ladyparts and women's bodies

A short article titled "Ladyparts: An Owner's Manual" was published in Glamour's August 10, 2015 issue. While the title may seem off-putting at first, it actually raises some interesting and important issues-- namely, the surprisingly little knowledge we actually have of women's bodies. In fact, this article follows along the same vein as the 1969 publication of Women and Their Bodies (later renamed to Our Bodies, Ourselves in 1971). The book was the result of a discussion between 12 women ranging in age from 23 - 39 and doctors about the women's experiences and personal stories. There is now a website from the organization: http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/

In addition to these resources, there are also two books from the company that makes American Girl:

• The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls
• The Care and Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls

Finally, below is an excerpt from the Netflix show Orange is the New Black (*** Warning: Graphic language).



All of this raises the question how much has changed since the 1969 publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves? What does the existence of such artifacts tell us about how we think about and talk about women's bodies?