Why Vaginal Bleaching Is A TERRIBLE, Terrible Idea

I have two massive truths to throw your way, so get ready. 

The first:

Vagina whitening is a real thing. 

The second:

The color of your vagina has nothing to do with your worth. 

I have a goal with this little article, and it's pretty massive.

I am going to convince every person with a vagina who reads it that the second truth I shared is in fact, very true. 

In doing that, we can hopefully over time make the first truth a thing of the past. 

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The cosmetic industry has a long history of making women feel like our bodies aren't good enough.

Hell, I'd go so far as to say that they make millions convincing us that our bodies are BAD.

Do your legs have hair? BAD, get rid of it. 

Got a pimple on your face? BAD, burn it off with this cream. 

Are your boobs sagging? BAD, prop them up. 

Are your eyelashes short? BAD, make them look longer. 

The list really does just go on and on and on. 

Vagina whitening is a product of this warped and sexist way of thinking.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with putting on a full face of makeup, spray tanning, or whatever. Do it all! 

Some women get their vaginas bleached because they think the lightened appearance makes their vaginas look younger. 

Other women do vaginal bleaching because they believe it makes hair less visible. 

That's totally fine. 

As long as you are doing it for fun, for you, and not because you feel like you have to do it in order to be whole. 

but vagina whitening, at its foundation, takes self-hatred to a whole new level because it implies that by "whitening" your vagina, by making your skin lighter, you are more desirable.

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So, how does vaginal whitening work?

Vagina whitening products are procedures run the gamut. 

You can DIY lightening kits that usually contain a "lightening agent"

You know, TO BLEACH YOUR VAGINA. 

Some women go to plastic surgeons to have their vaginas lightened chemically.

Other women practice popular at home remedies like applying lemon juice, papaya soap, or orange peel. 

Those homemade ingredients aren't as harmful as chemically applied bleach, but they are also less effective and still not great to be introducing into the natural landscape of your vagina. 

Your vagina was not made to withstand bleaching.

It was made to be respected, loved, and nurtured, and yes, to be maybe slammed real hard by the genitals of your choosing.

You only get one vagina in this life, give it a break, and don't introduce foreign bodies that aren't supposed to be there. 

That's asking for irritation, a yeast infection, and god knows what else. 

So why do people want to lighten their vaginas anyway?

Skin lightening products have a long history in India and Asia, where the idea that you might have dark skin is deeply undesirable. Though traditionally, these products have been used on the face.

Skin lightening or whitening feeds into the idea that white skin is the only truly "good" kind of skin there is, and that's ridiculous. 

Say it with me:

That. Is. Ridiculous. 

But it's not just Asia. Here in the USA, whitening and lightening products sell like hotcakes, too. 

And yes, white women buy them, too. For their faces, vaginas and for bleaching their anal regions. 

I have never been persecuted because of the color of my skin, and as a member of the tribe of Casper the friendly ghost and an ally it's my responsibility to say, loud and often, we have got to stop treating people with different skin like they are unlovable or less than.

But these vaginal lightening products still exist because people are using them.

That means there are women who honestly believe that the darker color of their vaginas is undesirable to sexual partners.

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If we want to stop this, we need to talk about it, and I hope by sharing some of this stuff here today I gave you enough information to pass on to your friends and keep that conversation going.

Be good to your vagina, whatever color she might be!