Don’t you think Maya Rudolph is the best? I sure do. And her stock rose significantly in my book when I saw her latest ad for Seventh Generation’s tampons and pads on Monday evening.

In the ad below, Rudolph sings a “vajingle” about how she doesn’t need any chemicals in her hoo-ha. It’s pretty great. Watch the video to get a laugh.

Related on EcoSalon

Is Gwyneth Paltrow’s Foray into Organic Lube Legit?

This Commercial is a Bloody Mess [Video]

Whoopi Goldberg Mixes Menstrual Relief with What?

The post Maya Rudolph Wants to Protect Your Vagina [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

These days, a growing number of women are choosing to alter how their genitals look by choosing to have labiaplasty, a type of plastic surgery that alters the appearance of the labia. Typing that last sentence makes me and my labia very sad.

Throughout the past year, I’ve seen multiple pieces about vaginal tightening, clitoral hood reduction, “laser vaginal bleaching,” and labiaplasty. Apparently, this up-tick in articles about designer vaginas wasn’t just a coincidence — some of these cosmetic procedures are being done at an increased rate:

“In 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, more than 5,000 labiaplasties were performed in the United States. That may not seem like a huge number, but it’s an astounding 44 percent increase over just one year prior, making labiaplasty the second fastest growing plastic surgery that year.” — Slate

Now, as a feminist, I have two very different reactions to this news. First, I think, “well, to each their own.” If you have the means to undergo surgery to get a perfectly manicured vagina and the surgery makes you happy, good for you. But secondly, I want to scream: “it’s your genitalia! Why do you want your bits to look like a doll’s vagina?”

While it should be noted that some women do have labiaplasties for medical reasons (long labia can cause very real physical discomfort for some women), the majority of women who undergo labiaplasty do so for cosmetic reasons. (“According to a 2011 study conducted by the International Society of Sexual Medicine, a stunning – though hardly surprising – 87 percent of women who opted for vaginal rejuvenation did so purely for cosmetic reasons.”)

I suppose my main issue with all types of genital beautification is that there is nothing that’s attractive about uniformity. We should all embrace what we have and be proud of it. Also: This Salon piece aptly points out that the majority of clinicians who do labiaplasty and other forms of vaginal plastic surgery don’t have any real authorization to do so:

“Labiaplasty requires no special certification requirements, a consequence of the fact that ‘cosmetic gynecology’ remains unrecognized by the very accrediting bodies which would determine those requirements. In 2007, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released an opinion essentially stating its opposition to all forms of vaginal rejuvenation.” — Slate

Yikes.

Well, I for one love my non-perfect vagina and all of my “private” bits for what they are. I mean, my old girl has been with me since birth – we’ve been through a lot together.

What are your thoughts on cosmetic gynecology? Would you ever consider getting “The Barbie?” I’ve got to admit that I hope your answer to my last question is a firm “no.” We’d love to hear your thoughts all the same, though. Please share your feels.

Related on EcoSalon

12 Weird Things Women do to Their Vaginas

Women Launch an Artful Counter-Offense on the Vagina Battlefront

Men Do Not Know How the Vagina Works! Seriously, Someone Help These Pathetic People [Video]

Image: Comrade foot

The post Ladies: Please Love the Labia You Have appeared first on EcoSalon.

Okay, BuzzFeed. We know. You like to make fun of everything. Especially the vagina. But are these men being serious? Do they really not know how female anatomy works? If this is really the case, that guy’s “Jurassic Park” t-shirt is like, predicting the fate of the human species. Ladies, please sit down with the men in your lives. Help them not be so embarrassingly clueless…do it for our future.

Find Jill (but not her vagina) on Twitter @jillettinger

Related on EcoSalon

That Happened: DOMA, Wendy Davis, Voters’ Rights and Vaginas

10 Songs To Help You Pull Your Baby From Your Vagina Like Kourtney Kardashian

All Together Now…’VAGINA’

The post Men Do Not Know How the Vagina Works! Seriously, Someone Help These Pathetic People [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

Since we didn’t have a Friday 5 last week, here’s a 2-week bumper edition!

