Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Everyone, let's talk about sex. I'm Dr. Laura, associate professor for the clinical PsyD program at the Chicago School of Los Angeles. Today we're going to get to know the vulva.
[00:00:12] There's many things that people know about body parts and genitalia. But I wanted to talk about a few fun facts about the vulva today. And the first thing to mention is that a lot of people confuse the vagina and the vulva.
[00:00:29] Vagina is really just that, the opening to the vagina and the little hole in the canal inside. But when you're looking at a female's external genitalia, you're really looking at the vulva. So the vulva is pretty much all the stuff that you can see. It includes the clitoris, it includes the mons pubis, the labia majora, labia minora. All that stuff that you see is part of the vulva.
[00:00:59] And some interesting facts other than that, just knowing what the difference is, are with regards to the clitoris.
[00:01:06] So the clitoris, you really can only see just the tip of the iceberg with it. It's actually quite a big organ and extends pretty far into the body.
[00:01:15] And what you see is just a little bit of it. The clitoris actually has more nerve endings than the penis does. The clitoris has 8,000 nerve endings and the penis only has 4,000.
[00:01:28] So it's one of those things that helps you get lots of pleasure.
[00:01:39] Another fun fact is vaginas have something in common with sharks. There is a compound called squalene that is produced by the vagina and it's actually part of the lubricant that is used to help get wet and aroused. And squalene is actually found in sharks, in sharks liver.
[00:01:58] It's. It's interesting because in order to swim, sharks have to of course float.
[00:02:03] And there's this fatty compound in there. And squalene is part of that fatty compound in the liver. And it helps reduce their body density so that they can float better.
[00:02:13] Sometimes the stuff from the shark liver or shark liver oil, which includes the squalene, is included in beauty products and cosmetics.
[00:02:22] So you never know. You may be putting shark bits and pieces on your face.
[00:02:31] Another fun fact is with regards to labia, some people are concerned, are my labia too big? Are they too asymmetrical? Are they weirdly colored?
[00:02:42] Labia can be different colors. Sometimes they can be pinkish, sometimes more purplish, even reddish.
[00:02:48] Not just normally, but also when aroused, usually they can get darker and different sizes. It's perfectly normal. If you have bigger sized labia. Sometimes people are worried about that. That's normal. Even asymmetrical. That is perfectly normal as well.
[00:03:09] Another fun fact is that you can exercise your vagina.
[00:03:14] Many people have heard about Kegel exercises, which are really helpful to do. It's kind of like if you have to pee and you're sort of squeezing to hold it in and then releasing. That's kind of what a Kegel is. It's different repetitions of that, that squeezing and releasing.
[00:03:29] And Kegels can help not only with orgasms and sex and control, but lots of different ways to get your vagina conditioned.
[00:03:40] There's some people who go to even more extreme and actually have little weights that they dangle from a string from their vaginas and they do vaginal weight lifting. It's not like they're lifting super giant weights or things that you'd find in a gym, but just dangling little objects and trying to lift them from there. So, yes, that actually exists. And there are people who do that. I would not recommend trying that at home unless you really know what you're doing and really have maybe somebody to show you or something, because that can be dangerous if you do too much of that. But that is actually a thing. And there are people who work out their vaginas. All right, that's it for today.
[00:04:15] Once again, I'm Dr. Laura Prescott, Associate professor for the Clinical PsyD Program of the Chicago School of Los Angeles. Thanks for tuning.
