Vulva or Vagina? Let’s Understand The Difference

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All of us fondly remember the time when we freshly learned about human anatomy at school or at home. Rightly recognizing the hands, legs, forehead, ears, mouth, tongue, feet, etc. made us nothing short of smart kids. But seldom we were taught about our sexual parts like the Vagina and Vulva. Shame Shame, down there, pee place became a byword for our genitals.

It’s about time to shed the shame and hold an absolute conversation about female genitalia, learn the difference, and correct usage. Starting with the basics – Do you know the difference between Vulva and Vagina? You might be using the latter word more often to address your genitalia as a whole. Guess What – Vulva and Vagina are two different parts of your genitalia’s anatomy.

To what part exactly should I call vulva?

Hey! That is an easy one to learn about. The vulva is actually the outer part of your genitalia. It includes the pubic mound, the labia majora and minora, the pleasure factory, Clitoris, The urethral opening, and the vaginal opening.

Let’s get to the details

Pubic Mound

Pubic Mound or mons pubis is an upside-down triangle-shaped mound. It is made up of fatty tissues that extend from the top of the pubic hairline to the clitoris. An area that starts growing hair patches right from puberty.

Labia Majora

Labia Majora is the two folds that extend from the pubic mound and merges with the perineum skin. Commonly known as the outer lips of the vagina these can be pink, brown or red in color.

Labia Minora

Labia minora is the inside part of the vagina that begins from the clitoris and ends at the vaginal opening. It has varying lengths and colors.

Clitoris

The pea-shaped erogenous organ capable of sexual stimulation. It is situated at the top of the vagina above the urethra. A bundle of nerves that expands the farthest and can vary in size.

Urethral opening

Commonly called the pee hole. It is situated beneath the clitoris from where the urine comes out.

Vaginal opening

Situated between labia majora and minora and below the clitoris and urethra.

Is there some perfect shape of the vulva?

If you believe there is a perfect shape for the vulva then thanks to porn and pop culture for distorting the reality. Indeed there is no perfect shape of the vulva. Every vulva is of different shape, color, and size. Your vulva of whatever shape, size, and the color is perfectly normal.

What is the Vagina then?

The Vagina is an elastic muscular canal that extends from the vulva to the cervix. It is a passage where the lining of the uterus is shed during menstruation and the baby descends during birth.

What does my Vagina do?

Your vagina is an amazing multi-tasker. It does not create a passage for period blood to flow out of the body and helps in childbirth but also enables sexual pleasure.

Pleasure: The Vaginal walls are extremely sensitive and enable sexual pleasure with the help of a penis, finger or a sex toy.

Menstruation: The period blood along with other menstrual waste flushes out of the body through the vaginal canal. During the periods we insert tampons and menstrual cups inside the vagina to prevent leakage.

Pregnancy: During sex if your partner ejaculates the sperms swim through the vaginal canal and uterus to reach the fallopian tubes and fertilize the eggs.

Childbirth: The baby descends into the Vagina from the uterus to finally make it out of the body through the vaginal opening.

How do I use these terms correctly?

While talking about inserting something inside of the vagina like a penis, sex toy, tampon or menstrual cup make sure to use the term vagina while the outer parts of your genitalia visible through naked eyes will be called the vulva.

How do I keep my vulva and vagina clean?

Your Vagina is a self-cleaning organ that do not need any perfumed soap or feminine hygiene product to clean themselves. Your vagina is as self-reliant as you are. It maintains a good pH balance that keeps the bacteria at bay. The vagina is lined with a mucous membrane. The mucus that it produces during the menstrual cycle protects it against any harmful bacteria and infection.

Whereas the vulva has another cleaning mechanism. The hair patch on the pubic mound prevents dirt and pathogens from entering the genitals Thus, need not bother shaving your vulva every now and then. However, you can clean it with warm water and mild soap at times.

Remember, taking care of your genitals and talking about it by using explicit terms such as vagina, vulva, etc helps you build a healthy relationship with your body and smash the taboo around sexual health.

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Period products, over the recent time, have got a lot of recognition and acknowledgement from not only its users but also organisations/ individuals working towards the development of menstrual hygiene and its awareness.

For a menstruator, choosing a period product means a lot and their choice, undoubtedly, does make an impact on several other fellow menstruators.

But the real question is how much impact it brings on ground?

