What is the main message of The Vagina Bible?

The main message of The Vagina Bible is to empower women with accurate and comprehensive information about their bodies.

How long does it take to read The Vagina Bible?

The estimated reading time for The Vagina Bible is a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

Is The Vagina Bible a good book? Is it worth reading?

The Vagina Bible is a must-read for anyone interested in women's health. It provides reliable information and dispels myths.

Who is the author of The Vagina Bible?

The author of The Vagina Bible is Jennifer Gunter.

The Vagina Bible Summary of Key Ideas and Review

Name: The Vagina Bible
Rating: 4.2 (78 reviews)
Author: Jennifer Gunter

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Get to know your vagina and take charge of your health.

For most of medical history, vaginas have been neglected. That’s because in most societies, until very recently, it was considered inappropriate for a man to touch a woman’s genitals outside of marriage. And since medicine was mostly practiced by men, the information that doctors had on vaginas and vulvas largely came from anecdotes that midwives and their wives told them.

Even when sexual morality loosened, medical knowledge about women’s bodies was slow to progress. In a male-dominated society, there was little interest in female experience, sexuality or pain. In the 1930s, most doctors still believed that vaginas were filled with dangerous bacteria. No wonder that even today there’s plenty of pseudoscience, misleading information and shame when it comes to vulvas and vaginas. Moreover, many companies now actively profit from this fog of disinformation by marketing dubious vaginal health and hygiene products to women.

The best way to not fall for the vagina lies cooked up by the patriarchy and “Big Feminine Hygiene,” is to arm yourself with facts. The Vagina Bible is your evidence-based guide to the science of vulvas and vaginas, collected and explained by an ob-gyn with over 20 years’ experience. Empower yourself with knowledge and take control of your body, health and sexuality!

In these blinks, you will get to know

the bacteria that keep your vagina healthy;
the complex process that guides your menstrual cycle; and
the best ways to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections or STIs.

Key idea 1 of 8

The vulva is what’s on the outside, the vagina is what’s on the inside, and the clitoris extends through both.

If you know a bit about vaginas already, then you probably know that “vagina” is only part of the story. First of all, having a vagina doesn’t make you a woman, and not every woman has one. In the United States alone, there are over a million transgender individuals who don’t identify with the sex they were assigned at birth on the basis of their genitals.

Secondly, “vagina” technically only refers to the inner part of these genitalia. The outside part, meaning everything that touches the clothes, is the vulva.

The vagina is a tube of muscles that connects the vulva to the cervix. It’s lined with a specialized lubricated skin called mucosa. Mucosa cells are filled with a sugar that feeds the good bacteria in the vagina, most notably the lactobacilli. Lactobacilli make lactic acid, which keeps the vaginal pH at a healthy 3.5 to 4.5. The discharge that most women regularly find in their underwear is a mix of lactobacilli, dead mucosa cells and small amounts of fluid that enter the vagina through the bloodstream – and it’s totally normal.

Under the mucosa lies vaginal smooth muscle, which allows the vagina to stretch when penetrated or when pushing out a baby. Then there are the pelvic floor muscles, which wrap around the vagina and vaginal opening. They help with continence and stability and contract when you have an orgasm.

The vulva consists of the mons, which is the fatty pad beneath your pubic bone; the inner and outer labia, which surround the vaginal opening; and the clitoris. The fat and pubic hair of the mons and the outer labia majora protect the vaginal opening, while the inner labia minora are hairless and more sensitive. They can vary greatly in shape or size, ranging from 1 to 5 cm or more.

All parts of the vulva are erectile, meaning they fill with blood and enlarge when you’re aroused. The clitoris, however, is the only structure in the human body made exclusively for sexual pleasure.

The clitoris is much larger than meets the eye. It’s shaped like a Y, but with four arms instead of two. The tip of the Y is the only visible part – that’s the little button protected by the clitoral hood near the top of the vulva. The clitoral root connects that button to the crura, the outside arms of Y that run beneath the labia majora, and the clitoral bulbs, the inside arms that connect to the vagina and the urethra.

Now that you’ve learned about all the different parts of your vagina and how they are connected, let’s take a look at how you can best take care of them.

Key idea 2 of 8

There is no medical reason to clean your vulva, and your vagina shouldn’t be cleaned at all.

