The lowdown on WAP: All about wet vaginas

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Everyone’s WAP is different

It’s criminal how much women obsess over their own vaginas. Size, appearance, scent. The comparisons to others are endless.

And now we have a chart-topping song to remind us about it once more – no shade, though, because Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are killing it. We stan every womxn in pop culture who can pull off a fearless, empowering hit on a massive scale.

If the lyrics left you wondering about your own brand of wetness, though, you’re not alone.

A study published in 2017 analyzed interviews with 20 women from diverse backgrounds, and found half the worries women had about their vaginas were that they might be “too wet” or “not wet enough.”((Fahs, B. (2017). Slippery desire: Women’s qualitative accounts of their vaginal lubrication and wetness. Feminism & Psychology, 27(3), 280–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353516674239)) 

Researchers also discovered, “Eleven women mentioned having anxiety about insufficient wetness, sometimes in relation to what they saw as their own bodily failure to become wet,” and “Six women mentioned feelings of anxiety related to their vaginal lubrication and wetness, blaming lack of wetness on their failing personal bodies rather than partner dynamics.”

On the flip side, a few of the women in the study were in their heads about being too wet, with researchers describing “These feelings about ‘excessive’ wetness connected to other anxieties about being normal or tasting bad to a partner, again revealing how ‘noise’ from other aspects of women’s sexuality impacts their feelings about vaginal lubrication.” What an effing minefield.

No one could blame you for suddenly popping your eyes open in the middle of the night, snatching your phone up, and Googling something like “is my vagina too wet” or “is my vagina not wet enough?” Especially if you’re just starting to think about your vagina’s wetness level for the first time. 

Here’s the great news – there is no such thing as “too wet” when it comes to your vagina, and here’s why. 

According to this study and others like it, many scientists and medical professionals have concluded there are about an infinite number of factors that may affect individual variations in vaginal wetness, and even these factors can change over time.

The reason you get wet when you’re aroused? It’s a pretty fascinating process. Basically, your mind makes the bodily connection to signal your cervix and your Bartholin’s glands to release a fluid that wets the inner walls of your vagina.((Vaginal dryness. (2019, November 28). HealthDirect Australia. Retrieved from healthdirect.gov.au/vaginal-dryness)) Surprised this little tidbit of info didn’t make it into the final version of WAP? Us, too. 😉 

However wet you are right now, or later on, or when you’re a little old person happily retired having survived a pandemic, is the exact right amount of wet. It is literally all in your head. Whatever is usual for you, is how it’s supposed to be. 

Considering all this, we’re not doctors. We read studies published by doctors, but we don’t have the years of medical training that you should require when seeking advice for a legit problem. 

So: if you are concerned about your vaginal health – or if you’ve noticed changes in your vagina such as a major difference in wetness or changes in the color of your discharge – talk to your healthcare provider or OB-GYN. For instance, painful sex or a complete lack of natural lubrication down there might warrant a medical visit to make sure there isn’t anything weird going on. 

Tip: Planned Parenthood provides free to low-cost services, including pap smears, STD testing, and contraception. 

Now you know, so go ahead and get back to perfecting that TikTok WAP dance.

This article is informational only and is not offered as medical advice, nor does it substitute for a consultation with your physician. If you have any gynecological/medical concerns or conditions, please consult your physician. 

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