Our recent Weekend Links post referred to a cheesy piece in Cosmopolitan magazine about stupid and offensive remarks that have been said to women by their ob/gyn. At about the same time, Redbook‘s May 2012, issue had an article by another ob/gyn, Dr. Hilda Hutcherson, titled, “Have a healthy, happy vagina,” which used a q & a format to address “the five issues women stress about most” concerning their “lady parts.”
Image from Redbook, May 2012, p. 183
- Will childbearing “ruin” my vagina?
- Is the smell okay?
- Do I look weird down there compared to other women?
- Why don’t I have vaginal orgasms? Can I change that?
- Why does my vagina sometimes hurt when I have sex?
The responses to the questions were basically thoughtful and supportive, though a bit coy sometimes, with the talk about “lady parts.” In other words, they gave the kinds of information that’s found all the time in the posts on re:Cycling.
It also included four dumb/insensitive things doctors have said while their patient was “in the stirrups.” The heading was, “Your OB/GYN said WHAT!?”
What timing! Just last night, I told my students about Redbook’s Fall 2009 idiotic pan of *Flow: A Cultural History of Menstruation* with these words: “You welcome it, bemoan it, or just live with it. However you feel about your period, we’re pretty sure most of you would rather spend your cash on a three- to five-day supply of Ben & Jerry’s than this 250-plus-page tome that teaches you about menstruation in the animal kingdom and the origin of tampons.” Glad to see that someone at the ladymag is thinking a bit more clearly about repro health and awareness! Onward!