The Genitals

Our genital area is, perhaps, our most intimate body part. It is our close companion from the moment we burst into the world from our mother's womb and first see the light of day. In nursery school we delighted in comparing innie and outie "pee-pees" as we were first becoming aware of our bodies. Then, with the onset of puberty, came the first dark hairs on our pubic areas. We all remember our first period, whether the moment was filled with pride or terror. Perhaps you began to masturbate and found you could make your body curl up in pleasure. Then came your sexual debut, with all that entails in the way of vulnerability, curiosity, and desire. Perhaps you have had children and have experienced the enormous changes your sex organs undergo, and the miracles they are capable of performing. No matter your experience to this point, one thing is certain: your genitals are part of you. It's time you got to know them better.

Vulva — The Wonder Down Under

Stand naked in front of the mirror and take a good look at yourself. Your genital area begins low down on your belly, with a fatty area that covers the very front of your hipbone. This soft area is called the Venus mound, and it becomes covered in hair during puberty. The fatty cushion on the Venus mound is larger for some women than others, so some people's pubic areas protrude slightly from their belly, whereas others have flatter variants. Both are perfectly normal.

If you run your gaze down your Venus mound, you come to what we call the vulva, though it may also be called the pussy, hoo-ha, snatch, vag, cunt, and any number of other euphemisms. We Norwegians also call it the mouse. Vulva may not be the world's most commonly used word, but if you're a woman and take a look between your legs, what you'll find there is your vulva.

A lot of people think the visible part of the female sex organs is the vagina. "There's hair growing on my vagina," you might say, or "You have such a lovely vagina," but actually that's not right. The vagina doesn't have any hair and it isn't especially easy to see it, although it is of course totally lovely. Vagina is just the name for a part of your sexual apparatus, more accurately the muscular tube you use when you have penetrative sex or give birth — in other words, the tube that leads up to the uterus. The reason we're focusing on terminology is that our sex organs are about so much more than just the vagina, no matter how much pleasure we get out of it! Most people who refer to the female genitalia as the vagina actually mean the vulva, and it's the vulva we'll begin with in our description of the fantastic female sex organs.

The vulva is formed like a flower, with two layers of petals. And believe it or not, it wasn't us who came up with the flower metaphor. When looking at the different parts of the vulva, it makes sense to start from the outside and work our way in.

The purpose of the petals, or labia (the Latin word for lips), is to protect the sensitive parts that lie farther in. The outer labia, which are thicker than the inner ones, are full of fat and work a little like air bags or shock absorbers. Although they may be long enough to cover the inner labia, they can also be very short. Some people just have two small dents in their skin that frame the rest of the vulva on either side.

The outer labia are covered in regular skin. Like the rest of the skin on your body, it's full of sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and hair follicles. In addition to hair, which is a great thing, it is also possible to get pimples and eczema on your outer labia, which isn't so great. Sadly, skin will be skin.

The inner labia are often longer than the outer labia, although not necessarily. They may be full of crinkles and folds, like a skirt made of tulle. When you stand looking at yourself in the mirror, it's possible your inner labia may protrude markedly from your outer labia. Other people may have to spread aside their outer labia in order to see their inner labia.

In contrast to the fatty outer labia, the inner labia are thinner and highly sensitive. They aren't as sensitive as the clitoris, which is the most sensitive place on your body, but they are full of nerve endings, so it can feel very good to touch them.

The inner labia don't have regular skin. Instead, they are covered with a mucous membrane — you've seen mucous membranes before, for example on the outer surface of your eyeball and inside your mouth. These organs are simply covered with a protective and moistening layer of mucus. Regular skin is covered in a layer of dead skin cells, sort of like a duvet cover consisting of dead relatives. This dead layer provides protection, and regular skin thrives in dry conditions. However, mucous membranes do not have a protective layer of dead skin cells, and are therefore less resistant to...