Ah, vaginas. Varied in appearance, size, and feel. And that’s what makes them glorious.

But when the only type of vagina we see is barbie smooth with every hint of labia tucked away, it’s no wonder we start to think that our vaginas are ‘weird’ or ‘ugly’. Because it suggests that there’s just one acceptable type of vagina, and if yours doesn’t look like that there’s something wrong.

How I Save: A 47-year-old administrator cutting back after switching to part-time hours

That’s something that one bikini waxer, known as Mel, wants to change.

She’s broken down the range of vaginas she’s seen in her years of getting up close and personal with people’s bits into five distinct types of vagina appearance, illustrated by Kyla Benes-Trapp.




Mel explains that actually, the smooth, tucked in vag you see most frequently in porn – which she calls Ms. Barbie – is the least common vagina of all.

(Picture: Kylah Benes-Trapp)

The most common vulva appearance, in contrast, is the Ms. Curtains.

This type of vagina features labia minora that extend past the labia majora.

(Picture: Kylah Benes-Trapp)

The Ms. Puffs is similar to the Ms. Barbie, but with the labia majora hanging further down from the pubic bone…

(Picture: Kylah Benes-Trapp)

…while Ms. Horseshoe has an opening of the vagina that spreads wider towards the top, exposing the labia minora, but closes off towards the bottom.

(Picture: Kylah Benes-Trapp)

With this style of vagina there’s no extension of the labia minora past the labia majora.

Finally, there’s the Ms. Tulip, which looks ‘like a flower bud about to bloom’. This is when the labia minora are slightly exposed throughout the length of the labia majora, but they’re not poking out.

(Picture: Kylah Benes-Trapp)

Of course, we’d like to add that if your vagina doesn’t look exactly like one of these five types, it’s not a cause for alarm.

These are just a huge range of vaginas narrowed down into five common categories – differences between are nothing to be ashamed of.

‘Moral of the story is that every vagina is different,’ Mel told Elite Daily, ‘but it shares a sisterhood with all other vaginas, and nobody should feel strange or abnormal.

‘Just because you haven’t met your sister vagina yet, doesn’t mean she isn’t out there.’

MORE: The rise of labiaplasty is yet more proof that we really need to change the way we talk about vaginas

MORE: We need to stop letting companies profit from our fear and confusion around vaginas

MORE: Does not drinking enough water really make your vagina dehydrated?

Advertisement Advertisement