prostitution and pornography. Shaving may include all or nearly all of the hair. Some styles retain a small amount of hair on either side of the labia or a strip directly above and in line with the pudendal cleft. Many people object to pubic shaving, which can result in cuts to the vulva and clitoris, ingrown hairs, pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps) and folliculitis.

Since the early days of Islam, Muslim women and men have followed a tradition to "pluck the armpit hairs and shave the pubic hairs". This is a preferred practice rather than an obligation, and could be carried out by shaving, waxing, cutting, clipping, or any other method. This is a regular practice that is considered in some more devout Muslim cultures as a form of worship, not a shameful practice, while in other less devout regions it is a practice for the purpose of good hygiene. (See Islamic hygienical jurisprudence.) The reasons behind removing this hair could also be applied to the hair on the scrotum and around the anus, because the purpose is to be completely clean and pure and keep away from anything that may cause dirt and impurities.

Several forms of genital piercings can be done in the female genital area. Piercings are usually performed for aesthetic purposes, but some forms like the Clitoral hood piercing might also enhance pleasure during sexual intercourse. Though they are common in traditional cultures, intimate piercings are a fairly recent trend in western culture.