3D-Printed Vulva: An Educational Tool for Adolescents

Mass media outlets are perpetuating an ever-narrowing, largely unrepresentative, norm of vulval appearance. Consequentially, women who unavoidably consume these media are increasingly self-conscious about their genital appearance. Protruding labia minora are usually the vulval anatomical structure which varies most widely compared to media portrayals and is the most common area of insecurity. Women, and increasingly adolescents, are undergoing surgery to achieve a “normal” vulva. While wide discourse surrounds the need to tackle these rapidly increasing surgical rates, little scientific research has been conducted to address the underlying problem. Conversely, artists have produced visual representations of vulval diversity, believing that an increase in awareness of vulval diversity may ease anxiety. Unfortunately, due to their artistic nature, these representations tend to lack scientific rigor. 3D resources show promise in anatomy education through their tangible interactivity, which gives them an enhancement over the current artistic offerings and school curriculum. Interviews with four clinical professionals, and an analysis of 1389 vulval images, were conducted to understand the most common vulval characteristics and how those characteristics intersect. The most common characteristics were protruding asymmetric labia minora and a visible clitoral hood. This research has produced a 3D-printed resource of a “normal” vulva for use as an educative tool about vulval diversity. Face and content validity tests were performed. The test results found the resource to be both anatomically accurate and potentially useful for its intended purpose.