After spending a decade worrying and feeling shame about her vulva, fearing that it wasn’t ‘normal’, one sentence changed everything for Ellie Sedgwick. And now, a new project – where she photographed 500 vulvas – brought her to one conclusion that she thinks every woman should know…
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Ellie Sedgwick’s anxiety about her vulva began when she was just 13 years old.
A boy in her class handed her a note asking if she had an ‘innie or an outie’ and she quickly came to understand that he wasn’t talking about her belly button.
For years – more than a decade in fact – her vulva was something that caused her worry and shame. Over that time she explored the idea of getting a labiaplasty so that she could feel and look “normal”.
Thankfully, the third surgeon she went to for a consultation – this time in India – said a sentence that changed her mind, and really, her life.
“Ellie, Madam, have you ever seen another vulva?”
Ellie says that yes, she’d seen a few, but not many.
“The few I had seen didn’t quite look like mine,” she says. “And in that moment, what this man did saved me from cutting off half of my labia: he educated me.”
The experience of learning about vulvas (and that hers was actually very normal!) changed her so much that she set about creating a book project – Flip Through My Flaps – in which she has photographed 500 women’s vulvas, in the hopes that it might help other women feel normal too.
So, what’s the top one thing that she’s learned from the experience?
“That yes, every single vulva I photographed was unique,” she says.
“Just like our other body parts, the majority of labias are asymmetrical, others had labia of different lengths, textures, or shapes. The one thing they all had in common was their individuality. This project has shown me that there is no standard, no mold – only unique expressions of our bodies that deserve to be celebrated.”
Ellie credits the surgeon she saw for saving her from having a completely unneeded surgery – as she came to realise, every single labia is different, which was only further confirmed by this project. And, as the surgeon explained to her, when it comes to ‘normal’ it’s actually very far from the “barbie vagina’ that we see portrayed in porn, movies and magazines.
But, because those are often the only vulvas that women are exposed to, it’s very easy to think that they’re the norm and that perhaps it’s our vulvas that aren’t quite right.
“Our lack of exposure to diverse vulvas definitely starts with the shortcomings in sex education, particularly in schools,” says Ellie. “In many places, sexual education is reduced to basic biology, often skimming over or completely ignoring discussions around body diversity. We rarely address the normal, natural variations in vulvas, which leaves many young people without a clear or accurate understanding of their own bodies. This educational gap creates a culture of silence and shame, where people feel unable to ask questions or explore their own anatomy openly.”
It’s part of a bigger issue though, says Ellie, in which women’s reproductive health is something we don’t talk about often enough – and when we do, it feels like it’s something that must be talked about quietly, furtively and with some shame involved.
“For women especially, talking about our genitals and menstrual health is often seen as taboo,” she says. “So, we keep our insecurities to ourselves which only allows them to grow. Through my work at Comfortable In My Skin, I’ve seen how powerful it is to talk openly about every topic related to women’s health from herpes to thrush to miscarriage. Once these topics are brought out into the open, women realise how common these conditions truly are and can release the shame they’ve been carrying. That’s the goal of Flip Through My Flaps: An Exploration of Vulva; to act as a conversation starter on so many of these critical topics in society to ultimately create a culture of openness and acceptance.”
Ellie says she’s so pleased she didn’t go under the knife. But, it saddens her knowing how many young women are having the cosmetic surgery done, particularly given how accessible it now is.
“We live in a culture where any cosmetic surgery – including labiaplasty – has become so accessible,” she says. “But labiaplasty isn’t as simple of a procedure as lip filler and it’s irreversible. In my early 20s, I had two consultations where cosmetic surgeons in Sydney didn’t even look at my vulva before telling me they could operate. If someone already feels insecure, they are going to interpret that as validation that something is ‘wrong’ with them.”
The number of labiaplasties performed in Australasia have skyrocketed in recent years – which Ellie says is down to how misinformed we are about our vulvas, how much this surgery has been normalised, but also, often, the actual price of getting it done.
“Not only has surgery become normalised in society, but surgeons find ways to make cosmetic surgery financially accessible too,” she says. “So many women tell me that their surgeon said they’d find a way to have the labiaplasty covered by Medicare – even if they don’t meet the requirements for Medicare coverage, which requires the labia to extend more than 8cm below the vaginal introitus while in a standing resting position.”
But Ellie thinks there’s lots to feel optimistic about, and through her work at Comfortable in My Skin and her new book, she’s enjoyed seeing so many women feel empowered and comfortable being vulnerable about their insecurities and talking about vulvas!
“One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that vulnerability is incredibly powerful,” she says. “By sharing our insecurities openly, we not only heal ourselves but create spaces where others feel comfortable sharing and healing too. I’ve seen people come into photoshoots feeling nervous or self-conscious and leave feeling empowered and free. This experience taught me that real change begins with open conversation – with that we can embrace our whole selves.”