10/08/2026
A Manifesto for Vulvova**nal Health (or why we should abandon “intimate health”)
(…) “The media’s appetite for vulvova**nal health content reflects a persistent paradox: sexually explicit language pervades popular culture, yet precise anatomical terminology remains socially uncomfortable. The solution obscures rather than empowers: sanitised terms such as intimate health and intimate parts are used as pseudo-euphemisms for words that cannot be used in the public space. (…)
The medical community has its share of guilt. For instance, the introduction of the concept of genitourinary syndrome of menopause was partly motivated by avoidance of the uncomfortable terms atrophy and va**na. Destigmatisation should not come at the cost of anatomical invisibility. Commercial interests have filled the void left by inadequate clinical guidance. Women are routinely encouraged to purchase ge***al anti-ageing measures, hygiene products, magical probiotic solutions, or fancy and expensive molecular tests for microbiome characterisation—all framed as empowerment. Evidence is ignored or bent, inappropriate needs and expectations are created, and the bill rises.
(…) Lichen sclerosus is a common chronic inflammatory dermatosis, which carries an increased, and largely preventable, risk of v***ar cancer. Ignored and underdiagnosed for years, there is now a surge of interest (and overdiagnosis) due to unproven claims that it can be treated with laser and other fashionable and invasive options. Topical steroids remain cheap, safe, and effective in both symptom control and cancer risk reduction. The displacement of evidence-based management by costly, insufficiently validated alternatives is not progression—it is a clinical and ethical failure.” (…)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanogw/article/PIIS3050-5038(26)00175-5/fulltext
