About the author:
Dr. Jen Gunter is a columnist, gynecologist and author who was born in Winnipeg, Canada and who knew since she was 11 years old that she wanted to pursue health care, after having a good experience in a hospital when she had a skateboarding accident. She had to go through numerous challenges in her life, such as complications in the pregnancy of her triplets. Since then, Dr. Jen began to be a great advocate (more than she already was) for proven scientific data, because she had a great team of doctors who did and researched everything to be able to save her children, who had to go through several procedures and surgeries. Today, Oliver and Victor are two of her greatest prides, and one of the reasons why she started to strongly and publicly defend science.
With the rise of the cosmetic industry, many women have begun to be affected by unusual standards, especially when it comes to sex and care of the vulva and vagina. Every technological advance leads to an advance in the cosmetic industry, often without any scientific evidence and usually aimed at young girls and teenagers. Products such as "vulva cleansers," oils to "make the vagina tight and clear," and douches to cleanse the vagina are just some of the products that are on the rise. In light of this, Dr. Jen goes to great lengths to break all these myths linked to old and sexist thoughts that women should be 100% perfect all the time, and that their virginity as well as their hygiene has to please others (usually men), and not themselves. In a brave, necessary and inspiring way, Dr. Jen wrote the book "The Vagina Bible", in which she breaks these myths propagated by many influencers and famous women (like Gwyneth Paltrow, who has a company called Goop, which sells products without medical evidence but which promote feminine cleansing and purification, i.e. everything Dr. Jen fights against) down one by one.
About the book:
'The Vagina Bible' is a technical yet empowering book. Dr. Jen presents medical terms with lightness and in a way that is very easy to understand. Besides being a funny book because of the irony present, the book separates the myths of medicine and explains the science, step by step, behind gynecology.
Fighting against the patriarchal society, Dr. Jen has made this book really a bible, telling the story behind gynecology, which started a long time ago and was mostly practiced only by men, which led to having so many myths that women need to be clean, clear, tight and well-behaved. Dr. Jen then goes through the female body point by point, from pubic hair, to hair removal, to menstruation, to virginity, to the clitoris, to sex, to 'cleaning' the vagina and vulva, to coloring, to pregnancy, to menopause, and to countless other points. Dr. Jen explains everything very clearly and not only points out the myths and corrects them, but she gives tips on what one should do or 'cleanse', which is basically nothing. Dr. Jen is a great advocate that nothing is needed to "tighten" the vagina or clean the vulva, because the vagina and vulva have everything they need, and only need some medicine or some intervention when there is a problem, which should be consulted with the gynecologist, and not with influencers who believe it is possible to "tighten" the vagina to have more pleasurable sex.
Medical advances are extremely important, but cosmetic advances are not, especially when they are not based on scientific facts. One must pay close attention to what we present to young girls, who are often the ones who follow these public figures like Gwyneth Paltrow, the Kardashians, and other women who promote fake products and, at their root, patriarchal, by promoting a deified figure of clean, well-behaved, male-pleasing women. Dr. Jen inspires many people, especially young girls like us, by really being the person and the voice that denounces these wrong and patriarchal products and behaviors about the female body, defending the female freedom to own her own body, accepting it as it is and not trying to make it perfect in the eyes of men and the cosmetic industry. It is impossible not to leave feeling empowered and with a new mind after reading 'The Vagina Bible', because even though we think we know a lot about our bodies, we discover that countless things that are presented to us and that we believe in are, in fact, just another myth propagated but broken in the book. The Vagina Bible is not only a book for women. Dr. Jen made the book about the female body, but it is extremely important that all people read it, regardless of their gender, because it is extremely important to break these myths not only among women, but among all people.
*Dr. Jen currently wrote the book "The Menopause Manifest" in which she writes about menopause, and has a podcast along with TED, busting myths not only cosmetically but also in medicine. In addition, Dr. Jen gave a TED talk in 2019 about menstruation and the myths behind it. You can access the link to the talk here.
Sources:
Mother of 3, parent of 2. Reflections on the saddest sorority. Dr. Jen Gunter. Disponível em: <https://drjengunter.com/2017/07/07/mother-of-3-parent-of-2-reflections-on-the-saddest-sorority/>.
Comments