Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

Anonymous asked: Re: the clitoris chart. Do you think that if I didn't have a clitoral hood, my doctors would have mentioned it? Because mine looks NOTHING like that. From looking at the pictures alone, I would say I don't even have a clitoris, except I know I do because it's working as it should. I'm sorry for unleashing this on you and I know you're not a doctor, but that chart is seriously confusing me.

Those are just some of MANY MANY sizes and shapes and different varieties clitorises and vulvas that women can have. That chart is an incredibly small sample, really. While I identify with the idea, I’m not truly “on” that chart either. By contrast to you, when I was young I thought my clitoris was too big (because my brother’s porn mags only showed “clamshells”, so clearly that’s what normal vulvas looked like) and worried that it meant I was intersex* and for some reason my mother neglected to tell me.

I totally recommend you check out the “everyday vulva” project… because it really helped me when I found it. :) It’s in the Livejournal community, “Vaginapagina” last time I checked, and you had to have a blog and add it to your friends list (this is to help prevent trolling, afiak).

And I think if there was something truly concerning, your gynecologist probably would have mentioned something or asked you about it. I remember thinking the same thing about myself. My first pelvic exam was with a midwife (I avoided them FOR YEARS due to fear) and stressed all day that my midwife would think I was abnormal looking… and turns out I wasn’t. :) I even worried that due to an injury I received as a child that I wouldn’t be able to give birth properly (I’d been told that vaginal scar tissue would outright prevent natural birth… turns out that was a lie).
There are so many different variations of clitorises and vulva that I honestly would not worry about it unless you’re experiencing some sort of horrible pain or it’s impeding your ability to have sex and/or urinate. Because outside of that, what you’re shaped like is completely normal. :)

*this was edited to remove the word “hermaphrodite”: as a child that was the word and idea I was aware of and believed was real, and was genuinely afraid of being different and unlovable, but as an adult I know better. I used it without thinking, recalling a mindset I was once in and apologize for any offense caused.