By Gillian Batt, Director of Cancer Information and Support Services, Cancer Council NSW.
Growing up as a girl in England, manners and etiquette were drummed into me. My mother wore white gloves to go to the shops and we were never allowed to eat in the streets. Our private thoughts and concerns would never be discussed in public. So not surprisingly then, never ever would a lady discuss her ‘bits down there’ – not even with the people closest to her or her doctor.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Magazines aimed at teenage girls have a no holds barred approach to discussing women’s anatomy, medical issues and sexual issues – answering the questions that remained a mystery when I was a teenager. Recently there was even a show on ABC with an accompanying video on labiaplasty (plastic surgery to alter your labia), a trend reportedly on the increase. Journalism gone too far? Some people seemed to think so.
It’s interesting then to look at mainstream news media which is at polar opposites, remaining conservative in approach. A few years ago a health journalist told me that they weren’t allowed to mention the word ‘vagina’ on air. What?!? I was incredulous. How do you report on health related news? Take vaginal cancer for instance. It’s pretty hard to talk authoritatively without mentioning the word ‘vagina’. You can hardly refer to it as ‘down there’, ‘front bottom’ or ‘woo hoo’, can you?
The sad fact is that many newsrooms would have shirked vagina-related stories, even when it was in the public interest. Plus it would have been extremely difficult to get someone to share their personal story. I’m hoping that has changed.
Why? Because storytelling is an integral way to get across essential health messages. People are more likely to respond, take in messages when in story form or when people share personal experiences.
Take breast cancer. Over the last decade we have seen more women publicly share very personal stories about their breasts, diagnosis, treatment, and the impact upon their sexuality. For other women and girls who read this, they see that a conversation around their breasts isn’t something to shy away from and it certainly isn’t tawdry. It becomes the norm to go to the doctor if something is not right. There is certainly less embarrassment around health related breast issues than there was ten years ago.
Breast cancer has high profile people like Kylie Minogue plus non-celebrities sharing their experience. Australian women associate it with the ever-expanding pink movement.
Not so for the vagina. The vagina and vulva, well they are like the poor cousins.
Many women are still embarrassed about talking through any issues they have ‘down there’. Not surprisingly, there are no celebrities or high profile people discussing problems with their vagina. To be truthful, I still flinch a little writing this. But it’s important that we raise awareness of these cancers and pay attention to ‘down-there’, just as much as we pay attention to our breasts. This includes talking about health issues around the vagina, vulva, cervix, ovaries and uterus.
In fact calls to our Cancer Council Helpline demonstrate this. Over the last five years we have seen calls about breast cancer increase five-fold but queries on other women’s cancers have stayed the same. That’s disproportionate and partially reflects the stigma and embarrassment associated with these cancers.
We are starting to talk more about cervical cancer and pap smears. That’s a start. So through the media and Cancer Council events like Girls Night In, I remain hopeful we will be able to turn this vagina monologue into a dialogue. It might even save a life.
About Girls Night In
Cancer Council’s Girls Night In is aims to get the girls together to raise awareness and money for ALL women’s cancers. For more information visit the website: www.girlsnightin.com.au