Why is that? Hilde Atalanta, illustrator and creator of The Vulva Gallery, says that the female reproductive system is not given enough attention at school:

“I hear the same thing over and over again,” Hilde says, “ I never learned anything about my own anatomy at school. In sexual health education class, we spoke about reproduction, STIs and about how not to get pregnant - but our anatomy didn’t receive any attention.”

The penis is easier to physically see, which could be why we are more familiar with it, but that doesn’t explain why people with vaginas often don’t feel comfortable about it:

“Many individuals with vulvas learn from a young age to hide their vulva, to not speak about it openly, and they aren’t encouraged at all to explore what there vulva looks and feels like,”says Hilde.

With such a lack of awareness about the female genitals, it’s not surprising that some people worry their muff isn’t normal. We spoke to two experts to find out whether there is such a thing as a ‘normal vagina’.

Is My Vagina Normal?

While we have been using the word ‘vagina’ to describe our external genitalia, that term is actually incorrect.

“Most people use the word vagina when referring to external and internal genitalia, but the external structure (including the labia majora, labia minora and clitoris) is actually called the vulva,” says Becky Lund-Harket, Sex and Relationships Educator at Sexplain.

Is My Vulva Normal?

If you only see vulvas in porn, you may be worried that yours doesn’t look like that. Maybe one of your vaginal lips is longer than the other, or perhaps your clitoris is larger than you think it should be.

“While some people's vulva will have protruding labia minora (also known as inner lips) others will have vulvas with hidden labia minora. The labia minora vary in shape, size and are often asymmetrical,” says Becky, “mainstream porn often show very small vulvas with hidden labia minor.”

“This is often because the actresses have had cosmetic surgery called 'labiaplasty',” she continues, “which can involve cutting away the labia minora. This can leave someone with lessened sensitivity.”

Is there such a thing as a normal vulva? “Nope, the ‘normal’ vulva doesn’t exist” says Hilde, “there are so many different variations in shapes and sizes, as many as there are faces and no two vulvas are exactly alike.”