“It’s Okay”: The Gender Stigma in Feminine and Sexual Hygiene
This weekend, I was on TikTok and saw a woman post a video giving feminine hygiene tips with a list of pills, products, and “must-haves.” It was not the first time something like this landed on my feed, but this particular video did make me pose the question: WHY? Why was she telling other women and me to drink copious amounts of pineapple juice? Why did I need to stick a big pill in my vagina to “detox?” Why was it imperative that I invest in herbs for “yoni steaming?”. Why was I being told to buy an oral Pediatric Electrolyte solution and chlorophyll? Yes, I have seen this. Why did every woman on Tik Tok randomly begin swearing by fenugreek pills? Why are douches still being sold?
Before moving any further, I will emphasize that this article does not aim to discourage anyone who experiences reproductive health issues or issues with vasocongestion, vaginal lubrication, or overall vaginal health and has been recommended by a physician to use some of the mentioned treatments. This article is also not meant to diminish the increasing recognition of female sexual and reproductive health. This piece intends to address the stigma of women with no immediate health complications “needing” extensive treatment methods for their vagina or vulva. Women have experienced the stigma of needing overbearing primping and pruning processes to be clean for sex or even companionship for years, and it has not stopped.
In contemporary Western society, those with vaginas are expected to indulge in complex, comprehensive measures when washing and taking care of their sex organs compared to those without vaginas. There are many reasons for this: some suggest that vaginas are more complex sexual organs (more nerve endings, internal reproductive structure, self-cleaning, lower pH, etc.). Spiritualists often emphasize the weight of the “womb” rhetoric, meaning lots of physical care and even spiritual practices for your vagina. Although the overall female reproductive system is intricate and does require healthy hygiene, it is essential to remember the role social engagements play in this heavy emphasis on “maintaining” female organs solely for sexual intercourse.
In the 1920s, Lysol marketed female douche products to manage sexual cleanliness using painfully one-sided language. Lysol blamed women’s lack of indulgence in feminine hygiene products as a reason for a failed marriage or her spouse’s overall lack of interest. “Is she truly trying to keep her husband and herself, eager happy married lovers [if she doesn’t douche her vagina]?” Another brand called Love in the late 60s proudly released the slogan, “Amy doesn’t need to douche, but she knows I love apricots.” As much as society has attempted to paint douching as a healthy practice for feminine hygiene, this is entirely untrue. Many physicians demonstrated the dangers of douching, including reproductive issues (preterm birth) and even increased risk of contracting H.I.V. The propaganda of douching is not to “help women” in any way but meant only to shame women’s hygiene and even commitment to partnership.
Recently, another form of “vaginal detox” has emerged, known as yoni pearls. The pearls’ purging intent is similar to douching, and professionals are still saying a hard no. TikTok’s famous OB/GYN, Dr. Jennifer Lincoln (@drjenniferlincoln), lists all the reasons she is fervently against women using yoni pearls. Toxic shock syndrome, discharge, scarred vaginal tissues, and yeast infections are a few of the many concerns of yoni pearls. Andrea Carazas, an N.Y.U. graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Global Public Health and clinical health educator at Mt. Sinai’s Adolescent Health Center also shares her disdain for yoni pearls. She explains that even though they contain herbs with beneficial properties, they are safer when used topically or in pill form rather than placed directly into your vagina.
It is also imperative to assess the cultural implications of sexual hygiene products and their consumers. African American women tend to be the leading buyers of certain vaginal deodorizing or detox products, not by luck. For centuries, Black women have been stripped of their femininity and experienced sexual humiliation. Historically, racist stigmas against African American women’s odor have been that they are “smelly” or have naturally unappealing body chemistry to influence Black and other minority consumers to buy vaginal deodorizing products. Johnson & Johnson is a prime example of marketing to minority communities. The company, aware of the irreversible effects of talcum powder since the 70s, like ovarian cancer, began marketing the product in predominantly Black spaces after losing white consumers. In Michelle Ferranti’s “An Odor of Racism: Vaginal Deodorants in African-American Beauty Culture and Advertising,” she states, “...manufacturers of vaginal deodorants attempted to exploit racist notions by appealing to African-American consumers’ insecurities about personal odors.”
Before Johnson & Johnson stopped manufacturing talcum powder in North America, roughly 20,000 lawsuits were filed against the company, most being Black. There seem to be similar trends on my TikTok feed, with many spiritualists and holistic practitioners commercializing and swearing-by yoni-based products being Black women marketing to other Black women. Although some intend to provide safe products and spaces through shared cultural experiences, others may still attend to Black women’s sensitivities about their vaginal smell, wetness, and taste to make sales. After all the harm proclaimed vaginal detox and deodorizing products have done to women’s bodies, one would think they would be entirely out of business. The “Ban All Douching” brigade would storm the nearest town and burn every douche west of the Mississippi! Actually, Summer’s Eve has a pack of 3 douches for $8.94 on Walmart.com.
