- It is about the representation and optimization of the vulva, anatomical myths, circumcisions, censorship and intimate modifications. With: Mithu Sanyal, Claudia Gehrke, Laura Meritt, Wilfried Schneider and many others.
- "Showing the vulva scares off bears and lions, makes wheat grow higher, calms storm tides and demons fear it. The devil runs away. Showing the vulva can save the world. The vulva is omnipotent." This powerful image of the female genitals is unfortunately not anchored in our imagination. While nudity seems no longer taboo, the presentation of the female genitals continues to irritate and various bans have been imposed on it. Decades of retouching in the media, anti-pornography campaigns and aniconistic bans have lead to a public image of the vulva that is far from reality. A "concept of ideal beauty that is invisibility" prevails. The film begins in a dermatological surgery in Cologne. Bella Joy has her labia plumped up with hyaluronan and is very pleased with the result... Directors Ulrike Zimmermann and Claudia Richarz present their comprehensive and non-sensationalistic research into the history of the female anatomy from the 16th to the 21st century - from the risqué and at times the sad to the comical aspects - thereby celebrating the diversity of the female body.—Ulrike Zimmermann
- We live in hypersexualised times. The press, adverts and TV are constantly putting naked women and their genitalia on display. But many women are still deeply prudish when it comes to the relationship with their own body. In public we see airbrushed, de-individualised anatomies which conform to the standards of attractiveness used by the porn industry. The ideal image of the smooth, perfectly shaped vulva with symmetrical labia has little to do with the actual shape of most female genitalia. The resultant insecurity many women feel about their own bodies has proven to be a gold-mine for cosmetic genital surgery which promises to manufacture the perfect vagina via the surgeons scalpel. With their comprehensive and unflustered research into the history of this particular aspect of the female anatomy in the 21st century, the directors shed light on every facet of the matter in hand, from sex education to censorship, from the airbrushing of misshapen labia in pornographic images to the work of activists against female genital mutilation and in doing so celebrate the diversity of the female body. (Berlin Film Festival Catalogue 2014)
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