So, if anyone out there in the feministing universe cares to press the nifty little comment button and enlighten me as to what has caused us to hate that little hairy pleasure monster between our legs, please do so!

Bleh. I don't, but if you keep calling it something as ridiculous as that I might well start.

Puritanical religious mores, for starters. Plain ol' misogyny that runs deep in our society and teaches little girls that their genitals are yucky and not to be touched. Women have cunt shame because our culture (especially Judeo-Christian religions) sends the message that we should, and we internalize it.
It's funny to read this today because last night a friend was talking about possibly changing her method of birth control from the Pill to something else. I brought up NuvaRing and explained how it works. She was horrified at the idea of sticking it inside her own vagina. She said she won't even use tampons without applicators. Sigh.

I think SarahMC outlined it quite well. We have been taught that it is a mysterious area that we should not like because it is icky. we are told to shave it powder it and scent it because anything resembling natural processes are considered disgusting.

and Alice? grow up please.

Well, I certainly don't hate my vagina, and have always been so perplexed by my friends who do (sadly there are many of them). This is part of the reason I too want to go in to gynecology, only as a nurse. Because I think women have internalize a lot the previously mentioned societal anxieties about their bodies as "other," and seem to receive an appalling large amount of medical misinformation, as we learned from ajohnson's post.
I kind of like the term little hairy pleasure monster between our legs though.

I think it is really cool, Bokonon, that you are so enthusiastic about gynecology!

I agree with SarahMC and I would like to point out that non Judeo-Christian culturs have their fair share of cunt-shaming. I grew up Hindu and this one thing that totally enraged me when I hit puberty: women who are menstruating are not allowed in temples* because they are "dirty." When my sister got married a few years ago I had to hide the fact that I was on my period or else I wouldn't have been allowed to participate in the ceremony.

*Disclaimer: Hinduism is not homogenous by any means, this is just something from my own experience.

I believe my loathing of my vagina began when I first started being sexually active with other people -- before that I was ambivalent about her. But, one day, while messing around a boyfriend was going to give me oral but said "I just can't get passed the smell" and refused. I had had issues with my vagina smell (usually during my period) before, but hoped no one else noticed. I was ashamed of myself and of her, so I started saying that I didn't like her.

It wasn't until I was raped that I started to love my vagina again. The violation was scary for both of us, and for several months all sexual penetration was painful. But thanks to my boyfriend and his penis (who are very understanding of our needs) we got through the painful intercourse and recovered.

So, for me, having a partner who doesn't understand or have compassion for the magical vagina caused me to hold her in contempt. But having a partner who does understand and have compassion for both me and my vagina has helped me to love her again.

@ SarahMC: I refuse to put in a tampon without an applicator too, but one can't attribute that to a fear of the vagina. (More like, fear of being covered in blood.) My nails tend to be long, as well. Scratching = teh suck.

Even non religious people seem to think their vagina is icky and a lot of women are uncomfortable with their bodies. I might have been in that group when I was 15 but became comfortable with body image when I was about 18. Just in general women are taught more shame. An example I can think of is in high school girls would give oral sex but never receive because they were uncomfortable with their bodies. This was actually a common sentiment with people I knew.

I prefer the OB applicatorless tampons but none of my friends used those because they thought is was gross to put you finger in your vagina. I think things are getting a little better culture wise. Douches aren't as common. In vintage ads there are tons of douching ads to keep you "fresh", and now birth control like the nuva ring requires you to be comfortable with touching yourself.

Although I'm over it now, I learned my shame from a vast sea of sex-negative gynecologists. When I was fighting to get someone to listen to me that walking, sitting, bike riding, and sex HURT LIKE HELL, all they'd have to say is you're too young/you don't know anything about your body/you're making it up and/or it's your fault for having sex/being on the pill/trying to understand your body/not lovin' jesus. The take home message was that I should stop thinking about it, stop learning about my own body, and that vaginas are supposed to be mystifying and fucked up. Wow, am I glad I figured out that it was a bunch of bullshit. Unfortunately, it took six years.

I'm glad that you're enthusiastic about your future profession--I wish you the best of luck, and I hope that I can have more (feminist!) doctors like you in the future.

When I first got my period i felt like my body had betrayed me and i was really hating on my . I think part of the reason I felt like that was because noone told me what to expect. Sex ed doesn't start till age 12-14 so at 11 I felt really bad about what my body was doing so much so that I didn't use any pads till much later. I changed my underwear frequently and washed out the blood in the sink. I didn't know what else to do.

Now I do feel i have a special connection and my monthly menses aren't a pain in the ass unless I'm going on holiday or going out with friends.

Too bad my grades aren't good enough otherwise I would love to become a gynocologist. I think more people should aim for it since reproductive health is very important.

I completely agree with this post! as a teenage girl, reading this made me realize that I don't need to feel ashamed of my womanly parts, and that i'm not a freak for feeling the way I do. One time, my friend and I were walking to her car after school, and she made me promise not to tell anyone that she was going to the gynecologist, as if it was something to be ashamed of. Too bad most people my age probably feel the same way.

It's sad and fucked up honestly, at least two of my good friends are so freaked out by gyno's that they've each had fairly major problems go unchecked for ages just because the thought of going to the doc made them so uncomfortable-- despite my insistence that the sooner they get it checked out the better...
I've definitely had unpleasant experiences as well-- doctors being judgmental about my appearance mostly (lots of tattoos and piercings and crazy hair) and assuming that I was promiscuous, and congratulating me (ARGH) when I told them I've only had one partner... Good for you for wanting to become a gyno and having such a positive and balanced outlook about womens health :)

it is a shame how we've been brainwashed into being disgusted by our own bodies. all the while, men seem to think of nothing else but their genitalia and awesome it is to have a penis. i'm in my mid-30's and still struggle with the whole not being weird about my genitalia/it's scent/the hair, etc.
and that's something else that pisses me off - how over the past decade women have been pretty much successfully brainwashed into waxing every single hair from their bodies that men don't approve of - wtf???!!!
i'd also like to add this, though: it does offend me that women who have learned to "love" their period and embrace it, also seem to look down on those of us who dread it, despise it, and can't wait for the day it is over. i have endometriosis - SEVERE endometriosis - and most ovulation, every period, is on some level a pure hell for me. so, next time a woman mentions hating her period, please refrain from judging her just because you were blessed with normal reproductive organs.

When I was younger, I had the concept that my female body was such a dirty and shameful thing, that every time I would accidently brush my hand against my clothed breasts, I would wash my hands and be overwhelmed with disgust.

I eventually grew out of this

I wish I had my own bits of enlightenment, but I'd at least have to agree with the puritanical patriarchal Christian b.s. that seeps into culture.
I for one love my vagina in all her labial and clitoral beauty; I also work in a pro-choice clinic in Ontario and talk to women on a daily basis who have to whisper when the say 'pap test'. Women believe only gynecologists can routine checks because there are doctors here who choose not to care about our reproductive health. Society as a whole has made our vaginas ugly...especially the whole concept of 'feminine hygiene' when it comes to our bleeding.
I don't have much else to say, but I can recommend that every one of you vagina-owners out there read "Cunt" by Inga Muscio... I loved my vagina even more after that enjoyable literature.