This year we have undoubtedly seen an increase in conversation and understanding about women and their genitals. We have seen Jamie McCartney’s The Great Wall of Vagina art installation, Janelle Monae’s vulva trousers in her PYNK music video and even a 3D vagina manicure trend. There could not be a more important time for women to be reclaiming their bodies and seeking an education about their genitals; after all, the election of Donald Trump saw a powerful political leader belittle both women and their genitals as things that exist only for the pleasure of men in one sweeping (and assault-y) statement - “grab her by the pussy”. Furthermore, the #metoo movement encouraged an open discussion on how prominent sexual assault is within the entertainment industry and, as a result, it has been understood that a different approach to sex education (one that includes the topic of consent) is imperative in creating a safer future. Lynn Enright felt that it was these bigger, cultural moments, as well as the repeal the 8th movement in Ireland that pushed her towards writing one of the most popular vagina books of 2019 – Vagina: A Re-education. Lynn says that she found “there was a connection between the lack of education and lack of openness around women’s bodies and biology and the more ideological issues like abortion rights and consent and the fact of the widespread nature of sexual assault and harassment”.
Lynn previously worked at The Pool, a women’s website that mainly printed personal essays and opinion pieces. Alongside the increase in attention towards women’s bodies on the public scale, Lynn noticed that the pieces that gained the most response on The Pool were those about all topics that can be summarised as gynaecological issues including (but not limited to) smear tests, miscarriage, and abortion. In this she saw an opportunity; readers were willing to engage in discussion about topics that had previously been considered too taboo and had until recently been kept silent, therefore meaning that there was a cultural shift happening. This shift towards an openness in conversation about women’s issues, however, was unsupported by an education system that did not give the women the information they needed to be able to have these discussions. This led Lynn to the concept of her book – it was necessary to give women a re-education about their bodies. Through researching for the book, Lynn even found herself being educated on parts of her anatomy that she had never been taught. The most surprising thing she learnt throughout her research was “that the clitoris extends deep inside the body. That’s something that I think you can sort of sense. It makes sense when you hear it because that’s what it feels like, but it had still never been pointed out to me. and that’s information that has been around for centuries”. It was not only the facts that had been missing from her own education that shocked Lynn, it was how widespread this issue of sex education was. “I’m Irish and Catholic so I had started the book thinking that that’s quite a prolific cultural background and that will have specific ramifications to the way I engage with my own body and sexuality” said Lynn. “But then, the more I spoke to other women I realised that most cultures and backgrounds finds a way of not allowing women and girls experiences in their bodies to be fully talked about or taught”.
Lynn’s book makes it clear that sex education around the world needs a serious reform; that as a result of the education currently offered, women and girls have experienced a serious injustice in not being able to comfortably know their own bodies. So what can we do to make a difference? “I think that educating yourself is the place to start. If you feel like your education was lacking, or it didn’t exist, or if it’s an area you don’t really know about then you need to bring yourself up to speed, and not necessarily do that by being on twitter because that isn’t a very helpful place” says Lynn. In a world of misinformation, the internet can become a dangerous place where echo chambers are rife, and opinions are rarely changed. This is why the government involvement in changing the requirements of sex education is fundamental to paving the way for change; “a more inclusive sex education discusses the LGBTQ+ experience” says Lynn. “Obviously we’ve seen that whilst there are schools making great progress with that, there is also a massive push back. That’s something the government is going to have to be quite strident about, at the moment it feels like MP’s are nervous because their constituents are protesting outside schools against a change in sex education but it’s really important”. Not only is it important for ensuring that future generations are equipped with the education they deserve, but because of the track record of the UK, says Lynn. “Given the UK’s legacy – section 28 of the local government act 1988 prohibiting the teaching of anything to do with homosexual relationships and sex – as a country it has a really bad track record and should be doing everything it can to improve that”. This change in approach to sex and relationships, however, is not solely down to the government. Instead, Lynn focuses her final chapter on a call to the reader for compassion and conversation – “Trying to teach compassion is really important. I think taking the time to educate yourself on the people you care about or those you work with is a good place to start”.
With thanks to Lynn Enright
Illustration by Anna Mackey
Comments