The Labia Library: Redefining What Normal Looks Like

Most women have looked at their vulva at some point and thought, Is this normal?

For years, women have been bombarded with filtered, airbrushed, and surgically altered images of vulvas, so much so that a completely natural part of the female body has become a source of insecurity, shame, and even surgical correction.

And why wouldn’t we? We’ve been force-fed one version of what a vulva “should” look like, small, symmetrical, hairless, pink. A single, sanitized standard that’s been packaged and sold as the only acceptable aesthetic.

Vulvas are as unique as fingerprints. And yet, so many women have been conditioned to believe theirs is somehow wrong.

Let me introduce you to the Labia Library, a raw, unfiltered gallery that Women's Health Victoria developed to dismantle the shame, expose the myth, and finally show women the truth: that your vulva is normal.

Because when we start seeing the full spectrum of what is real, not the curated, edited, surgically altered version, we stop questioning whether we measure up.

The Labia Library: A Raw and Unfiltered Resource

The Labia Library is a cultural reset.

Most people’s reference point for vulvas has been porn or unrealistic medical illustrations.

And when that’s all we see, it’s no surprise that women are increasingly questioning if their bodies are wrong.

This project shows us:

• There is no “correct” way for a vulva to look.

• Labia can be tucked, protruding, asymmetrical, small, large, all of it is normal.

• Discoloration? Hair variations? Different textures? Also normal.

• The photo gallery features a wide range of representations, showcasing people's unique labia across different ages, genders, and experiences.

The Labia Library exists so women stop looking at their bodies through a lens of self-doubt and comparison and start seeing themselves with recognition, acceptance, and positive body image.

Why This Work Matters

The problem isn’t just that women feel insecure about their vulvas, the problem is that they’re actively being encouraged to “fix” them.

Labiaplasty, a surgical procedure that reduces the size of the labia minora, has been on a massive rise worldwide.

In the U.S. alone, 18,813 labiaplasty procedures were performed in 2021, a 36% increase from 2020. Globally, labiaplasty rates jumped 73% between 2015 and 2020, with 164,667 procedures reported in 2020. Teenage girls are increasingly requesting labiaplasty, with the number of procedures nearly doubling for girls under 18, from 222 in 2014 to 400 in 2015.

Why are so many women and young girls undergoing this surgery? Studies show that appearance concerns are the primary motivation, not medical necessity for female genital cosmetic surgery.

• The vast majority of women seeking labiaplasty have labia that fall within normal size and appearance ranges, yet they pursue surgery because they desire a more “neat” or “tidy” aesthetic. Many of these women were unsure if their labia looked normal.

• Up to 74% of women pursuing labiaplasty reported discomfort during sex due to labial tugging, but this isn’t always a medical issue, often, it’s a result of unrealistic expectations around how vulvas should look and feel.

• 71% of women who underwent labiaplasty had previously received a critical comment about their vulva from a sexual partner.

And teenage girls? Doctors are now reporting an increase in young women asking for labiaplasty due to the rising trend of pubic hair removal, exposure to idealized images of genital anatomy, and increased awareness of cosmetic vaginal surgery.

Let’s sit with that for a second.

We now live in a world where girls, some as young as 15, are being conditioned to believe that their vulvas need to be surgically altered.

Julie Strickland, chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Adolescent Health Care Committee, warns that the psychological impact of this trend is enormous. Young girls are internalizing the idea that there is something wrong with their completely normal, fully functioning bodies.

And despite the risks of pain, infection, and scarring, these procedures continue to be normalized under the guise of “self-improvement.”

This is how shame becomes a business model. Common myths about the appearance of labia contribute to this harmful trend.

This is how self-doubt gets repackaged as “empowerment” and sold back to us.

And this is exactly why resources like the Labia Library are essential.

Because when women see the truth, when they see that their vulvas were never the problem, they stop being sold solutions they don’t need.

The Great Wall of Vulva: Art Meets Body Positivity

If the Labia Library shattered the illusion that there is only one way for a vulva to look, The Great Wall of Vulva takes that conversation even further.

While the Labia Library provided an essential digital gallery of real vulvas, The Great Wall of Vulva transforms that same message into physical form, showcasing the unique everyone's labia and making vulva diversity impossible to ignore.

Created by British artist Jamie McCartney, this sculptural installation features plaster casts of real women’s vulvas, unaltered, unfiltered, and unapologetically diverse. This installation challenges misconceptions about how normal labia look by presenting a wide array of shapes, sizes, and colors. Where the Labia Library offered images for education, The Great Wall of Vulva offers a tactile, permanent statement against the shame and unrealistic expectations imposed on women’s bodies.

Why This Evolution Matters

The Labia Library made women feel seen in a way they had never been before. It was a first step in normalizing the full range of vulva diversity, an antidote to the narrow, airbrushed, porn-driven standard that had made so many women question whether they were “normal.”

But the problem with digital projects? They can be hidden. Clicked away. Avoided by those who would rather keep real female bodies in the shadows.

The Great Wall of Vulva refuses to be ignored.

By taking real women’s vulvas and turning them into a large-scale, public sculpture, this project forces society to confront what has been systematically erased. It shifts the conversation from “educational reference” to “artistic statement.”

Because if there’s one thing art does best, it forces people to see what they’ve been trained to look away from.

This wall is a rejection of the shame women have been made to feel.

A rejection of the idea that there is one way to be beautiful, desirable, or acceptable.

Create Your Own Labia Library: Witness Yourself, On Your Own Terms

You’ve spent a lifetime being told what your body should look like. You’ve seen the edited versions, the airbrushed versions, the surgically modified versions. But how often have you truly seen yourself, without a filter, without comparison, without judgment?

This is the invitation.

To become your own reference point.
To look at yourself with curiosity instead of critique.
To reclaim your body from the narrow standards that were never yours to begin with.

This is where your own Labia Library begins, a raw, unfiltered experience of seeing yourself fully, through your own eyes, not the gaze of the world.

How to Create Your Own Labia Library

Grab a mirror or take a photo, not to dissect, but to familiarize. To notice, recognize, and claim yourself as yours. To see yourself without layers of expectation or judgment.

Then go further. Make it yours in a way that feels tangible.

• Print it. Frame it. Keep it as a reminder that your body is art.

• Create a cast of your vulva, a personal replica of yourself in sculpture, paint, or print.

• Write a love letter to the version of yourself who once questioned if she was normal.

Because when you take ownership of your own image, you strip the power away from those who ever made you question it.

Beyond the Physical: Deepening Connection with Viva La Vagina

Accepting your body is step one. But what does it mean to truly inhabit it?

To not just see yourself, but to fully live inside your body, without hesitation, without apology, without needing permission?

This is the work of Viva La Vagina™, an online membership designed for women who are ready to go beyond acceptance and into intimacy with themselves.

To get a sneak preview of the kind of self-connection that no one can take away from you download The Voice of Your Pussy Freebie, which gives you access to some of the lessons in Viva La Vagina™.

Your Body Is a Work of Art. Stop Asking for Permission to Love It.

Your body will change. Your vulva will shift with time. Your pleasure will evolve.

And it’s all meant to.

Projects like The Labia Library and The Great Wall of Vulva exist to remind women that we were never supposed to look the same, showcasing a diverse range of ages, skin tones, genders, and experiences. That diversity isn’t something to correct, it’s something to reclaim.

But the most important step? Seeing yourself. For yourself. First.

No surgeon, no partner, no stranger on the internet gets to decide how you feel about your own body.

That power has always been yours.

So take it back.