Recognising the #MenstrualHygieneDay this year, Infano decided to talk to some of the women who wanted to share their real-life experiences of choosing a or switching to another period product.

Namrata

It was the first year of my period! So apparently, period and period products were one of the top talks in my school schedule.

I remember using handmade cloth pads — mostly because my family couldn’t afford a packet of synthetic sanitary napkins every month.

In those days, Whisper and Stayfree were luxuries and some of my friends who could afford them were no less than princesses to us.

I remember when I got my first packet of Whisper — I was elated!!

But that feeling lasted only a few years.

Growing up, I used to read about UTIs and vaginal infections. Eventually, I gave up on these synthetic pads and went back to my original option. Fast forward to as of this writing, I am following sustainable practices and hence given up on any kind of disposable or plastic-based period products. I’m completely into menstrual cups and reusable cloth pads now — they are long-lasting, soft to my body and clean and I don’t need to throw them either and oh yes, it saved me loads of money as well! And let me say, I’m so in love with them!!

Sheetal

I’ve always been a pad woman! I could afford to buy the best sanitary pads brands and other menstrual hygiene products but I chose to stick with pads. I don’t know if it was the comfort or lack of knowledge or if I was reluctant not to switch to any other product — but I always remain stuck with these pads. UNTIL — I decided to give in to my passion for swimming.

Now swimming as you can imagine demands daily practice and hours of dedication. While I was totally up for it, my periods weren’t. And that is when my instructor recommended me to switch to menstrual cups. Again, I was reluctant, but I had no choice!

My first few cycles were messy and the very first day was an honest disaster but it took its own time — and one day it felt like that cup was solely made for me!! LOL!

I have to admit, I was being fussy but that menstrual cup is the next best thing that happened to me after swimming. It changed my life completely and I still get mad at myself for not choosing it earlier.

I represent West Bengal in swimming and preparing for Nationals currently.

Meena

I’m 53YO — already hit menopause and now living a blissful period-free life.

Menstruation in our life was considered a curse, a sin and something that women could only talk about behind veils.

From not entering the kitchen to sleeping on the floor to teaching my son about it — I’ve seen it all!

I’ve mostly spent my life using old clothes as pads. Even after marriage, I mostly used clothes. However, while on family trips, I used branded ones too. It was a choice that I made for myself. Mostly, because cloth pads made me feel comfortable while readymade ones were only a choice I had to make on sudden periods. And I stayed with this until a few years ago.

2-3 years before I hit my menopause, my son got me a period panty. He is a very kind and responsible kid and has grown up into a considerate gentleman. He wanted me to switch because he felt those were most relaxing and worry-free for someone at my age. Not only he helped me in understanding, but he also kept asking for feedback until I used it for 3-4 cycles. He wanted to ensure that I was satisfied with what I was wearing.

While I won’t say that it’s as good as my classic cloth pads, I can definitely say that it’s no less than that.

Saba

Being an event manager, I’m always on wheels — sometimes for 16 hours at a stretch and the adventure it brings while I’m on my periods is unmatchable!

I’ve PCOS and mostly have irregular periods. While I always keep a panty liner with me, I’m a great fan of tampons. Maybe because I’ve been using it since 9th grade but I never really thought of replacing it with any other period product. I keep good ol’ sanitary pads for emergency purposes, but as long as the light is green, tampons are my saviours!

Shivi

What do I use? I’m a hardcore traveller — go on trips every alternate month and also suffer from PCOD.

When I’m home, I prefer reusable cloth pads for spotting and menstrual cups for heavy flows and I always keep a set of period panties with me.

For the first two days, a menstrual cup along with a cotton panty liner is a great combination for me. In third and fourth days, I stick to period panties, they are the best! For the fifth day, I say alvida to my periods with a reusable cloth pad. I always keep a packet of biodegradable pads in my bag for emergencies.

I’m focusing on reducing my carbon footprints and these products have helped me a lot in doing that. It’s been two years and I haven’t bought a single packet of synthetic sanitary pads.

Infano thanks these lovely women for sharing their stories!

This #MenstrualHygieneDay, #Infano along with #TheLogicalIndian, is addressing nuanced conversations on period centering on the well being of the menstruators as they power through every day. Share your experience with period products in the comments because your story can trigger an important aspect that we all need to know and talk about! #IPeriodMyWay #MHD2022