8 Things You Didn't Know About Your Labia

Given that most women have lived with our vaginas since the day we were born, many of us actually know surprisingly little about all the equipment we've got going on down there. So, what with it being Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month this September and everything, and because the UK's only gynaecological cancer charity, The Eve Appeal, is encouraging us all to #KnowYourBody, we thought we'd delve a little further into the labia. 

Sorry, there was no nicer way to put it.

 We asked Tracie Miles, The Eve Appeal's Information Nurse, to spill everything she knows about the most visible part of the vagina:

1. The correct anatomical names for the different parts of the labia are 'labia majora' (outer lips / folds of skin) and 'labia minora' (inner lips / folds of skin). 

2. If an embryo had developed into a male rather than a female, the labia majora would become the scrotum and the labia minor would form the shaft of the penis. Because you never know when this kind of information could come in handy. 

3. No two labia look the same (if you want proof and haven't seen The Great Wall of Vagina, ​then check it out). But procedures (labiaplasty) to reduce the size of the labia minora – the folds of skin either side of the vaginal opening – are becoming a lot more common place. Some women consider having labiaplasty because they don't like the look of their labia, or because they perceive that their labia causes discomfort.

4. While some women opt for 'surgical enhancements' for their labia, others across the world have very little choice. Female Genital Mutilation is commonplace in some places – where the labia are removed and / or sewn together to prevent women having sex before marriage. This is hugely dangerous, often traumatic for the woman undergoing the FGM, and is therefore an illegal practice in the UK.

5. A woman can get a cancer on her labia – it's a squamous (in other words skin cancer) and is curable if it is reported early. If not, it can grow into the pelvis and cause long-term problems. There are lots of skin conditions which can affect the vulva, one of the most common is lichen sclerosus, however symptoms can be managed, and in most cases treated with a cream obtained with prescription from your GP.

6. As you get older, it's totally normal to notice some subtle changes down there. The major one being that your labia shrinks after the menopause due to a decrease in the hormone oestrogen. But it can look a little slimmer in your 20s, too, because as you exit puberty, go through your 'menzies' (aka your period) and then into menopause, the subcutaneous fat - the kind just beneath the skin - decreases.

7. When women become aroused during sexual intercourse, your labia can become engorged with blood and may appear to look a little bit bigger than normal. It will change to a dark red colour.

8. The labia protects and cushions our all important clitoris as well as the urethra and the vaginal opening. Like the shield of our ladybits.

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