What’s your vagina routine?

This might sound like a silly question, but there is an ever-growing market for soaps, wipes and creams for your vulva and vagina. Companies make millions of dollars with products that promise to make genitals better, cleaner and healthier. But from a medical standpoint, there is no reason to soap, wipe or cream your vagina at all – it’s a self-cleaning oven! In fact, too much cleaning can be very harmful.

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Key idea 3 of 8

Orgasms are caused by clitoral stimulation, and a penis is not the most reliable way to achieve one.

Having sex is one of the most fun things you can do with a vagina, and the more you and your partner know about how your vagina works, the more fun you’ll have.

When you’re sexually aroused, blood flow to your vulva and vagina increases. The mons, labia and clitoris become enlarged and extra-sensitive. If they’re stimulated in the right way for the right amount of time, you might have an orgasm.

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Key idea 4 of 8

Your period is the result of a complex interaction between your brain and your ovaries.

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterus’ lining that happens when you didn’t get pregnant during your last menstrual cycle. The whole process is carefully timed and orchestrated by your brain and ovaries.

At the beginning of your cycle, your brain and pituitary gland release hormones as part of a chain reaction that tells your ovaries to start developing eggs. The developing eggs produce estrogen, which makes your uterus’ lining thicken. When estrogen levels are high enough, the pituitary gland releases another hormone to trigger ovulation and send the eggs down your fallopian tubes to the uterus. The tissue left behind in the ovaries produces progesterone, a hormone that stabilizes the uterus’ lining to give the eggs a chance to be fertilized, but it can do so for only 14 days. When progesterone levels drop again, it causes the uterus lining to fall off. This is when you start bleeding. Your first day of blood is already the first day of your new cycle.

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Key idea 5 of 8

Pregnancy, childbirth and menopause will change your vulva and vagina.

Your body ages and changes, and so do your vagina and vulva. Nevertheless, many women are shocked at the things that happen to their bodies during such big events as childbirth or menopause. As a society, we are rather silent about these uncomfortable issues.

When you’re pregnant, changes to your vulva, vagina and cervix will happen as early as four weeks after conception. Blood flow to your vagina increases, your hormones change and your sex drive might plummet. For unknown reasons, yeast infections are more common during pregnancy. Between 10 and 30 percent of women also get infected with a type of vaginal bacteria called group B streptococci. Because these bacteria can harm your baby, healthcare providers perform a routine test for streptococci in the third trimester and treat with antibiotics if necessary.

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Key idea 6 of 8

STIs such as HPV, herpes and chlamydia are more common than you think and can be treated and prevented.

Almost every woman who is sexually active will get an STI at least once in her lifetime. It’s nothing to be ashamed of! Many STIs are easily treatable. If they go untreated, though, they can cause infertility and cancer and increase the risk of contracting HIV. That’s why regular STI screenings, especially for young people, are important. In most countries, your local health department can help you get tested cheaply and anonymously.

The most common STI in the world is human papilloma virus, or HPV. Over 80 percent of women get it in their lifetime. In fact, if you’ve ever had sex, you’ve most certainly come in contact with HPV. Most HPV types are symptomless, but some can cause genital warts and even cervical cancer, which is why you should get tested regularly.

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Key idea 7 of 8

Though yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis are the most common vaginal conditions, they are often misdiagnosed and misunderstood.

A yeast infection is probably the most common complaint for people with a vagina.

Yeast is a type of single-cell organism, and quite a few yeast species live on your body without ever causing harm. In fact, a bit of vaginal yeast is normal. But when yeast overgrows, it can cause redness, itching and pain, which we then call a yeast infection. The causes for such overgrowth are unclear, but a weak vaginal microbiome, immune system issues and low levels of iron are all possible candidates.

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Key idea 8 of 8

You can keep your vagina healthy with regular screenings, talking to your doctor and doing informed online research.

Though they don’t need a lot of cleaning, vaginas do need some care.

If you’re sexually active, regular STI testing is a must. Annual screenings for cervical cancer are also a good idea, as it’s the fourth most common cancer in women of reproductive age. If you notice symptoms such as itching, burning and pain, you should always see a doctor – even when you think you know your diagnosis! Remember, up to 70 percent of women who self-diagnose a yeast infection actually have something completely different.

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