Debunking the myths of women’s health
If you’re on Twitter or Instagram, you’ve heard of Dr. Jen Gunter, the Canadianborn obstetrician and gynecologist who’s made it her mission to educate the world — and debunk many myths — about women’s health.
During the 30 years she’s been practising her profession, the vagina has increasingly become a topic that people talk about openly. Think, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, for example.
But that popularity has made Gunter determined to separate myth from medicine, calling out old wives’ tales and the claims of so-called wellness companies. “Goop’s feminine energy, from what I saw at one of their *cough* ‘health conferences’, is hopelessly heteronormative and conforms to the patriarchal ideal,” she writes. Enter her new book The Vagina Bible, a 420-page manual for anyone wishing to possess medically accurate information on all topics related to the female undercarriage (which, Gunter writes, is not acceptable terminology. Call it a vagina. That’s what it is).
The book’s structure is well suited to either a full read-through, a casual flip or a pointed search for answers to even the most personal questions. Chapters are divided into clear topics such as The Bottom Line on Underwear, and then further into specific questions such as, for example, why cotton underwear doesn’t protect against yeast infections.
Information on anatomy, menstruation, pregnancy, medications, sexuality, infections, menopause and more are delivered with a healthy dose of humour. For example, says Gunter, skip the perfumed cleansing products because, “It’s a vagina, not a pina colada.”
Gunter is comfortable in her role as educator, explaining concepts in a way that is clear and easily understood — and she’s not afraid to use no-nonsense sound bites: “your vagina is a self-cleaning oven,” she writes and “douches: These are cigarettes for your vagina.” In other words, the kind of language that is likely to encourage healthy and open conversations. She provides ample and medically sound alternatives that contain expert advice on prevention, treatment and how to communicate more effectively with health providers.
In an era that “fear sells” and “there’s a lot of money in vaginal shame,” Gunter says, The Vagina Bible is a vehicle for her agenda: the hope “for every woman to be empowered with accurate information about the vagina and vulva.”
Gunter is determined to debunk the patriarchal medical world women deal with. In The Vagina Bible, she arms readers with the science they need to fearlessly and unapologetically take charge of their bodies.