Thanks to the advent of the DVD & Blu-ray, the world is littered with slithery piles of obsolete CDs. What to do? Artist Sean Avery takes, them, smashes them up – and makes them come alive.

Staying with animals, our relationship with marine critters is clearly broken – and here’s an exhibit that hammers it home.

Off on a classic American road trip? Here are 50 ways to break it.

It’s no great secret that some Republicans have a twisted view of the world when it comes to women’s rights – so how about an art movement that celebrates That Word That Nobody Should Say In Public?

Were you at our EcoSalon NYC Fashion Week launch party (which garnered a mention from CBS News)? If not, consider us broken up about it.

How do the two presidential candidates weigh up on the topic of energy? The devil is in the details.

Cinnamon makes bad coffee bearable and good coffee mindblowingly good. But as Aylin Erman shows, a closer look at this super-spice reveals a sweeping world of uses. (But really, the coffee thing? Do that first).

In the wake of New York Fashion Week, Amy DuFault stops to think about the troubling issue around the recent Pakistan garment factory fire, the biggest industrial accident in the country’s history.

Home improvement: here are some awesome women who truly know how to Do It Themselves.

And finally, if you’re used to budget hostel experiences in Europe where you try to avoid looking too closely at your surroundings… here are 7 accommodation options beautiful (and bizarre) enough to reward the most ardent scrutiny.

The post The Friday 10: The Broken / Fine-Detailed Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

The best of the week at EcoSalon, hand-picked for your clicking pleasure.

As sea levels rise, so does the level of human suffering. Photojournalist Gideon Mendel’s series of films and photos, Drowning World, provides a powerful glimpse of the faces behind the statistics.

Let’s play a game. I say “music festival”, and you say? A fair few of you (primarily Europeans) probably just said “rain” – as would those currently attending the Isle of Wight festival. How many rainclouds can you spot in these 30 photos of musical festivals worldwide?

We’re not shy about telling the world about our loathing of bottled water – or rather, the way that water comes in “throwaway” PET plastic bottles derived from non-renewable source – so we were delighted to hear this week that the Coca-Cola Company is taking PET in a whole new direction…

This week, it officially became offensive to name all the parts of a women in medically correct terms – in the House of Representatives, that is. In response, the rest of America says this: VAGINA.

Finally, on the cusp of midsummer, Johanna Kindvall recommends you sink your teeth into this traditional Swedish midsummer recipe. God hälsa!

The post The Friday 5: That Sinking Feeling Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnA behind-the-screen look at the consistently ridiculous inbox of a writer.

At EcoSalon, we receive our fair share of email pitches, and we’ve decided to give you a weekly peek at this valuable information inside our inboxes. These products, people, and services are 100 percent real, although we’re not always sure that they should be.

Vajazzle Your Vajayjay!

When you get an email titled “The lowdown on your lady flower,” you have a few options:

1. Hope it’s from a horticulturalist talking about the status of your most recent garden center purchase.

2. Pretend your vagina was not just called a lady flower, as though you were a toddler just learning about body parts.

3.  Ask yourself if the PR firm did any research about your publication that would indicate said publication’s readers need to know about lady flowers. Generally.

“From Kegels to cunnilingus, vajazzling to vibrators, and self-exams to semen allergies, V Is for Vagina stands way above the vajayjay books of yesteryear (Ed.: there were books of yesteryear?). Out next month, this candid, easy-to-read – and easy-to-understand – guide that delivers the most up-to-date comprehensive health information for women 18 to 81!”

I can vajazzle my vajayjay out of semen allergies: What a fun read? I think? Send me a copy?

“This go-to guide for all things vagina is filled with activities, quizzes, and FAQs that give you all the information you need when something doesn’t feel quite normal.”

Normal? What is a normal vagina?

Little Men Now Have Clothes!

“Can I put you in touch with the Au’s for a possible short man’s fashion interview?” EcoSalon has been asked. Oh, the synergy.

Super Moms Get Toxic!

The post Better Living Through Publicists: Be a Better You Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.