Book review: Vagina: A re-education

The book by Lynn Enright aims to destigmatise sexual health by informing women and girls about their bodies, while also exposing the myths.

By Manon Dark

Vagina: A Re-Education front cover

In the digital era of feminism, you might think a book about female genitalia is unnecessary. But within the first chapter you learn the vagina is just the tube that connects the uterus to the outside world. The vulva, on the other hand, is the outer part which includes the labia and clitoris. This is just one mistruth that Enright debunks in Vagina: A Re-Education.

Working as the Digital Director for Grazia, Enright sensed that whenever she spoke about female sexual health there was a keen interest. However, this interest wasn’t reflected by the media. She says the conversations about the #MeToo movement and the Irish abortion referendum were all connected. The fact that women hadn’t felt able to discuss their reproductive rights and sexual health freely motivated her to write a book that differentiates the vulva from the vagina, and explains why period leave should really be called menstrual flexi-time policy.

The book’s structure follows a mixture of Enright’s own experiences of sex education growing up in Ireland and more general global issues. She covers topics from orgasms and consent to hymen ceremonies and vaginismus. For instance, did you know that labiaplasty is the fastest growing plastic surgery in the world?

As a child growing up in Dublin, Enright explains how her catholic upbringing shaped her own sex education. “I grew up with a particular set of beliefs around sex and my body but I don’t think that is particularly unique,” she says. Enright examines how across the world, except for the Netherlands and Scandinavia, many cultures generally teach sex education very poorly. “Most religions aren’t good at talking about sex and talking about sex to younger people,” she says.

Within Vagina, Enright tries to highlight these different cultural experiences to the best of her ability as a white Irish-born, London-based, cis female journalist. She covers the topics of female genital multination, period-poverty and the rights of transgender women. All battles she has not encountered herself.

When aiming to educate women and girls, Enright believes in the importance of representation. Throughout the book, she interviews experts on female sexual health and speaks to charities and organisations that specialise in issues such as period poverty.

Although these sections can be page turners, sometimes the moments when Enright is recalling history can be less attention grabbing, even if she is exposing the root of a perpetuated stigma. The overarching theme appears to be that not enough research has been done in many areas of female sexual health.

Enright’s book is a nice prelude to the upcoming new sex education curriculum in the UK. The Department for Education is introducing compulsory Relationships and Sex Education for secondary pupils from September 2020. The fact that these classes will be mandatory is a huge step closer to Enright’s aim in destigmatising female sexual health.

However, some parents across the UK disagree with obligatory sex education classes. Particularly those who do not want their children to learn about LGBTQ+ relationships as they do not align with their own personal views on homosexuality. As the title implies, Vagina: A Re-Education, could be the after school text book - an antidote to outdated traditions, older generations and ancient cultures who refuse women the rights to their own bodies.

Enright believes Relationships and Sex Education classes should be just as compulsory as English. “It helps keep children safe and helps make them better boyfriends and girlfriends when they go on to have relationships in the future,” she explains. Enright wants female sexual health, along with consent and LGBTQ+ education, to be taught so that discussions on these topics are not seen as taboo. She wants women and girls to feel confident enough to speak to a doctor if they have a sexual health issue, rather than feel ashamed about an organ which is just as natural as the lungs.

This book is an eye-opening and satisfying read, but above all, it carries a heavy social responsibility. To prepare us for a life with vaginas, whether you have one or not. The real comfort of Enright’s book is the sense of intimate familiarity. From faking orgasms to period pains, as a woman or girl in a world of Google-search self-diagnosis and unrealistic sex expectations thanks to porn, this book is the big sister we all need.

Rating: 4/5

Found at: Waterstones

Price: £14.99