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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Skeptical Sunday. I'm your host, Jordan Harbinger. Today I'm here with Skeptical Sunday co-host, writer, and researcher, Jessica Wynn. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world's most fascinating people and turn their wisdom into practical advice that you can use to impact your own life and those around you.
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Just visit jordanharbinger.com slash start or search for us in your Spotify app to get started. Today, a little warning. This episode contains frank discussion about female anatomy using proper medical terminology. It's educational, it's not explicit, but if you'd prefer your kids learn this stuff, you know, somewhere else first, maybe save this one for your commute.
Today on Skeptical Sunday, we're diving into the beautiful, powerful, and often misunderstood world of vaginas. The whole world of vaginas. Half the population has one, but we treat them like they're classified information. We use euphemisms and myths rather than just talking honestly.
We'll discuss any other body part without a second thought, but say the word vagina and watch people blush and squirm, and especially when you say it like that, I guess, but... Heads up, we're going to be using proper anatomical terms like vagina, vulva, and clitoris throughout this episode because here's the thing. Knowledge is not indecent. However, ignorance is.
And it's time we stop treating basic biology like forbidden knowledge from some mystical cave of wonders. Joining me to get deep inside vaginas is writer and researcher Jessica Wynn. Hey Jess, so let's dive in with an important, very scientific question. If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?
Oh, quoting the vagina monologues right off the bat. Impressive. I've always said she would wear a machine washable jean jacket.
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Chapter 2: What myths about vaginas are debunked in this episode?
No, it can be frustrating how it's used. But can you confidently describe the difference between the vulva, the clitoris, the cervix and the vagina?
Yeah, it's actually not that hard. I mean, uterus, where baby go, vulva, outside of vagina, vagina, the canal, cervix at the other end of that thing. Right. I mean, this is not like complicated.
Yeah, you've done your homework. A lot of people haven't, and most people can't tell the difference, including a lot of women. Technically, the vagina is the muscular canal inside the body. Everything external, the clitoris, the labia, the urethra, the parts you can see, that's the vulva. So using vagina as a catch-all term, it's like calling your entire face your tongue.
Yeah. To be fair, most men aren't experts on their anatomy either. I'll be talking about something and people will say like, oh, the glands. And I'm like, do you mean glands? Or they don't even know what that is in the first place. They're using words like, we have a lot of words for our stuff too. And I guarantee you most guys don't know what the dorsal part of their penis is, for example.
They have no idea.
And that's just a failure in our education. It's not really anybody's fault. You have to take the time to learn all of these things. But women's anatomy is more complex. So you've got a penis and testicles and yes, you have a bunch of little, you know, there's other parts, but... It's less complicated, I feel like, generally. It's less complicated.
And we've got ovaries, uterus, vagina, cervix, clitoris, labia, vulva, because we're designed to gestate life. And yet boys get clearer language. Penis balls, their gift, their power.
I've never heard of it. That's cringe. Nobody.
You never heard the gift. That's a pretty common one.
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Chapter 3: How do historical attitudes towards female anatomy affect modern perceptions?
She's swimming or she's like doing a backflip. I'm like, so is this an ad for gymnastics? It's an ad for hiking? It's an ad for riding a bicycle? And then when I was older, I was like, oh, mom, so when you have your period, you can't ride a bike? And she's like, what the hell are you talking about? I'm like, I don't know. I don't understand the advertising.
My dad would turn the TV off. He could even watch the ads.
Wow, that's a bit extra.
So old school, like when he was in front of his daughter, it was just too much, which no fault to him. What kind of message does that send to your daughter if you're like, oh shit, I can't watch this.
Yeah, I'm not allowed to see a pubescent girl ride horses.
Yeah. Men just get, you know, behold, my mighty dragon of virility. And women get that. Have you considered that you stink?
When we talked about dicks, I got some pushbacks from surprising places, like from men, not from women. When this airs, I fully expect emails saying it's vulgar or people had to turn it off because they were eating lunch or something like that. I don't know. It's people get weird about this stuff.
Yeah, I'm preparing for dick pics in my DMs. More than usual.
I was going to say, what else is new? Yeah, exactly.
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Chapter 4: What role does proper anatomical terminology play in education and safety?
So you're saying vagina size does matter, just not in the way people think. But there are differences in size.
