Joyful and affirming, this gender-inclusive book is all about vulvas and vaginas, which can all look “a little different from each other” and come in a variety of skin colors. It’s aimed at young readers who may have a vulva and vagina, know someone who does, or are just curious about them.
With a matter-of-fact tone, authors Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller explain the various parts of a vulvas and vaginas and what they do. The urethra is where pee comes out, the book notes (though it also offers the “grown-up word … urine”). It also says that most of the time, when a baby is born, it comes out through the vagina, but there are other ways that are fine, too. “Children’s bodies aren’t ready to have a baby,” it notes. Helpfully, it also explains that some people use the term “vagina” to refer to “all of these parts together,” although vagina really means just this opening. And it explains that the clitoris is a bump with “a lot of nerve endings in it.
The book offers important messages about consent, too, saying that these parts of the body are private. It’s okay to touch them in private, but it’s also okay to say no if someone else wants to touch them. If someone asks you to keep touching a secret, though, or if you feel “mixed-up” about someone touching you, it’s important to tell a trusted adult.
Vulvas and vaginas are “just another part of the body,” the small volume concludes, but they also do some special things.
Illustrations by Tyler Feder are clear and informative, showing a children with vulvas and vaginas who are diverse in racial/ethnic identities and gender (or at least gender expression).
A section of Additional Information for Parents and Caregivers offers advice on how to talk further with children about vulvas, vaginas, and reproduction (in ways inclusive of many types of family creation), intersex bodies, preventing sexual abuse, and more.
An empowering, useful, and recommended guide.
