Let’s talk about vaginas.
Although roughly half of the world’s population has them, vaginas still feel like a taboo topic in many settings. That’s partly because of the sexist and sex-obsessed culture we live in. Admittedly, this body part does play a key role during sex for most cisgender women, transmasculine people, and other people with vaginas. However, vaginas are also integral to other parts of life beyond sex — for instance, birthing children.
Given Western society’s weirdness around vagina talk, people may not even realize that their vaginas can change as they age, particularly during perimenopause or menopause. That’s why honest and judgement-free dialogues about vaginas and vaginal health can be so powerful. 
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Luckily, a number of women and nonbinary celebrities are using their platforms to normalize conversations about vaginas. Read on to learn more about how they’re honoring this uncelebrated body part in all its glory.
1. Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe is one of the most talented people out there and has the intellect to match.
In Marie Claire‘s Fresh Faces issue, the nonbinary and pansexual singer-songwriter spoke about the pressing need for vagina respect: “People have to start respecting the vagina. Until every man is fighting for our rights, we should consider stopping having sex. I love men. But evil men? I will not tolerate that. You don’t deserve to be in my presence. If you’re going to rule this world, I am not going to contribute anymore until you change it.”
And they’re not afraid to talk about periods, either.
More: Janelle Monáe Is Our 2017 Oscar Darling, & She’s Not Even Nominated
2. Amber Rose
Amber Rose is a feminist for the millennium, and her Amber Rose Slut Walk aims to raise awareness about sexual injustice and gender inequality. She wears her sexuality loud and proud, and never backs down. Related story Khloé Kardashian’s Photos Show How Her Kids True & Tatum Already Look Like Twins
She dared to show a little bush on social media earlier this year, and felt the wrath of those who fear the vagina. But she DGAF.
3. Lena Dunham
It’s no secret that Dunham has no problem with nudity. And when she films nude scenes, she doesn’t see any reason to wear the coverage over her vagina that is often used in sex scenes while filming.
“I stopped wearing the nude patch after the first season of Girls,” she said in 2017. “There’s not one guy who works on that show who hasn’t seen the inside of my vagina… This patch — you glue it over your vagina. It gets sweaty and always falls off. My male co-stars, at the end of the day, don’t care.
4. Shailene Woodley
Woodley is one of those refreshing celebrities who calls everything like she sees it, so we’re not particularly shocked that she talks about her vagina as though it’s a close personal friend. Chatting with the blog Into the Gloss about body health, she candidly revealed, “Another thing I like to do is give my vagina a little vitamin D… if you live in a place that has heavy winters, when the sun finally comes out, spread your legs and get some sunshine.” Hmm, wonder if there’s a special SPF for that?
5. Cameron Diaz
During an appearance on Chelsea Lately, Cameron Diaz explained that vaginas need constant tending. “For me, the vagina is such an integral part of the body. We think the vagina is on the outside,” she said. “I say grab a mirror and play along. Get in there. You’re supposed to treat it like the beautiful flower that it is, the delicate flower that it is. And you’re supposed to nurture it in all the ways that it needs nurturing. [You should be] watering it. Fertilizing it. It needs nourishment. It’s hungry.” We love that Diaz is so frank in talking about her vagina.
6. Kourtney Kardashian
Hey, those Kardashian girls don’t hold back about anything… even when it doesn’t make sense to anyone but them. “I told Khloé that I found her sex mask under my bed that she’s been looking for, and then she wrote me back, ‘Oh my God, I found your jar of mayonnaise that you use on your vagina,'” she revealed to late night host Conan O’Brien, “and we were talking back and forth and people were like, ‘What does mayonnaise on your vagina do?’ And we said it makes it shine like the top of the Chrysler Building.” Not sure why we’d want our vaginas to gleam like that, but we’ll try anything once.
7. Khloé Kardashian
C’mon, now… you know we couldn’t have a list of stars who like to talk about their vaginas without including Khloé Kardashian. Like her sister Kourtney, Miss Khloé is completely forthcoming about hers. She told Cosmopolitan, “I never take myself seriously. When I joke about my camel toe or my big vagina on TV, I don’t realize how many people are watching! I’m with my sisters and we’re the same off camera — that’s how sisters are. Then I go out and someone will say, ‘Oh, my god I have a big vagina too!’ I’m like, ‘what?’ That’s when I can’t believe I said that out loud. But I love to be silly and make people laugh. It’s a compliment, and liberating to think my sisters and I might make other women feel OK about talking about this stuff too.”
8. Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence has quickly become the queen of candor, and we think it’s fantastic that she manages to throw the word vagina into conversations in a way that feels completely casual and organic. On the red carpet while rocking a strapless dress and trying to keep it up, she joked about how it gave her “armpit vagina.” On Chelsea Lately while talking about health, fitness, sex and a slew of other subjects, Lawrence gave Handler a little advice. “I was gonna say you should start exercising your vagina,” she genuinely suggested. Clearly, Lawrence is a lady who knows the importance of Kegels.
9. Olivia Wilde
She’s now the proud mama of a sweet baby boy named Otis, but prior to his birth, Olivia Wilde didn’t leave much to the imagination about how Otis came to be. As part of Glamour’s These Girls monologues in New York City, Wilde spilled about how fiancé Jason Sudeikis brought her vagina back to life. “I felt like my vagina died. Turned off. Lights out… you can lie to your relatives at Christmas dinner and tell them everything on the home front is just peachy,” she said of the end of marriage to Italian-American Tao Ruspoli, “but you cannot lie to your vagina.” Her vagina’s happy again now thanks to the fact that she and Sudeikis “have sex like Kenyan marathon runners.”
10. Kate Beckinsale
You may imagine pretty Brit Kate Beckinsale to be the buttoned-up type, but such is not the case. The actor often speaks about her vagina, much to the chagrin of her teenage daughter, Lily, who has requested her mom not gab about it in public anymore. Still, when asked on the red carpet about her best feature, Beckinsale replied, “My best feature is unfortunately a private matter, although I’m told it is spectacular,” she laughed. “But you can’t really walk it down the red carpet. What can I say?”
Just in case her innuendo wasn’t loud and clear to the interviewer, she silently mouthed “my twat” before walking away. We think it’s safe to say her vagina doesn’t lack in the self-esteem department.
11. Amanda Seyfried
We adore the fact that there’s a crop of 20-something actresses in Hollywood who have absolutely no qualms about speaking their minds — particularly when it comes to vaginas and what it takes to please them.
“Everybody I’ve dated I’ve been sexually attracted to immediately,” Amanda Seyfried divulged in an interview. “Sparks don’t grow… your vagina doesn’t become more inclined to wanting someone just because you’re around them.”
12. Cheryl Hines
In 2018, Cheryl Hines, 57, opened up about experiencing painful penetrative sex during menopause as a result of vulvar and vaginal atrophy. These symptoms are common but under-discussed. As Hines told Fox News, “I think a lot of women think that they’re going through something that other people aren’t going through, so they’re embarrassed to bring it up to their friends or to their healthcare provider.”
The Curb Your Enthusiasm star’s personal struggle inspired her to start a conversation about this menopause-related vaginal health issue in partnership with AMAG Pharmaceuticals.
“As women, we go through so many emotional and physical changes over the course of our lifetime,” she said. “Before puberty and childbirth, we are prepared by our family members and healthcare providers about what to expect, but that isn’t the case with menopause. Painful sex due to menopause is often considered a taboo topic, and I want to change that.
13. Meghan Trainor
She made you look — and now, Meghan Trainor is ready to talk about her vaginal and sexual health. In an April 2023 episode of her podcast Workin’ On It, the singer got real about her “p-ssy anxiety” during sex. She described her husband Daryl Sabara as a “big boy” and said penetrative sex with him can get painful.
”I wish I could make Daryl smaller,” she confessed. “It’s painful, dude… to the point where I’m like ‘Is it all in?’ and he’s like, ‘Just the tip.'”
Trainor, 29, also said she has a condition called vaginismus. According to Mayo Clinic, this vaginal health issue is characterized by involuntary muscle spasms during sex that can make penetration uncomfortable or painful. Vaginismus is treatable with pelvic floor therapy — and besides, there are plenty of ways to have sex with a partner who has a penis that don’t involve penetration.
Originally published August 2014. Updated May 2023.
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