woman with afro against yellow background hugging self
Shutterstock

How vagina confidence could save your life!

Women who feel comfortable with their vaginas have more sex and get more head, according to a US study. But vaginal confidence isn’t only about pleasure: it could save your life.

Women who feel positive about their vaginas are more likely to go in for regular check-ups with the gynecologist, the study found.

Embarrassed

But what exactly is vaginal self-confidence, and how do you measure it? To find out how positive women felt about their vaginas, the researchers scored them on the ‘Female Genital Self-Image Scale’, or FGSIS.

The higher you score on questions like, ‘I think my genitals smell fine,’ and ‘I think my genitals work the way they are supposed to work,’ the more confident you’re likely to feel about your vagina.

In the end, it comes down to not being embarrassed about having someone you’re sexually involved with a look at your genitals, or about letting a gynecologist examine you.

So it seems fretting over what a gynecologist will think about their vaginas may be the reason some women avoid going in for a check-up. Pubic hair worries are one excuse for postponing the visit. Some women say they feel they have to ‘prepare’ first by removing their hair.

Life-saving

Regular visits to the gynecologist should start at puberty, between the ages of 13 and 15, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The tests a gynecologist carries out as part of a check-up depend on different factors such as your age and sexual history.

Going in for a check-up can help keep you healthy or even save your life. A Pap test, or cervical smear, can help detect cervical cancer early on. The gynecologist wipes a little sample of cells from the cervix, the neck of the womb at the end of the vagina. The cells then go to the lab for analysis.

The gynecologist may also check your vulva on the outside and your vagina and cervix on the inside to make sure they look and feel healthy. The visit is also a good opportunity to discuss sex, STD preventionbirth control, and other concerns.
 

How vagina confident are you? Leave a comment below or join the discussion on Facebook. You can find us at Love Matters Africa.

did you find this useful?

Tell us what you think

Recent Comments (8)

  1. Can a gnaecologist of any
    Can a gnaecologist of any gender check-up her vagina or is it the females alone?

    1. A doctor of any gender can
      A doctor of any gender can perform vaginal exams; that’s what they are trained to do. But it also depends on the patient’s wishes.

  2. Thanks for the post. I should
    Thanks for the post. I should surely go for the check up

    1. That’s great, Dora!
      That’s great, Dora!

  3. where do u realy do this
    where do u realy do this

  4. How can i be penile…
    How can i be penile confident if i have a small peni

  5. Hi Anonymous, thank you for…

    Hi Anonymous, thank you for getting in touch and asking a great question, penile confidence is more about your personal self-confidence in general and knowing that irrespective of what many people say, it is not about the size of your penis but knowing how to satisfy your partner that really matters. Click here to find out more about female orgasms and what you need when it comes to satisfying a woman:

    https://lovemattersafrica.com/making-love/orgasms/her-orgasms

    https://lovemattersafrica.com/making-love/ways-to-make-love/foreplay-turning-up-the-heat

    Have a wonderful week and remember to stay safe 🙂

LoveMatters Africa

Blush-free facts and stories about love, sex, and relationships