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an unabashed exploration of the plain, ordinary, mysterious matter of vaginas
 
 
Next exhibition of vagina vérité®: TBD click for details of the next exhibition of vagina vérité®

Welcome to vagina verite dot com!

a space for conversation on vagina-related subjects.

vaginaverite.com grew out of my work on vagina vérité®, a book of vulva portraits for women. The v-portraits are close-up documentary photographs that reveal the elusive face of the ordinary vagina in plain view—not that there is such a thing as an ordinary vagina—they are each unique and beautiful.

vagina vérité® is an unabashed exploration of the plain, ordinary, mysterious matter of vaginas. So we can see ourselves for ourselves.

Working on the project led to so many fun, moving, thought-provoking conversations. Read the story of vagina vérité® here. Shared topics and themes emerged, and from these (our stories, questions and concerns) followed the questionnaires listed there on the right.

vaginaverite.com is the companion website to the vagina book. It's a repository for our stories, mainly told as responses to the questionnaires. Its mission is to provide a comfortable environment for women to share their experiences and propose questions to explore. Its purpose is to engender respect and appreciation for our bodies by providing access to each other's experiences.

vaginaverite.com is dedicated to the value of our individual experiences, and celebrates diversity and the beauty of all women.

While vaginaverite.com is for, and about, women, men are warmly welcomed.


I have photographed over 100 v-portraits  for vagina vérité®, the book, and am always looking to exhibit. If you have suggestions on an NYC space, I'd love to hear about it!

previous exhibitions [web page] vagina vérité® exhibitions
exhibition highlights [pdf] vagina vérité® exhibition highlights

Learn about the next exhibition and how the project is unfolding, via the newsletter*. You can sign up for it here.

Curious about the newsletter? Read a sample newsletter.

I hope you enjoy the site, and I look forward to hearing what you think.

  Alexandra
Alexandra Jacoby

Twitter: @alexandrajacoby
Facebook: alexandra.jacoby


* The newsletter is opt-in, and opt-out whenever you like. It is an opportunity to be kept in the loop on all leave the castle projects. To leave the castle is to step out of your comfort zone. Something I am always looking to do! vagina vérité® is my primary leave the castle project at this time.


recommended reads
Here's some of what I've been reading, watching and writing lately
[may not have been written lately]:

Why do women menstruate? by PZ Myers @ Pharyngula, DEC 21, 2011& my blog post: Alongside Scientists Exploring Why Women Menstruate @ Re:Cycling, JAN 19, 2012.

what to tell the girl in my life about menstruation, by Alexandra Jacoby, @ Re:Cycling, the SMCR blog, NOV 24, 2011.

A Vulva Looks Like THAT? Demystifying Female Genitalia for Teens by Rachel Walden @ Ms.blog, NOV 29, 2011.

The Most Horrifying Period Stories You’ve Ever Heard, by Dodai Stewart @ Jezebel, NOV 22, 2011.

Teaching Good Sex by Laurie Abraham @ The New York Times Magazine, NOV 16, 2011.

"Huffington Post" Essay from Eve "OVER IT!", by Eve Ensler @ V-Day, NOV 11, 2011.

Your Vagina is a Tomato:Three Ways to Maintain Healthy Vaginal pH and Avoid Vaginitis by MSVAGAINASCIENCE @ Persphone Magazine, OCT 11, 2011.

The Vagina and the Vulva..., by paperispatient @ Persephone Magazine, AUG 17, 2011.

Two Good New Books About Your Down There, by Ilene Richman @ The Fertility Awareness Center blog, JUN 26, 2011.

Accurate, Responsible, Objective Wimmin’s Health, Guest Post by Katherine Hannan @ Eastern Washington University Women's and Gender Studies blog

You can call us that name, but we will not shut up

Did you...did you make me a period mix?

Shed the Shame

leave the castle (muy blog)




Sunday Afternoon Salon
Attend a Sunday Afternoon Salon, where you can view the v-portraits and engage in conversation. Salons take place the third Sunday of the month in NYC.

what's a salon?
A salon is a gathering for learning or enjoyment. It's a conversation in my living room, that I hope will spill out into the world.

Find more info about what to expect at salons, the schedule and attending here.

The salon invitation goes out via the newsletter. If you're not already subscribed, you can subscribe here. Don't forget to confirm your subscription or it won't get activated.

If you're not nearby, email your thoughts to me. What does all this bring up for you?


weekly update
APR 19, 2012

Hello everybody,

That's a LOT of normal you have there.
That's what the gynecologist said to me while making her way through vagina vérité®.

Women should see this. It should be in the waiting room, and a copy in the office.

Page by page, each v-portrait: unique, different.
Normal.

And, unexpected.

Which is odd, right? — because unique and different are totally normal conditions of being human — I'm me. You're you. Not at all interchangeable.

And yet, more often than not, unique and different are not expected.

Instead, some idea, some image has become fixed in us, and anything other than a mimicking of that image is at best: surprising, and at worst: disappointing...

Lately, I see more and more articles about how vulvas (aka vaginas - though they're not the same thing) are supposed to look, and what women are doing to change their appearance...

Your Vagina Isn't Just Too Big, Too Floppy, and Too Hairy—It's Also Too Brown

Designer Parts: Inside the Strange, Fascinating World of Vaginoplasty

It seems we're moving away from what is.
From what is normal.

What do you think about that?
You can reply herel.
Or respond to this questionnaire about designer vaginas, or this one about the eye of the beholder.

the book!
For now, the book is only available to order online.

the vagina book

You can order it here, at blurb.com— or, to read the text of the book, download a free pdf here.

No salons scheduled at the moment.

How about participating in a study? It's not my study — I am spreading the word, sending out the invitation. It takes about ten minutes to respond to an online survey about the history of tampons and Toxic Shock Syndrome—worth the time! I just took the survey. There are no qualifications. Anyone can participate.

Thank you for being part of this project. Your support and interest mean a lot to me.

Always: your questions, comments, suggestions about the project are so welcome!

Please stay in touch about your experiences with the v-book and this conversation. They're going to change over time.

- Alexandra
Alexandra Jacoby


yOur vagina Stories
read what others wrote; add yours
[ The number of responses published so far is listed in the brackets next to each questionnaire. If the number is bold, then responses were added in the last week or so. ]

contraception review  contraception review [8]
vagocosmetic surgery  designer vaginas [
98]
do you like the way your vagina looks questionnaire  do you like the way your vagina looks? [
189]
gynecologist review  gyno review [
34]
questionnaire  masturbation [91]
menstruation review  menstruation review
[78]
men's vagina first-time questionnaire  men's vagina first times [
178]
pussy, punani, fanny, front-bottom, snatch -what's your name for vagina?  vagina names: what do you call it? [
215]
vagina styling questionnaire  vagina style [75]
vagina taste and feel questionnaire  vagina taste and feel 
[149]
questionnaire  virginity [161]
women's vagina first-times questionnaire  women's vagina first times [244]

Total responses: 1520




view a vulva diagram



  vaginas - our relationships with them
 

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Site last updated: APR 19, 2012

 




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