Debby Herbenick - Read My Lips: A Complete Guide to the Vagina and Vulva

Debby Herbenick, PhD, is associate director and research scientist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University; the sexual health educator for the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction; and a widely read sex columnist for various newspapers and magazines. She is also the author of Because It Feels Good: A Womans Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction (2009) and the forthcoming I Love You More Book (StoryPeople Press). She has served as an expert on the vagina and vulva (and other sex topics) for the Tyra Banks Show and The Doctors and writes about sex for MySexProfessor.com, Psychology Today, WebMD , and Mens Health magazine. She is also a member of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease, the International Society for the Study of Womens Sexual Health, and the International Academy of Sex Research. As a widely cited sex expert, she has been quoted in more than five hundred magazine and newspaper articles including those in the New York Times , LA Times , San Francisco Chronicle , Washington Post, Cosmopolitan , Glamour , Marie Claire , Womens Health , Mens Health , and SELF .

Vanessa Schick, PhD, is a social psychologist and a research scientist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University. She has conducted a variety of studies on the vulva that have been published in peer-reviewed journals ranging from the changes in the portrayal of the vulva in sexually explicit magazines to understanding how womens concerns about their vulva appearance impact them in the bedroom. She has presented her work to diverse audiences, from the Kinsey Institute to students in the classroom to sex researchers at the European Federation of Sexology conference in Rome, Italy. She is also a member of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease and the International Academy of Sex Research.

Dr. Herbenick and Dr. Schick are also two of the scientists behind the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), the largest nationally representative study of sexual behavior in the United States, which surveyed individuals ages fourteen to ninety-four about their sexual lives.

We would like to thank our editor, Suzanne Staszak-Silva, for helping to turn our quirky book filled with crafts and puns into a reality. Thank you for your patience and your confidence in our work. We are enormously grateful to our fantastic agent, Kate Lee, whose advice and encouragement were instrumental. Of course, no matter how many words we used, a description of a vulva can never measure up to a picture of one. Thank you to everyone who filled this book with images: Christopher M. Brown, Catherine Johnson-Roehr, Rachel Liebert, Melissa Nannen, and Maleese N. Schick.

We feel fortunate to be surrounded by colleagues who inspire us daily. In particular, we would like to thank Michael Reece, Brian Dodge, and everyone at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion for their enthusiasm, their willingness to listen to and give feedback on our ideas, and the way they embrace our vulva puppets and other unique office decor. We would like to thank David Lohrmann and Mohammad Torabi, who have established an academic work environment in which our research and creative interests are able to thrive. We are also appreciative of the support we have received from Jenny Bass, Dennis Fortenberry, Carol McCord, Heather Rupp, Stephanie Sanders, and Shawn Wilson, among others. We would be remiss not to thank Chelsea Heaven for her careful, conscientious work.

This book would not have been possible without the many women and men who have inspired us at different points in our personal and professional development. Although not limited to the following, we like to acknowledge the work and vision of (in alphabetical order) Joani Blank, Virginia Braun, Judy Chicago, Betty Dodson, Eve Ensler, Nick and Sayaka Karras, Dorrie Lane, Rachel Liebert, Carol Queen, Wrenna Robertson, Carlin Ross, Annie Sprinkle, Elizabeth Stewart, Leonore Tiefer, and Chris Veasley.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who took the time to share personal stories about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with vulvas and vaginas, whether for Read My Lips or for the various research projects we have conducted over the years.

Vanessa would like to thank everyone who has supported or inspired her along this spectacular journey. First, she would like to thank her phenomenal co-author, Debby Herbenick, who made this possible. There is only enough light for everyone to share if you open your door and let others in. She is forever grateful for Debbys encouragement, guidance, humor, and perpetual kindness. She would also like to thank her graduate advisor, Alyssa Zucker, who encouraged her to follow her passion; Laina Bay-Cheng, who continuously challenged her to think about things in new and complex ways; and Maria-Cecilia Zea, who urged her to see the potential in herself. On a personal note, Vanessa would like to thank her friends and family for all of their support, love, and friendship throughout this process. She is particularly grateful to the following: Ashley, Bindi, Geneva, Heather, Jenn, Kelly, and Marcela for their constant friendship, encouragement, and quick feedback on the cover. Vanessa would also like to thank Sarah, for being the amazing person she is both professionally and personally. She makes quirky seem normal. Russell/Thaddeus, for always being patient, proud, and the biggest bighead she has ever known. M. T. McGillicutty, for (sometimes) holding it during long writing sessions and cuddling even when she didnt want to. Her many brothers and sisters, who inspire her in ways they can only imagine. Her aunt Bobbie, who always says the right thing at the right moment. Her belated grandmother and step-mother, for always being outspoken and strong. Her father, for encouraging her to work hard at what she believed in. Her mother, for believing in her and inspiring Vanessa to make her journey her own.

Debby would like to thank the following individuals for their particular support of her vulva and vagina outreach: Vanessa Schick, for bringing her talent, brilliance, and spunk to Indiana University, and for being an amazing co-author on this book; Stephanie Sanders, for being the first mentor to support her interest in vulvovaginal research; June Reinisch, for pointing her in the direction of positive vulva references in historical texts and for her enthusiastic mentorship; the late Joe Miller, for his support of her initial research about attitudes toward womens genitals; Tyra Banks, for inviting Debby to share her vulva puppet and vulvovaginal information with her television audience; Kareen Gunning, for her commitment to educating the masses about womens health and sexual health; Patty Brisben, for her passionate support of research and education related to womens sexual health; Dan Savage, for enduring assorted vulva-related conversations and puppetry; and Annie, Debbie, Joyce, Mary, and Paulene, for their steadfast support, dependability, and good natures. In addition, Debby would like to express her enormous gratitude to her mother and sister for their consistent support during the past decade-plus of her vagina/vulva outreach journey. She would like to acknowledge the memory of her maternal grandmother who encouraged her in the study of womens sexual health and vulvovaginal perceptions, and her father who was one of her biggest sources of support in all areas of life. She is grateful to Jezebel, who stayed up late with her while writing, to those who have helped her to love her vulva and vagina (including the dozens of women, such as Jada, Sarah, and Jessica, with whom she worked on The Vagina Monologues ), and her gynecologist, who has helped her to care for it. Finally, Debby would like to thank Ariane, Brooke, Brandon, Rachel, Kate, Tom, Ben, Susie, Erica, Roberta, and Jimmy, all of whom have shown their support by listening to vulva/vagina stories, helping to select cover designs, or making space for her to write this book. No one, however, has listened to as many vulva stories or made as much space for this work (or for vulva craft projects) as James, for whom she is eternally grateful.