As my final project for my first semester of art school, I’ve decided to combine my love of painting with my passion for gender/women’s studies and the issues surrounding it. Recently while discussing sex and some problems that rise with it, my good friend brought up that she felt uncomfortable and embarrassed about the way her vulva appeared. This was an issue I had heard about but had never actually known anyone personally who had openly expressed this anxiety. Upon looking further into this topic, I discovered that this discomfort and embarrassment is very widespread, yet something not openly discussed. What I’m hoping to achieve with this project is to bring to light and help deconstruct this ideal vulva form that many individuals search/alter their bodies to achieve. These standards perpetuate negative ways in which we think about our bodies and are unrealistic, unhealthy, and unnecessary. We need to embrace our bodies and be confident!

In four weeks I hope to have completed black and white watercolor portraits of vulva’s in every shape/color/size/etc. My ultimate goal is to help deconstruct the ideal vulva form that people have been conditioned and shamed into believing by displaying all of the paintings together to show the wide variety of the vulva form.