Show your disdain for the patriarchy with your love for the female body and all its greatness with this anatomy-themed merchandise.

When men are continuing to make decisions about women’s reproductive rights and health, and a narcissistic sociopath is slated to become our nation’s next president, I think it’s pretty evident that we still have a patriarchy on our hands. According to the Washington Post, by the middle of 2016, 14 states had already passed laws to make getting an abortion more difficult. From lengthening the waiting period to outright bans, women are facing harsher restrictions, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. If that’s not enough to get you all riled up, then maybe the recent tidbit about Texas possibly requiring a proper burial of aborted fetuses will.

Whatever it is that lights your fire, we can probably all agree that girl power during trying times is a must. Whether you decide to protest, donate, volunteer, or show off the power of your femininity in some other way, we’ve got plenty of pro-female anatomy merch that you’ll want to wear, display, gift, and flaunt in every way possible.

1. Little V Ring

This piece may be dainty, but the message is clear: all vulvas are unique and beautiful. Handcrafted from brass, the detail in this beautiful ring is evident. Plus, it’s very of-the-moment, and would look great alongside a handful of tiny stacked rings. My favorite part? She didn’t forget the all-important clitoris. Priced at $42.

2. Poontone Pins

If you’ve ever felt the need to wear a badge that matches the color of your poontang, then you most definitely need a Poontone pin. Have an artsy friend? A group of BFFs you could totally share these with? Or another great reason (like none at all) to buy one of these? It’s as simple as picking the color that best matches your nether region and customizing the name. That, or roll with the one that’s provided. “Rose Bud” actually has a nice ring to it. Priced at $3.

3. Vajay Calendar

These whimsical O’Keefe-esque fine art prints have been turned into a lovely calendar. This is a 2017 must-have for displaying in your home office. Thanks to the lively and colorful depictions, you’ll be excited to see a colorful new Vajayjay month after month. Priced at $29.  

4. Boob Earrings

Free the nipple with these adorable boobie earrings. Give them to a breastfeeding mom, breast cancer survivor, your feminist girlfriend, or anyone who will appreciate a pair of knockers, including yourself. These are handcrafted from porcelain and are made for pierced ears. Priced at $35.

5. Ovary Embroidery

Throw up the “Ovary Squad” sign and represent the girl gang with one of these embroidered tapestries. The seller stitches these by hand and even lets you customize the colors. These make great gifts or little bits of woman-positive home decor. Priced at $35.

6. Uterus Print

This life-giving organ is a beautiful thing — and deciding to continue with making room for a baby should be entirely yours to make. Whether you’ve given birth or not, we can agree that it’s definitely where we all began, so why not celebrate how lovely it can be? This anatomy print is gorgeous and flowery and great for framing. Priced at $7.99.

7. Period Pin

Periods happen, whether we like them or not, and menstrual cups are great alternatives to chemical-laden disposable pads and tampons. This one happens to be super glittery and cute, which kinda makes menstruating a little bit better. It would be a sweet backpack, lapel, or jacket accessory. Priced at $12.52.

8. Ovary Sticker

After “Parks and Recreation” star Leslie Knope so keenly quipped, “Brovaries before ovaries,” it was as though the saying was etched into social media stone. And wouldn’t ya know it can now be displayed in the form of a reusable vinyl sticker. Give them as gifts, or plaster them all over your car door windows. Priced at $3.50.

9. Vulva Pillow

Snuggle up with this abstract rendition of the vulva. The high contrast print will fit right in to a contemporary setting, and add a touch of cheeky modern style to your space. Bold in print, yet subtle on the vag detection, this is one piece of decor you might be able to sneak past your in-laws. Priced at $68.

Smashing the patriarchy isn’t as easy as buying a symbolic token, but it’s a step in the right direction, especially if you’re looking for an ice-breaker or a way to get people talking about what matters. Let us know your thoughts on the EcoSalon Facebook page!

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Now, you may think men would have some pretty high expectations when it comes to how a vagina looks. Well, prepare to be shocked…

The video below features a handful of men who are asked to draw the ideal vagina. Luckily, all of the dudes featured don’t really care about any vagina’s (labia, etc.) appearance. The best quote from the entire thing was: “I don’t like disinterested vaginas.” Very, very smart answer.

Watch the video below.

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The post Men Don’t Care How Your Vagina Looks [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

Seriously, what did our vaginas ever do to us?

