(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

If you’re a person with a vagina, you’re likely vaguely aware of your cervix.

It’s that bit that connects the uterus to the sexy-vagina bit. It’s narrow. It’s fairly far up your vag, and it hurts like a f***er if it gets poked by someone’s penis.

But beyond that, most of us are pretty clueless.

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A quick straw poll of my friends and workmates found that most of us couldn’t tell you what our cervix actually looks like (apart from one noted sexpert), or point it out inside our vaginas.


That’s why The Beautiful Cervix Project is so interesting – and so important.



We could all do with learning a bit more about our bodies, so we can know when something’s a little off. But there’s no way to know if our cervix is normal if we don’t know what normal looks like.

The Beautiful Cervix Project is helping us all out.

Founded by O’Nell Starkey, it’s a project teaching women how they can see their cervices – and showing photo after photo of other women’s, so we can all get a sense of what they look like.

(Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

It started when O’Nell was tasked with tracking her menstrual cycle while studying to become a homebirth midwife.

‘As a visual learner, I was curious what exactly my fingers were feeling when I felt my cervix be more soft – or open – or high – or the quality of cervical fluid change throughout the cycle,’ O’Nell tells metro.co.uk, ‘so I decided to do a cervical self-exam with a speculum everyday.

‘I asked my partner to help me by taking photos of my cervix during the self-exams I was doing daily.

Age 26, no kids. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘I made a small website of this photo gallery intended for my midwifery colleagues, but soon the site went viral. My idea is not new, but turning it into a website was.

‘Women have been doing self-exam for decades; the Self-Help movement of the feminist movement in the 1970s spearheaded empowering women to do self-exam in groups.’

O’Nell didn’t end up becoming a homebirth midwife, deciding instead to study more about the symptothermal fertility awareness method so she could teach more women about their cervices.

Age 25, with an IUD. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

The project evolved after women started to submit photos of their own cervices.

‘I saw how hungry people were for this information,’ says O’Nell. ‘The Beautiful Cervix Project encourages women and people with cervices to learn cervical self-exam and fertility awareness as a revolutionary path of promoting respect, confidence, and health.

Age 21, day four of menstrual cycle. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘We believe that this form of self-empowerment and education will help contradict shame and misinformation around reproductive health and choices, affecting positive change from the personal to global levels.’

As part of the project, O’Nell shares a guide to help people photograph their own cervix at home, either alone or with the help of a partner (which is infinitely easier) or very close friend.

O'Nell's guide to photographing your cervix: Set up a safe, comfortable space and have all your gear nearby (lube, speculum, mirror, flashlight, camera).

Lie on your back with your knees open and head/torso propped up on a pillow.

First try inserting a finger into your vagina to locate your cervix, so you know approximately the depth and angle to aim your speculum.

Insert the closed speculum into your vagina (using lube can help) aiming towards where you just felt your cervix.

Open the speculum with one hand.

Then, stop holding the speculum and use your hands to hold the mirror and flashlight. Shine the flashlight inside your vagina and angle the mirror so you can see inside.

Hopefully, the cervix will be in view at the back of the vagina. If not, you may need to move the speculum a bit or reinsert it.

Have your partner use the camera to focus on the cervix and take a picture. Some people use their smartphones and take a ‘cervix selfie’, while looking at the screen, which can be helpful if you’re trying to photograph alone. Otherwise it is very tricky to get the camera to focus on the cervix.You can find out more about focusing the camera on the Beautiful Cervix Website.

O’Nell says that she believes doing a self-exam is an act of empowerment.



‘Many people say getting examined by a doctor is uncomfortable at best and traumatic and painful at worst,’ she says. ‘Looking at your cervix in the safety of your own home with just yourself or a trusted friend/partner, allows you to relax and be curious and go at your own pace.

Age 45, day 19 of menstrual cycle. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘It puts the power over your body back in your own hands.’

Plus, having a better understanding of your cervix can have a whole load of practical benefits.

Being able to do self-exams can help women to track their menstrual cycles, to track changes in specific conditions or diseases, to become more comfortable with their bodies, and to learn when they are most fertile.

Age 53, post-menopausal. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

When it comes to looking at other people’s photos, it’s all about breaking down the silence and shame around our bodies.

‘The Beautiful Cervix Project is dedicated to people working to reclaim their entire bodies as beautiful and lovable,’ says O’Nell. ‘The more we know about ourselves, the more we feel confident to advocate and care for ourselves.

Age 30, day 7. (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘I wish that people of all genders received more honest education around reproductive health and holistic health choices.

Age 45, day 16 (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘I wish for more safe opportunities where people could process their experiences of embodiment: of menstruation and fertility/infertility, sexuality, taking care of their vagina/cervix/uterus, giving birth, menopause – the media can be too sensationalized or hyper-sexualized and doctors can be too clinical.

‘I do see this changing in some cultures, but I wish it was more normal to talk openly about our anatomy and physiology, so basic health, self-care, and pleasure wasn’t such a mystery or taboo.

Age 25, day 22 (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if a first period was celebrated? If women trusted the power of their bodies to birth babies? If people weren’t ashamed of how their vagina smelled or looked? If our sexual partners understood our anatomy and we were comfortable enough to receive pleasure?


The Beautiful Cervix Project is part of making that movement – one towards celebrating our bodies instead of treating them as something shameful – reality.

Age 24, day 13 (Picture: The Beautiful Cervix Project)

While O’Nell does receive a bunch of ignorant comments, she’s also had a brilliant response from women glad to have access to education about their bodies.

‘People are desperate for accurate information about their bodies that is rarely taught in schools,’ says O’Nell.

‘Often doctors don’t have the time/education to explain the nuances of cervical fluid and menstrual cycle health to every patient.

‘Many women don’t even think about their cervices until they get an abnormal pap or become pregnant and are thinking about labour.’

If you’d like to see more cervices, head to The Beautiful Cervix Project, and, if you fancy, you can buy a self-exam kit.

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