Tag Archives: vagina

Trump And The Black Woman’s “Wherever”

Opinion 11 Comments

Yes, Ladies. It’s time to face the new reality: The Donald – yes, Donald Trump – could become the next president of the United States. And, we need to know what he’s thinking when it comes to women of color and reproductive health so we can be prepared.

Ever since The Donald attacked Megyn Kelly after the first GOP debate saying “You could see she had blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her ‘wherever,'”  lots has been written about Donald Trump’s views on women and the female anatomy.  The feud with Megyn Kelly was only the beginning of the venom The Donald has been spewing against women and minorities since the start of the Republican primaries. This has caused an onslaught of spoofs, commentaries and thought pieces about Donald’s views on women and possible Trump policies on women’s health.

Late last year when Trump kept referring to women’s genitalia and became defensive about saying “vagina,” a few smart alack YouTubers produced videos with Trump saying vagina a million times. Trump’s tough bombastic talk and dubious comments about women prompted a spoofer to produce a clip on Trumpax: Make Your Vagina Great Again.  Although Trump has insulted women on numerous occasions and loves to refer to the vajayjay, he hasn’t said a lot specifically about women’s reproductive health issues. Essence magazine has done several pieces on what a Trump Presidency would mean for Black Women more from an economic perspective.

Before becoming the sole candidate remaining in the Republican race, as he got closer to the 1,237 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination, The Donald started changing his tune towards blacks and in an interview with REVOLT in late April claims he will win the black vote, especially the black youth vote.

There are Black women who support Trump. If you can suppress your anger at the shuckin’ and jivin’ of Diamond and Silk, you may be able to chuckle and shake your head a little at their antics.  But, the Colombian woman who can’t contain her joy over Trump is embarrassing. And even though supportive Blacks, Muslims and Latinos get jumped and beat up when they go to Trump rallies to show their love, they continue to stand up for their man Trump, including Muslim women.

And, there are more thoughtful, abeit controversial, pieces out there in YouTube land explaining how Trump could get a sizable number of Black votes to make him the next president.

https://youtu.be/nThL9AWL2MU

But, many  women – both of color and plain vanilla – will remember one of Trump’s few statements about women’s reproductive health when he said women who get abortions should be punished. Although abortions have declined since the advent of Roe vs. Wade, Black women are 5 times more likely to have an abortion than White women, and Latina women twice as likely. The Donald as Commander and Chief would make women of color very vulnerable. Last month, Trump lashed out against Hillary Clinton saying if she were a man she would only get 5% of the vote.  This is after he accused Hillary of not being strong enough to be president or having the stamina it takes. This is code for saying women are unqualified to do a lot of things – like being president. And if The Donald is talking this way about White women, SuzyKnew! doesn’t have to explain to you what he’s thinking about Black women and other minority women. Do we?

But, there was a big outcry against Donald saying women who have abortions should be punished. Women pushed back. Trump was forced to reverse his statement. It was clear Trump didn’t know what he was talking about and hadn’t gotten the memo. So, if there is a Trump presidency, it will be up to us – women of color; non-minority women; all women – to push back, show we are a force to be reckoned with and demand respect, reproductive rights, and our rightful place in America.

Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe.

Don’t Cut The Blooms Off Your Lady Parts!

Opinion Reproductive Health No Comments
Wavy-haired woman with yellow flower

Wandering around the web, an article on EMandLo‘s site called Vaginas vs. Vulvas –  There’s A Difference People! caught my attention. The piece tells you that what we call a vagina for all our various bits and pieces down there is actually incorrect; it’s a good refresher course on the female anatomy. So, I started clicking on related links, finding articles about how a lot of women find their vagina ugly and question whether they are “normal.”

Yeah. What is normal? How do you know if your vagina is normal? Or beautiful? I’ve never been so sure about this either.

Unlike men, who can easily compare their genitalia, few women have seen other women’s labia to know if everything is growing the right way.

This thought provoked me to explore other articles. A group of them talked about the increasing number of women who alter their vagina – namely by cutting off their inner labia – their “blooms” – to make their vagina look more like what they see on women in porn movies. Hmm… I never thought of women in porn movies as being the standard bearers of vagina beauty.

And, is it just porn movies driving this? What about scientific text books and women’s magazines? Have you ever looked at one of these and said, “Yes, this is exactly what I look like”?  Do any of them emphasize that each woman looks different? No.  Ladies, it’s time to write the editors!

The film documentary The Perfect Vagina examines why young women in the UK chose to have labioplasty, the removal of the labia, one of the fastest growing cosmetic procedures. Mostly, women are driven by the need to look normal. They want to conform to a beauty standard.

The Great Wall of Vagina
The Great Wall of Vagina, Jamie McCartney. The Upcoming, UK.

To combat this trend, Jamie McCartney created The Great Vagina Wall, showcasing plaster molds of 400 women’s vaginas. His goal was to show the world what “normal” women’s vaginas look like.

When I looked at this I thought, “Wow. Not one vagina looks like the other. And a lot these labia are sticking out.”  Each one  is completely unique.  And, all are normal.  The various labia are like flower blooms, giving each woman a distinct look. I would have never known this, if I hadn’t seen this picture. Have you ever seen so many vaginas lined up like that so you could actually see the variety that’s out there?

So, why would you want your labia to look like everyone else’s? Do you want your clothes, your hair, your makeup, all the aspects that make you a unique and beautiful woman to look the same? Or your hat.  Ever see the hats in Kentucky Derby? No woman would ever want to wear the same hat.

Now I have a better appreciation of why vaginas are compared to flowers.  And, while roses may all look similar.  No one rose  is exactly like the other.

Ladies, think twice before cutting off your blooms.

 Suzy