Ever since back in the day when pubic hair became uncool, women have been doing some pretty batshit things to make their vaginas feel better, look prettier and smell like anything other than a vagina.

It turns out there are even crazier things you can do with your vagina other than give birth to a human:

1. You can steam it
Yep, vaginal steaming is a thing. You apparently pick out herbs – you know, like you do for asparagus – that help to detox and heal any vaginal imbalances. But how exactly do you know if you’re walking around with an imbalanced vagina?

2. You can knit with it
This is not a drill.

3. You can keep it cool
There’s underwear that works as central air for your vag to keep it from overheating – the technology apparently reduces your down-there temperature by three degrees. Not sure, but your boyfriend’s peen might have to wear a light jacket the next time you fool around.

4. You can buy it a hat
The Vaj-J Visor is a little hat that protects your vagina while shaving, waxing or tanning. It comes in a wide variety of colors – because if your visor clashed with your razor, that would be weird.

5. You can dye it
This might be taking the whole carpet-and-drapes thing a little too far.

6. You can whiten it
According to women who clearly spend too much time studying their vaginas, it’s better for your vagina to be as pale as a creepy china doll: Vaginal whitening is all the rage in places like Thailand and India, where you essentially bleach your lady bits and make them look so pale they practically glow in the dark.

7. You can keep it minty fresh
I wish I was joking, but unfortunately vaginal mints do exist (otherwise known as a yeast infection waiting to happen).

8. You can give it injections
Fillers aren’t just for your face anymore: Women are injecting collagen into their cooch to inflate their g-spot, making it super sensitive to sexual stimulation. You know what else inflates your g-spot? A guy who knows what he’s doing.

9. You can give it a makeover
Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation runs for between $4,000 and $20,000 and aims to make a woman’s vagina tighter than a vice-grip – you know, to make up for years of promiscuity and super-size vibrators. There’s also a more budget friendly option: “Wanna Be Tight” Vaginal Shrink Gel. I wanna be drunk.

10. You can decorate it
Like the college guy hanging out at a high school party, vajazzling is still around – especially useful if your guy is distracted by shiny things.

11. You can remodel it
If you’re looking for a new pair of drapes, a labiaplasty will give your otherwise floppy, uneven vaginal opening a more proportioned, feminine look… for $5,000 or more.

12. You can give it a facial
Vajacials (vagina facials) are a 50-minute beauty “essential” where your nether regions are plucked, cleansed, moisturized and covered in a fruit-flavored mask. Because in order to have good sex, you have to smell like a scented candle.

Annnd I’m spent.

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VideoIf you can’t say it, don’t legislate it.

As the War on Women rages on, anti-woman forces – primarily a cadre of ultra-conservative men – continue to beef up their offensive troops. They now have Paul Ryan “a no abortions ever” kind of guy, teaming up with Mitt “I’ve always been pro-life” Romney, and together, they’ve created a party platform that represents the biggest threat to Roe v Wade we’ve seen thus far.

New to the frontline, we’ve been introduced to the rogue soldier, Representative Todd Akin, a Missouri candidate for the U.S. Senate. In a recent interview, Rep. Akin was seen munching on a tasty foot in his mouth as he expressed his belief that in most cases of “legitimate” rape, “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” thereby preventing pregnancy. Sadly, he isn’t the only politician who actually believes this absurd theory, nor does he stand alone in his justification for excluding rape-induced pregnancies in legislation that would restrict abortion funding.

Though our battles have escalated in the 2012 presidential campaign, women have long been besieged by fundamentalist religious groups, a male-dominated government, and society at large. It wasn’t until the 19^th Amendment was ratified in 1920, that women were granted the right to vote. Finally, we were allowed to raise our political voices, even if we would not be spared continuing efforts to silence us. We’re now all too aware that a strong declaration of opinion can lead to consequences. The duality of our political system was clearly exposed when Michigan’s State Rep. Lisa Brown, was censured for using the word “vagina” during a debate on abortion rights. Politicizing the word “vagina” helped mobilize many of us who had grown a little too accustomed to minding our manners.

If you can say it, display it.

Women have continued to say “vagina.”

Some even seek to destigmatize other descriptive terms for female genitalia, speaking – what may still be to many – the unspeakable. Others, the more demonstrative among us, are showing their vaginas (or vaginae…) to the world in a no-skirt-lifting fashion, through various forms of artistic expression. Vagina art may not be a new concept, but it is a window to society’s changing regard for women throughout history – from divine worship to oppression and repression.

