Taking the Private Public with Vaginas

Even with the Vagina Security on hand as photographed above, Vaginas were definitely not kept private at this past weekend's Vagina Festival; between the few performances I got to peek in on (when I got a second to sneak away from the Maxim information table), the gallery of artwork on display, the wonderful conversations I had with the lovely women (and men!)I met, and the personal exchanges I had with exhibiting artists, I finally fully understand the boldness behind the Vagina Festival.

In deciding to sponsor the event, it only made sense to be a part of such an empowering event, but as described in my last Explorer entry, I didn't feel comfortable with the title of the event in taking what I always held private, public.

It was really the warm nurturing spirit behind the event that made me understand it fully, but the defining moment came in a brief conversation I had with producer, artist, and activist, Alexandra Jacoby.


The inspiration behind Alexandra's work and creation of the Vagina Festival came from a conversation she had with a friend nearly eight years ago who thought there was something wrong with her vagina. In a world and time where we are infiltrated and in turn sometimes unknowning deeply affected by the overpowering images we see on television, the internet, and other forms of doctored up media that aren't truly reflective of reality, we might be inclined to think there is something wrong with us if we don't look like the airbrushed images we are bombarded with. Not only do the images affect our sense of what the physical should look like, but they affect a sense of how and who we should be, leaving us feel insecure if we don't live up to that standard and forgetful that all vaginas are not created equally.

In spending more time in front of the technological tools, i.e. computers and televesions that spew out these biased unfullfilling images, we don't get to have the conversations and experiences that help us see that there really is nothing wrong with us.

Thanks to Alexandra's one conversation with a friend, Vagina Festival succesfully created three days of conversations and real images that gave people the opportunity to explore different ideas, which left them feeling better about themselves. Over the next few days, I will share a few of my conversations with you, as well as other highlights from the event that left me feeling more proud and public about the private.

Congratulations to the whole fantastic Vagina Festival Staff in accomplishing your goal of bringing people together to converse in the beauty of the Vagina, by taking the private public in order to reach the higher goal of acheiving confidence, conversations and a sense of community.