Though some of the methods mentioned earlier may not have as harmful effects on your body as douching, yoni pearls, or talcum powder, there is little to no research proving some of their efficacy in the female reproductive system. Pineapple juice is a trending sexual hygiene practice in social groups said to give your vagina sweetness during oral sex. While it is true that our diet impacts our vaginal smell and taste, there is no “yes” or “no” as to whether pineapple consumption sweetens your vagina, especially as all vaginas are different. What works for some is not guaranteed to work for others. Likewise, yoni steaming is becoming a more common practice said to improve reproductive health without much research to assert its claimed vaginal cleaning capabilities.
The method includes boiling specific herbs in a pot and sitting to allow the aromatic properties to flow upward into your vagina. Yoni herb sellers such as @vshiddengems on TikTok advertise products with captions like“Him: ‘why yo *cat emoji* so wet like dat’” with her smiling sitting on her yoni bowl. Another yoni steam practitioner (@yonimack) answers buyers’ common questions have about the relationship between yoni steaming and sex with male partners. With a smirk, she says, “He’s not gonna last.” Naturopathic nutritionist (@wholisticmami) says that yoni steaming can even “tighten the vaginal canal.” Because there is such little research on the effects of yoni steaming and their benefits vary tremendously, it is safe to say that the results can be considered subjective. There is nothing wrong with engaging in safe naturalistic practices as self-care. The problem is when practices like yoni steaming are convincing perfectly healthy women that they need to invest in making their vagina wetter, tighter, odorless, and sweeter for sex.
Fenugreek supplements known for their properties to increase milk supply in nursing mothers have also become a tool for women to try and increase sexual libido and sweeten vaginal smell to that of maple syrup. Recent popular Amazon reviews for the product have women thrilled to have finally found a product that makes their vagina smell sweet for long periods. One buyer expresses her excitement about smelling like maple syrup all day and taking the supplement even though she is not nursing. “Look. I’m not pregnant and have never had a baby but the fact that this makes...my oven [vagina] that stays preheated to 375° all day stay smelling sweet you’ve earned a lifetime customer from me”.
Another consumer swears by the supplement and suggests that if the smell is not as noticeable as you would hope, “just take a higher dose.” Although safe consumption of fenugreek can be beneficial, like cholesterol reduction and helping with diabetes, overconsumption of the plant, especially when not necessary, can have significant side effects. Some include triggering irritable bowel syndrome (I.B.S.), issues during menstruation, and even psychological mood disorders. Though fenugreek does not have proposed “cleaning” properties like the methods explored earlier, products associated with improving the smell or taste of the vagina have been pooled together as necessary products for “feminine sexual hygiene”.
The truth is there is an astounding lack of knowledge when it comes to “sexual hygiene” products marketed for female consumers. Daily and on multiple platforms, women are pressured into buying hygienic goods known to alter natural body chemistry and thus placed at severe risk for an unrealistic vagina. As a self-cleaning organ, “detox” jargon is a myth attempting to make women feel compelled to buy a product proposed to function as what the vagina does on its own. When it comes to the smell or taste of a vagina, there is no one criterion.
Everybody is different, meaning genitals will vary in taste and smell. Another thing to consider when discussing sexual hygiene is that men have body odor, too. I know! Crazy right? Men have B.O. the same way women do, but the difference is the stigma. Patriarchy grants allowances for men to smell and even taste poorly without being bombarded with multiple washes, pills, or testicular steaming products to better their hygiene for sex. Even with spreading knowledge of semen’s obvious impact on vaginal pH, and thus smell, during intercourse, women are still shamed, judged, and held responsible in ways that men are not. The ideals of the Lysol era are not as “historical” as we think.
To close, it is important to say it is not a sin to care for your vagina, yoni, cookie, coochie, or “womb.” As the center of potential reproductive health, sexual health and activity, and simply part of your body, it deserves T.L.C. However, being roped in by societal pressure to buy product after product, pill after pill, and hover your yoni over a hot bowl for a never-ending “W.A.P.” is not fair to you or your vagina. Feeling obligated to shave multiple times a week or wax numerous times a year to have an appealing vulva during sex is not fair, either. Taking pills that can trigger IBS to have a literal organ taste like maple syrup is grade A patriarchy.
A vagina will not smell or taste like fruits, sap, or candy because it is not a fruit, sap, or piece of candy. It is a vagina.
As a healthy person with a vagina, gently and regularly washing your vulva with unscented soap or water (whichever works for you), taking only the necessary vitamins, incorporating fruits and vegetables into your daily diet, wiping before and after sex, and regularly visiting a reproductive health physician are all healthy ways of maintaining your vagina. It’s okay. Your vagina is okay as it is, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. If you are considering any of these methods (or others not mentioned) without immediate health concerns to smell, taste, or feel like something other than how you naturally do for sex, maybe they are not the person you should be having sex with.