Labia Majora

Labia Majora

Labia majora, or outer labia, are folds of skin covered in hair that make up a part of the vulva.

Location Labia majora are the outermost parts of the entire vulva, and sit just outside the labia minoria (inner labia). At their topmost point, the outer labia meet the mons pubis, and at their bottommost point, the labia majora straddle the vaginal opening and meet the perineum.

Aesthetics Labia majora are usually covered in hair and come in a range of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Some labia majora will completely cover the labia minora, while some labia majora can appear to be almost non-existent. For some, labia majora are not completely symmetrical; meaning that labia may not look exactly alike.

Pleasure Physiology Upon arousal, labia majora will flatten and retract. Although every person enjoys different types of stimulation, dexterous movements like licking, stroking, sucking, tugging, vibration, etc. are all generally effective types of stimulation for the outer labia.

Hair Removal Some may choose to remove some, or all, of the hair from the outer labia by means of trimming, shaving, waxing, use of depilatory creams, laser treatments or other hair removal systems. While motivations for removing hair are varied (see ‘grooming’), doing so should be a decision reached without force or coercion. Razors for shaving should not be shared, as blood borne STIs can be transmitted.

Representations of Inner Labia Within the realm of pornography, textbooks, how-to guides, and many other forms of media where vulvas are shown, the aesthetics of outer labia can be specifically chosen, edited by computers, or even altered by means of make-up. As a result, the wide range of variation for the aesthetics of inner labia is not often fully represented.