Some interesting facts about the vagina...

[ResistanceIsNecessary]

Inspired by this thread on twitter which had some good vagina info. It's amazing how many people know so little about the female anatomy so here are some more interesting facts!

• The walls are very elastic to allow it to stretch and then shrink back again after vaginal childbirth delivery. It does not require manual dilation to keep it open or maintain its shape, unless as a result of side effects from other medical procedures (such as some female-occurring cancer treatments).

• It is self-cleaning and has a naturally acidic environment until the time around ovulation, when the PH changes to make it more accommodating for sperm, to promote fertilisation. It does not require daily artificial cleaning products or lubricant to keep it healthy.

• The walls of the vagina (the vaginal vault) are made up of two layers of muscle tissue, which allow for expansion and contraction - which can often be felt as 'ridges', which lessen with age or post- vaginal delivery childbirth. The walls contain no glands.

Feel free to add your own facts

I always find these fascinating...

www.greatwallofvagina.co.uk/shop/internal-affairs-internal-vagina-casting

OleannasWimple wrote: ""vaginal vault" is an amazing term!".

Isn't it just? Between that and the magnificent structures in LangCleg 's image, it's like we're talking about rose windows and the architecture of cathedrals.

I know the topic is vagina rather than vulva but it's reminding me of Sheela na gigs

This is a lovely thread.

Like an ankh is my favorite description for the clitoris so far.

Our bodies are amazing.

Freud thought there was a difference between a vaginal and a clitoral orgasm, which is pretty odd considering he had had neither.

I want a lovely painting of a clitoris, they’re just so pretty and they hug you when they’re happy - how can a woman ever feel alone. They’ve been completely ignored by modern day anatomists - I wonder if that’s because so much research is undertaken in the US, where it’s illegal to show ‘pornography’ in colleges (I think I remember this from a documentary on a sex therapist - will have a think and try and come back with a citation).

The vagina of a female foetus develops during week 22 of pregnancy.

Another fact that has always made me think "wow", is the fact that by week 20 of pregnancy, a female foetus will have her lifetime's supply of eggs - the total drops slightly by the time she's born. But I find it so unbelievably amazing that at 20 weeks' gestation a female foetus already has the eggs in place that could result in her own children.

That's always amazed me too Resistance.

That part of our potential grandaughters and grandsons are there, already, in our own wombs, whilst we're growing our own children.

A bit mindblowing!

As I've got older, I've also got to appreciate the aromas of the vagina. Always parodied, slated, and even, as smells, abused and targeted.

And yet they tell us what part of our cycle we're on, whether there's an infection, whether we've had sex with a male, just in general, 'hello, we're here, and it's ok'.

(Realise I'm giving smells a voice and personality, but it's something that's often labelled as 'shameful', to cover up, to deny, but actually I think women's smells are amazing!)

What a lovely thread. Men try their best to degrade our sex organ by likening it to an empty hole or a wound (ewww) when it's a complex and muscular organ. And that the clitorisis actually so large and only exist for pleasure is amazing.

Really enjoying this thread!

If you want to read something wonderful along these lines I can only recommend this:

Woman: An Intimate Geography (Revised and Updated) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1844089908/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_myNmBb8WY2QV0

It's authored by a New York Times science writer and is absolutely amazing. Inspiring, thought provoking, and wonderfully written.

I reread on a regular basis and often buy copies as presents for my female friends.

I want a lovely painting of a clitoris, they’re just so pretty and they hug you when they’re happy - how can a woman ever feel alone.

Oh blimey. This actually made me tear up a little bit.

Women's anatomy is WONDROUS.

That part of our potential grandaughters and grandsons are there, already, in our own wombs, whilst we're growing our own children.

We are everything. In comparison to us, what a low value item the male of the species really is! We are poetic.

Resistance when I was expecting DD, we had our 20 week scan a bit late and asked to know the sex. The sonographer said it's a girl and I asked 'are you sure, I know it can be a bit indistinct sometimes'. She said 'well, I'm looking at the eggs in her ovaries, so I'm pretty sure!'.

@itsallgoingtobefine

Yes, it annoyed me somewhat. My husband says it’s actually scabbard, he did classics so I believe him but this is why I prefer cunt or quim although the latter is v twee

That part of our potential grandaughters and grandsons are there, already, in our own wombs, whilst we're growing our own children.

I've never thought of it that way before. It's really awe-inspiring.

@ResistanceIsNecessary and @pombear

That part of our potential grandaughters and grandsons are there, already, in our own wombs, whilst we're growing our own children.

Wow I have never thought if it like this before. My mum passed away before I had my children so to think of it like this - that actually she physically grew part of them for me whilst I grew inside her, is AMAZING 🤯🤯🤯 (and that I have done the same for any potential grandchildren I might have). Wowsers.

I love this thread! Women's bodies really are amazing.
When trying to conceive I learnt so much I didn't know about the cervix, cervical mucus etc. It's fascinating really.

What I found mind blowing (though it is really obvious) but I'd never thought about before is that there is an unbroken line of my mother - grandmother - great grandmother - great great etc all birthing each other back to the evolution of humans. (And yet somehow the matriarchal line is seen as lesser)

Oh yes, I love me a Sheila ne gig. I’d have one over the front door if I could.

Have you ever noticed how vulval church windows and doors are. Almost like you are walking into a womb (that’s what I always think whenever I go into one, anyways).

Sheela na gigs are awesome! As are our vaginas, cervixes and wombs - things of wonder. All those years listening to the PJ Harvey song & I never knew what it referred to. Saw my first Sheela na gig in a Hertfordshire church recently. Someone at hacked at her at some point over the centuries. Not a woman I dare say

Fascinating what nature designs. I don’t know what my teenaged DDs know about their own bodies because if I start a convo they squirm and tell me to shut up.

They will tell me anything and everything though, so we do talk.

Im ashamed that I had no idea what the clitoris looked like until quite recently (I'm 47) . Just incredible really.

Although the Pouch of Douglas isn't strictly a part of the Vagina, this random piece of anatomy contains up to 3ml of fluid during the menstrual cycle, and between 3-5ml after ovulation.