Life
Alright, ladies. Let’s talk vagina. What else in this world can accommodate a tampon, a fully erect penis, and a baby? (If you answered anything besides the amazing vagina, we need to have a talk.) The female anatomy is pretty amazing, isn’t it? Although the mainstream media might portray a different (less informed, questionable, negative) tone when it comes to the vagina, they couldn’t be more wrong. Your vagina is amazing. Ask your gynecologist, they’ll gift you with more than a few incredible facts about your vagina.
With a little help from my friendly playlist (Hailee Steinfeld, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, I applaud you and thank you for writing music about feeling yourselves), I decided to dive into the world of the legendary anatomy of the vagina. And let me tell you, it is legendary. How did I not know all of these amazing things about something located on my body? Like the fact that the very word vagina comes from the Latin root meaning, “sheath for a sword.” Or that the highest recorded number of orgasms achieved by a woman in one hour is 134? Compared to a man’s 16? Dang. If that’s not enough reason to celebrate having a vagina, then the following facts are sure to sway you.
1It Can Double In Size
Vaginas tend to measure around four inches deep when in an un-aroused state and, according to sex therapist Debra Laino, when a woman is aroused, “the canal can almost double in size." This process is called Vaginal Tenting, and is due to muscular tension pushing the uterus upwards, creating more space.
2The Clitoris Has Thousands Of Nerve Endings
According to the Museum of Sex, the clitoris has 8,000 nerve endings, while the penis only has 4,000. Though she be but little, she is fierce, and can give you major orgasms — that's how the quote goes, right?
3It Talks To You
How cool is it that your vagina will actually tell you the optimal time for baby making? As Alyssa Dweck, OB-GYN and author of V is for Vagina, told Shape magazine, more cervical mucus is produced before ovulation, adding that you'll notice a "clear, slippery, and stretchy vaginal discharge" that tells you it's baby-making time.
4It Allows For Four Different Orgasms
That's right, four. According to Women's Health, the vagina is responsible for clitoral, vaginal, blended, and multiple orgasms, while the penis is only responsible for one. Point for Team Vagina.
5It's Self-Cleaning
OB-GYN Lisa Masterson wrote on The Doctors website that the vagina a self-cleaning body part. She explains that the vagina is able to clean out dead cells and protect against infection due to the many fluid-producing glands in the vagina.
6You'll Never Lose Anything
The vagina is a fixed space, so you can't technically lose anything up there. Although a tampon can slip out of reach, don't panic. It's always retrievable.
7It's Resilient AF
Even though the vagina doubles in size when aroused, professor fo sex and psychology Justin Lehmille explains that it returns to it's normal sate after sex. On his website, Lehmille wrote that, "the vagina is highly elastic, and meant to expand and contract." And that's kind of awesome.