Instead of conforming to expectations of “good girl” behavior, we’re seeing an emergence of newly empowered and emboldened women who have set up their easels, raided granny’s baskets of crochet hooks, knitting needles, embroidery kits, and hauled the sewing machines down from the attic. The results, as seen in the examples we’ve collected, evoke a broad range of emotions. Laughter. Anger. Sadness. Pride. Each creative effort celebrates the artistry of the individual as well as our collective identity. All have been inspired by “the sacred source of life” –the vagina.

Slideshow Music Courtesy JSP Records “Mama Don’t Allow It” by Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends; Images: Not Your Average Hooker, Hypgnosis, Shine Maverick Jewelry, Hypgnosis, Johnny B Wilde,  Expired Goods, Scarlet Tentacle, Purple Hippo Stitches, I Wear Party Hats, spidercamp, Irma Diaz/SourOctopus, TheVaginaZine, The Tie Dye Bohemian, Alex Florschutz, Adrien Art, Tina Casebeer/wikit626, ©Carrie Reichardt, Alex Florschutz, Woman In Bloom, thepixelrat, The Voting Box , VJazzle, Bridesmaids, Wedding Dress, Protest/CODEPINK, ©Ursula Kölle, Cupcakes, Body Parts Poster, Pink Flannel by Daria, Graffiti, Stenciled Tees/#waronwomen, ampule, the moss girl, ©Lydia Shalanko, Protest/CODEPINK, Scarlet Tentacle, Pochos Cosas, Vulva Love Lovely, Sinful Soap Favors, Family Tree Glass, Delicious Accessories

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Women once again fight for their bodies to be their own and the ability to talk about their genitalia like adults.

Lately, it seems like the abortion debate has come to this: Republicans sticking their fingers in their ears and singing which is about as mature (and useful) as the recent silencing of Michigan state Rep. Lisa Brown (D) last week on the House floor. During a debate about abortion, she spoke out against a GOP bill that would outlaw the legal procedure after 20 weeks (aka, the You Might be Pregnant RIGHT NOW bill), and also require women to take the morning-after pill in the presence of a doctor—which is just dumb). The offensive words that got her booted from the floor? “I’m flattered you’re all so interested in my vagina. But no means no.”

Republican Rep. Mike Callton said Brown’s comment, “…was so offensive, I don’t even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company.” There have been some great articles about what we should call our genitalia when the menfolk are present, and especially when having discussions about things that directly impact our right to legally choose what goes into and out of our vaginas, but I think Jezebel really nails it with number six on its list: sin gash.

This highly publicized incident came on the heels of another effort to shut women out of the political conversation. On June 13, a bipartisan Virginian political action committee supporting local candidates who protect women’s reproductive rights was denied the opportunity to participate in the state Republican convention.

Allegedly, it was all a big mistake and the Women’s Strike Force’s application was lost. Director Kenan Draper said that on May 31 she was told that as a bipartisan organization the group would be welcomed at the Republican Party of Virginia State Convention. She says her organization filed the paperwork properly and paid the $250 vendor fee. “Unfortunately, the Republican Party of Virginia conveniently ‘lost’ our application for two weeks, but re-discovered it two days before the convention and informed us that they could no longer accommodate the Women’s Strike Force’s application to sponsor a table at the Virginia Republican Convention,” Draper says.

On the same day, George Allen, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate said,  “We need to get all of the wings of our party flapping together in the same direction,” adding that the party needs to welcome independents, “and yes, Democrats” into the fold to win. Maybe getting those wings all flapping to the right will be too tough when it comes to polarizing issues — which could be part of why the Women’s Strike Force was shut out.

What we can take from the vagina incident is that our bodies are so gross that we shouldn’t talk about them — and also that people uncomfortable saying vagina have every right to legislate women’s health. And, in the second case, fear of discussing women’s reproductive freedom kept women out of a direction-setting meeting for one of the country’s two most powerful political parties. In both cases, women are being told to be quiet.

This week, Brown teamed up with Eve Ensler to perform The Vagina Monologues on the Statehouse steps in Michigan — maybe it’s one more step toward a real vagina dialogue where women have seats at the table.

Photo: Dana Moos

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