Yeah, for sure. But size changes before penetration. So during arousal, the vagina goes through a normal physiological process called tenting, where the vaginal canal lengthens and widens. It relaxes and lubricates.
built-in engineering. And I got to say, it's really funny to read this because of course, I think a lot of people maybe know this and a lot of people don't, but you see these guys on Twitter, they're usually like arguing for some sort of antiquated, in my opinion, point. And they'll say something like, vaginas don't actually change size and they don't actually do this and not all women lubricate.
And then the responses are all like, oh my God, tell me you've never given a woman an orgasm without telling me you've never given a woman an orgasm. We're like,
Or just never turn somebody on. Right.
You've never aroused any of the women that you've been with because they're like, I've never experienced this. And maybe you want to delete that because that is a shocking accidental confession slash admission. Yeah. Yikes. That was one of the funniest tweets I've ever seen.
The most funny would be the guy who took a picture of the scale, but it was reflective and it had like a reflection of his tiny, tiny little penis.
Oh, no.
And then the next tweet was, how do you delete a tweet?
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Chapter 5: How does the vagina's self-cleaning mechanism work?
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There are procedures out there women go through to alter the size and appearance of their vaginas. I've heard this is on the rise, actually. What about things like labiaplasty?
Some procedures are cosmetic, but many are medically necessary. So conditions like Meyer-Rokintonsky-Kutzner-Hauser, which is M-R-K-H. I know it's a mouthful. It's a syndrome that exists and it causes what's called vaginal absence. where the vagina and uterus, they don't fully form. So instead of a vaginal opening, there's just like a small dimple.
And there's also severe vaginal stenosis, where the canal is too narrow or scarred. So people who've had trauma or cancer or really complicated births, they can suffer from these. And for them, surgeries like vaginoplasty are about function and pain relief, not aesthetics.
So this isn't about sexual performance. It's about health.
Yeah. And some people are born with these congenital conditions like MRKH. And surgeons may have to construct a new vaginal canal completely from scratch. That's called a neovaginoplasty. And that can involve skin grafts and dilators to prevent the canal from closing again.
Oof, that sounds intense.
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Chapter 6: What are common misconceptions regarding vaginal health products?
Hairless, small, barely visible labia. There's one acceptable model. But most vulvas don't look like that, and they don't need to.
Well, it depends on the porn you're watching, I guess, but yeah.
And then labioplasty, that can be medically necessary if a woman experiences pain during exercise or sex. Exercise.
Exercise.
Yeah, things are moving around down there.
Oh, my gosh. I never thought about that, but I guess you're right. Like, you're the only one who needs a cup. No, I'm just kidding. I guess if your scrotum was, like, attached weird and you couldn't run well, you'd want that to be fixed up.
Yeah, it could be painful.
Yeah, okay. That makes sense.
But a lot of these procedures have become cosmetic. They're driven by comparison, probably some shame. So if you're considering a procedure, just ask, is this solving pain or function? Or am I trying to look like an unrealistic template?
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Chapter 7: How do societal views on menstruation impact women's health?
Your lungs, your kidneys, all that stuff takes care of your body's pH balance.
And what actually maintains vaginal health is balanced flora, hydration, diet, and just overall health. If your genitals require a goop subscription, maybe capitalism's the real infection.
Keep your communism down there in Echo Park, you hipster.
Well, studies show there are more bacteria in your mouth than in your vagina. So relax and just don't believe the marketing hype.
What about discharge? People treat that like it's dirty, but not to be too gross. Isn't special cleaning needed there with the discharge and the smells and stuff?
Not even a little bit. Go ahead and douche your penis hole and get back to me, whatever.
But I pee out of there, so is that not, that's kind of cleaning.
Discharge is part of how the vaginal microbiome maintains itself. It changes throughout a woman's cycle. It's not dirty. It's information. And so if something smells sharply fishy or you have itching or burning, that's when you see a doctor, not a steam spa.
Got it. The vaginal microbiome sounds like an absolutely fire punk band. But what exactly is that? We should have probably covered that earlier.
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Chapter 8: What are the implications of medical sexism on women's health issues?
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Thank you for listening to and supporting the show. All the deals, discount codes, and ways to support the podcast are searchable and clickable on the website at JordanHarbinger.com slash deals. Now for the rest of Skeptical Sunday. Why did it take so long for product options for women to come on the market? It seems like this would have been lucrative in the first place.
It seems like this should have existed forever.
It was just ignored because menstrual health research was and is underfunded. And disposable products then became insanely profitable, which discouraged more innovation. If men bled from their balls once a month, every toilet would come with a built-in bidet and free products. These products are expensive.
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