Vaginal self-exam

Vaginal self-examination , or in the language of the 1970s, self-examination of the abdomen , describes a method introduced by the women's movement since the early 1970s for women to get to know their internal and external genital organs with the help of a speculum and to examine them independently of medical staff. In addition, the vaginal self-examination is an effective element of practicing sex therapy .

Application in health education

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Carol Downer

The vaginal self-examination was first made known in Germany in the early 1970s by the women's health movement, whose programmatic basis lies in the social debate about § 218 , i.e. the right to abortion . Vaginal self-examination was developed by US health activists in the context of research into viable women-specific alternatives to the conventional health system. Carol Downer first publicly performed a self-examination in Los Angeles in April 1971. Downer introduced the method together with Debbie Law in Germany, when they presented it in 1973 in the women's center in West Berlin . As a result, from Berlin to small towns in West Germany, many self-help groups emerged in which women discovered their bodies together using this method. This development aroused suspicion among the public. For example, a politician at the time turned to the outside world in the form of an open letter and warned that the activities of these women “can cause great dangers to body and soul”.

The importance of self-examination for the women lay not only in a better knowledge of their body, but also in an act of reclaiming their own body, the erogenous zones , which in the context of socialization had also been understood as “forbidden zones” and their access at the time reserved for husbands and male experts. Petra Kolip sees vaginal self-examination as an important piece of the mosaic of the subsequent cultural revolution, in the course of which the role of women and the morality prevailing at the time were fundamentally changed. Organizationally, the mediation of vaginal self-examinations was and is largely located in women's health centers and related institutions.

method

A speculum, a mirror with a stand and a flashlight are required to examine your own vagina . In order to be able to clearly observe the vaginal walls , the speculum should be made of clear hard plastic . The closed speculum is inserted into the vagina either with the handle up or sideways. The speculum can be opened about a third by slowly squeezing the handles together. A lever enables the speculum to be locked in this open position. The actual examination can now be carried out individually with a flashlight and mirror. The vaginal self-examination makes particular the nature and mucus secretions of the vaginal wall, the cervix and the os and any changes - even taking into account the monthly cycle  - the direct observation of women accessible.

aims

The vaginal self-examination in the field of health education is based on the principle of self-help .

The examination of their own vagina is intended to enable women to develop an expanded body relationship and to accept their physicality individually. By regularly examining the mucus that collects in the speculum during each examination, changes can be recognized and, if necessary, clarified by a doctor. Your own observations can be brought into the medical discussion, which tends to contribute to more competence and security in dealing with health-relevant people and institutions. The cycle observation should convey security in relation to the body and its processes.

Use in sex therapy

indication

The vaginal self-examination, sometimes also called self-exploration in the context of sex therapy, is an important element of practicing sex therapy in connection with the treatment of vaginismus . It is used here gradually together with a modification of the pelvic floor exercises according to Kegel .

method

The client is instructed to explore their own external genitalia with their own hands and fingers in a pleasant atmosphere, unobserved. The concentrated, exploratory touching of erogenous zones is intended to steer the perception of the physical reactions triggered by this, such as changes in the breathing rate or changes in tension in the pelvic floor. In a second step, the inner genitals are explored with the fingers using the exercise instructions to consciously trigger states of tension and relaxation in the pelvic floor. The client should alternately focus her perception on the fingers and on the vagina. These exercises are partially supplemented by vaginal self-examinations using a mirror and Kegel exercises in order to promote the woman's control over her own circumvaginal muscles and to develop the ability to consciously relax them.

aims

The aim of this exercise is not only to grasp the vagina and take possession of it through touch, but also to promote active control over the muscles of the pelvic floor and the functional closure and opening of the vaginal entrance. The client's compliance with this exercise is an important criterion for the success of any subsequent couple treatment . According to a joint study by the Medical Center of the University of Leiden and the Maastricht University Hospital in 2006, vaginal self-examinations caused vaginismus in 87 percent of patients within three months.

literature

• Anne Kent Rush: Getting Clear. A therapy manual for women. Verlag Frauenoffensive, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-88104-015-3 ; (6th edition 1979, p. 119 ff.)
• Lilo Berg: From the self-awareness group to the info center . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 8, 1999.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Anne Kent Rush: Getting Clear. A therapy manual for women. 6th edition. Verlag Frauenoffensive, Munich 1979, p. 119.
2. ↑ Angela Stascheit, Karin Uecker: Archives of the Munich Women's Health Movement 1968–2000 . (PDF; 2.2 MB) Munich 2011.
3. ↑ Michelle Murphy: Immodest Witnessing. The Epistemology of Vaginal Self-Examination in the US Feminist Self-Help Movement. In: Feminist Studies . , 30, 1, 2004, pp. 115-147, here pp. 115-116.
4. ↑ Petra Kolip (ed.): Femininity is not a disease. Juventa-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7799-1068-8 , p. 216;
   Kristine von Soden: The big difference. The new women's movement and the seventies. Elefanten Press, Berlin 1988, p. 39.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Petra Kolip (ed.): Femininity is not a disease. Juventa-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-7799-1068-8 , p. 215 ff.
6. ↑ Lilo Berg: From the self-awareness group to the info center . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 8, 1999.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Instructions for vaginal self-examination . (PDF; 26 kB) FFGZ
8. ↑ Woman and Health Project.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) Ingeborg Stahr (Head), Sabine Jungk, Elke Schulz: Project “Woman and Health” - health education and health promotion for women. An educational offer for women in the health and social sector. Basics, conception and evaluation of professional training  
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Jacques JDM van Lankveld, Moniek M. ter Kuile, H. Ellen de Groot, Reinhilde Melles, Janneke Nefs, Maartje Zandbergen: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Women With Lifelong Vaginismus. A Randomized Waiting-List Controlled Trial of Efficacy. In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Volume 74, Issue 1, 2006, pp. 168-178, here p. 168, PMID 16551154
10. ^ Walter Dmoch: Sexual dysfunction. (PDF; 192 kB) In: Gynecologist. 34 (2001), pp. 278–290, doi: 10.1007 / s001290050713 , excerpt on the treatment of vaginismus ( memento of the original dated December 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !