Title: This is How You Vagina
Author: Nicole E. Williams, M.D.
Rating: 2 ¾ stars
Favorite Quote: “Science doesn’t yet know, and because it’s a woman problem, we may never find out.” Williams, Nicole. This is How You Vagina. E-book ed., Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2021. Kindle.
Review: Thank you to Greenleaf Book Group Press and the NetGalley platform for the free e-ARC I was given in exchange for an honest review.
Let me begin by saying that I really, really, really wanted to like this book. I think educating individuals with vaginas and uteruses about their bodies and about their sexual health is of utmost importance. And on its face, this book does that.
However, I have few major criticisms that prevent me from singing the praises of this book, even though I do think it’s incredibly important. The first major criticism, and one that I mentioned briefly when I first featured this book on my Instagram page, is that the author goes out of her way to use feminine language when discussing the vagina. However, it seems to me (although since I am not trans or nonbinary, please do correct me if I’m wrong and you feel safe and comfortable correcting me), that this type of feminizing language could alienate people with vaginas who do not themselves identify as female.
Two other issues arose as I read that further gave me pause. The first is that there are aspects of the book that seem particularly classist. When the author discusses food, especially, there doesn’t appear to be any consideration that some people are forced to eat the foods she’s saying to avoid based on income or location. Healthy foods can be expensive, and there are plenty of places that are considered food deserts where access to fresh food can be not only cost prohibitive but limited due to geographic restrictions.
Finally, (TRIGGER WARNING FOR SA) in a short section where she is discussing the disturbing rise of incel culture, she writes, “we can take solace in the fact that if one of them goes to jail after committing one of these heinous acts, the sex they’ll be getting certainly won’t be what they’re looking for.” Williams, Nicole. This is How You Vagina. E-book ed., Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2021. Kindle. Now, while I find incel culture repulsive, I also don’t think jokes or blase illusions to prison r*pe are appropriate either. Having spent much of my academic efforts in the past and my current professional life advocating for incarcerated individuals, any such casual reference to such a widespread, harmful issue appears to be ignorant at best, and cruel at worst.
That being said, there are plenty of aspects of this book that do deserve positive attention. This book is at its best when it is tying historical issues faced by individuals with vaginas (especially such individuals who were and are further marginalized by race or socioeconomic status) to contemporary medical issues faced by people today. Some of her most powerful points are developed in the final chapter, “Vaginalism: Vaginas in Race and Culture,” where she notes both that, “Making someone appear to be less than human allows other humans to do the most inhumane things” and “Black women have been fighting to be seen as pain-feeling humans for decades.” Williams, Nicole. This is How You Vagina. E-book ed., Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2021. Kindle. Both of these points, and many others developed throughout the book, point to serious social issues that exist now, but can and should be viewed through the historical lens through which they developed.
About that Quote: Another good part of this book are the sections that either implicitly or explicitly advocate for the medical rights of historically marginalized groups. This quote, and versions of it, appear throughout the book, highlighting the disparate medical treatment people with vaginas receive. Rooting these statements in her professional experience adds a layer of credibility, where many people with vaginas have often found their pain and their health concerns discredited.
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